How does this work? New pup, no one home during the day?

CAnderson

CAnderson

Well-known member
Ok, don't have the pup yet. I have been spoiled to this point. My wife has always been home as a stay at home mother. I don't recall every being in a position where someone wasn't home during the day to be with the pup and take care of the basics of house breaking and house manners.

My wife is now working full time. I am looking at getting a new pup this coming spring. I would like some input on strategies that you guys use when you get a new pup and someone can't be home with it during the work day, 5 days/week.

Does the pup stay in a kennel/crate all day? Does the pup get confined to a room (like the mudroom)? Do you kennel the pup outside in a dog run with a dog house?

Open to hear any suggestions you may have for the early stages of puppy life. It is crazy to me to think about all of the dogs I have owned and handled, and I have never had to deal with this before.

Thanks in advance.

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You can't confine a pup for more than 3 or 4 hours and then you better have his schedule fixed, and be sure he airs well. I have taken my pup to work with me.... in the winter, in Vermont. Wool blanket and a reflective blanket over the crate, in the back of a truck with a camper top. Took a long lunch to feed, air, and exersize.... that worked well. Another alternative is an outdoor kennel, or a good neighbor to air and exersize the pup a couple times during the day. IF you proved a place in the house that they can eliminate in, then housebreaking will be much more difficult. IF you leave a pup crate him. A crate trained dog is a happy dog, and is much more welcome at others homes and hotels. The crate keeps the pup and the house safe! But don't ever force the dog to eliminate in his crate. IF he does, that is your fault, so don't blame the dog.
 
Dave,

Those are some of my concerns. The crate has always been a safe place and one where they should never be required to eliminate. I never believed in "paper training" then house breaking. It makes no sense to me to train a habit that will become unacceptable later. Then be required to train away from the behavior.

The good thing is the weather will be moving toward a better season. I guess I should re-state the preface. . .my wife is employed full time. As a teacher. So, depending on the timing of the litter being available, this may be a moot point.

Any help is still sought because I don't know the timing just yet.

Thanks for the thoughts Dave.
 
I'm a big fan of crate training, sounds like you are too. how bout a neighbor to come by twice a day (and depending on where you live, they have services that do it)? If not, maybe an open crate with a small area outside of it to make a mess...like a toddler corral or something. Like you said, you definitely don't want them having to go in the crate. I think the worst case scenario is that you get the extra-extra large crate and let them go in the front of it. It isn't ideal, but it works. I had to do this with my lab several times. he's 96lbs now and he and the kids can fit in that crate still :)

not sure if that helps at all :)

jeff
 
We picked up Coco when she was 10 weeks. The first 2 weeks, she came to work with me, in the crate, behind my desk. One of the perks of working for a Natural Resources Agency!
She learned "kennel" and "hush" in 1 day.
After a couple of weeks, she stayed at home in a pen on our back porch, then in an outside pen I built.
 
Many guys seem to find a way to take the pup to work with them somehow. In a crate beside the desk might work. I walked to work with my last dog to get her a leg stretch in, then fed her and put her in a kennel in the back of a friend's truck under a cap. I think the routine and scheduled visits made her calmer in that box. I could get out to see her at morning break and at lunch I'd walk her and gets some others to help me train her a bit playing sit/stay/come for about 20 min then back in the box with a chewy. End of the day was always fetching games on the soccer field for a 1/2 hr or so then the walk back home. Pretty good system for us. I started doing this in March and if it was too cold for her to sit outside plan B was to leave her outside in the dog yard with the heated doghouse and the old lab for a babysitter.

My advice? Figure a way to bring the pup along for the first 6 months.

Mike
 
I'll give you my thoughts on what may be the best solution, but since you have your sights set on a pup, you may have to think on it a while before it makes sense.

If you have nobody to care for a pup during the day (and by "care" I don't mean one or two quick walks), I would not get a pup. That kind of situation might be the fast track to behavioral problems.

Breeders of my acquaintance almost always have an older dog or a bitch that needs a home. Not to say elderly, but not a puppy.

Sometimes field trial prospects don't work out, a home situation doesn't work out, sometimes a pup stays with the breeder because the last pick wasn't taken home that season. Any breeder who hunts and trains will put their own time into such a dog, which gives you a good head start on training, housebreaking, etc.

Take him home over a long weekend, introduce him to his new people, the house, his kennel, the truck. I'd think about an outdoor kennel for while you're at work.

Just food for thought. A good dog is a good dog, no matter age he is when he joins you.
 
I didnt get to read all the other comments, I would suggest you either wait till your situation is different, before you buy a pup, or find an older dog that is not as emotionally needy as an 8 or 10 week pup. Just my two cents. Rich
 
Bringing the pup, may be an option. Not my favorite, but I have some flexibility in my job. Timing of the litter will be everything. As my wife is a teacher, and will be home during the summer months. In the past, we have worked around that time frame successfully.

The thoughts and advice towards getting a "started" dog have been afloat for awhile. It is something that we have been and are considering for many reasons. My current dog, who is now 5 y.o. came to us when she was a year and a half. She has been fantastic. She assimilated quickly to the household and has been an absolute pleasure. There were a few small hurdles to overcome at the beginning but nothing that would scare me away from doing it again. This would actually be more of a preference to me in a way. I will have to contact some breeders to determine if any started dogs or slightly older dogs would be available.

Thanks for the suggestion.
 
Sorta "started-dog related story:
I passed on a "stray" lab that appeared to be about 1 year old that showed up at a buddie house because we wanted a puppy. The dog was very well behaved, obedient, calm and seemed to have some training. But we wanted a puppy, so we passed on her.
Hind-sight being 20-20, passing on that dog was a mistake: Another friend took her in and she has turned out to be a fantastic dog.
Dont get me wrong, I love Coco, but this other dog is simply amazing, she has "it". Not sure why someone turned her out in the country at my buddies farm, baffles me to this day.

So, if I could do over again, given that I dont have as much time to train as I thought, and how well Labs seem adjust to new owners, if I could do over, I would go with a started dog.
Something to consider.
 
Carl-

That was similar to the situation I am in with my current dog. As mentioned, she is 5 y.o. now. She is a smallish female English Setter. I train with a group regularly now for the past 10 years. When I was looking for the next dog, one of the people I trained with mentioned they had "rescued" a little white setter, that the previous handler gave up on. Well, one loook at this little setter proved that she had everything I was looking for. Each hunt brings such a smile because she loves to please and her drive is outstanding. I can only shake my head when I see what she does for me and think that someone thought so little of her that they walked away from her.

She has blessed me more than words can say.

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We were in a similar situation a few years ago. I did an internet search and found someone in my area that offered pet sitter services. I paid her for two or three months to come and let the puppy out once or twice a day while we were at work. The cost was reasonable and my older dog benefited with some play time during the day as well. Finances are always a consideration, but if you do the research before you buy your next dog, you can plan for the additional cost going in. I also gave the sitter specific advice as to what I wanted her to do and not do. Though she was familliar with retrievers, she had never met a gun dog!
 
I trained my pup in a home crate as both of us worked. The crate is not the shipping containers made of plastic. It is a six piece heavy wire kennel. About 4x3x4ft. My dog loved it, do not put close to wall, pups like sheet rock. Take the dog out first thing in the morning and before you leave for work. After the dog got used to the house she would walk to the kennel and lay down by herself. Keep the shipping box for trips. Look in thrift shops, craigslist for used kennels, about 25/40 dollars.
 
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