Leaving puppy

[Poopsicles]

We are on the waiting list for a puppy in the new year. I’ve been reading as much as I can in order to be prepared as we’ve only had older dogs before.

A lot of the advice is saying to build up very very slowly to leaving them in a crate or by themselves.

Generally someone will be at home with the puppy but there will be the odd day when our shifts don’t work out and neither of us will be at home for a few hours.

How long on average before this is ok? I’ve seen some forums suggesting 4 -6 months!

We could pay for day care but how does that work? Have used dog walkers in the past but that was just for a walk at lunchtime or something so no use for a young puppy.

Personally I've never left a young puppy alone. As they get older leave them 10 minutes let them see you go out , don't make a fuss. Slowly build the time up. I leave TV on for my dogs. I've never left them longer than 3 hours and gave them a good long walk first. I don't crate.

I wouldn't have liked to leave ours for any longer than an hour till about 6 months. It'll be hard to leave very them v much at all till about 4 months . They can only go on short walks when little so a dog Walker not much use. We paid a friends daughter to sit with ours if we went out at night or dropped her round to in laws.

Tbh we should have left her a bit more and more often, starting slowly. But really at first leaving them is practically difficult for any length of time till you get used to when they sleep.

So do you think finding a babysitter of some sort would be the best option for the first few months?

I think so. But certainly you can’t leave them for longer than popping to the shops for the first month I’d say. Others may disagree.

We left ours for an hour or so right from the beginning and he was totally fine (but he was already pretty much toilet trained). He has a crate inside a pen and if we go out we leave him there- but if we’re home but not in the room he just wanders round. He’s 16 weeks now and I’ve not left him for more than 2 hours (and not very often) but I think he’d be fine for a bit longer if it was only occasionally.

When we had a work clash I asked a nearby teenager to come and spend some time with him - like a babysitter

It really depends on the puppy, but all young pups need regular toilet breaks, so I would agree that 4-6 months is a reasonable time to start leaving them for longer periods.

I would also be aware that quite a few daycares won't take dogs that are younger than six months old, so you may have to find someone who will come and pretty much babysit him in your home. They can feed him, let him out to the toilet and generally just keep him company while you're out.

What I will say is make sure anyone who looks after your dog is fully insured. As tempting as it is to ask a local teen to pop in, they won't be covered (and neither will you) if anything happens to your dog in your absence. Please make sure you go to someone who has insurance and experience.

Ok-so a few months for longer periods. What about shorter-pop to the shops type leaving. Some of the advice says that doing anything out of the puppy’s comfort zone will put all your training back several steps.

I was envisioning some sort of puppy pen set up with crate/bed so that they are safe but not too shut in. Would that be ok to leave them in for 20 minutes ish?

What I will say is make sure anyone who looks after your dog is fully insured. As tempting as it is to ask a local teen to pop in, they won't be covered (and neither will you) if anything happens to your dog in your absence. Please make sure you go to someone who has insurance and experience.

I'm sure you are right as a regular thing. But surely there is a bit of pragmatism, for a family friend who pops in as a favour on a very occasional basis? It's not that different to a babysitter (of children) who isn't insured.

I'm sure you are right as a regular thing. But surely there is a bit of pragmatism, for a family friend who pops in as a favour on a very occasional basis? It's not that different to a babysitter (of children) who isn't insured.

Yes, absolutely. I just meant don't rely on a local teen to do walks or sitting on a regular basis. Professionals should have insurance and should ideally be qualified in canine first aid as a minimum.

Ours went to daycare at 13 weeks. They took him as soon as he was inoculated.

Our day care has a special section for puppies.
If he wasn't in daycare he was with us 24/7. He wasn't comfortably being left alone until he got to about 6 months.
He still goes to day care and loves it and now we can leave him up to around 3/4 hours (he is 2 now).

When we got our second dog I was on my own with two kids. The pup was crated and was left alone an hour twice a day when I did the school run, sometimes a bit longer if I also went to the shops. She was fine. My older dog was also crate trained and though was left less initially, I trained him to get used to being left early on, and the dogs always slept downstairs until house trained and I never spent the night with them. Now they sleep with me in my room.
I don't fuss with my dogs. When I'm leaving I don't do anything with them - no cuddles no 'I'll just be gone for a little bit poor puppy'. When crated, they would be put in several times a day for a bit, even if I was around. Then one of those times I would leave. And when I got back, no huge reunion. I'd ignore them for a bit than let them out quietly.
Dogs like routine. They get used to the rhythm of the household. But if you set it up to make a big to do about leaving no wonder that makes them anxious. I've had over seven dogs in my lifetime (and nine cats). None had separation anxiety, none were fussy eaters.

Mine is 6.5 months and I've left her for short times twice now. It's taken her until now to stop being completely glued to me, following me from room to room. She's started to not budge from the sofa when we go to bed now which was a major sign she was becoming more independent as she used to dive up and follow you instantly. Your right that doing it too soon could set you back/cause longer term issues. Dog training and advice page on Facebook covers this and gives good techniques. Having someone sit with puppy for now is a good option.

I let my tell me when he was ready. I found that he stopped calling me everywhere. Found that I could even go in the garden without him following. At that point I left him on his own for a while. He never had an anxiety when he was left.

Calling. Not calling. Following.