Puppy left at home all day :(

duchy

Awww
I know it's tough -you've obviously fallen in love with your furbaby but yes nine hours isn't fair on the dog at all. I think you need to ask around possibly out of your usual social group for this one. Lots of older people are still active after retirement but either don't want the fulltime responsibility of a dog...or have moved to a flat or retirement community where dogs aren't allowed and would jump at the chance of becoming a dog's auntie or uncle. Of course you also need to consider that if your dog is spending more time with someone else they may grow an attachment to this person stronger than the bond they have with you-Could you emotionally share your dog ? If you could WRVS might be a good place to start -it's a volunteer bureau for retired people so lots of their volunteers would be the type of person you'd be looking for-physically active , retired so some time in the day who might be prepared to help out for expenses. Can't hurt to ask. Also Mums at home with kids at school but living in flats so unable to have a dog but miss having one would be another avenue to explore. Maybe your local paper would help out-it might make a good story that you are looking for a doggie uncle or auntie?

lisawood78

Oh dear.
What you are doing is seriosuly misguided at best, terribly cruel at worst.
Poor puppy.
Please read and take in all of the advice above and take action now. Things HAVE to change or rehome the poor thing before you both get too attatched.

I have an 11 week old pup at home, I wouldn't dream of leaving her home alone for 4 hours never mind 8 or 9, she doesn't even go 4 hours alone during the night (as in I let her out that often) for toilet training purposes.

Please please rethink this now

Mara69

As I said on the other thread:

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.

Gillybean103

I'm sorry but you cannot leave any dog let alone a 12 week old puppy for that amount of time on their own. If you knew how long you would be out each day, i can't understand why you thought you should get a dog. They need social interaction ( a cat doesn't do it!) a 12 week old puppy does not have a huge bladder so cannot wait that long before going to the toilet and will only hurt the poor little thing.

You should seriously think hard about keeping the dog before someone calls the RSPCA

gettingready

Mara69 wrote: »

OP I feel for you and to be honest, the worst thing you could have done is post on here.

.

Care to expand on this one?

rachbc

I'm not a dog person and have done absolutely no research but even I know that you cannot leave a dog alone 9 hours a day let alone a puppy.

Rev

Your research should have included the need for a dog sitter. How do you plan to socialise the pup?

How do you plan to toilet train?

How does he get his 4 meals a day?

If you free feed, what if he decides to eat it all in one go and gets bloat?

I'm not having a go. I'm asking valid questions.

Ask a family member or friend to have him while you're at work, pay for a dog sitter or admit that with your working hours now isn't the time for you to have a puppy and re home him.

Mara69

gettingready wrote: »

Care to expand on this one?

Already have, read my first post again.

ajpaul

With your work hours, how much time are you actually able to spend interacting with your dog - playing, training etc? As pointed out above, his feed at this age should be spread out over 3 or 4 meals a day. If you get a dog walker in, they can do a feed for you while you're at work.

It really feels like your options boil down to paying for a dog walker (£5 - £10 a day), or finding a reliable volunteer. Leaving a young pup alone for 4 hours isn't ideal, but its a damn sight better than all day, and it works for thousands of other dog owners.

Don't be too downhearted by the responses here - you've had honest and sound advice. If you have the will, you can make it work, but you need to make some major changes very quickly.

Good luck.

heartbreak_star

On the x-post so many people shot the OP down, I felt very sorry for them! People on this thread have been much nicer

HBS x