Please critique my dog plan

[siblingrevelryagain]

We had a 9 week old shar pei this week and so far he seems to have settled in well.

I am not an experienced dog owner so would appreciate a critique (or not!) of my plans for him going forward.

I will be returning to work when he will be 15 weeks old. I have a large conservatory so plan to section off half of it which gives him full access to the garden and also the inside conservatory with crate/bed/blankets and dried food and water. He will be left at 8, after having had breakfast and a walk, someone will come in around 11.30/12, then I will return at 4.15.

I’d value honest opinions from experienced owners over whether this is ok; the conservatory has heating but with the door open it will be cold in the winter. Will he be warm enough with access to cosy bedding inside (I figure it’s like an outside kennel but sheltered from rain/wind etc)? Should I cover his crate to provide an insulated place if he gets cold?

Get a dog minder who has pup at their house all day.

Your plan sounds good .... for an adult dog/rescue. Not for a puppy.

I would also be worried about the conservatory getting too hot and the risks of having a puppy freely outside.

Your dog plan is shit. You can't have a puppy and work full time.

Thanks for the feedback-I will be getting either a sitter to come here to be with him or have him go to their house, at least until he’s older.

No words, really. What a poor decision you made to get a pup... a shar pei to boot. SMH.

How are you planning to housetrain him?

Thanks for the feedback-I will be getting either a sitter to come here to be with him or have him go to their house, at least until he’s older.

Why do you want a dog if you're not dealing with it? Who will train your dog?

And this can be an aggressive breed, not good with other dogs. I don't think the sitters will be lining up if they are looking after other dogs.
'Here, look after my untrained shar pei.'

Really, OP?

@siblingrevelryagain

Thanks for the feedback-I will be getting either a sitter to come here to be with him or have him go to their house, at least until he’s older.

Good, I'm glad you've taken the advice onboard. It's likely you'll need to stick with this indefinitely as the conservatory idea really doesn't sound sensible.

You may struggle to find someone who wants to look after a 15 week old puppy full-time OP. They're hard work and sharpei's are not known for being the easiest of breeds.

I'm a walker and do puppy visits and there is absolutely no way I could or would commit to looking after a 15 week old puppy on a full-time basis, and certainly not in my own home where they would likely have accidents and be destructive.

You should really have though about this before you got the dog. I think you may struggle massively to find someone to take on this amount of work.

Op , this is a really bad idea. Do you have. Doggy day care near you? I'm planning on getting a pup next year . I work 3 days a week out the house 8.30 - 2.20pm and I'm going to be sending my dog to day care for those hours .

I think it's good for the dog , socialising and being entertained and walked.

No garden is secure to a determined thief and dog thefts are rife in most areas .

My dog is fine with this apart from he gets run of the house. The difference is he is 8 years old and doesn't get separation anxiety. You have no idea how your puppy is going to react to being left for so long. We have had a dog before with severe SA and it is not fair on the dog or the neighbours at all. You might be lucky, but I very much doubt a pup that young will ve ok with that set up at all.

It’s plan C then-dog daycare!

Puppies have similar needs to children in terms of their rearing, in that you need to create the kind of dog you want to spend time with, it doesn't just happen. A very young dog alone for this amount of time (apart from the theft risk and physical/hygiene concerns) would see you living with a dog you don't enjoy yourself as they will be a complete pain the bum. Just one example... It would be craving your undivided attention all evening with wanting to play, playing up to get some interaction etc it's just not realistic to think you'll be doing that, you'll have been at work all day and not going to want/be able to play all night. Young dogs have SO much energy!

Woah no that's not a good idea.

Doggy daycare only works if the dog is properly trained and socialised. Not easy with a pei and after only 6 weeks with you. Some daycare asks for dogs to already be neutered and may not accept puppies either. It works for trained and socialised dogs, but not baby puppies.

You need family or a friend to be in the house with the pup while you're at work. Or use up a lot of holiday from work.

At least you have asked the question op. I don't doubt it is hard for you to hear some of the responses (which have been fair, but from your pov coming from a starting point of thinking that was a workable plan, possibly a bit of a short sharp shock). Well done for taking it on the chin and not getting defensive. I really hope for your sake and the dogs you take the advice, because dog ownership should be a joy and you won't have that experience at all with your original plan, then dog becomes lifelong problem for you - whoever tries to take him on after you've had enough.
My friend got a pup last year, not had a dog before but all the best intentions and as an art home mum and dh working from home a lot it should have been fine. Pup arrived and at the same time she embarked on a major DIY project and her dh was away a lot. Dog was not alone much and was walked plenty but got little attention for hours every day. All his peak training windows were missed and she now has a beautiful, expensive, lovely temperament, dog who is a completely uncontrolled pain. Visitors have to be handed a squirty bottle of lemon juice to keep him at bay when they visit /shut him in another room while he scratches and whines, he harasses the children, their toys, their food. The one thing he is ok at is house trained. That was a dog growing up in a vacuum of guidance for the majority of his waking hours. It's no fun for her. She loves him and he is a loved family pet but he is a source of difficulty and people visit her less these days.

Aside from the dog stuff, I’m still going... so the door to your house is just wide open all day while you’re out?...

Anyway, yep doggy daycare is your best option really, you might want to look around quite a bit though, some are very much just a free for all with loads of dogs and just not an ideal environment for a puppy, especially from a breed likely to need the right kind of socialisation.

Also: never ever leave a puppy alone in the garden. That's how dogs are getting stolen all over the shop at the moment. Dog theft is mental right now.

Plus he may escape or eat something he shouldn't.

When I say lovely temperament, he is a softy, a Labrador who wasn't left alone for hours. Yours is a shar pei who would be in even tougher circumstances, so your outcome might be different.

Op what part of the country are you in , I can recommend a doggy day care that takes puppies as long as they have had their injections . Older dogs will need to be neutered . They have a puppy room, so they can be looked after separately from the bigger dogs .

Some day cares have puppy rooms. That helps as there's been an my vet says she's seem puppies getting long term cruciate damage from running around all day and not resting in some day cars locally.

It’ll cost you a fortune to have a sitter look after just your pup all day. And you can’t stick a giant puppy in with tiny ones. How on Earth is this going to work??

Lots of daycare centres won't take puppies until they're at least six months old and neutered.