Caring for a puppy with a full time job

y2jake215

Anyone who has gotten a puppy while living alone and working full time - how did you manage it? Did you put the puppy in doggy day care during the day? Hire a dog walker? At what age did you start leaving them home the whole time you were at work (if ever)? Would you do anything differently?

Any experiences welcome - thanks

MichaelLC

In general, they will need to to go out multiple times a day and will not tell you for awhile until you train them to.

Based on your set up, you'll need to decide how to want them to tell you; going to the door and whining for example. Same with mouthing (biting), barking, etc. They can learn good or bad habbits very quickly. Weird things too like getting used to be people coming in and out, taking off coats, anf other animals.

So you'll want someone who is experienced with puppy training, ideally at your place.

zepherin

One thing that helps is putting the dog in the kitchen with a child gate and a doggy bed with puppy pads. Your carpet will thank you. If at all possible. Use your lunch break to give the puppy a walk until their bladder is up to staying at home.

Skeith

If you're on your own, I'm not sure I'd recommend a puppy to be honest. An older dog (say 3 or 4) might be more manageable. But if you're set on a puppy, doggy day care will be a kick in the wallet but it'll be better for socializing it.

And if you have the puppy, you're committing a cardinal sin by not posting pictures.

Quid

It definitely depends how much disposable income you have. Once the dog is older they can be crate trained. But until then I’d suggest something like daycare too which can get *really* pricey.

Siska

Size of dog also matters. A large adult dog might be able to go around 8ish hrs without a pee break. A small adult breed, not so much.

y2jake215

To give some additional info -
The plan is a French Bulldog. I would immediately take a week or possibly 2 off when I get it for acclimation and stuff. It’s looking like several days a week (2 or so) it can be left with someone who wants to help. I am attempting to get my next apartment close enough to work to be able to come home at lunch. Money is not really an issue - if I need to pay for a dog sitter or day care multiple days a week, so be it - I’m more concerned with the potential for bad habits to form at a day care, if that’s something to worry about.

mts

I wouldn't do daycare until it has good habits built up.

dispatch.o

Maybe get a cat? They're more self sufficient and happier being alone for long periods of time, though I would suggest getting two.

When you start having others care for your pets more than you do, it usually means you need lower maintenance pets. Probably at the very least don't get a dog until you know you can make it home at lunch.

zepherin

y2jake215 wrote: »

To give some additional info -
The plan is a French Bulldog. I would immediately take a week or possibly 2 off when I get it for acclimation and stuff. It’s looking like several days a week (2 or so) it can be left with someone who wants to help. I am attempting to get my next apartment close enough to work to be able to come home at lunch. Money is not really an issue - if I need to pay for a dog sitter or day care multiple days a week, so be it - I’m more concerned with the potential for bad habits to form at a day care, if that’s something to worry about.

I have had mixed results with doggy day care. Places either crate and walk the dogs or put them in a big room and let them figure it out, and at the cost, might as well pay a dog walker to come by the house once a day to walk the dog. It generally costs 15-30 bucks a day depending on walking requirements and area.

ceres

Be reeeeeeeeeal careful with doggy day care, it's incredibly important to find a good one.

Cello

A day care can be good for socialization, but it can also be bad for the same reason - they may not be cautious about pairing up dogs of similar sizes, and smaller dogs may get scared of larger ones. You're going to want one with ample reviews, space and employees who will actually take them for walks or runs. Puppy classes can be much better to accomplish that though, and with your supervision to make sure you aren't getting conned. Be cautious about your dog walker too, because if you're training your dog it can *also* set you back if they don't follow the same techniques/even heel properly.

Honestly, I'd recommend getting an older dog than a puppy if you live alone, preferably one whose habits are well-documented, that hasn't been used as say a breeder dog or changed owners too many times, if you don't have the time to take care of them. If you don't want the dog to chew your place up, expect to spend 15-45 minutes a night training with them on top of play, especially if you want to prevent habits of dominance or anxiety from being formed. I'd highly recommend doing obedience lessons with a qualified trainer. None of that clicker class bullshit, or PetsMart quality stuff either. Dogs are happiest when they're able to work regularly and keep their minds active, and if you don't have that time available (and even more than that, for a puppy!) then perhaps consider a lower-maintenance pet.

Creagan

Dogs really benefit from lots of attention their first year.

One of the reasons my getting a dog worked out so well for me is I knew that as a student, I'd have about a year and a half I could mostly spend with the dog. So Luke grew up with one person almost constantly there for him, and and got taken all over the place. (You need to introduce your puppies to all genders/races/ages if you want them to be comfortably socialized.)

If you're gone most of the day when your puppy is young, house training will be a nightmare. Shortly after my sister got her yorkie, my family left me with the puppy for a week while I was working full time. It was awful. There were always several messes when I got home from work, and the puppy had no idea she was supposed to even try to hold it when I was home. I did not have that problem with Luke, because I was able to take him out every few hours and make him go.

So with those things in mind, I'd agree with everybody else that a puppy's probably a bad idea. An older dog might work, (if you're set on a purebred, I've been told sometimes breeders will sell a younger adult dog that they've decided they don't want to show or use for breeding.) But cats are probably better. Some cats are really, really social and playful. So a couple of them would probably be just as nice as a dog.

Also, side note- if you're going with a French bulldog, you're gonna end up with way higher vet bills because nowadays basically every breed with a squashed face has expensive-to-fix breathing issues.

Calica

Cello wrote: »

A day care can be good for socialization, but it can also be bad for the same reason - they may not be cautious about pairing up dogs of similar sizes, and smaller dogs may get scared of larger ones. You're going to want one with ample reviews, space and employees who will actually take them for walks or runs. Puppy classes can be much better to accomplish that though, and with your supervision to make sure you aren't getting conned. Be cautious about your dog walker too, because if you're training your dog it can *also* set you back if they don't follow the same techniques/even heel properly.

Honestly, I'd recommend getting an older dog than a puppy if you live alone, preferably one whose habits are well-documented, that hasn't been used as say a breeder dog or changed owners too many times, if you don't have the time to take care of them. If you don't want the dog to chew your place up, expect to spend 15-45 minutes a night training with them on top of play, especially if you want to prevent habits of dominance or anxiety from being formed. I'd highly recommend doing obedience lessons with a qualified trainer. None of that clicker class bullshit, or PetsMart quality stuff either. Dogs are happiest when they're able to work regularly and keep their minds active, and if you don't have that time available (and even more than that, for a puppy!) then perhaps consider a lower-maintenance pet.

?

Done correctly, clicker training is incredibly effective. Or did you mean a lot of the classes are bullshit?

y2jake215

well i now have an opportunity to move in with someone who both has a little dog already and works a non-standard schedule, meaning hypothetical dog wouldn't have to be alone all day

this would make things a lot more manageable tbh

Creagan

y2jake215 wrote: »

well i now have an opportunity to move in with someone who both has a little dog already and works a non-standard schedule, meaning hypothetical dog wouldn't have to be alone all day

this would make things a lot more manageable tbh

That changes everything except my concern over the squashed-face breed choice.

Although, if you will be living with this person for a while, I do suggest you see if they'd be willing to let you bring their dog with you when you pick out a puppy.

This will maximize the chance this dog and new puppy will get along. Which is really important if you're moving in with a person & bringing a new dog into a preexisting dog's territory.

I knew my sister's yorkie would spend a lot of time with whatever dog I got. So after getting an enthusiastic ok from the breeder, I brought her with when I looked at the puppies. It was really helpful because while she tolerated Luke she did NOT like his brother.

am0n

Maybe I read it wrong, but it sounds like he may no longer want a dog of his own since he is moving in with someone who already has one? Or did I read that wrong?

Edit: I think I read it wrong. In which case, yes to Creagan. Research the dog thoroughly. A lot of the breeds have serious health issues in the long run.

SatanIsMyMotor

It should be noted that you can't put a new puppy into day care. No day care worth its price should be accepting dogs that don't have their basic vaccinations. At least around here you typically can't even get your pup housed with other dogs at a groomer until they at least have their kennel cough vaccine.

Creagan

A good breeder will also do extensive genetic testing on the parents and puppies to make sure they're breeding as responsibly as possible. Luke's breeder did a full workup on him and his parents and gave me copies when I bought him.

The thing with smushed face breeds is that they've had so much selective breeding done for their appearance that there's not really much a responsible breeder can do to avoid the breathing issues they get, because that just goes with the smushed face. (I am only bringing this up because it's not something I ever saw researching the average cost of dog ownership before I got Luke.)

But anyway, having an older dog around the puppy will make life a million times easier for everyone. (If they get along.) The puppy will take cues from the older dog. So if it can watch the older dog do commands & do it's business outside, it'll learn faster. The dogs can entertain each other when nobody's home & not get anxious. It's really great. I think having a younger friend even extends an older dog's life. Having two dogs together is just really awesome.

Smurph

A lot of people have mentioned getting an older dog. When we got our first dog, he was about 1 year old and still had a lot of puppy-like behavior and hadn't filed out his frame yet, so he was kind of like half a puppy. But he came potty trained and crate trained, which is huge for a first time dog owner. Maybe consider a young-but-not-puppy dog that might come with some of the training done and might be able to hold longer between bathroom breaks.

DemonStacey

I took some time off to start but then I also work close enough to home to come back during my lunch breaks. I also got one of the gates for my kitchen so they could stretch their legs and have a place to walk around without any worry.

Even though they are both adults now I still come home on my lunch break because I would feel bad leaving them to hold it in all day.

Cello

Calica wrote: »

Cello wrote: »

A day care can be good for socialization, but it can also be bad for the same reason - they may not be cautious about pairing up dogs of similar sizes, and smaller dogs may get scared of larger ones. You're going to want one with ample reviews, space and employees who will actually take them for walks or runs. Puppy classes can be much better to accomplish that though, and with your supervision to make sure you aren't getting conned. Be cautious about your dog walker too, because if you're training your dog it can *also* set you back if they don't follow the same techniques/even heel properly.

Honestly, I'd recommend getting an older dog than a puppy if you live alone, preferably one whose habits are well-documented, that hasn't been used as say a breeder dog or changed owners too many times, if you don't have the time to take care of them. If you don't want the dog to chew your place up, expect to spend 15-45 minutes a night training with them on top of play, especially if you want to prevent habits of dominance or anxiety from being formed. I'd highly recommend doing obedience lessons with a qualified trainer. None of that clicker class bullshit, or PetsMart quality stuff either. Dogs are happiest when they're able to work regularly and keep their minds active, and if you don't have that time available (and even more than that, for a puppy!) then perhaps consider a lower-maintenance pet.

?

Done correctly, clicker training is incredibly effective. Or did you mean a lot of the classes are bullshit?

A lot of the classes are bullshit since it's currently the fad, and honestly, it seems like a way to just make money for the guy selling the clicker

You can get just as effective training with vocal praise and commands alone, no clicker required

We don't train with them; we start with treats and phase in praise instead

SwashbucklerXX

Clickers work great with cats, most of whom don't give a shit about your praise but will happily learn tricks for treats (and the click helps keep them focused on the fact that they're performing a task right now). I imagine it's less necessary for creatures who are inherently interested in pleasing you and having a task to do. Though bulldogs aren't really "working" dogs, so I could see a clicker helping them associate x behaviour with a positive outcome when their natural inclination is just to lounge on your lap.

Creagan

SwashbucklerXX wrote: »

Though bulldogs aren't really "working" dogs, so I could see a clicker helping them associate x behaviour with a positive outcome when their natural inclination is just to lounge on your lap.

Training has more to do with a dog's individual personality than the breed. My sister's yorkie is basically the opposite of what the AKC info page says about Yorkies- she is the definition of an aloof/wary dog, but is super eager to please. And my childhood dog, a Kerry Blue Terrier, was supposed to be a super active, borderline "nuts" dog according to the breed standard. But he had no interest in playing & totally lost interest in chasing rabbits/squirrels when he realized he wasn't gonna catch them. He was really only interested in walks and being pet.

mts

training is really about consistency for you and the dog.

Deewelch

y2jake215 wrote: »

Anyone who has gotten a puppy while living alone and working full time - how did you manage it? Did you put the puppy in doggy day care during the day? Hire a dog walker? At what age did you start leaving them home the whole time you were at work (if ever)? Would you do anything differently?

Any experiences welcome - thanks

I do have a dog, I leave my dog whenever I go to work which is every day. What I do is contain him in this indoor dog pens so that even though he is inside the house I can keep my pet away from the garbage, off of sofas and beds and out of certain rooms.

Enc

Its important to be supportive of your pup as he enters his career field and-

Oh, you mean... oh.

Nevermind.

Creagan

How much work you need to put into containing a dog after it's grown really depends on you and your dog's personalities.

I am pretty comfortable giving my dog the run of my living space. But my dog won't go into trash if it's got a lid, and he can't jump so he can't get on the furniture. And I am neurotic about picking up after myself. So even though my dog will eat socks and underwear if given the chance, I put those things in a hamper in my closet & keep the door shut.

So my dog can have free reign while I'm gone. He does, though, find it very uncomfortable/sad to hold it for longer than 5 hours during the day, and therefore needs somebody to let him out if I'm gonna be gone all day.

If he was somebody else's dog, though, he might need more containing. An owner who tends to leave dirty laundry on their bedroom floor would need to bar that area from Dog to keep him from getting a bowl obstruction.