Sadly if you read American dog forums, leaving a dog or pup crated for 8 or 8 hours during the day AND night is the norm in many cases. So 16-18 hours a day.

Glad I don't live in the States then, when I choose new owners for my pups I won't let any go to homes that work full time.....part time yes, I know people need to make a living....full time definitely not.

Absolutely. At least half of my enquiries are from FT workers and many are surprised I will not put them on my W/L.

No wonder CM gets a lot of work

I sympathise with you, OP. I got a lot of flack on this site because I left my pup during the day to go to work. Having said that, she was a lot older (14 weeks) and had had a couple of weeks with us at home to settle her in.

Ruby was crated from the outset so I had plenty of time to get her used to her crate. Now, I give her a good walk early in the morning (30-40 mins) and her breakfast. She is left for about 5 hours in the morning and has a break when my son goes home at lunchtime to let her out to toilet and have a play. Then she is crated again for roughly 3-4 hours (more often than not it'll be less than three). She gets lots of play time in the evening and another short walk. I am also training her a daily basis.

I am so pleased that Ruby is developing into a well adjusted, content and happy dog so it can be done. I do think it is a bit early, but the situation is what it is and you now need to find a solution that will work for you all.

I really don't agree with comparing leaving a human baby and a pup. One is an animal, then other a human. It's like comparing diamonds and glass.

Oh and it was suggested that I return my pup to the breeder. I ignored that 'advice'

Finally, Ruby does occasionally whimper when I leave her but she soon quitens down and goes to sleep.

Hi,

Firslty, Ihave 4 dogs and work ful time. I am very lucky in that I work from home and so my dogs are never left for more than a couple of hours (maybe 3 max) on their own. If this was likely, eg if I go for a day out somewhere, then I arrange for my younger brother, Mom or Dad to go and spend time with the dogs throughout the day.

I was very ;lucky with my lot in that I was able to take a month off work to try to settle them in and make sure they were happy.

Zane and Ellie were both 6/5 weeks old (respectively) when I brought htem home 4 months apart and as well as spending time just being with them, cuddling them, playing ith them, toilet training them etc, I also start off at about 12 weeks leaving them alone. It started with 5-10 minutes and I built it up to a total of 4 hours. This meant that I coul easily leave them for 3 hours without problems.

Yiannis was 3 months old whe I left him and very independant. He didn't need cuddles (but go thtem anyway) but I did thr same thing. I spent a month with him at home (the other dogs loved it) and left him for only 10 minutes at a time to begin with.

Seto is a much older dog and was already int he routine of being left alone during the day so there isn't an issue there.

I personally think a 2 month old pup should be left only for a few minutes at a time to begin with. To start off leaving him for an hour to begin with is too much for the pup to take in.

There are many breeds of dog who will happily sit on your lap for cuddles. Are you sure you've picked the right breed/mix of breeds for your circumstances?

Laura xx

I would never let one of my pups go to a home where the owners work full-time, as in 8 hours a day, 5 days a week! If I were homing an older dog, maybe 9 months or so, I'd consider a set up where the owner was out say three days a week, so long as the dog was checked on, walked and given companionship to break the day up.

My Chi babies would fret something awful if they were left alone for the amount of hours this 8 week old baby is being left!

I am surprised that any Breeder allowed a pup of that age to go to full-time workers.

And, Vicktory, although your situation wasn't ideal, I think there is a BIG difference between an 8 week old pup being left and a 14 week old pup being left. Even 14 weeks isn't ideal but 8 weeks

Well, I think the OP has been well and truly hounded out. I see what everyone is saying and I do agree but I feel it's sad that the OP has maybe not felt able to come back into this thread.

Give her a chance Remember she works, so maybe be back on tonight.

I don't think anyone has been harsh, just pointing her in the right direction to maybe look at the situation again and see what can be done

I hope she does. I understand and like I said, do agree for the most part with what is being said. It would be nice to see more constructive and helpful comments as well as the negative ones though. I do appreciate what everyone is saying though.