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?

Aside from the daycare issue, people really shouldn't be buying or selling puppies before they are 12 weeks old. They really should have had their second set of immunisations before leaving where they were born.

Doggy day care does seem like the only viable option.

Hopefully they can support you with socialisation and training, and your work commitments will ease soon so you can spend more time with your puppy.

@wireyfox

Aside from the daycare issue, people really shouldn't be buying or selling puppies before they are 12 weeks old. They really should have had their second set of immunisations before leaving where they were born.

8 weeks is totally normal for most breeds...

My puppy is turned 15 weeks on Monday, leaving him for that long would be innapropriate

The longest he has been left is an hour, he was being watched on a phone so we could see what he was upto. He has been to doggy daycare once, just remember if a dog isn’t fully toilet trained doggy daycare is more expensive as the staff are also having to train your dog. Lots of doggy daycare around here will only take very young puppies on a very part time basis as having a young pup five days a week means an entire member of staff being used for one dog. Most places will only take a dog ‘full time’ once they are six months old and reliably toilet trained.

Conservatorys get very hot, even with a window open, the breed you have chosen do not cope well with heat.

@wireyfox

Aside from the daycare issue, people really shouldn't be buying or selling puppies before they are 12 weeks old. They really should have had their second set of immunisations before leaving where they were born.

The law states 8 weeks. Whatever your personal views, it's not fair to berate people who are following the law.

When the puppy is older (closer to 1 years old) and for a couple of days a week this could work. If for the rest of the week (4/5 days) someone was home most of the day. At the moment the puppy is just a baby and you'll be storing up big problems if they are left all day.

I haven't read all the replies, but no of course that's not ok. But, you already have the puppy so what's your alternative. A plan before getting the puppy would have been a good idea. Also, someone mentioned theft, very good point. I wouldn't never leave my dog access to the garden if I wasn't home.

At 15 weeks he is still a puppy. He will need socialisation, lead training, obedience training, physical exercise, bite inhibition training, be exposed to grooming and handling. He will have to learn to behave appropriately around children and loud noises and learn that he can be alone for short periods of time and that you will come back. This is a full time job.

You can of course choose not to do the above but you will end up with a dangerous teenage dog on your hands. I would be concerned with paying someone else to do this for you as the dog need to bond and respond to with you as his primary. Honestly, I would return the pup to the breeder.

To echo so many others...

You can't get a puppy and then leave it. Full stop. Not for months and months. You then can teach it how to he left happily for short periods, but not with an open door and not in a conservatory.

Breeders should not be selling puppies to people who are not going to be at home with them.

If one of your family can't be at home, I would pay someone to come and dog-sit for the day. Going to daycare with other others will teach your one how to be part of a pack, but not how to be part of a family.

Is your garden overlooked? I am asking as so many dogs are stolen from homes now for bait dogs. If your garden is safe then have a dog flap put in (I did this) so the room doesn't get so cold in the winter. Leave a radio on and maybe some chew toys and Kong's filled with a treat. You can also have a camera set up (I also have one) so you just look on your mobile to see if everything is ok. These modern devices are cheap and reliable. As soon as your back go straight out for a walk before you sit down. Good luck and enjoy your baby x

You're asking too much of a puppy that age, or really even an adult dog you will only have known for six weeks when you suddenly disappear for hours at a time every day.

This is risking ruining your dog for the future, not to mention the immediate risk to his health and state of mind as soon as you return to work. It's not fair on him, and unless you are prepared to pay somebody who is qualified and able to do what will actually be professional, near-residential training, not just 'doggy day care', it won't be fair on them, either.

He will need all the individual training and attention mentioned by previous posters and if you can't be there to do that, you will need to start thinking now about booking him a place with somebody who can.

Shar Pei males aren't the easiest of dogs, either.

I hope you can get something sorted for you and the pup; with all the 'lockdown pups' you won't be the only one with such a dilemma but now's the time for some careful thought.

OP why did you get a puppy just to leave him on his own all day? How is he going to learn toilet training? They don’t train themselves. Who is going to take him out and about to socialise? How is he going to learn to walk on a lead or recall? How is he going to learn acceptable behaviour?

What do you think your puppy is going to do when he’s home alone and bored out of his brain?

I have two dogs. When weather conditions allow I put them in the conservatory if I need to leave them for any reason. They are 5 and 4 and have never been left for more than 3 hours. If it’s too hot or too cold I leave them in the living room because, you know.... conservatories get extremely hot or extremely cold.

If you are lucky enough to find daycare for your puppy (they don’t take puppies unless they are fully innoculated) what are you going to do when daycare becomes too expensive?

Why, oh why didn’t you research a puppy’s needs before you got one?

Unsupervised access to the garden can also be dangerous, twice our young pup chewed a bush and a piece of twig got stuck in the roof of her mouth (wedged across) luckily I was there to remove it but if I hadn’t been around she would have been really distressed. She still tries to rip up bushes if I don’t keep an eye on her x

People like you make me sick, you shouldn't have a dog if all you're going to do is leave it all day.

Why did you get the dog?

A shar pei is not an ideal dog for daycare. They are not a novice breed, full stop, and can be aggressive and unpredictable with other dogs.

A responsible breeder of shar peis would never, ever have homed this puppy to you. For one, they would have asked you about your experience with the breed. For two, they’d have asked about your working patterns and would not have sold you this dog with those hours. So either you weren’t truthful with the breeder or you’ve got yourself a puppy from a dodgy source.

In all honesty, I would rehome the dog now before you get too attached. I wouldn’t return to the breeder, simply because they don’t sound responsible. Contact the shar pei breed rescue and ask for advice.

If you still want a pet, get a cat.