Considering a new dog and would love your thoughts please

[Flossi24]

Advice and honest opinions very very welcome. I've wanted a dog for a long time but due to our work commitments we haven't been able to commit to getting one. (its 14 years since our last pooch died).

I now have a new (permanent) role which means there's only one day each week where either me or my OH won't be at home. So it feels like now it's possible. We have kids and a cat so, whilst I would have liked to rescue like we have previously, I'm considering whether a puppy would be the right addition.
For those of you who have pups or young dogs, how did you go about building them up to be left alone? On the one day where we would all be out, I can pop home at lunchtime and my husband is then home by 3:30. Pretty sure my parents would also pop in to break up the day. A dog walker is also a possibility. Just curious on your routines and how they work. Thank you

We naturally left our pup from the offset for very short periods. I work from home but had to do school run twice a day. So we just built up gradually from day 0. He's a cavapoo and is the most gentle, chilled, loveable dog you could ever dream of. He can be left for long periods no problem (although it's rare we need to do it, longest ever was probably 9 hours). We have a camera and he just chills or plays with his toys, chews etc. We only crated him for 1st few weeks at night and when out house, due to toilet training. After 1st few weeks he's had run of house at all times.

Thank you. Encouraging to hear your experience. 😊 Your pup sounds like a dream x

He's our 1st dog and has set the bar very high! We were surprised how easy it has been. He's 6 now, and we have children aged 11, 8 and 3 so they've essentially grown up with him and they're so close. He used to lie under our youngest's moses basket when he was a baby, he always looks out for them :-)

I think the challenge here is without a clear plan in place for those first few months, where the puppy shouldn't be left alone for too long (I know of cases where puppies have broken legs trying to escape play pens - and you're looking at close to £10K worth of surgery when the dog is that young for that sort of damage - or dislocated jaws on their crate, when they've been left alone for too long when they're too young), you'll struggle to find a decent breeder who will be comfortable in selling to you.

One of the first things I ask people is: what are your working arrangements, and/or how much time off are you taking to settle the puppy.

Without good answers to those questions, I don't take the conversation any further. Unless there is a concrete plan for those days those people are in the office - someone actually with the puppy the whole day - then it's a no go for me, and a lot of other breeders. No reason you can't take the puppy on a school run. But work? 5-6hours alone even one day a week (because even with someone 'popping in' it's going to be about that long, isn't it?) is cruel to a puppy as well as dangerous.

But, that being said, I'm certain some breeders will sell to you...they're just not the people I think anyone should want a puppy from. So something to think about.

You'd probably be better off trying for a rescue in these circumstances, unless your parents are happy to have the puppy with them that whole day. Moving to soon on leaving dogs alone can set you up for a whole host of issues including separation anxiety.😊

my boy is nearly one now. When we first got him I worked from home exclusively and got him into his routine of walk/train/play/sleep/repeat from the get go. I separated us in the house and from day one his settling place has been the kitchen which is blocked by a stair gate. I work upstairs. Early on I could hear him get restless after his sleep and I could respond. In terms of leaving him I did it early and very gradually eg a few minutes out the front door and back again leading to 10 mins, 15, 20 etc. I think trying to leave a young dog a whole day with just a lunch visit is underestimated the care they need. If I had done this with mine I suspect he would have become quite destructive.

I do now leave him for a few hours at a time if say I need to go to the office, and I have a dog walker who will take him out. I would still not leave him for more than 4 hours as I think they deserve more than to be left at home for long stretches.

Thanks for your honesty and shared experience. Much appreciated and I will be contacting rescues to see if they have suitable dogs. Won't be rushing into anything.

A note of caution OP. Many rescues have separation anxiety, understandably. A good choice would be a rescue who's been in foster and taught about home life and being left for short periods.

I think previous posters are being OTT regarding your one day a week you'll be out the house. I would personally take a couple of weeks off when you first get pup so you can get toilet training well under way then I would say initially you can't leave pup for more than a couple of hours so on your work day, you need to get your parents or a dog walker to pop in mid morning (a lot of dog walkers/sitters do puppy visits) You'll be home lunch time, then depending what time/how long you're home for lunch may need another dog walker/parents visit in the afternoon then DH is home 3.30. Not a big problem at all.
One piece of advice I would give is start as you mean to go on. If you don't want dog on your bed for example then never start. It's so easy to say just this once when they're tiny and cute then regret it massively when a big wet, muddy dog thinks it's fine to lie on your bed