Not at home

Are any of you lot staff puppy owners but work? Not a horrible question but what do you lot do with the pup when at work? I haven't rushed into gettin 1 yet as got a 9 month old baby aswell but I'm at work 9 hours a day but some days off and just wondering if my partner goes out for the day what would we do? I don't want to be 1 these owners that rush into it you see

yes both me and my OH work full time and we got harvey at 8 weeks

We both work nights so we were in all day with him which meant we could get him used to our routine of not getting up at the crack of dawn but still house trained him in a couple of weeks etc

TBH it was a very easy time but he was a breeze to train

Yes I also work full time but live alone so opted for a slightly older dog, she was about 10months. On the 5 days I work either my mum has her/best friend/or a dog walker

To be honest, if you're going to be out for 9 hours during the day, then you either need to get somebody to pop in a couple of times while you're out or not get a pup!

Nine hours would be far too long to leave a dog on its own, and for a pup it would be a disaster! For a start the house training would be very difficult as you'd need to be there to let the pup out to do its toilet frequently. Then you have the problem of a pup getting into mischief & you're not there to stop it, and it would get into mischief because it would be incredibly bored. Crating for that length of time would be out of the question.

I'm thinking of taking in a rescue dog, seen a 5 year old gorgeous SBT called Lily and thinking of taking her in.

As long as you have a backup plan for those days you are out all day (something like what Janey does), it could work.

Like Ben said if you make sure everything is in place before you bring your rescue home, ie like janey does, then things should be fine. Darcy is 10 months and has never been left longer than 3 hours a day, but I'm lucky that I can take her to work with me good luck.

I also work 9 hours a day 3 days a week, and I got Steff as a young pup.. She adjusted well and with plenty of exercise and mind game toys to keep her amused she settled in with the schedule

I wouldn't recommend getting a young pup if you're going to be for 9 hours straight! Unless you have someone that will pop in twice to let the pup out and walk her/ feed her! Otherwise it will be a living nightmare to try to house train the pup! Regardless of that its not really fair for him/her to be left alone for that long! My OH is home with Gwen almost every day. We got her when she was 8 weeks old but there was the odd day that we were both gone for 4 or 5 hours and even that I think is too long..if its once and awhile thats one thing but if its on a daily basis its really too long! An 8 week old pup needs to be feed 4 times a day! If you don't have someone who can pop in while you're at work then it may be better to get a slightly older dog!

To be honest (just read through your post again & realised that I'd missed that the 9 hours would only be very occasional) if it's only the very occasional day then it's probably ok.

You'd need to make sure that any rescue dog is fully settled in before you leave her, though, because otherwise she may panic & do damage to your house & herself. But once she's settled, as long as you leave her some toys, and maybe a kong stuffed with something delicious & frozen for her to pick at, she should be ok. Make sure she has a good long walk before being left, though.

I still wouldn't crate her for that length of time, though, even if it's only occasional.

I work full time, am on my own and got Chiquito as a pup - I took the first few weeks off work to settle him in and gradually got him used to be alone during the day. He settled into it quite quickly - he spends the day in a converted patio area while I am at work and gets plenty of exercise/training when I am home

She will have company, going to see her tomorrow, my gf is home allday aswell

Do tell more

Good luck! Yeah would love to see pics and hear more about her

RPN wrote:She will have company, going to see her tomorrow, my gf is home allday aswell

Brilliant:D

She was gone

Oh well that wasn't ment to be, the first one I went to see had gone also, thats how I ended up with Moo

Aww that's a pity as Janey said wasn't meant to be. There is one waiting I am sure especially for you. Good luck:D

I do work 5 days a week, but own my own business so I find it much easier to be able to go home and spend some time with Rocky, although some days I do not get to go home, I do spend all night and all morning with him. Go on lots of walks, lots of play time, so I try to compensate as much as possible

janey wrote:Oh well that wasn't ment to be, the first one I went to see had gone also, thats how I ended up with Moo

That was fate Janey not misfortune