Thinking about getting a Puppy.

[blondie04]

Hi Everyone,
We have been considering getting a puppy, we moved into our new house a couple of months ago, and we have recently started talking about adding to our family as we currently have two cats, however my worry is we both work full time, and as i've been reading in different posts on here, for the first few months it seems like one of us should probably be around at all times for training purposes and so that the puppy doesn't get seperation anxiety.Plus the fact that we have two cats may present an interesting situation too. We currently work mon to fri 9-5 so we would be leaving home around 8:30am and probably getting home around 5:30pm. To me it just seems like a very long time to leave a puppy alone. Any opinions on this would be appricated. :)

Thanks

[sweldo84]

It is definately a long time to leave a puppy alone (and a bad way to start off house training) So you would have to either come home a few times throughout the day to give attention and take him/her out for a pee, or if you're close to your neighbours (or a family member nearby) have them come by a few times. Also, feeding during the day is another issue to look at, different ages, breeds, and lifestyles choose different plans of action for feeding (talk to your veterinarian about this). Finally, an AMAZING way to train your dog is to have a extra large indoor dog kennel (like a carrier) in your house. You can train your puppy so that during the day, when you are at work and at night when it is time to go to bed, he or she is in their kennel. But in all honesty, it's obvious that there is no way you can leave a puppy home all alone for a whole day, not fair to it, your cats, or your furniture. I think you should really consider this well before chosing to get a puppy, because it's not just for a couple weeks (from the looks of it) that you are both working full time, it's going to be for a long time and would the attention really be readily available to the new member of the family? Cats are much more independent of people because they don't require being let out throughout the day, going for walks, being involved in obedience classes (for the purpose of socializing your dog), etc. Good Luck, I hope everything works out for you, a dog is a great addition to a family!

[blondie04]

Thank you so much for your reply, I think we've decided to hold off for now, we know that it is a huge responsbility and with working full time, and where we just moved into our new house recently there really isn't anyone around that we could look to to come over and let the puppy out and spend time with him or her, so really it wouldn't be fair. And your right this isn't a temp full time job, this is what we work all the time, and will continue to work for a while. So it would be much better to hold off until the situation changes. I can't wait to have a puppy/dog someday but for now I guess we'll just have to be happy with our current family.

[Atchbe]

One more thing you could do now is pick up the book "Before You Get Your Puppy" by Dr Ian Dunbar. It's a great read for anyone planning on bringing a puppy into their life.:) Then sometime down the road when you feel it's the right time, and you have extra time...then you can get a puppy.

One thing about house training a puppy is to use a crate that is just big enough for the pup to turn around and stretch out. Any bigger and a pup can become dirty learning to do it's duties in a corner. You can however put an X pen around a crate with piddle pads (if a small breed) and teach to do potty on piddle pads and out doors.

With myself I have adult rescue dogs, previously housebroken, trained etc. They fit in wonderfully with my life style and my work schedule. It's still important even with an adult dog to attend obedience to form that bond and relationship that is so special. I like Ann Savoy as a trainer.

Here's a good article on house training if and when the day comes you get your puppy.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1548&articleid=157

[puppyluv]

Also if I might add something, why not consider a dog that isn't a puppy? The shelter has so many dogs, not puppy age, trained, and desperatelyneeding homes. Both of my dogs came older than puppies, both were house trained etc.