New puppy cannot be left alone and I am worried about work

[Adrundel]

I got a new puppy who’s nearly 6 months old last weekend- I absolutely love him!
I purposefully got a slightly older puppy as work and while I work from home I do need to go into office too/ I had a plan of doggy daycare 1 day and a dog walker on the other office days to break the day up.l where I’m in the office. I have time off work to settle him which has been going wonderfully.

However, the pup can not be left (and I mean for seconds) without crying, barking, howling.
i nipped out and was watching him on the camera and he chewed my bag and a basket and was crying. When I came back in, he had weed inside and had been so stressed he was drooling and quite wet. The area was puppy safe- I have absolutely no idea how the bag was knocked down from the table- it must have fallen as on the camera it was on the table at one point.
I couldn’t care less about objects or cleaning up- I am just worried about the puppy’s wellbeing. I thought I had a solid plan for office days and feel absolutely stressed and over whelmed now.

i have done a lot of researching and everything says about building up but I can’t not go back to work after Easter. Also the second (as in second too!) I leave the room to start building up he is quite hysterical.

A full days doggy day care for all the days is also financially not possible but of course I’m not going to leave him in distress but i really can’t stress how much financial pressure it’ll be for me.

he had a big walk and had been toilet/ eaten/ left with licky mat/ radio on. He isn’t crate trained but has a soft pen (crate like)- even if I am sat with him he goes absolutely beserk to the point where I was worried he’d hurt himself if the door is shut. I am also concerned re noise levels of him barking/ howling.

I have literally spent all night researching there is quite alot of conflicting advice. I also know he’s very new but I am sure you can understand why I am so worried. He has settled in beautifully apart from this. I have contacted a dog trainer tonight to try and cover all bases- I just want him to be happy :(

I would very much welcome any advice/ stories of reassurance.

Can’t you just pack in your job to stay home with dog, OP? @Adrundel Poor dog

I have a chihuahua who I got at around the same time as you. For the first couple of weeks she wouldnt even be left with my kids (teens) - she was so focused on me and would be upset if I went out even though she had people in the house!

She just needed a few weeks to settle in and feel secure. As I was working in my study she seemed to learn that absolutely nothing fun happens when I’m in there and started leaving me alone when I went in there. As she was spending some time away from me we were then were able to start working up to alone time - I timed how long it was untill she got distressed and then did lots of little journeys under that time (literally working from 1 min). Over around 3 weeks we were able to build it up to an hour and she was fine from there luckily.

I have never managed to crate train her though, she doesn’t like being shut in places so when I go out I shut all the doors to the rooms but she can roam about in the kitchen and hallways which she seems to prefer. I have had success at training her to get in the crate when the door goes (as otherwise she is a nuisance) but she doesn’t tolerate long periods of time in there.

i agree with pps, it’s far too soon to expect a pup to be alone for long periods of time. As he has never been alone even short periods of time will be stressful, when he still barely knows you and is in a new home. Is this your first dog ?
To be honest I think working full time and having a dog is cruel. Unless you can afford for your dog to go to day care.
I had a dog many years ago, due to a change in my circumstances I ended up living alone with my dog and I had to leave him for a few days a week. He was very unhappy, doggy day care didn’t exist then, and it was a very difficult and sad time in my life generally. I still feel terrible, decades later, that my dog had so much time bored and alone. I have had dogs since and made sure this did not happen. Most dogs don’t like being left. Some will be relaxed for short periods of time, but not as puppies. Puppies really need someone around.

This is a young dog needing to settle into their new home to feel safe and it will take at least 6 weeks to work towards leaving them for a few hours.

Do not leave your pup alone for now, spend as much time together to bond and help him feel safe and happy in his new home.

Crate train him.

Fixed feeding, bathroom, and walk times as predictability reduces stress.

Include 20 minutes of calm play and fund before any separation.

Go to borrow my doggy and leave him with a nice family on the days you are not WFH.

This. ^

I really don't understand why ANYone gets a dog when they have to go out to work, and the dog is going to be left alone for 10 hours a day. Even if you're at work for 3 days a week, (and not 5) that's still a lot of time for a dog to be alone. They're social animals who love human company, and need human company. There's not a single dog in the world who would be OK with being left alone for 10 hours a day.

I don't get people who have a dog just to get a sitter or a walker in. My parents always had a dog, right up to when I was about 25, and there was nearly always someone at home. Mum was a SAHM for many years, and went to work part time when she was about 47-48. Only 16 hours a week though. And my brother, (12 years younger than me,) or I, or my dad were at home much of the time she was at work. So our dog(s) were rarely alone.

As has been said chihuahas are very needy and clingy, and bloody yappy! We have a neighbour who has one, and she doesn't half yap her bloody head off sometimes - the dog not the neighbour! And this neighbour works from home!!! Doggo yaps when she leaves the ROOM for 10 minutes to have a shower. They are really needy, clingy, intense pets to have.

Why anyone would have a dog at all when they have a job outside the home, and especially a chihuahua, just baffles me!

As has been said @Adrundel you need to rehome this dog.

What I will say is don't feel a failure if this doesn't work out. Chis are known for their SA - is there a possibility this little one has even been returned to the breeder before?

You may just need a different breed, and now you know this. I'd be tempted to return/rehome, take a deep breath, consider another dog with a more placid nature the next time you have significant holiday leave. It's ok if you have to do this.

I believe its totally wrong to have a dog if you go out to work all day. Thats why I dont have one. Its absolutely not fair on the dog.
My friends who work full time and have dogs all use doggy daycare everyday.
I have two cats instead. They are very happy all day and just sleep or play with each other.

Everyone is being a bit pessimistic here.

A week to settle in the dog was naive but people are acting like it won't ever be able to be left or your a witch if you do.

I've crate trained both mine. One was a rescue that came at approx 6 months old. He was already crate trained. He was left for 3-4 hours from week 5.

The other puppy was 8 weeks but was a rescue with a traumatic start. Took about a month to crate train him (not being left alone) but building up it being a safe space and another couple of months gradually building up being left. He's now 8 months and gets left 3-4 hours. I work outside the home 3 days a week but only 7.5 hours including commute. Dog walker comes in mid day and takes them for an hour's walk but they're gone about an hour and a half in total.

I initially had thought id do daycare but actually both are happier at home. They have a dog flap so have access to the garden and the utility with their crates etc even when I'm out. They're not locked in the crates. They can run around in the garden, have each other for company have toys etc and a nice walk when I'm gone.

I'm sure people will be along to say I'm a dreadful owner but they're very happy dogs and have a lovely life.

I would short term invest in full time daycare while you train the puppy.

Mine are not chihuahuas though. Both are just mixed breeds but small terrier types. They need a lot of walking and are quite naughty! But neither are upset about being left

Thank you. Reading back through posts now.

i think there was a naivety that I’d be able to leave him but I am genuinely puzzled by it being cruel to have a dog and work- especially given it’s literally 6 hours 3 times a week including drop in visits/ walks and doggy day care! Regardless of work which I will make a plan for the levels of anxiety this little chap has is extremely high.

I know lots of my social circle/ colleagues/ family have dogs and also work- obviously with a plan for them. I didn’t realise it was such a terrible thing to do or so controversial.

Thank you again.

@Adrundelits not odd to work part time and have a dog / use a dog walker.
Let's face it, if it was there wouldn't be so many day care / dog walking business doing so well!
Ignore people are often OTT on here

Thank you this is really helpful.
he doesn’t seem bothered at all about it but we have been for a long walk this afternoon so I’m hoping later he’s interested later, I have put some poached chicken in but he is laid fast asleep at present so I hope it entices him later!

You are just going to have to pay for the day care in the short term and work on gradually leaving him for short periods (eg to go to the shops) at weekends. Nobody should get a dog without factoring these things in.

How about seeing if she’ll sell you another one? I’ve always had dogs in pairs and haven’t yet had one with SA issues.

There is no quick fix for this I'm afraid,
It may not even be fixable .
Pls don't leave the dog on its own.
It won't help

101trees advice is really good

Your dog is too little to be left alone while you are at work. It is used to a busy household and it sounds like it's never been on its own before so no wonder it is distressed. Sadly, it sounds like your work situation and your financial situation mean this dog is not a good fit for you. I would be looking at returning it and waiting until you are in a position to dedicate the time or looking for a more chilled out older dog used to alone time.