@VanGoSunflowers this is roughly what it will look like:
06:00 – Wake up. Downstairs. All dogs (including puppy) will go straight into the garden.
06:10 – Breakfast for all (I do three meals a day for all my dogs, given retrievers can be prone to bloat I prefer ‘little but often’). Puppy will then probably bother other dogs, me, steal stocks etc. Wake up DDs.
06:30 - I’ll train puppy for 10/15 minutes whilst DDs have breakfast. Other dogs will entertain themselves (code for twatdog - my one true love - bothering the others until he's told off)
06:45 – Dog walk (I bring DDs every morning as when they were young I couldn't leave them and now they're just used to coming with). Puppy will come along, strapped to my chest.
07:45 – Back. DD’s shower. I eat. Puppy bothers other dogs/siblings/steals socks. Toilet time in garden.
08:30 – School run. Puppy comes with (in car). Adult dogs stay at home.
09:00 – Back. I shower – puppy will probably be on shower matt to ensure they don’t do something they shouldn’t.
09:30 – Toilet time for puppy. Nap time for puppy (between training, going on the walk, bothering other dogs and being a sock thief, it’ll be tired). Work for me.
12:00: Puppy up. Toilet time. Lunch time for dogs. Use the puppy’s lunch to do some more training. Let puppy watch me training the older dogs (it’s good for them to see other dogs perform action and learn it themselves). Let puppy bother adult dogs. Continue working (usually by 12:15ish - lunchtime training is never long).
13:15: Quick dog walk. Puppy comes too.
13:45: Home. Puppy does toilet time. Work for me. Try to get puppy to go to sleep. Probable breakdown for me about how puppy won’t sleep.
15:00 – 17:00: Try to force sleep onto puppy. Threaten puppy. Threaten to sacrifice puppy to Satan to get puppy to sleep. Puppy sleeps.
17:30: DDs home. Puppy does toilet time. Dinner for all dogs. Do domestic bits and pieces (housework, help DDs with homework etc).
18:30: DDs do their various activities. Me dog walking (DM will come to watch puppy in the evenings so I get a break and puppy spends time with someone who isn’t me) whilst they do that.
20:00: Dinner.
21:00: DDs sleep (or at least tell me they are). I log back onto finish work if I need to.
22:00: Last calls for toilet. Bed.
It'll be pretty full on and I've included DDs in there as having them and working (and DH not being here) means I do need to be relatively strict on timing otherwise DDs won't get fed in time and nor will dogs (and exercising them on a full stomach is a bad idea)! Lots of people don't like to give their dog a rigid routine or wake up at the same time every day - I do. Simply because it's what works for me. I've had pretty much the same routine for 12 years.
I do always try and do at least two training sessions a day myself. DM will sometimes do training as well when I'm out in the evening. But the majority of my 'entertainment' and 'socialisation' for the puppy happens in the morning and lunch- and that's simply because I've found puppies get worse the later into the evening it goes and no one wants to be trying to socialise or train an overstimulated puppy!
My routine does read a bit like I don't play with puppies, and I 100% do. But it's more like finger waggling when I'm on Teams calls (yeah I know, naughty of me - I should be working) or a quick game of razzle when I get up to stretch. It's not huge chunks of time. I also have dog beds in my study which are under my desk - so my dogs are close to me all day, if not touching me, if they want to be.
Training is spread across 2-3 sessions a day, usually around feeing time - which I have found in the past to be the best time to train dogs. I also only give my puppies half their 'meals' as their meal and use the rest of it for training. They tend to realise very quickly that if they come to me after they've been fed, they get more food and to 'play' (aka train).
In terms of how I structure training. I try to focus on different things every day. Some people re-do each command every day, but I like to spice it up. So one day I might do 'Down' and 'Recall' and others I might do 'Wait' and 'Sit.' I don't fret if puppy isn't getting it, or is too excited. Not every day will be a training day and that's okay - as long as you try. Training is the only thing I think people really need to make a conscious decision to fit into their day - socialisation is easily done through things like the school run, people coming to your house etc. toilet training (once mastered) is one of those things that just clicks. Personally, I don't give my puppies full run of the house until they're about a year old or so but that's simply so my other dogs have somewhere they can go to get away from the puppy!
As PPs have said - puppies don't need endless stimulation or games. They just need love. And they can get that simply by being with you. Some days, you'll get loads done with your boy. He'll master 2-3 commands, be a dream and not bite at all. And other days you'll think about swapping him out for a rabbit or a gerbil.
Just don't worry too much - listen to your puppy. If he's mouthing you and jumping up, then he's probably overstimulated so don't try and train him. If he's asking for attention, and pawing you, then give it to him. Puppies are good communicators - you just need to listen to what they say (literally - dogs seem to get quieter as they go older).
Remember: You care about your puppy, and you want to do what's best for him and that's 99% of the battle in raising a happy, well-rounded puppy 😊