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?

This thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/pets/687414-I-have-to-get-rid-of-my-dog-I-can is worth a read, OP. Though I have a horrible feeling that you have already decided to ignore everyone who knows that what you are suggesting is quite unconscionable.

Yes, that thread. 😢😢😢😢 traumatised dog, now very hard to re-home.
Op you are stroppily refusing to hear what everyone is saying, that this is a terrible thing to do, that your puppy will be sad, bored, scared and lonely for eight hours of every day. A dog is not a toy. A dog is not something for you to enjoy playing with solely on your terms. A dog is a sentient creature, who has not evolved to be alone, they are social animals. You will come home and see a waggy tailed pup delighted to see you. For the other EIGHT HOURS that pup will be miserable.
I have an adult dog. Like all dogs she doesn’t like to be alone. We very rarely leave her, and have never left her for longer than two or three hours. Generally if we have to be out for a long time she goes to a sitter. Yes it is hassle, and an extra expense, but this is what you have to factor in when you get a dog.
Full time work and dogs do not go together, unless you work from home, or can take your dog to work with you.

I have a crate for my 12 week old pup. She has probably spent about 20 mins in it in the entire 3 weeks we’ve had her! She sleeps in my sons bed, and she has free roam of the entire house for the whole day. She spends hours playing with our two older dogs, and is learning from them, and us every day. There are 6 of us in the house, and always someone at home to look after her.

I could never lock my dogs in a crate and leave them for so long.

They are part of our family.

I would suggest you find someone to look after your dog when you are at work op. This option isn’t kind. Your dog will be bored and lonely 😔

Too long for a 14 week old puppy. 4 hours is the absolute max most puppies can hold their bladders for during the day, expecting it to pee in its crate is cruel.

Pretty sure the rspca would have something to say about a puppy being in a crate 8 hours a day.

So am I, @Moondancer73 Disgusting. Though I think the OP has gone away because she can't bear to hear the truth.

OP has been busy!
Hours slightly changed, a dog walker, cameras installed & a play date at daycare twice a week & puppy is absolutely amazing

also we ditched the crate :)

Hey OP,

I have a lab puppy the same age and I feed her 6:30am, 1pm and 6:30pm - I think we will probably do this until she's about 6 months.

Its your dog, but if it were me I would feel extremely uncomfortable and worried about my dog being crated five days a week like this. My puppy loves her crate, its her little den, but I wouldn't expect her to spend this amount of time in there. It is true that puppies require a lot of sleep and crates are brilliant, but this does seem a bit overkill I'm sorry to say. I really do think you should look into a dog walking service, there are a lot of them and they don't all just walk, some of them offer to play with your dog for an hour.

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with leaving your dog crated for four hours, but every day? Twice a day? And she/he will be full grown soon, is this what you have planned for them then too?

Sorry to be so negative.

Ha. I haven't been on here for a while and have just read all of these. Pup was absolutely fine, we ditched the crate for run of a large kitchen/diner. Have a dog walker of a morning & I run with him on my lunch. One day in day care a week & Friday I'm home with him! Hes nearly 9 months old & an absolute delight. Kept an eye on all day via a camera and has never shown any signs of distress, happily plays and listens to podcasts in bed!