My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

The doghouse

New puppy

39 replies

Shakespearesglobe · 22/10/2019 12:58

We have finally decided to take the plunge and get a puppy (well DH and I have decided , kids unaware yet in case it doesn’t happen!)

I work from home on a Monday - and we were planning on using puppy daycare for Tuesday to Friday as we cannot guarantee that we will be around enough otherwise. I have found a lovely daycare place and the owner said this would be fine but am conscious that it’s their business - are puppies really okay with 4 days in day care?

Timings wise, we were planning on getting the puppy at 10 weeks. Should I then take 2 weeks off so that they can get their jabs before going to puppy day care?

If those two weeks are over Xmas is that a really bad idea? We have quiet Xmas at home so we would be around then with lots of time for puppy but don’t want to time it wrongly.

When should we start doing puppy training classes?

My parents had dogs all my life but my mum didn’t work so things were less structured for them.

Any help appreciated. Am trying to get this right and not make mistakes!
Thanks x

OP posts:
Report
fivedogstofeed · 22/10/2019 13:16

There is a major flaw in this I'm afraid...
You can't just order a 10 week old puppy of your choice to be ready for the holidays.

Report
Shakespearesglobe · 22/10/2019 13:18

Oh yes thanks I know - it was just if we found a breeder with one at that time

OP posts:
Report
Shakespearesglobe · 22/10/2019 13:18

But equally I can take time off when the breeder is ready. Does the rest sound okay?

OP posts:
Report
ErrolTheDragon · 22/10/2019 13:19

if we found a breeder with one at that time

Unfortunately, there would be an increased probability they'd be dodgy - afaik responsible breeders try to avoid Xmas pups nowadays.

Report
averylongtimeago · 22/10/2019 13:19

You will need the two weeks off work as a minimum, imo.
Putting a dog into day care from puppy hood runs the risk that they won't bond with you properly and training will be more difficult.

Training classes; I start mine as soon as they have had their jabs- avoid any trainers who talk about pack theory and dominance- reward and positive training works much better imho. The best class o went to was for my last pup, lots of fun and play, she loved it and we carried on for several years until we moved house.
Also, get pup out and about meeting as many things and people as you can. As they get older they can find it harder to accept new things, you really don't want s dog who has never seen, say a person in a wheelchair or wearing hi-vis and is then scared and barks or growls at them.

Christmas is a difficult time to get a pup- even if you have a quiet. Christmas there will be the tree, extra stuff for pup to find and chew/wee on and visitors making a routine difficult to establish.

Report
fivedogstofeed · 22/10/2019 13:20

You will easily find a 'breeder' with a puppy at the time.They will tell you he's 10 weeks or whatever you want to hear as they will see you coming a mile off. if you want to find a proper breeder you will have to wait I'm afraid and it may not happen at a time to suit you.

Report
Shakespearesglobe · 22/10/2019 13:23

Thanks all - that makes sense re Christmas. That was what I was worried about re daycare - the puppy will be with us 3 days and in day care 4, but I can’t see any other way of doing it to ensure they aren’t left for more than the minimum amount of time. Perhaps it’s just not feasible Confused

OP posts:
Report
smoresmores · 22/10/2019 13:24

We just got a new puppy a month or so ago. I can work from home so planned on taking the two weeks off ... I haven't been in the office at all.

I have no idea how you would get toilet training sorted if you're just sending them to a puppy day care for most the week. You need to be with them and watching constantly. Plus they're so small, they hate being away from you.

We have been going to weekly puppy socialisation classes and his confidence is really coming on, but he would have hated being around loads of other puppies straight away.

We've turned a massive corner lately and he's settled in really well but it was pure chaos at first. I really don't think your plan is feasible.

I say this as someone who isn't really a 'dog person' / into treating dogs as humans. But it is a massive commitment and if you want a lovely family pet who is well trained, I don't think this approach is wise.

Report
Shakespearesglobe · 22/10/2019 13:25

We were going to go to one of my dads farming friends and get one - they don’t breed more than one litter a year so I think we should be okay re being ‘done’, I just want to make sure that the puppy’s future life with us will be good

OP posts:
Report
Shakespearesglobe · 22/10/2019 13:26

So puppy daycare is really bad? Why are people allowed to offer it if so?

OP posts:
Report
Shakespearesglobe · 22/10/2019 13:28

I thought all the advice on here was to sort care out if you weren’t around enough. The daycare place said they would help with toilet training when he was with them - I guess like a nursery?!

OP posts:
Report
smoresmores · 22/10/2019 13:30

I see it as being for the odd day a week max or situation, because it is really hard having to be with the puppy constantly ... We've had to take him to family and friends etc.

I don't think you can do the training required in that early period if you're just putting the dog in daycare from such a young age.

But I'm not a dog expert and it's super early days for us. Just trying to give an insight from someone very much in the thick of it at the moment.

I can't see you having very enjoyable evenings and weekends with the puppy if he's not bonded with you all, weeing all over the house and chewing everything in sight because he's not been told what he can and can't do in the house etc.

Report
MustardScreams · 22/10/2019 13:30

You aren’t in the right time or place to have a dog. You’re thinking about what you want as a family, and not giving the animal a second thought.

Daycare is great, but not 4 days a week from puppyhood. You won’t even know your dog.

Wait until you have flexible hours, semi-retire, can work from home etc and don’t bring a puppy into this situation, it’s selfish.

Report
adaline · 22/10/2019 13:30

I think you'll struggle. You're not going to be able to get much work done at home with a 12 week old puppy. How are you going to toilet train it, for example? Are you really going to be able to watch it constantly to avoid accidents?

As for the rest of your plan - what happens if the puppy hates daycare? It's not something that suits all dogs. Even if it enjoys daycare, I don't really think it's the best environment for such a young dog. It's fine for a half day occasionally but that's going to be hugely overwhelming for such a small puppy.

Please have a re-think.

Report
adaline · 22/10/2019 13:35

So puppy daycare is really bad? Why are people allowed to offer it if so?

Nothing wrong with daycare when it's used correctly - for settled, adult dogs whose owners are out all day and who cope well in the company of other dogs and people.

There's also nothing wrong with it for a puppy but you really need to be careful. Is this place licensed? What does it have in place to ensure the puppy is safe and can have plenty of sleep? What if the puppy doesn't like being in a new environment with lots of different dogs and becomes unsettled and unhappy there?

I think for such a small puppy you need to consider it in small doses - half a day a couple of times a week would be good, for example. But four full days a week at 12 weeks old? That's just too much.

Report
Shakespearesglobe · 22/10/2019 13:40

Okay thanks it sounds not feasible in current circumstances. For the poster who said I was being selfish - that is deeply unpleasant when the whole point of my post was questioning whether what someone had said to me was okay - purely because I wanted to ensure if we did get a puppy they would have a good life. And i immediately said perhaps it wasn’t feasible when people pointed out issues. I would have thought asking the question and taking on board comments was the opposite of selfish so there was no need to make such unpleasant comments

OP posts:
Report
smoresmores · 22/10/2019 13:41

To be fair I think they said "it's selfish". Which factually, it is.

Not you, but the situation you're proposing.

Report
GingerFoxInAT0phat · 22/10/2019 13:44

Totally agree with Adaline above, daycare is usually for older settled dogs.

When I took my puppy just to socialisation classes with me there he couldn’t cope and screamed the place down. A few months down the line he is totally different and loves the company of other dogs.

Report
adaline · 22/10/2019 13:50

Yeah, I'm speaking from experience too. We sent our puppy to daycare at 17 weeks old and it wasn't right for him at all. It's a mistake we won't repeat if we get another puppy in the future.

I think you have good intentions OP but the reality of having a young dog is very different. Remember, if your dog or puppy doesn't like daycare or isn't suited to the environment, they can be asked not to return and then what will happen?

Report
missbattenburg · 22/10/2019 13:51

As others have said, I am not sure you're plans will match up well with reality.

Let's say you want a specific breed dog and it's relatively popular so there are 100 really great breeders of that breed in the country. They each have a litter (on average) every other year. What are the chances that any of them will have a spare puppy ready to go at Christmas? Really small. In fact, smaller than that because really great breeders tend not to have litters ready to go around Christmas time, if they can help it, because it's a tricky time of year to find good owners with the time to dedicate to the puppies. I think you need greater flexibility regarding your timings than that.

Two weeks off work is great and some puppies would cope beautifully with going from having you all day to a daycare. However, many puppies won't. The challenges are likely to be:

  • after two weeks with you, the puppy will see you as their comfort and may get distressed when sperated from you; if this distress is bad enough you are risking some considerable behavioural issues later on.
  • your puppy is now at the mercy of other peoples dogs. Other people's dogs tend to be little buggers and are likely to teach your puppy all the naughty things they do at home that their owners don't mind but you do
  • very few daycares really cater for puppies which require a different set up and staff ratio than adult dogs. Mostly they just treat them like little adults, which is not ideal. This is likely to mean the puppy is not getting constant toilet and behavioural training, which can impact the speed at which they learn these things. Even if not, the daycare's approach to teaching them is likely to be different from yours so you won't have consistency.
  • As others have alluded to, dogs are a it rubbish at applying learning to different situations so even if he learned to toilet outside at daycare, he is not very likely to automaticaly apply that at home. If he's not home very much during the week then this could delay matters.


Puppy training starts immediately and thre's some great examples of puppies learning trained, cued behaviours even before they can see or hear. However, formal training for those that do, normally starts not long after the vaccinations are complete, around 12-14 weeks.

An adult dog could fit better with your scenario especially a well behaved, confident one. Sometimes breeders do occasionally have older dogs that require homes, generally as a result of it being a puppy they bred that has been returned to them as an older dog. Rescues do as well, of course. Worth considering?
Report
ErrolTheDragon · 22/10/2019 14:18

An adult dog could fit better with your scenario especially a well behaved, confident one. Sometimes breeders do occasionally have older dogs that require homes,

We got our current dog when he was 10 months old - his breeder had kept him for show/stud potential but he developed 'faults' (nothing serious, just not up to crufts standards unlike his sire!) . He was so much easier than our previous dog, same breed but who we'd had from a pup. This one was housetrained (just needed to be shown the door and where he should go) and well socialised with dogs and humans. Obviously there's a lot of luck in finding this sort of gem but well worth looking out for!

Report
MustardScreams · 22/10/2019 14:20

@Shakespearesglobe sorry I was short with you op. I wasn’t calling you personally selfish, just the situation. It’s just that puppies are a lot of work, even in the perfect circumstances. And I’ve seen too many given up/sold/have shit lives because someone doesn’t say the tough stuff.

But I could probably have been a bit more gentle about it!

Report

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

missbattenburg · 22/10/2019 14:25

Yep, 'failed' show dogs or bitches held back for breeding potential that ultimately were 'rejected' for one reason or another also are reasons breeders sometimes have these dogs for sale.

Often these dogs are exceptionally well rounded dogs having had the benefit of the breeder's knowledge and other dog's influence for so many months.

I loved battenpuppy but would happily skip the puppy months in future dogs and go straight to the adult stage so I don't think you'd be missing out not to have a dog from puppy. Most of our other dogs throughout my life have been from adult onwards and were almost all easier than battendog was/is.

Report
Starryskye · 22/10/2019 14:32

Dogs don't belong in day care no matter the age. If it's spending the majority of the week away then don't even bother. It's not fair tbh

Report
MaryLennoxsScowl · 22/10/2019 15:14

I don’t know if what I’m doing is ideal either, but we got puppy at 8 weeks and each took 2 weeks off to look after him, so he was 12 weeks when he began daycare twice a week (I work for home 2x days and a family member does the 3rd day). I also found daycare that isn’t a commercial concern but an individual. She sometimes has a couple of other dogs there but it’s in her house so she’s just as concerned with toilet training etc as I am and it isn’t so hectic. He just seemed too much of a baby for a full on daycare place. Could you work from home for the first month or so even a couple of times a week?

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.