Puppy raising x 9-5

[seipati]

@lovefaithhopeinjesus Family and friends helping is how everyone I know always did it.

 

[rahenson]

@lovefaithhopeinjesus We both work full time and had a dog walker come twice a day during the early puppy phase. Also all of our dogs are small dogs and trained to the pee pad. Early on we would have the puppy in a large pen with just his bed and potty pads so he would always be going on the pad. As they got older we could leave them alone all day and they would relieve themselves on the pad. I have a furbo cam and all they do while I'm at work is sleep and sometimes play with each other. They dont seem distressed at all and get a lot of attention when we are home. Indoor potty pad training does mean we get more indoor accidents but it's a tradeoff I'm willing to make to know they are never gonna be holding it all day and uncomfortable. Having multiple dogs helps - my first dog had terrible separation anxiety until he got a buddy, now he just chills all day.

 

[firaolfk]

@rahenson Yep! Same. Ex pen and pads. Chihuahua. Either a sitter from rover, a friend, or my bf would come home at lunch from 2-6 months old. Now that my pup is 7 months, I leave him in the ex pen all day with a pad. Most times now I only come home to one pee after 8 hours. He’s holding it! Every other day I’m home, he doesn’t use pads at all and goes outside. A few accidents here and there (haven’t had one for 2 weeks) but he’s starting to differentiate. He will run to the pee pad spot and whine to either get the pee pad down or go outside. He never ever poops inside.

It really hasn’t been this big dramatic terrible experience everyone says pee pads are. Dogs are smart. I also realized he does respond to stern voices / scolding. That’s the only way I’ve been able to potty train him.

 

[cravenjack]

@lovefaithhopeinjesus My first dog was a "practice dog." I made far fewer mistakes with my second dog. I took off a week from work when I got her, and gradually got her used to spending time in her outdoor kennel. When she was a little older, I got her a puppy. I walked them when I came home from work.

 

[penny65]

@lovefaithhopeinjesus You can absolutely get an 8 week old puppy while working a 9-5. My first dog was 4 months so that was a breeze and we just adopted an 8 week old puppy. Both partner and I work 9-5 puppy is crated from 8:30-12 then we let him out then back in the crate from 1-5. He has had no accidents in his kennel, he loves it actually and he is 14 weeks now. The only thing is you should expect to have no social life after work and on weekends unless the puppy can come with you because they shouldn’t be in the crate any longer than they need to and you’ll need to exercise train and socialize them

 

[penny65]

Puppies that are crate trained usually turn out to be better behaved anyway than ones where the owner is home all day. Crate training helps reduce separation anxiety & helps them with bladder control and potty training. It also gives them a routine and keeps them safe and calm when you have to leave the house

 

[coffeecake67]

@lovefaithhopeinjesus It's possible. I've managed it. I usually crate my puppies until they get to a point where they can be responsible while loose in the house - not tearing up things and not messing in the house. I just give them a bigger crate so they have enough room to move around an OK amount or a tiled room so they have a larger area that is easy to clean. When they get more mature and can handle the increased responsibility of having total freedom, then they can be left loose. Maybe it takes a little longer to housebreak, I don't know, but I've made it work. I've worked 9-5 and I've work 7:30 to 6:30 where I was gone from 7AM-7PM with commute. If I can, I go home during lunch for a pee break but it simply wasn't always possible.

If you can hire a walker, great! Not everyone can and I don't think it necessarily means you're a terrible person. I think the mentality that you basically have to WFH or have someone checking on the dog every hour or two is a bit of a luxury. I've had some people go through some really really old posts of mine where I described how I handled puppy training while working longer hours. My dogs are spoiled and no one questions that. I just think some people get it in their head it has to be done one way only and....well life isn't like that. There's a million ways to make it work, you have to find what works for YOU and for YOUR PET. My methods won't work for every dog but it worked perfect for my fam, it may or may not work for you. Find what works for you and your pets.

 

[justmenow]

@lovefaithhopeinjesus When I got my puppy I took two weeks off work. When I went back to work she was kept inside - have a very large kitchen area that was wood floors so she was kept in there.

I had a friend coming to feed her at midday. And take her out for toileting

She’s now five years old and outside during the day. Very happy dog and worked out fine!

 

[minobimaaduziwin2024]

@lovefaithhopeinjesus 8 weeks is very young for a puppy. 12 weeks tends to be a better range to bring one home (puppies go through a fear stage at 10-12 weeks so many breeders keep them until that 12 week mark).

Family members took time off from work to raise puppies e.g. ex and I each took two weeks of vacation for a total of 4 weeks, sleeping on the sofa next to puppy and taking them out often during the night and day at 12 to 16 weeks. We shifted scheduled off and crate trained puppy so they were not left unsupervised, wandering the house and not alone for super long. We planned ahead and worked with our employers to make sure we could cover a reasonable puppy schedule.

We took puppy to manners then home obedience classes on Saturdays for a long time.

Having a great, happy, well trained dog is a pretty significant investment, one that will last their lifetime (and probably yours).

 

[eront]

@lovefaithhopeinjesus In all reality, just because it was done doesn't mean it was done humanely. People generally don't follow recommended methods in large, and did things that were harmful and don't really care.

Puppies can't hold their bladder for a 9-5, so usually it was recommended even then to only do it if you could afford a sitter or had a network of people to help.

 

[mfhorn]

@eront

Puppies can't hold their bladder for a 9-5, so usually it was recommended even then to only do it if you could afford a sitter or had a network of people to help.

What we usually do where I live is resourcing to dog toilets (several different ways) because crate training is highly unheard of.

People with tiny dogs just compromise with that for the rest of their lives, but people with bigger dogs may transition to outside, or the more commonly hybrid way, which is the go-to method if you live on your own.

 

[eront]

@mfhorn Separation-related stress is another reason that people tend to frown upon leaving puppies alone.

 

[mfhorn]

@eront Honestly for me that's a much bigger factor... and needs to be gauged on a case to case and breed basis.

In my case, I've been shaping the independent behavior from day 3 onwards, even that being my vacation period where I was home all the time for a month. He really doesn't have issues when he's alone in his puppy-proofed bedroom either when I'm not around or during the night. And I think it took around 3 days of de-sensitization until he got more comfy.

Even around the house he values playing with me, but he's also able to play on his own and never really touched any furniture.

 

[fireproofedbyjesus]

@mfhorn Agreed

 

[rcetc]

@eront I think dogs have more issues with separation anxiety nowadays BECAUSE we don’t leave them alone enough as puppies.

A dog who has never been alone for the first year of its life isn’t suddenly going to be chill about being left alone.

 

[snowgirl14]

@rcetc Agree! Now that I'm working from home, I will have to make it a point to leave my next puppy periodically so they learn it's okay to be alone.

 

[rcetc]

@snowgirl14 Right? My dog was ok being left alone, but I wfh then insurance took five months to repair my car which made me a total recluse. She can’t tolerate being alone anymore, and my neighbors have complained. I am miserable lmao. Have to take her everywhere I go to avoid eviction.

 

[eront]

@rcetc That's not true per veterinary behaviorists.

And, nobody says don't leave them alone, just don't shove them into a situation that they're panicked and leave them there.

 

[stefanylove]

@lovefaithhopeinjesus I did it by taking mine to work. If I wasn't able to do that, I'd adopt one at least 2 years old.

 

[cowardlylion]

@lovefaithhopeinjesus I currently work 40+ weeks outside the home and have a puppy and an older dog. Both are thriving. g. We ALWAYS had dogs. We did not have dog walkers, or dog sitters (neighbors fed the dogs if we went out of town), and no one came over during the day to play with the dogs. The dogs were alone all day with their food and water. Everyone free-fed in the 70s and 80s (probably before then too.) Puppies went into mesh playpens and were paper trained on newspapers, then the paper got moved to the outside. Some people kept their dogs outside all the time, ours were inside dogs.

I currently work 40+ weeks outside the home and have a puppy and an older dog. Both are thriving. The puppy is in an expen for now, until his potty training is a little more solid, then he will move behind the kitchen gate with my older boy. There is a dog door in the kitchen that leads to the yard. Currently my older boy has full run of the house, because he's rock solid. There's no dogsitter, no dogwalker, just me and my boys.