What can you do with your young puppy while you are
at work?
Have you recently acquired a puppy and discovered your
busy schedule is unaccommodating for a puppy? You have
several options for pet care while you are at work:
1. Crating the dog. Crating a dog preserves your house
and prevents the dog destroying items or injuring itself
by getting into harmful places or substances. Unfortunately,
crating for long periods is extremely stressful for
a puppy. Crating for more than 5-6 hours during the
developmental months of a puppy's life can stunt housetraining
and attachment to humans as well as foster behavioral
problems like howling, barking, or self-injuring. Because
puppies simply are not able to hold their bladder for
more than a few hours, crating a dog all day while you
work inevitably is a messy, resentment-inciting option.
2. A slightly better alternative is creating a "safe
room" for your pet. A large bathroom or kitchen
is ideal. This allows your pet the freedom of movement
but not the freedom to destroy or chew. Left with toys
or a treat ball that dispenses toys as it is rolled
can keep your puppy busy and stimulated while you are
away. Leaving a puppy pad or pile of newspapers gives
your puppy the opportunity to avoid sleeping in their
own waste and while it will delay housetraining to teach
them to use a place inside, it's much preferable to
crating.
3. This is where a pet sitter might enter the picture.
A pet sitter or dog walker is a individual who can come
to your home once or twice during a day, let your dog
out of it's crate, take it out to go to the bathroom,
provide exercise, human stimulation, and can resupply
the puppy with check toys it may have finished or become
bored with during the day. A petsetter is a great, affordable
option and should be able to provide you with a long
list of references and clients who consider them kind
and trustworthy with a set of housekeys. A petsitter
can help keep your pup's housetraining moving.
4. Depending on the safety of your neighborhood and
security of your home and yard you may consider a dog
crate butted up against a pet door leading outside.
Giving your pet access to explore outside keeps your
pet healthy, active, and housetraining on track. Seriously
weigh whether this is a safe alternative for you- many
dogs left in yards alone are taunted and abused by passersby
or much worse. To take this option you should have a
secure privacy fence in a safe neighborhood. Before
leaving your dog to the yard alone, evaluate the likely
hood of your dog digging out or finding an escape through
a gap in the fencing.
5. If you can afford it, Doggie Daycare is often the
perfect option. Not only is your dog happy, active,
and stimulated all day, but puppies get immeasurable
value from being around many other dogs and people.
A dog who spends a few days a week as a puppy in doggie
daycare will almost certainly never develop dog aggression,
but instead will understand how to behave around and
interact with other dogs- and adult dogs will help teach
your puppy the difference between appropriate and inappropriate
play. Because doggie daycares are constantly supervised
Daycares are happy to help potty train your puppy by
reminding him or her to go out every hour or two.
