How long should a pup be left alone, before it starts being neglected??

[Nixz]

Our dog was stolen about 4 months ago (chipped but no news ) and DD is desperate for another.

Ive the chance to have a Yorkie Shitzu x puppy but im worried that leaving him on his own will be too much for him.

I leave the house at 8.30 and arrive home at 3pm, i work in a school so have the advantage of having lots of holidays, but i realise that the pup is going to count the days to half term!!
My Mum lives very nearby and can pop over once to give him a cuddle and a wee, is this enough?
Ive not had a little dog before and not sure of their needs are different.
Dont be scared...I can take the negative comments

Dogs are very adaptable - you will need to take it out for a walk without fail though before and after work. If your mum can help out now and again that will be a big help. Also leave the radio on for the dog, they like the sound of voices. Our Jack Russell seems to be more needy since I have been a SAHM (its like having two kids!) he was much more chilled when I went to work!!
Good luck!

Thanks
So you think it will be ok for that amount of time?
Do you keep your dog in one room?

When I worked full-time, I used to come home at lunchtime to let the dog out/spend my lunchbreak with him. In an ideal situation it would be good if someone could see the pup at some point in the day, would your mum be able to come over every day/every other day while he is still young? Our dog has the run of the kitchen when we are out.

I am with everlong on this. Whenever I have got a new puppy I have never left it for more than a couple of hours. Sadly I think sometimes we just have to be realistic on whether our lifestyle suits puppies etc., no matter how much we want them.

Even with an older dog, I think anything over 4 hours is unreasonable.

Sorry, but you did ask for honesty!!!

Sorry to hear about your dog being stolen Nixz but I'm afraid I have to agree with everlong on this.

How old is the puppy you are planning to get?
Because if they are under the age of at least 14 weeks I would personally say it is far too long, not to mention the fact that you will come home every day to a room sodden in poo and wee and probably a dirty puppy too.(They seem to go a million times a day when they are young, and often get covered in it)

Also I would have thought they will be lonely, which means the puppy will probably be very destructive, it will also make house training near on impossible. I still have to watch out for my puppy now (they give you a look ) and she is nearly 18 weeks.

Sorry if thats not what you wanted to hear and others may disagree but they really are like babies when they are young and need lots of attention.

Maybe an older puppy (say 6 month old and already house trained) would be a better idea HTH

hey,
It is a long time for a puppy, they need to be trained and if you are away all day they wont be getting the training that they need. Sorry.
I work 10 till 5.30 3 days a week, and have 3 dogs. my youngest is 9mo. But i need to walk them in the morning and then my sister takes them out at 2 and then they get a long walk at 6. That is more walks than they get when i am not at work lol!
Have you ever considered an older dog? I also have a 4 and a 5 year old, they still act like big puppies but they are trained well and love their own time.x

I think its a long time for a puppy, your going to come home to a room of wee and poo with a little puppy for that long and then you have the issue of it being used to weeing in the house in the day when you have to train it to go outside.

Im talking as someone who's exdh bought 2 puppies when we were out of the house for 6 hours and 12 hours each.

My db and SIL bought a beagle puppy last summer, thinking that SIL would be at home most of the day. She ended up having to work fulltime from September with similar hours to yours.

The puppy has destroyed their house. They have had to replace their kitchen table and chairs, most of their cupboards are chewed, they had a £700 vets bill after it ate a tube of tomato puree, metal tube and all.

It is also the most ill behaved, manic dog because none of the early training happened consistently enough.

I personally would not get a puppy if you are going to be out of the house all day. A quick walk and a wee isn't going to provide the interaction, training and stimulation that it will need.

Sorry your old dog was stolen , how awful.

General advice is not to leave any dog alone for more than 4 hours. A puppy shouldn't be left alone for anything like that amount of time. As others have said, it will need toilet breaks, exercise, attention, stimulation, socialising and training. It could become destructive through unhappiness/loneliness/boredom, and in the longer term will not be very well socialised with people or other dogs.

A terrier is also the kind of dog that needs lots of exercise and stimulation (they're not lap dogs despite being small, they're really busy little characters). Shih-tzus are also very needy so it could become quite unhappy and lonely.

Sorry, overlooked your dd! We had our puppy before ds so all puppy training was done and dusted before ds's arrival. Think would be too much for you with a puppy, an older dog is definitely a good idea though.

I'd leave an older dog for a maximum of 4 hours (but not on a regular basis).

I wouldn't leave a puppy for longer than 2 hours. It will get bored and unhappy and destroy your home (and could develop all sorts of behavioural problems).

Yorkies are very people orientated and love to be around you............... our pup (16 weeks) follows us everywhere! Maybe if you got it during the summer hols so you would have 6 weeks with it before you went back to work - but even then it may be too long.

Why did you not think about this before getting the first dog?
Yes it is too long.
It is also cruel.

everyone says that the puppies destroyed and weed/pooed over their home when left alone

why not get a huge cage/crate and leave puppy in there

in the ideal world yes ypu dont want to leave your puppy alone, but there are times when ours now 20weeks is left from 8.30 to 1.30 and is fine

this is not every day and gen gardener/cleaner is there if i am not but sometimes yes puppy is alone (with raido and cuddly toys etc)for 5 hours

he doesnt ever wee/poo in his crate and as soon as i am back he goes in garden

Below is a link to an excellent article describing proper crate training, for those who seem to think it is OK to use it as a convenient way to have a dog while you're out at work all day. It's not OK.

www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/dog_behavior_tip_sheets/crate_training.html

To the OP, I don't think you should get a puppy right now - you just won't have the time to do all the training you need, and even with your mum popping in, the dog will be on his own for too long. And a rescue dog may be no better an option, unless it is very calm and happy to be left alone (perhaps one that was surrendered for 'good' reasons, eg elderly owner or allergies)). My own dog is two and has had a different sort of life to many pet dogs, and I know that he is happy with his own company - even then, I would never leave him for longer than 6 hours and when I am at work (3 short days a week) I usually come home to see him at lunchtime.

Yep, I second that.
Some people should be shot. Using a crate like a prison so their new leather suite doesn't get ripped to pieces, because the dog was left for too long.