Post # 1
Member
678 posts
Busy bee
Hey dog-owner bees,
We are talking about adding some furry friends to our household sometime in the next year or so. We know a kitty would be relatively low-maintenance but we were curious to see what people’s experiences were with bringing home a puppy (around 8-10 weeks old).
Training and settling in a new pup sounds intensive and would obviously need round-the-clock attention. Unfortunately, Fiance and I both work full-time!
Would 2 weeks off from work to stay home with a puppy be enough time? I know we would still need to come back home at lunchtime for potty, food, and playtime even after resuming our work schedules.
I just don’t know how people do this and work at the same time!
Post # 3
Member
3520 posts
Sugar bee
I’ve never heard of taking time off for a new puppy. If you can, flex your schedules so that he isn’t kennel too long during the day. Lunchtime visits should be sufficient, IMO.
Post # 4
Member
3276 posts
Sugar bee
Wow really? People don’t stay home when they get new pets do they? I have never heard of that. Go to work, they’ll be fine.
Post # 5
Member
211 posts
Helper bee
@kestane: nope never took off time unless we brought the new dog home on a sunday and Id return to work on tuesday just to help it get used to the house but nothing more than a day.
Post # 6
Member
254 posts
Helper bee
People take time off for a dog???
Post # 7
Member
12247 posts
Sugar Beekeeper
I’ve never heard of that! But spending a week with your new puppy sounds like a great vacation!
Post # 8
Member
3230 posts
Sugar bee
Um we didn’t take any time off and our dog is a well adjusted pup.
Post # 9
Member
678 posts
Busy bee
I’m actually relieved to hear it might not be as big a deal as we were imagining. I guess we were worried about the housetraining aspect- potty breaks every 3 hours might be tough for us to swing while working.
And we wouldn’t be taking time off just for a puppy… just making sure it coincided with a vacation time, and the longest stretch we have is 2 weeks 🙂
But how I wish I could just be at home 24-7 with a new friend!
Post # 10
Member
2445 posts
Buzzing bee
You certainly don’t NEED to take time off for a new puppy, but if you can, why not?? Spending time with a puppy is so fun! When we got our puggle puppy, neither of us was employed at the time so it worked out nicely. I would want to arrange it similarly the next time we get a puppy, at least for a few days.
Post # 11
Member
1024 posts
Bumble bee
If you can, you should come home at lunch hour and take he or she out. That way you don’t have to take time off. If you can, taking a week or 2 might be nice—they’re only this small once 🙂
We’re getting our new puppy on Saturday. I just graduated college and don’t have a job yet, so I’m taking my sweet time getting one 🙂
Post # 12
Member
512 posts
Busy bee
@kestane: We brought home a puppy rather sponaneously and it happened to be over a holiday break from work so I did have a week off with my new puppy and I am SO glad I did. We are bonded beyond belief.
If I didn’t happen to have time off I would make it a long weekend if I could & take off Friday and/or Monday and bring him home in the beginning of that break.
Congrats in advance. Puppies are AWESOME! And a lot of work. But so rewarding!
Post # 13
Member
815 posts
Busy bee
@kestane: It’s definitely good to be around more in the early stages and I think it’s great that you’re planning time off. Since you’re concerned about both of you working full time & potty training, have you thought about getting an older dog who’s already trained? There are some great dogs in Foster care & often they can tell you if the dog is already potty trained. I am on the hunt for a new one right now myself. I have only adopted older dogs so don’t have much puppy experience, but everyone seems to say that puppys are so much work, they’re like having a baby! It was never like that with my older dogs (older meaning 2 or 3) and then they’ve already worked off a lot of their puppy energy & will probably just sleep when you leave ;).
Post # 15
Member
2445 posts
Buzzing bee
@lauraashley09: take that sweet time girl! There’s nothing like spending allll of your time with a new puppy 🙂 My fiance and I were both unemployed when we spontaneously got our puppy and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It was the best!
Post # 16
Member
232 posts
Helper bee
@kestane: Check out the thread I linked below:
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/i-regret-getting-a-dog
It was definitely eye-opening for me! I’ve never had a dog but I knew it was a huge responsibility. I didn’t even think about how much more work having a puppy would be.
I’m actually relieved to hear it might not be as big a deal as we were imagining.
You sound like the OP in the thread linked above before she knew how much work it would take. Like I said, I don’t even have a dog but that thread made me realize it’s no joke. They require a lot of time and patience!
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