Leaving a puppy alone

[atticfun]

Hello everyone I am looking for some very honest advice.
I am hoping to get a Labrador and was planning on on using Doggy Day Care, however the two local places to me are full. As I work full time, as a teacher, I would be out of the house for 8-9 hours a day. Is it reasonable to have a dog walker come in twice a day to break up the day or would this not be a sufficient about of attention for the dog? The dog would be 5 months old when this situation began in September.

Many Thanks for your advice.

Why a puppy? An older dog would be happier with this arrangement.

Please don't think of leaving a puppy alone for long periods of time. Ours is 20 weeks and I know she would be really unhappy without lots of company. And full-time teaching is a stressful job - do you really want to be coming home in the dark evenings next autumn to clear up the mess a bored, lonely puppy has made and deal with walking, training etc, etc.

You're wise to ask for honest advice - my guess is it will be unanimous 'no'. There might be older dogs who would cope with that arrangement - probably a bit hard to find one and get it settled before September though.

Depends how much you like your furniture....

My lab is currently 10.5 months and still chews anything he can get his grubby little mouth on. To be fair, he does have attention seeking tendencies, but I know from lots of other lab owners, the breed is notorious for chewing.

But aside from all that, I really wouldn't think it fair on the dog to be left alone for that long. The odd evening/afternoon/morning sure. But all day (during the week) without any one to one attention? I would never do it.

No you can't leave a labrador, especially a puppy, for that long. There's a lot of training to be done as they're very bouncy, bitey and chew everything. As gun dogs they're bred to bond and stay close, most labs will follow you round the house because they just want to be nearby. Someone else coming in for a couple of times during the day wouldn't be the same and pup would be miserable and chew the entire house to bits.

With the right dog it could be possible but it doesn't sound like good timing or the right dog.

An adult dog would get more used to this schedule, but keep in mind that you would have to spend the rest of the day when not at work with the dog. A five month old puppy is just getting to the stage where it will have boundless energy and is old enough to expend it! If you are very keen on a pup why not wait until next year when you could use the summer holidays to spend a few months with him/her and get her into a routine.

We have a Labrador. I work part time. On the days I work she goes to my parents. If they couldn't have had her I would have used a walker coming in twice a day as you suggest. Our dog is crate trained so no chance of her tearing up the house. If you get a pup i would suggest to crate train from day 1. I am not in inched though, that full time work and a pup is feasible. Labs are very sociable dogs and love company.

Convinced not in inched!

Also 5 months old is too young to leave a pup for lengthy periods. We had barely got up to a few hours with ours by that age.

I honestly don't think crate training a dog is the answer if you are looking to leave it 8 or 9 hours with a walk inbetween. That is not what crates are for and it is way to long to leave a pup in a cage during the day.

If my lab was in a crate most of the day that would be his sleep done and he'd be awake for the rest of the 24 hrs. He'd expect play, exercise and general festivities all evening and probably most of the night.

No. It wouldn't be a happy solution for a very young Labrador.

He would be alone for vast stretches of the day at a time when he most needs company, training and stimulation. Also, don't forget that the five minute rule for exercise would mean that your dog walker wouldn't be taking him out for long anyway.

Perhaps revisit your plans with an older dog, or put your name down for doggy day care and act when you have a place.

I'm with Invisible on the crate training statement too.