uuummm, more puppy advice?

Okay, me again. Just some advice about leaving the puppy alone really. I am hoping he can come to work with me which will not be a problem but if I have to leave him at home I will be having people coming in to let him out during the day.

The question that I have is how much space should I give him to start with? I was thinking of shutting the living room door and keeping him out of there and putting a dog gate on the bottom of the stairs until he was housetrained. My kitchen is laminate flooring and I have a long hallway with a bit under the stairs which is all laminate as well. Is this enough room to start with or too much? I don't want him to feel scared because there is too much space but don't want him to have too little either

Once he is house trained I have no issues on where he goes

If it was Me! I would try Training To a Crate, My Pup is 11wk Now and She sleeps in her Crate If i have to Go out! We have Only had her 2wks To day, And Not Once has She Been to the Toilet in the house....
Great , Julie

Thanks Julie. I actually crate trained my other dog (long story, still lives with my parents, all settled with other dog and don't really want to split them if they are both happy). She was really good with that. Unfortunately the crate has now got the bottom removed and is our rabbit run so will have to buy another

Ambo,
Don,t buy a Brand new Crate! why Not Try you Lacal paper,Or ask the Other Dog walkers if they No anyone that Has oNE TO SELL or may be the Vets may Be able to Help you, OUT.
Good luck.
Julie

Ebay also sell them for a quarter of the price new That's where I got Fern's crate from, if you have a look at this article, it'll show you a photo of the actual crate we have....

http://www.dogweb.co.uk/talkdogs/the...sed_15552.html

I think it cost £24.99 + delivery at the time of purchase.

Best wishes with it, I love crates, and so does Fern, he thinks it's one big feeding playground, and actually runs to his crate when we say bed cause he knows he's going to get a treat

Hey

When my B0rder C0llie was a baby, we started 0ff with him in the crate, then pr0gressed t0 a pen when he was bigger, n0w he is 7 m0nths and has free run 0f the h0use when we have t0 leave him at h0me.
Crates are s00 handy!

Okay, should possibly put this on another thread but it still relates to the crates.

I presume that the dogs are in their crates and the doors are closed when you leave them at home. I have been thinking today and I remember someone putting on a thread that they took their dog to work and they stayed in the car.

Now, what I am getting at here is that I am having a problem finding someone to come in twice a week to let the dog out for a wee at lunchtime. A friend of mine was going to do it but they are messing around with her work schedule and she doesn't know if she will be able to do it every week. So, my thought being it that, if I leave the dog at home and she does come over to let him out then he will be in his crate for about 3 1/2 hours at a time.

Where I work, my car is parked in a yard right outside my office window, nobody can come in without us seeing so is secure and the sun is never on it. What if I had a crate in the boot of my car (I have a focus estate). This means when I have my ciggie break every 2hrs I can let him out to have a drink, have a wee and strech his legs. I don't like the idea of him being kept in the car but I do think that if he is it is better than him being at home all day on the days that I work. Also, he is a lurcher so have been told that he will like a lot of sleep. He will get to see more of me as well and hopefully will help with his toilet training.

Does this sound like a better solution than just having someone come in once a day. I will also be able to keep the windows ajar as it is very secure where I work. I don't think anyone else will have a problem with this at work and obviously I will offer to clean up any 'mess' that he makes.

Hi Ambo, I see your predicament

It's a tough one, and one that I'm not qualified to answer really, someone like Mini or Shadowboxer would be good to speak to on this for sure.

My two pence worth, if I was in a similar situation I wouldn't want to leave Fern in a car all day, even if I was popping out for breaks and things like this just for the safety issue, if someone were to steal my car, and it's such a small confined space for a dog. I personally would let Fern either stay in the kitchen and have someone let him out for playtime and toileting during the day but I'm sure that everyone will have different ways of doing things.

Hope you find a solution

Hi Ambo I also wouldn't be to keen on leaving a dog in a car as there are so many dogs each year stolen from backs of cars. I also work full-time so I know how hard it is to find someone you can TRUST. Do you have any trustworthy retired people in your area who happen to be doglovers? Also your local vets should have a list of professional petsitters who can come in during the day and let your puppy out. Professional petsitters have usually been vetted and police checked too.

I have an old lady who is a retired dog behaviourist who has my dog Jake at her house. It has worked very well he adores her and she adores him. I interviewed a lot of people until I found someone I felt comfortable with. If I were you I'd look for a kindly retired neighbour who loves dogs.

Good luck with your search

Thanks for the advice. I have looked on the internet, asked the vets, the local kennels and the RSPCA if they know of any dogsitters or walkers but have had no luck so far. Also, I have only just moved to this area so don't know any of the neighbours apart from next door and don't think I made a good impression when my rabbits escaped into their garden The only other neighbours that I have met are the little 's***s' from across the road. Wouldn't trust them with my house or dog. They would have the lot sold off before I came home from work

I have looked at other dog walkers in other areas and the average price seems to be £10 per hour. Now, don't get me wrong I am not tight with my money but Bailey won't be able to go out with other dogs yet and also being a lurcher puppy I have been told that he doesn't need long walks so I would begrudge paying someone £10 just to let him have a wee.

The only thing that confuses me is that so many people say that they use crates when they go out. Surely that is a small space that the dog is left in?

I am not worried about the security of the car at all. I always have 3 other cars parked behind me so car can't be moved until the other 3 are and my office window overlooks the car anyway so anyone lurking would be spotted straight away. As it is a transport yard the gates are far away from my office, there are security cameras and as soon as anyone comes through the gates that we don't know someone is out there to challenge them. Have you seen the size of truckers????

I don't want this to stop me getting a dog because this is the only problem that I have. I have the space, the time and the money to cover the vets or insurance. The only problem is this two days a week.

I am actually hoping that the boss says that I can bring him actually into my office with me as the last woman did but don't want to put him in this position in case the answer is no.