MemberNo reputable breeder or rescue is going to agree to this arrangement IMO. You’d have to lie.
I would get an adult dog that is already house trained, if anything.
MemberWhy is crating not an option? Honestly, when a puppy is just learning what behaviours are ok and what ones aren’t, crating when you can’t be right there with them is the best thing you can do for them. Leaving them to their own devices all day and then trying to teach them when you’re around creates a lot of confusion, because there will be things they do during the day without being redireted and then all the sudden when you’re around they aren’t allowed to do those things anymore and it doesn’t make sense to them.
Nine hours is a long time to be crated, so perhaps while their bladder is still growing and they require more frequent potty breaks, you can hire someone to come by mid-day to take the puppy out for a walk and potty break. Once the pup is potty trained, has learend what he can and cannot chew, and is able to hold their bladder for 8-10 hours, you can start giving him more space during the day along with your older dog.
MemberI think I’d hold off on getting a puppy, it doesn’t seem like the time is right.
MemberMy personal experience: Left the pup in our well fenced yard for half an hour while the moving men were coming in and out of our house….he was motivated and dug himself out! I shudder to think of him seeing the mail carrier, escaping and coming home to an empty yard hours later…
We also are away from the house 8 hours a day and the best solution is to pay ~$20 for someone to come walk the dogs mid-day. There are sources such as Rover or Wag to find these people.
MemberTerrible idea.
If you can’t afford a dog walker or aren’t able to get home midday, then I don’t think you should get a puppy.
MemberMaybe get an older dog who’s already house broken that you can leave in the house with your other dog? Or don’t get a puppy at all, it doesn’t seem to be compatible with your lifestyle at this time.
MemberI wouldn’t leave my dog outside if I wasn’t at home because she could be stolen, or there could be a storm, etc. Also the heat! She gets super hot. However, we’ve left our puppy at home uncrated since 8 weeks old, and it’s gone really well. Of course there are days neither of us can make it home during the day, but she really took to her pee pad by the back door and only had “accidents” for a few weeks on the floor. Now if she misses the pee pad she only goes on this one super old rug by the door that we’ll just throw away when she’s a little older. She gets a lot of playtime outside morning and evening!
MemberIdk my take is that I would never get a puppy unless I were home at least half of the day. I would never get a puppy personally because I think it’s too much work for anyone who works full time and can’t go home on lunch.
MemberIs a doggy door not an option? We’ve always had doggy doors that allowed the pups to be able to go in and out as they pleased. If they didn’t want them in the living room for some reason they would put up a baby gate in the door way to the living room/kitchen. I guess that doesn’t work for super open concept houses but something to consider.
Granted, this is the setup for our ADULT dogs who we know their behavior, so we know we don’t have any escape artists. Not a brand new puppy.
MemberFor our other dogs, we just roped off parts of the house we didn’t want the puppy in. We had a lot of tile floors, so it was pretty easy. We also put down plastic and tarps over our carpet until housetraining was complete. It was a good system for us.
I think 9 hours is too long for a crate, personally. And if you can’t afford doggy daycare or a neighborhood kid, a puppy might be too expensive for you right now. Why would you want to crate your puppy? Are you afraid of destruction or accidents? Both will happen no matter what. That’s part of the expense of a puppy.
What did you do to housebreak your three-year-old dog? Is there really no way one of you couldn’t make it home for lunch a few times a week for just a few minutes? What about bringing your dog to work? My employer allows well-behaved dogs at work. It really helps with morale. Even if it is just for a few months.
MemberHmmm… I think I’d just hold off for now, Bee 🙁
My doggos have a big yard to run around in, and they’re inside dogs but even they have gotten out when the wind blew the gate open or they found a weak spot in the fence– and that was with me turning around to go inside for a few minutes! Much less all day. I’d either hold off, crate and have someone swing by mid day to let them out to potty and be socialized and walked, or try a doggie daycare, if you can.
MemberNo, this is an absolutely terrible idea.
You have absolutely no idea how your dog will get along with a puppy. Just because they are great with other dogs doesn’t mean they are going to constantly want a playful puppy all over them. Things can happen. I would never leave two dogs alone together for that long of a time, especially when they are just getting used to each other.
Puppies can’t handle the heat well either. Even if they are 6 months old, puppies can’t regulate their body temperatures as well as older dogs. even with water and shade it won’t be enough to help them regulate.
There are too many unknown factors outside. Other animals, escaping, other dogs, eating things they shouldn’t, diseases. Too many risks.
Our puppy, when we first got him, was only unsupervised in our backyard for 15 minutes AT MOST. He ate a stick, which he couldn’t process and cost us thousands of dollars in emergency surgery, and that is just from being alone for 15 minutes, I cant imagine letting him alone all day, every day by himself with access to do many things.
I wouldn’t even leave your adult dog out in the yard. At least where I am temps get extremely high and dogs seriously don’t have the same ways to regulate their bodies. I would invest in a doggie door like other suggested.
I think if you want a puppy you need to hire someone. Even adopting an older dog I wouldn’t leave them outside. You have no idea what they might get into it if they might try to escape.
MemberSorry, but this is a no go. We got a puppy in March and if we left her outside all day she would probably have eaten so much grass, twigs, leaves, etc she’d be super sick. Plus, a lot of times puppies go through a ‘eat their own poop’ stage, so leaving them unattended outside all day isn’t great. On the training front- it’s not like they’re learning potty training if they’re stuck outside all day. They’re just learning to poop wherever they are, which just happens to be outside.
The only way I could see this being workable is if you’re able to hire a dogwalker to come in midday. The puppy should be able to be okay in a play pen for 4 hours, and hour break and then 4 more hours until you get home.
MemberWow. A lot of heated discussion. I want to start off by saying I personally see no reason an adult dog shouldn’t be left outside while their owner is at work. As long as it’s not super hot/cold and the dog has access to shelter and water. In fact, I used to work at a humane society and we would adopt dogs to owners that kept the dog outside during the work day. As long as we were coniviced that it was brought in at night and the dog was trully a member of the family and not kept outside 24/7 we didn’t see a problem with it. I think this is where some posters and I are disagreeing.
I think in our society we treat our animals like people. While my animals are very well cared for and a part of my family, I do not see them as people or my “fur babies.” And, to treat an animal like a human is doing it a huge disservice. There is not a reason that an animal can’t be kept outside in nice weather. I know my dog will love to sit in the grass, watch squirrels, and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. If she has shade/shelter and water tell me what is wrong with this.
Now, the question is weather a puppy is too young to be kept out for the long. I’m not questioning this for my full grown dog. I might consider building a sturdy outside pen with a dog house, bedding, and water bowl? I don’t know. I am now convienced that I need to rethink this and maybe come up with another plan for the pup-until it’s maybe 6 months old. Then, it should be old enough to enjoy being outside during the day.
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