Puppy left at home all day :(

confused76

OP i know you feel some of these comments are harsh, but they're not. They're from people who care about dogs and are worried for the puppy.

I work for an animal rescue charity and we end up with a lot of dogs with behavioural issues due to the way they have been treated in the past. The kennel staff spend months trying to retrain the dogs so that they are socialised enough to be rehomed. Some are so badly damaged they can't be rehomed.

I know you think you love your puppy so much but what you are doing is totally unfair on the puppy. Puppies should not be left alone for that long and need training and socialising now whilst they are still young. What you are doing will have a long lasting effect on the pups behaviour.

Please, for the pups sake, find him a new home now, you are not in a position to take care of this pup properly unless you are willing to pay for someone to spend time with the pup in the day

sazzybum

Mupette wrote: »

selfish OP really selfish

Dogs are social creatures and need interactions
your poor dog being stuck at home 9 hours a day
being forced to !!!! in a box - to suit you

Why did you get a dog, if the reason was because someone you knew had puppies and you thought you would like one, is for the wrong reasons for your lifestyle.

Get a grip, you can not give what the dog NEEDS. If you can't afford a dog walker/sitter with your job then you shouldn't have a dog. It's not like a goldfish that needs feeding once a day or so.

Have some heart and let the dog go to a home that can cater for the animals needs not yours.

Mupette, I sometime don't agree with you on other boards-but I'm 100% with you on this one. Very well said :T:T

I've been sitting on my hands for this thread, because I didn't want to be nasty or rude after how nice everyone has been to me...BUT..

I would LOVE to know what 'research' the OP did, and if she could provide a link to there it said it was fine to leave a puppy 9-10 hours a day. I've never seen such a website or advice, even after looking this morning. Do you have brains?

Why on earth did you think it was ok? Really? We work full time, and even though the most we leave ours is 2 hours at a time (got a fab dog sitter/walker who comes twice a day, and I come home at lunchtime) we still feel dreadful about it. They've got shedloads of toys, their Kongs, a huge walk before we leave in the morning.

As for the 'there are no dog walkers or anything in the area'..have you even tried?? All I'm hearing is 'oh there's no one' and excuses.

Anyway, said my piece..I'll get me coat..

Kinski

Re the cat, when I got my first pup ( a sheltie ) we already had a resident cat, I lost count of the times I had to stop the cat trying to take a swipe at the pup. It took a long time to get them to live together happily and I could only do it as I worked from home and was with them 24/7 ( I was with the dog ). I'm afraid I'm with the others and unless someone can go in to take the pup for a walk then it would be better of being re homed.

neneromanova

Can I just say my big cat (still lives on my parents farm) Regularly brings home rabbits! and I'm not talking about baby rabbits. I'm talking about the size of a large kitten rabbit!

When I got my Pug puppy, he was smaller than the rabbits that he used to bring home to us. Please re home the dog. It's for it's own safety!

We left our pug alone for 12 hours yesterday as there was really no one around to look after him. (first and last time we will, plus he's an ad hoc eater) When we got home he was craving so much attention!! Small dogs are known for being clingy dogs. Had you actually done your research you'd know that!

God knows what you'rs is like only getting minimum amount of hours socialisation!

pinetree

Hi I havent read the whole thread but is there any way you could drop him off on the way to work with someone who could look after then pick him up later, a doggy minder who would get the enjoyment/companionship without charging you.
hope this helps

StudioBeau

Wow, I really thought she was going to do the right thing at first. Oh well, don't come on an advise forum if you don't want advise!

Blackpool_Saver

I didn't mean the barking when it's attacked by the cat I meant when it's older and left alone bored

CFC

I think there's a lot of 'harsh self righteousness' displayed on this thread. What perfect saints you people are, you never put a foot wrong in your life, have never ever had a selfish thought, and the only people you are nasty to are people you don't know, I am left to presume.

Some responses on here remind me of exactly why I prefer animals to people, in the main.

OP -keeping a young puppy alone while you go to work is certainly not ideal, on the other hand thousands and thousands of dogs have been brought up this way due to owners working.

It might not be ideal, and it's not what I would do, but pups in the main can and do adjust to it. It will take a long time to housetrain the pup and you may never be successful because of the initial circumstances, but with a small dog you can litter train it the same as a cat. I think it's very important that you don't leave the pup/dog alone at all when you're not working - so no evenings or weekends out without him/her. Plus dedicate time each day to training time to increase your bond.

Yes, do leave the tv or a radio on - it's company noise in the background. And leave a stuffed Kong and SAFE toys to stave off boredom. Ensure that the room or area is puppy safe - some pups will chew electric cables.

I would worry about leaving the pup alone with a cat - cats will generally be the boss with small dogs and till the dog is big enough to defend himself there is a risk. I'd keep them separated till then unless you are supervising. You might want to consider whether you should have another dog as well - two dogs are company for each other, although be mindful they may well bond more closely to each other than they will to you.

Are you a selfish, evil, irresponsible person? No, you're just a person who's in a difficult situation, but you are not the only person in the world who has made the decisions that you have made and you're not a bad person for making them. It's not ideal, but it's not cruel. Going out and entertaining yourself and leaving him home on top of it would be cruel in my book, torturing animals is cruel, never taking a dog out or socialising it by giving it new experiences, not giving it its jabs or medical attention is cruel, going out to work to earn a living and having to leave it while you work is just 'difficult'.

StumpyPumpy

CFC wrote: »

I think there's a lot of 'harsh self righteousness' displayed on this thread. What perfect saints you people are, you never put a foot wrong in your life, have never ever had a selfish thought, and the only people you are nasty to are people you don't know, I am left to presume. People aren't being self-righteous, the OP asked whether people thought what they were doing is cruel, they answered it. The overwhelming consensus is that it is.

Some responses on here remind me of exactly why I prefer animals to people, in the main.

OP -keeping a young puppy alone while you go to work is certainly not ideal, on the other hand thousands and thousands of dogs have been brought up this way due to owners working. The fact that other dogs are kept this way does not make it any less cruel. Millions of chickens are kept in cages so small they cannot standup properly: by your logic it wouldn't be cruel for me to do the same to a pet hen of mine.

It might not be ideal, and it's not what I would do, but pups in the main can and do adjust to it. Yes, it probably will adjust to it - but that doesn't make it right. It is highly unlikely to adjust to it in a positive way. Beat the pup with a stick every day and it will adjust to it. I am not implying anyone does, but because it "adjusts" does that make it right if they did?
It will take a long time to housetrain the pup and you may never be successful because of the initial circumstances, but with a small dog you can litter train it the same as a cat. I think it's very important that you don't leave the pup/dog alone at all when you're not working - so no evenings or weekends out without him/her. Plus dedicate time each day to training time to increase your bond.

Yes, do leave the tv or a radio on - it's company noise in the background. And leave a stuffed Kong and SAFE toys to stave off boredom. Ensure that the room or area is puppy safe - some pups will chew electric cables. So you agree that the environment the OP is providing is going to be boring to the puppy and the puppy is likely to chew things? Yet you still think this is healthy, because you throw in a couple of random toys?

I would worry about leaving the pup alone with a cat - cats will generally be the boss with small dogs and till the dog is big enough to defend himself there is a risk. I'd keep them separated till then unless you are supervising. Exactly how big do you think chihuahua get?
You might want to consider whether you should have another dog as well - two dogs are company for each other, although be mindful they may well bond more closely to each other than they will to you. So know you are proposing she has a pack? What to take on the cat?

Are you a selfish, evil, irresponsible person? No, you're just a person who's in a difficult situation, but you are not the only person in the world who has made the decisions that you have made and you're not a bad person for making them. It's not ideal, but it's not cruel. Going out and entertaining yourself and leaving him home on top of it would be cruel in my book, torturing animals is cruel, never taking a dog out or socialising it by giving it new experiences, not giving it its jabs or medical attention is cruel, going out to work to earn a living and having to leave it while you work is just 'difficult'. And setting out to get a puppy when you know you will be abandoning it for 9-10 hours a day is cruel and the OP knows it, otherwise she would not have been asking that very question after only one week.

Nobody on this thread has said that the op is 'Evil" and it is disingenuous of you to use that term now, but I'm quite happy to reiterate here that in my opinion her actions are irresponsible. An opinion, again to reiterate, she sought.

Your opinion seems to be that if other animals have been treated one way in the past then it is ok for that treatment to continue. You are entitled to your opinion, but you should at least acknowledge how far away it is from the consensus opinion as shown in this thread.

The vast majority of people to reply to this thread have not been self-righteous or claim to be Saints who've never had a selfish thought, they are concerned individuals who happen to care about how animals are treated.

See in-line

nonnatus

CFC,

You make a couple of reasonable points there and I'm inclined to agree with you that the monstrous hatred that is being shown towards the OP is uncomfortable to read.
She clearly came here to be told there was a way of carrying on doing what she was already doing and has obviously had a big shock. I try to imagine myself reading those things about me and I would be mortified!

I'm fairly sure the OP gets the message and has left the building. Perhaps we should all leave this thread alone now? Last one out, switch off the lights?