13 week puppy & back to work!

[xxxCheshireMumxxX]

Good evening, our puppy will be 14 weeks when I return to work full time.

I work 7.45-4.15, (Monday-Thursday) 5 minutes from home so I plan to take him out in the morning & come home for my lunch & spend time with pup. He will then go back out for a walk after work.

This means he'll be alone just under 4 hours in the morning & in the afternoon, he is crated so I am presuming that this will be ok? We have started leaving him for periods of 2.5-3 hours this week under camera surveillance to see how he gets on & he is fine, chews his toys & falls asleep.

My question really is, what is your feeding schedule for age one or less dog when you work a normal working week? Should I feed him 3 times a day or 2?

Poor pup. Can’t you take him to work with you as you’re so close by?

You're going to need a dog walker. I'd walk him good and far in the morning then come home at lunch after 3 hours then have the dog walker come 2 hours after that.

We need licensing for dogs in this country. And some sort of inspections for animal welfare.

Who the fuck gets a puppy to leave in a crate for 8 hours a day.......... your dog will be stressed, miserable and anxious. It's beyond cruel.

Mine is 9 months. And comes to work with me. She would be incredibly distressed left for an hour a day let alone 8

Please get someone to have the pup for the day or pop in twice day. This has not been thought through. So silly to buy a pup when you know you are not going to be there. Really selfish.

He can't be walked for an hour until he's nearly a year because of his joints - you really can't leave him in a crate for 4 hours twice a day plus nighttime. Poor dog, surprised the breeder agreed to sell to you to be honest.

Jesus Christ. Poor, poor pup.

I hope the OP is not replying because she is too busy contacting the breeder to return the puppy. I fear not however.

I leave my dog for 4 hours but then I won’t leave him again that day and he’s 3
Any longer and he goes to daycare, even with a 1 hour visit this pup is being left for 8 hours a day which is unacceptable, even if you weren’t using a crate. Plus he’s too young for a 1 hour walk yet
You can treat your puppy like that, it’s totally unfair

My supposed dog loving neighbours have done this. Bought a puppy and work full time. It happens ALL THE TIME. Fucked up.

Of course you can have a puppy without crating it! I would know...but he might not be a good example!

We did similar with our dog (apart from the crate which i hate!).

He was shut in the kitchen with toys and dog bed, water etc. I left at 6:30, my mum went and walked him at 9:30, i went home for lunch at 12 then partner home at 4.

Did that for 6 months, and then stopped the lunch visit. By then he was also allowed in the lounge for extra space

I love, love, love dogs. I grew up with them. My DM's life was devoted to us and the dogs.

Because I love dogs to bits, and have a job which would mean I would have to crate one for 2 x 4 hours per day, I don't have a dog.

Having a dog is about what you can offer a dog, not what a dog will give to you, OP. It's beyond selfish to think that it's the other way round.

I'm not going to get into a debate with anybody on here. My dog sleeps a very good proportion of his day currently, particularly in the day. He's my dog, I know. This isn't are forever plan obviously. He will have the kitchen to himself by mid September.

Also, no it isn't just about my carpets it's his safety, we are pretty minimalistic people but there is no way he could be left in the living room on his own right now, lamps, 55inch TV, speakers & cables, blinds etc. While he is a puppy it wouldn't be practical nor safe for him.

Note, the crate is huge. 2.5m by 1m, with an added on separate bit for his bed. He isn't sat in a box.

A dog walker twice a day & me coming home at dinner seems to be what will be best for now then, thank you :) that's all I asked.

@Lazypuppy thanks, this sounds like what we will be doing & the kind of response I was looking for. Could I ask if you fed 2 or 3 times a day?

@RLOU30 OP wasn't replying as was playing with pup

Up to 6 months 3 times a day. Then when i stopped the lunch visit he went downto 2 meals.

He sleeps most of the day quite happily, even when i WFH i don't really see him!

You know your puppy, we found as puppy got older and bigger he needed more space as he would get destructive.once he had more space it stopped. They say npt to overwhelm them with too much space,but make sure he has room to roll about and play, which he should do in Sept in the kitchen

This is not fair. The crate is irrelevant - it's the being left alone for so much of the day which is wrong, even if it were in a palace. Dogs are social animals which have been bred to thrive on human company. If we keep them as single dogs, away from the companionship of other dogs, then the deal is that humans meet those social needs. To keep a social animal alone for most of the day is in no way meeting its need to express natural behaviour. Now, mature dogs of a breed which likes to sleep all day might be fine with this, but a puppy? It won't be a "toddler" sleeping for 16 hours a day for long ; in a few weeks it will be like a primary school child, then a teenager. It is at a crucial stage of its development. It's just not fair to leave it alone.
Martha Gill put it well in the Times :
"Yet it seems that dogs really do pine when you’re not there. Emotional-support animals really do take on your suffering. Dogs, bred to be servile, feel servile. We wanted our closest animal companions to be desperately needy and dependent, to love us no matter how many hours we kept them locked alone in the house. This, it turns out, is how they experience the world. Man’s best friend, Stockholm syndrome."

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/we-claim-to-love-dogs-but-we-ve-enslaved-them-mgwvk7f83

Can I take him to work with me?! What sort of jobs do people have that take their dogs to work. Can't be the normal that. I know loads of people with dogs who work full time, obviously the dogs are older so have reign of the downstairs, like our dog will eventually.

Dog walker twice a day would make a huge difference OP, and would in my book make this fine, as well as giving him socialisation with other dogs. It may take a bit of phoning round to find one who will take a puppy. My dog was over 6 months when I started using a walker and we went through several before finding a walker who was right. Now, her walker is an important part of her family and has been a really positive addition to her life.

I know loads of people with dogs who work full time

Oh Jesus - not that old chestnut🙄. Lots of people do it .... therefore it must be okay? Give me strength.

@Lazypuppy thanks, I think we will be doing similar to you untill he is a little bit bigger, he's getting better every single day leaving things alone, so hopefully won't be to long untill he can have a room! :)

so hopefully won't be to long untill he can have a room!

On his own

@MaryPeary thank you, we have one in our street that comes highly recommended so while I'm still off & around I think I'll see if she can come for settling in sessions with him, he can't go out untill next Friday, but at least he can get used to her in our own home :)

@Medievalist bore off. literally everybody has dogs, that work, they have dog walkers, like I was suggesting, just wasn't sure if at this age I needed one visit or 2.

No, it simply is NOT ok to have a puppy left on its own all bloody day. Even if you're coming home for lunch. It's in its crate all night, and for most of the day. Appalling.

Way to long for a dog of any age to be left alone. Look into daycare for him. What you’re suggesting is cruel and you will have a very stressed dog.

I work in a college and my principal let's staff bring dogs in.... students bring theirs in too but it's on a timetable for students so we only have 1 in at a time! There are always dogs in work.