Help - how much time off work for a puppy?

[Malin52]

Now we have finally bought our own house we can get a puppy. Hoping for a young rescue at some stage.

The question that keeps going round in my mind though is how much time should we allocate to being with the puppy full time?

Some background. DH works 7-3 pm and could drop a day at work
I work full time and depending on business needs I can work some of the week from home. Potentially I am moving to 4 days a week
We have an excellent doggie daycare locally where our friends pups have thrived and supported their socialisation and manners

If I took time off to get the puppy used to us and the house, training etc how long should that be for? I'd have to use annual leave. When is it okay to Leave a pup for maybe two hours at a time?

Thanks all.

Not the question you asked but you'd be very unlikely to find a young puppy in rescue. And might find it pretty hard to convince a rescue to rehome to you given your working hours, despite the fact that you have thought through doggie day care. There are a lot of young dogs in rescue but many will have behavioural problems due to people buying puppies in lockdown and not appreciating the time needed to train and socialise them.

Young puppies take a LOT of time and input - it's not really a case of being able to take a few weeks off to settle them, they are learning and developing loads over the first 6-8 months and many dogs don't settle down until well into their second year or beyond. I'd say you'd struggle with your working hours so think v hard before going to a breeder.

This doesn't mean there's not a dog out there for you. Would you consider an ex-racing greyhound for example? Many of them sleep most of the day and can manage well without constant company and amusement. There are a huge number in rescue and they make wonderful pets.

I would agree with PP. Your working hours are too long for a rescue pup and retired greyhounds might be a better option. Puppies need a lot of time and energy, especially ones with issues- which most rescues will have; having a puppy is not dissimilar to a new born baby / toddler in terms of time and commitment. I think you need about 2 months full time with a rescue dog to build a solid relationship and then to work on training.

I’m a third advocate of an alternative to a puppy- honestly I’d say go for an older rescue dog. They are easier (as in you can find one that doesn’t need toilet training from scratch etc) and just as in need. We go for the oldies & they have been all lovely. I’d never get a puppy now after them honestly. They all grow up and the puppy part is short and labour intensive... all dogs in rescue centres were once puppies and belonged to someone! A life with a dog isn’t like ‘3 months at the start then your life goes back to normal’- it’s like a baby so it’s a gradual lifestyle change together as they grow and learn! With two full time jobs and a family I’d honestly avoid a puppy as they require a lot of care and investment for months. Please consider an older rescue! Xo

Thanks both. But hang on. Are you saying that it's not possible to have a puppy if you work full time or unless you have 8 months to take off work? Surely that cannot be correct? No one would have dogs! Would a month off work followed by three days a week when one of us is home all day and the other two days either a doggie daycare or twice daily walker work in anyway? Obviously weekends we'd both be home. Just trying to find solutions. One of us jacking in work isn't an option.

Plenty of rescues have puppies available. I would love a greyhound but I'm in a country that simply doesn't have the breed. Plenty of retired or failed working dogs such as huntaways (which I love) but again a breed I had to dismiss due to the fact they need to be worked still

For context I live in a fully fenced 2500sqm lifestyle property, 5 minutes walk to a 2 km long beach.

Older rescue is a definite option. We've had our doggie friends warn us off older dogs on the basis that they often have issues that are significantly more difficult to manage than a puppy...

Are you saying that it's not possible to have a puppy if you work full time or unless you have 8 months to take off work? Surely that cannot be correct? No one would have dogs!
Perhaps these people shouldn’t have got dogs - why do you think all these young dogs in rescue are there?!?

Would a month off work followed by three days a week when one of us is home all day and the other two days either a doggie daycare or twice daily walker work in anyway?
Maybe, for some dogs, but a month is a very short period of time, it can take a long time to unpack all the trauma/issues/baggage that a rescue dog can come with, and for many this wouldn’t be long enough to be left alone at all and could make any underlying issues a lot worse.

What’s a ‘lifestyle property’ sorry was that a typo?

OP a month off and then home 3 days, doggie day care for 2 days sounds absolutely fine although I personally would be a little wary of being there too much so also get them used to time alone.

It is perfectly possible to have a puppy and work full time if you have a well organised rota especially if you are alert to addressing any issues as they arise. Find a good trainer and do some regular classes on general behaviour and socialisation. Whilst a rescue will always come with issues, it seems like your set up gives you the best opportunity for it to be a success.

I’m trying to plan this at the moment. I’ll be able to work from home for 3 months, after that I will need day care for 2 days a week. I’m not even putting myself on lists until I have a robust back-up plan for the day care 2 days because some places won’t take them that young and even if they do, pup may not settle at that age and still need more individual care.

@LemonViolet sorry it's an NZ phrase. Lifestyle property means many things but that you have a larger than average piece of land on which you can grow veg, have chooks etc.

I had 6 weeks off when we got our puppy. Turned out we got a pup that couldn’t be left alone. In 10 minutes she’d bark, poo and get in a right state. Luckily we found a doggie daycare that would take a puppy (lots won’t). She loves going there, it’s just in the man’s house, he only takes 4 or 5 dogs and is a qualified trainer. It costs a bloody fortune though. Only now, she’s two, can we go and leave her for an hour or so.
Although we love her to bits I did spend a lot of time wishing she was a sensible older dog.

Ah right. We’d probably just say you have a big garden then . Is it securely fenced all the way around?

I’ve had a dog I couldn’t leave alone at all. She came to work with me so day to day was fine, but on my day off she went to a dog sitter for 4-5 hours so I could go to a class and do the shopping (delivery wasn’t such a thing back then), we had to only go to dog-friendly pubs or if we wanted to go anywhere else, cinema etc plan way in advance and drop her off with friends or dog sitter. I loved her dearly but it was a pain in the arse.

Our pup went to daycare at 13 weeks. We had 5 weeks at home with him. He couldn't go to daycare until his inoculations kicked in.

I would say though, make sure you find a daycare your happy with first and that have room for your pup. Ours had a dedicated puppy area which is a must.

I worked 3 days a week and pup loved daycare. My hours have changed now and he doesn't go nearly as much but still really enjoys it when he does.

I took a month off at home and then I did a mix of working at home and then he went to doggy daycare when I was in the office.

It worked for me but I have a flexible job so spent hours late in the evening getting my work done when DH was at home to watch the puppy.

I was also lucky to find a daycare that was small e.g. a walker who took on a few daycare dogs that would take a puppy so young to continue toilet and general training.

It wasn't easy but it is doable.

Many daycares won't take tiny puppies - and it's also worth remembering that many puppies don't like daycare.

A walker for a puppy that young is very unlikely to work out - and I say that as a dog walker. Every single person who has approached me for walks for a puppy (with them being at work at the time) has ended up with a puppy who is stressed and destructive because they're left on their own for too long around my visits. The puppies have ended up being rehomed, being sent to daycare or the owners have had to totally rejig their working lives.

Many rescues and breeders also won't rehome to you if your plan is to use daycare - they want you to be at home for the vast vast majority of the day.

Daycares and walkers also won't take a puppy who isn't fully vaccinated so you need a plan in place for the first 5 weeks or so that doesn't involve either of those things.

If you go for a female another thing to consider is seasons as daycares won't take them and they can't go on group walks. I'm a dog walker myself and will take dogs in season but they must be walked solo, on lead and in very isolated areas - but many won't do it as it's a lot of hassle. There are also daycares out there who won't take entire males.

There's lots I think you need to think about - your working hours don't seem very compatible with dog ownership imo - and especially not with puppy ownership.

You can make it work, but I’d say the first 3 months is really hard if you are trying to work, even from home, and toilet train etc. But you can get them into a routine and train rest.

V young Puppies in day care is a bit of a topic at our vets as unless it’s a really good one they can tear around too much, get constantly overtired and a bit oversocialised.

We used a combination of wfh, a handily unemployed stepson who was happy to step in, and in laws. The downside was that it was a while before we left her on her own, but she’s ok with it now.

But it is possible.

I took the first couple of weeks off, then DH and I alternated wfh for another 3 weeks. The dog walkers took him all day ( not walking obviously as puppy) then 2 days a week and we wfh the other days.
We were lucky though as rookiepup very chilled.

The issue if you rush it is you're left with a dog with separation anxiety. I would say though that a variety of people seemed to be fine as long as rookiepup had company he was happy.

No, people who work full time shouldn’t get puppies, and I judge anyone who does.

Puppies need constant attention, taken out to toilet roughly every 20 minutes and after meals and naps. They need play, training, sometimes enforced sleep as they can get overtired and hyper. Lots of day care don’t take pups and would you want to leave it there to be trained in a way that may not be how you want it done? Never mind supervision of play between pups/older dogs which could be dangerous.

Either get an older rescue where you know what you’re getting to a certain extent, and then use dog walkers etc or wait until you can look after a puppy properly

Me and my fiancé both work full time. We have a 4 year old labrador and we didn’t take any time off work when we got him. We brought him home on a Saturday and both back at work on the Monday. My fiancé worked 2-11 and I worked 8-5 so he was left for about 3 hours. We just bit the bullet and started his routine straight away as he didnt know any different! I had a camera on him and worked 10 mins away if I’d have had to come home but honestly he was absolutely fine! My fiancé changed jobs 4 months later meaning he was working similar hours to me but luckily my mum insisted he take the job as it was more money and offered to have him through the day as she already had labs and an extra one wasnt much more effort! I’m now 38 weeks pregnant, been WFH for 18 months so we don’t have to leave him as much anymore but it hasn’t had any affect on him he’s such a lovely well-behaved dog, never chewed or destroyed anything and sleeps like a baby every night!!

@kikipie

No, people who work full time shouldn’t get puppies, and I judge anyone who does.

Puppies need constant attention, taken out to toilet roughly every 20 minutes and after meals and naps. They need play, training, sometimes enforced sleep as they can get overtired and hyper. Lots of day care don’t take pups and would you want to leave it there to be trained in a way that may not be how you want it done? Never mind supervision of play between pups/older dogs which could be dangerous.

Either get an older rescue where you know what you’re getting to a certain extent, and then use dog walkers etc or wait until you can look after a puppy properly

Full time workers are the people that can afford puppies/dogs. There’d probably be a lot more dogs in rescues if the FT workers didn’t buy them. Me and my fiancé work full time, our Lab is 4 and a very happy and content dog! What an ignorant comment.

Full time workers are the people that can afford puppies/dogs. There’d probably be a lot more dogs in rescues if the FT workers didn’t buy them. Me and my fiancé work full time, our Lab is 4 and a very happy and content dog! What an ignorant comment.

I agree but generally ignore the comments about full time workers who make sure their dogs are not left alone because it's not worth engaging. A well looked after dog is a happy dog after all.

“Are you saying that it's not possible to have a puppy if you work full time or unless you have 8 months to take off work?”

It’s not the work that’s the issue, it’s that you need to plan for at least that long for it not really being left alone for longer than an hour or so... so you can in theory pay for care, but you might need a back up plan.

First you need to find a doggy daycare or sitter or whatever that will take a puppy that young, you also need to make sure it’s actually suitable for a puppy and in particular your puppy (many find it too much)

You’ll probably have to neuter early as they’re mostly not keen on unneutered dogs, which can cause issues.

And most rescues aren’t overly keen on them so you might find it hard to adopt a puppy anyway

@kikipie

No, people who work full time shouldn’t get puppies, and I judge anyone who does.

Puppies need constant attention, taken out to toilet roughly every 20 minutes and after meals and naps. They need play, training, sometimes enforced sleep as they can get overtired and hyper. Lots of day care don’t take pups and would you want to leave it there to be trained in a way that may not be how you want it done? Never mind supervision of play between pups/older dogs which could be dangerous.

Either get an older rescue where you know what you’re getting to a certain extent, and then use dog walkers etc or wait until you can look after a puppy properly

So presumably households where there's a sahm/f can't have dogs either as there are children to look after and the puppy won't get their full attention never mind get any training.

So we are left with only retirees or people who are rich enough not to work or the unemployed who can have dogs?

I was studying when we got our puppy. I took six months away from paid work. I had to train her to be left, and the toilet training took forever to get bomb proof. I now work pt, knew I would, and have two adult children at home as well as dh. We could not do it otherwise.

Depends on the dog really. And the problem is you can’t know that in advance
My eldest. Couldn’t really leave her much at all for at least the first 18 months.
Second one? Never minded being left for a little while.
The issue is finding a daycare that could take on a puppy. Plus a baby puppy shouldn’t be neutered and that can cause issues.
And a Walker? If a dog shouldn’t be left all day then an hour walk won’t make that much diffeeence. And puppies can’t walk for an hour.

We took 2 weeks off when we got our puppy to settle him in, then went to 2 hour blocks of time at home when someone would pop hone to walk, feed etc. After 3 months we had built him up to 5 hour stretches. So we would go to work, dog walker came in after 2 hours and took him for a long walk, then we would be home 3/4 hoirs after that.

OP mumsnet is very anti people having dogs who work full time. Make sure you get a puppy/dog which is a breed who will be happy to be at home, no working breeds etc