Puppy left at home all day.... :(

Mara69

Ah, OP I feel for you and to be honest, the worst thing you could have done is post on here. Three years ago I bought my pup from a pet shop. Total impulse buy. At 13 weeks old she was left alone in her crate for about 4 hours in the morning, had a lunchtime break (our son used to come home from work to see her and let her out) and then she was alone again for another 4 hours. I got torn to pieces on this board for that. Thing is, I worked on it and found a solution that suited us.

Pup is now a happy and healthy 3 year old, who now has a friend in the form of another dog (her brother but that's another story) and they are sometimes left alone all day. I do get up at 5.30am to give her an long walk in a gorgeous park though - rain, shine or snow!

You need to consider some options:

Take some more time off work - I took 2 weeks off when I got Ruby and used the time to house train her and settle her in.

You must employ a dog walker or find someone very reliable to visit during the day.

Can you pop home in your lunch hour? Work flexible hours? Work from home?

If all else fails, you might want to consider rehoming the pup and getting an older dog that would be OK with being left during the day.

Good luck, hope it works out for you.

Flearoy

Either get someone to come to sit for the dog for an hour or so in the middle of the day, or rehome it. Making basic provisions for being away from home is part and parcel of dog ownership. It can be expensive if you need to pay a sitter, or could be free if you can find a nice neighbour who likes dogs. Some good suggestions on here regarding taking a holiday from work to settle the animal in, too.

Sparklebabey

LouisMarmaduke wrote: »

or am I being really cruel ?

Sorry to be blunt but yes I think you are being cruel. Extremely so.

9 hours is far far far to long for any dog to be left alone left alone a puppy.

To put it into context, if you told a rescue centre you were leaving a dog for 9 hours, 5 days a week there is no way they would let you take a dog.

If you love him so very much then do the decent thing and get him re-homed ASAP....you really never should have got him in the first place. Yes dogs do sleep during the day but not for 9 hours....he has to watch it going from light to dark every day with no company.

chocoholic_chick

I think some comments on here are a little harsh, but I think deep down you know what your doing is wrong. My OH and I would love a dog, but we're out for over 9 hours a day so it just wouldn't be fair on the dog, it would be selfish of us.

Your putting your own needs and feelings before your puppies, as upsetting as it may be to think of giving the dog up, you need to put the welfare of the animal first.

heartbreak_star

My OH and I have a dog, but she gets walked in the morning before we go to work, his mum or dad pops in at lunchtime, walks her for an hour they keeps her company and plays with her for another hour, then we get in a few hours later and fuss her thoroughly. If we didn't have anyone that could pop in we probably would have stuck with cats.

HBS x

Cara79

I very rarely post these days but I had to reply & basically tell u this is cruel. In fact u could get reported to the nspca if anyone knew. 9 hours is unacceptable for any dog let alone a puppy.

I don't wish to sound rude but what made u think this would be ok??? Have u ever owned a dog before or a puppy? They r completely different to a cat!!!!!

Please please sort this ASAP!

ali-t

BigBlackcat wrote: »

There are plenty of people that have puppies AND actually have to go to work. Yes, that unusual concept of having to go to work.. You make it work. I have. My dog is 100% happy and housetrained. Please don't project human emotions onto dogs, it makes your argument look really weak...

Projecting human emotions may weaken an argument but there is no disputing that what the OP is doing is cruel.

It is cruelty. A puppy needs four meals a day and should not be left for 9 hours without food. That is before the stimulation, toileting, socialisation aspects are looked at.

OP you need to get a dog walker or doggy daycare for your pup until it is older and goes down to less meals per day. TBH I work full time and always have done but don't leave my dogs without access to toileting for longer than I would expect myself to go without toileting.

Bitsy_Beans

BigBlackcat wrote: »

There are plenty of people that have puppies AND actually have to go to work. Yes, that unusual concept of having to go to work.. You make it work. I have. My dog is 100% happy and housetrained. Please don't project human emotions onto dogs, it makes your argument look really weak...

I didn't realise dogs were solitary animals who preferred their own company.......


My 16 week old puppy would wreck the house if left on her own for 9 hours a day. Why? Boredom. Dogs need stimulation, exercise and unless you have means of getting someone to do this whilst you are work it IS cruel.

aliasojo

lipsthefish wrote: »

What you are doing is more than cruel, it is willful neglect. I don`t know what research you did that would suggest that leaving a puppy for 9 hours would be ok. A puppy needs vital socialisation from 12 to 16 weeks and he is not going to get it by staying home with the cat.

:T

heartbreak_star wrote: »

I think some of you that are accusing the OP of cruelty are being overtly nasty, the OP has said they're ripping their heart out over this and don't need you making them feel worse!

Imo, the OP needs to understand this isn't *just* a situation that isn't too good, it goes far beyond that.

People have posted in a no messing way to make sure the OP clearly understands that this is without doubt cruel to such a young pup. It's not about being nasty, it's about plain speaking.

OP you need to change this situation now. Either find a friend or neighbour who will take the pup for a while each day or at the very least, get a dog walker or sitter involved.

If you don't, you will mess that dog up for life. It's formative weeks are the most important in it's mental development. You must take this seriously.

heartbreak_star

The OP quite obviously knows they are in the wrong which is partially why they're breaking their heart about it.

The people on the x-post have been a lot more constructive.

HBS x