Would this be cruel?

Oh, absolutely, I didn't mean to infer otherwise. There are lots of "right" ways to look after dogs, or horses for that matter. So long as people use sense and keep the animal's best interests at heart it's all good. Given all the dogs who get hurt, neglected and otherwise endangered, a kind, considerate home is always going to be the best choice. I've had dogs, as I said, that stayed home alone for a large part of the day and they were apparently fine with it.
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But I do think one can't make absolute pronouncements about how a puppy is going to behave, anymore than one can about a young horse. Anyone going into any sort of animal ownership should have some sort of idea about how they're going to cope if the best laid plans don't work out. After all, it's the animal that bears the brunt if it doesn't.
 
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My puppy was left home alone for 6-7hrs a day 5 days per week

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I continue to be absolutely amazed that anyone thinks this is an acceptable way of keeping a dog - let alone a puppy.

Do the maths.

Maybe the dog has 1 hour with you in the morning, and then let's say 4 to 5 hours in the evening. Out of 24 hours that is 6 hours of company. For a full grown dog I'd say that was unfair - for a puppy, downright cruel.

Sorry.
 
Lots of good points on here! In an ideal world we would all be at home with our dogs all day everyday, with 4 hours free run in the woods a day and nothing but lamb shanks for tea (or whatever else is THE best food for dogs!) but adaptations can be made up to a point otherwise no one would ever own a dog.

However, whatever success one person had leaving a young pup on it's own for 7 hours a day there will be another fifty who won't be posting on here who had a bloody nghtmare!

Anyway, seems like this problem is solved?
 
I work full time and so does my OH and my puppy (now 10 months) has suffered no ill effects at all!!

We get up at 6.30am and spend 2 hours with him before work and then i'm home 12.30 to 1.30 for lunch with him and home at 5.30pm in the evenings.

We got him at 8 weeks so he's never really known any different. He's absolutey fine on his own, he's got his toys etc and was house trained easily by 11 weeks.
He's a lovely, sociable, well behaved boy who hasn't suffered at all by being on his own.

Not everyone that has a dog and workls full time is cruel!!!
 
Obviously some people have managed leaving a pup all day and the puppy has turned out fine. However I am curious if those of you who did this told the breeder that the pup was going to be left. I would not sell a puppy to be left for this long at 8 weeks old, and have turned people down whose circumstances meant this would happen. I sympathise as I know most people do have full time jobs, but imo they should be looking for an older dog, but even with an older dog I would never leave for 8 hours a day on a regular basis, maybe I am just too soft
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I'm totally amazed that anyone would even consider leaving a puppy in a car for any length of time!
Fair enough if your doing your horse and your being responsible enough to keep it away from yard danger's and out the way of bothering people whilst their mucking out etc. which would be what 20 mins ish.
Talk about stressing the poor thing out.
What other crazy idea's do you you have in store for him/her?
Are you sure your knowledable enough to look after a puppy?
 
My mother-in-law as you are all probably aware of is a breeder and shows smooth collies, and has done for the last 20 years!

while she is looking for homes for some of her puppies (some has already been pre booked for the showing world)she will not sell to anyone.

That

works full time or has children under 10,or no garden. she will always check the homes over by visiting before the puppies go there,and will always have the puppy(adult) back if there are any problems in the future!

i've even known her to go and check puppy over,by visiting a few weeks after puppy has gone.
 
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So you think it's fine??, each to their own??

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Clearly if you had read the whole post you will see that I don't think it's fine. But to be so rude to the OP is also not 'fine'.
 
I can see why your MiL would be reluctant to sell to someone with young children, but I have done so and pups and children have become inseparable. I think with very young children you have to be wary as they can be rough with pups and also can be very demanding and adding a pup to the mix may not work. However I bought my daughter a Lancs Heeler when she was 3, she had obviously grown up surrounded by GSDs but they were a bit strong for her to walk etc. She trained her and was handling her in agility when she was aged 7 (daughter not dog).
Your MIL sounds as if she interrogates people like I do when they are interested in a pup
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Yes i afraid she does, it boils down to a pup is for life, she worries about them as smooth collies are not a popular breed for the average family.

Yes i agree a dog can be a childs best friend, We have had dogs throughout my children life's, so they were only young. but there no way of changing her now,she is too set in her ways.
 
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Yes i afraid she does, it boils down to a pup is for life, she worries about them as smooth collies are not a popular breed for the average family.

Yes i agree a dog can be a childs best friend, We have had dogs throughout my children life's, so they were only young. but there no way of changing her now,she is too set in her ways.

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I adore Smooth Collies. My hubby's Uncle had one (she passed away a couple of years ago) called Candy. She was the best "cow dog" they've ever had on the farm without fail! Fabulous dog. I liked her as she wasn't as much of a mud magnet as we're finding Bess, our rough coat, to be.

Would your mum say no to all families with children under 10, even farm homes? I agree that any Collie can prove a bit too much for the average family, but for me, that's irrespective of the age of any children they may/may not have.
 
Obviously responsible breeders want the best for their dogs and also know the sorts of situations their dogs (both breed and individuals) will suit and thrive in. I suspect any breeder involved with a "popular" breed, especially one that people tend to be attracted to even though it might be unsuitable for their lifestyles, gets particularly paranoid. I would hope anyone looking for a puppy understands the breeder is being careful for a reason and not just dismiss anything they had to say.

Rescues are in a bit of a different situation because, as said above, a good but not ideal home (from a purely practical standpoint) is far preferable to a life in kennels or worse. But then they are also dealing mostly with older dogs that are far more easy to assess and place accordingly.

The breed-specific rescue we dealt with did not, as a policy, rehome to people with full time jobs. However the also looked at each case individually and judged accordingly - the right dog with the right person might be fine in an imperfect situation. (I've had one dog I could leave all day without any problem, two I could not. There is no absolute.) We had some very specific "wants" in a dog, some not very "breed standard" and we simply had to wait until we got one that fit AND accept that there might be other things about him we had to compromise on.

I think all anyone is saying is when you get a puppy you simply can't know how it's going to turn out so you have to be prepared no matter what. If the only option is for the dog to stay alone, for instance, but you're not set up for it and/or the dog can't cope with that, what then? THAT'S what people worry about. I know no one can predict the future but everyone I know that deals with animals on a professional basis has had bad experiences - all they're usually trying to do it prevent the train coming down the tracks again if they can.
 
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Yes i afraid she does, it boils down to a pup is for life, she worries about them as smooth collies are not a popular breed for the average family.

Yes i agree a dog can be a childs best friend, We have had dogs throughout my children life's, so they were only young. but there no way of changing her now,she is too set in her ways.

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I adore Smooth Collies. My hubby's Uncle had one (she
passed away a couple of years ago) called Candy. She was the best "cow dog" they've ever had on the farm without fail! Fabulous dog. I liked her as she wasn't as much of a mud magnet as we're finding Bess, our rough coat, to be.

Would your mum say no to all families with children under 10, even farm homes? I agree that any Collie can prove a bit too much for the average family, but for me, that's irrespective of the age of any children they may/may not have.

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I really wouldn’t like to answer without asking her, although she not had a litter for over five years now.

My daughter has informed me that my mil does plan to have another litter, in the near future though.

We had a smooth collie many moons ago (blue merle) she was so adorable and fantastic with my kids when they were younger, but unfortunately she died of cancer.
 
Our last two dogs came at 6 and eight months and the one before that at nine months.
The girl before that was sometimes left alone for up to 10 hours a day, but that was when she was well into adulthood, very well adjusted and lived to a ripe old age, however it is not something I would advise others to do.

Can't imagine leaving a baby puppy alone all day, however all dogs are different. I would always go for an older puppy because of our lifestyle.
 
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My puppy was left home alone for 6-7hrs a day 5 days per week

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I continue to be absolutely amazed that anyone thinks this is an acceptable way of keeping a dog - let alone a puppy.

Do the maths.

Maybe the dog has 1 hour with you in the morning, and then let's say 4 to 5 hours in the evening. Out of 24 hours that is 6 hours of company. For a full grown dog I'd say that was unfair - for a puppy, downright cruel.

Sorry.

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Thank you for telling me I'm "downright cruel".

So, lets say only the people who live up to your demands can own a dog - how many dogs would have a home? People moan about how unfair it is that so many dogs are put down every day, yet people also moan that it is "downright cruel" to leave their dog alone during the day. What's better? Death or being home alone for a few hours?

What about guards dogs left in garden 24/7, who get not even an hour of human contact a day? Dogs who never get any human contact? Dogs who never WANT any human contact because they are kicked to death by their owners? You tell me I'M cruel?

I repeat, my dog is happy, healthy, and I get constant complements of what a lovely dog she is - how well behaved, how friendly. I can't have done that bad a job with her. Generally people have to work to be able to afford their dogs in the first place - most of us don't have any choice.
 
I'm not sure that is the point that people have been making really. There are dogs who have done ok with this lifestyle. However, if you read the initial post, it seems very spontaneous especially when the OP then says she arranged within one hour for her dad to have the puppy during the day, that being after she was asking if it was ok to leave the pup in the car all day. It was the lack of forethought that was concerning given that if it does not go well and the puppy cannot stay with her dad and then chews up the house what then? Rescue centre?
It is lovely when it goes right, but you would hope that people have given a bit more thought to his especially when you then see a later post saying she may get a female as she can then breed from it. It all really read as though it was not thought out.
 
Placing dogs needs to be done on a case by case basis. My last dog came from a rescue. I had no garden, worked full time, and had a 3yo child - yet I passed the homecheck.

Discussing the garden, I explained that clearly I wasn't about to let a dog toilet in the house, so I could guarantee that it would be walked min 3 times a day (was 4 tbh but last one was a quickie).

I had someone come in to take dog out at lunchtime for 1 hour, and at weekends etc if I wasn't home, then dog was with us in the car.

Kid was a normal 3yo, had been raised around dogs but still needed keeping an eye on.

3 years on the little dog I was given is a happy lovely little thing that sleeps at my feet (and on the bed once she thinks I've dropped off
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) She was on death row, and thank heavens that rescue was one that was prepared to be flexible.
 
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I'm not sure that is the point that people have been making really.

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I am aware that most of the replies are referring to the original post, but AmyMay's was directed at me, and I'm afraid I have to object to being called "downright cruel".
 
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I repeat, my dog is happy, healthy, and I get constant complements of what a lovely dog she is - how well behaved, how friendly. I can't have done that bad a job with her.

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I am sure she is delightful. And of course my own opinion on dogs alone at home for long hours are purely personal. For many people the arrangements work well. It is simply something I could not do. I have recently been giving a lot of thought about getting a dog myself - however the decision rested on my ability to be able to bring it work with me every day. Unfortunately my request to do this was refused, so I've made the decision not to get a dog.

Many people tell me that their dog is very happy at home all day, and just sleeps. And of course I can't argue with that, as I wouldn't have proof otherwise. But it is interesting to have recently learnt that there has been an increase in complaints of barking and howling dogs to my local councils in recent years. More often than not due to animals being home alone all day - and suffering (perhaps) separation anxiety or just plain old boredom.

Now I wouldn't pressume to say to anyone that has a dog home alone all day 'get rid of it' because that is just plain silly. And even though I'm firmly of the opinion that if you work all day you should consider most carefully whether a dog is for you or not - I do know that the vast majority of dog owners are happy with their arrangements, and if I'm honest the dogs probably are too.

However, I stand by my opinion - and the thought of a little puppy home alone all day is really quite upsetting.

We all have different views.
 
Very well put AmyMay. If only everyone put as much thought into getting a dog and considered the dog rather than themselves before they got one the rescues would be half empty.
 
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Very well put AmyMay. If only everyone put as much thought into getting a dog and considered the dog rather than themselves before they got one the rescues would be half empty.

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On the contrary, they would be many times as full.

If every home that didn't rigidley tick every box (someone at home all day, no small children, large gardens securely fenced, with fencing for some breeds in excess of 6ft high, someone prepared to walk dog several times a day - not the same as someone at home all day) gave up their dogs, there would be a hell of a problem.

Indiscriminate breeding and overbreeding are the issues that need to be looked at. There are simply too many dogs.
 
We (bf and I) have been researching getting a dog for 8 months (since I broke my foot) and have finally worked it all out. I leave for work a 8.am but get up at 6am pup will be walked for 30min when young due to soft bones for an hour when older. BF leaves at 8.30am. Dog water paid to walk/feed/let pup run around at 12 till 1pm. I return home at 4.30pm BF returns at 5.30pm it willbe walked once we are both back.

I cant see this as a bad arrangement? I am a teacher anyway so have 13 weeks off a year anyway!!

Breeder will be made aware, and we have gone for a steady calm breed and not a hunting etc dog who will be more suited to this lifestyle.
 
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