Is it fair..?

[nathangeorge]

To leave a puppy at home most of the day (leave for work at 9, come home for lunch, then home for good at 5.30) ? I miss having a dog around so much but before I was living with parents and they were at home all day. I don't know if it is fair to leave a puppy on their own most of the day? Would the advice be to get two?

 

[katie_southwest]

To be honest I work shifts and mum is home all day, but even still having a puppy has been very hard the first few months. Better now she is older (6 months) but with regards to toilet training and its playfulness(????) I wouldnt be prepared to leave it for that long. Longest we have left ours is 1 or 2 hours when she is sleeping during the day

 

[Nudibranch]

I wouldn't get two - think of all the work, and the training! But to be honest if puppy is getting lunchtime walks and attention then I don't see a huge problem to be honest, they tend to just sleep when you're out anyway. That's what happened with mine and he has grown into a very nice little dog, no hang-ups, and people always comment on what a nice manner he has.

Though I would be prepared to use puppy pads, and lots of chew toys. Those kongs and buster cubes are good for entertainment too.

 

[Skhosu]

I would get two personally, and then dont see the issue

 

[MurphysMinder]

I personally wouldn't do it. Currently have a 3 month old GSD and she certainly does not sleep all day. House training is definitely harder when you aren't there during the early weeks. Have you considered having a slightly older dog, maybe a rescue. That would probably cope better with being left once it had settled down.

 

[CorvusCorax]

I agree an older dog would be better.
We had a female who was alone for up to twelve hours a day, then when I started secondary school it was reduced to eight hours.

However she got walked at stupid o'clock in the morning and then was out with me nearly all evening when I got home from school, also we had a very large garden.

Before that she had an older bitch for company.
She had a very quirky temperament and she seemed happier alone than with the other bitch.

I don't know if I'd recommend it with a young puppy but it depends on the breed and the individual dog.

 

[CAYLA]

Agree wth the 2 posts above, the early pupy years are what moulds your puppy and you need to spend quality time training then to get a well behaved bidable dog at the end of the day, I would go for a more mature rescue, then maybe introduce a puppy later down the line when you have more time

 

[Oneofthepack]

Definately not a puppy. A nice mature rescue dog that would be grateful for the peace to sleep in a comfy bed all day after a nice walk, not a young pup that craves attention and has greater needs. Or even better 2 mature rescue dogs

 

[prose]

My dog is five now, and she loves a long gap between walks. I've been out of commission this past week with knee bursitis, and our walker has been in to take Stella to the park for an hour at 10am, and an hour at 3pm. Usually she does 8am and 4pm, and Stella has been quite stubborn about the 3pm outing--even if asked the all-important, "Where's your ball?" question.

She is still what I would categorise as an energetic breed, but she was off-the-charts playful as a pup compared to what she is now. Short answer: get an older dog from a rescue centre or contact breeders and see if they have any retired show dogs.

 

[AmyMay]

Grossly unfair imo.

 

[BBH]

I think its best to get an older rescue dog or two. There are so
many lovely dogs deserving a good home and practically when you get home from work exhausted are you really going to want to clear up the carnage from a days puppy activities.