house training puppy when both work all day?

SARAHSMITH · 09-22-2010, 12:34 PM

My husband and I both work, so our puppy will be alone from about 7:30 am to 2:30 pm. He'll be about 8 weeks I think when we get him and know he will not be able to hold for that long. I read puppies can hold about 1 hr longer than months of age, so 2 months = 3 hrs of holding. We have a great little nook in our garage. Plan to put him there during the day. Eventually plan a doggy door and hidden fence to our 2 acre lot during the day, but not while still so young. How should we go about house training?

Also, how old before we can train with hidden fence/doggy door?

Stosh · 09-22-2010, 12:48 PM

My pups were trained to a doggie door by the breeders so when I got them at 8 wks they knew how to use it. Is there anyone that can come over and let him out before you get home?

chicagojosh · 09-22-2010, 12:50 PM

how much freedom are you planning on giving the little guy? I would be VERY careful leaving a young pup like that in a garage. the is sooo much he could get into so puppy proofing will be huge.

Whiteshepherds · 09-22-2010, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SARAHSMITH

We have a great little nook in our garage. Plan to put him there during the day. Eventually plan a doggy door and hidden fence to our 2 acre lot during the day, but not while still so young. How should we go about house training?
Also, how old before we can train with hidden fence/doggy door?

Hidden fence: (assuming you mean underground fence with shock collar?) May or may not keep your dog IN the yard but does nothing to prevent animals or people from ENTERING your yard. These fences work really well for some dogs but I would never depend on one if I wasn't at home.

If you plan to eventually leave your dog outside while you work a good kennel with a run is your safest bet.

Jax08 · 09-22-2010, 12:59 PM

Is there anyone that can go let him out during the day? That would be better rather than giving him a larger area that he can relieve himself and start a bad habit of going in a crate or a pen.

Victoria_Lynn · 09-22-2010, 10:54 PM

Where do you live? Here in Florida it gets pretty hot, so depending on your area it may not be very humane to keep him in the garage.

If you don't mind me asking, why did you get such a young pup if nobody would be home to care for it?

I'm not trying to be mean or anything but housetraining is like caring for a baby. You have got to be watchful at all times and be two steps ahead of the pup.
If you are looking for a backyard dog that will do nothing more than protect your backyard, than maybe torturing the pup to a small area in the garage will make a backyard seem like paradise.

**Cassidy's Mom** · 09-22-2010, 11:09 PM

7 hours alone is a bit long for an 8 week old puppy, but if either of you can take some time off, it's doable. For example if one of you could take off the first week and the other the second week, now your puppy is 10 weeks old and should be able to hold it for at least 3 or 4 hours. And if either or both of you can take long lunches for a couple of weeks after that, you could easily get to where the puppy could be crated the entire time you're gone.

I work 4 days a week, and after the first week off with a new puppy I work 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the evening, with 3 hours off mid-day. I'm about a 45 minute round trip from work, so it's not feasible for me to go home unless I take a long lunch. So I was able to get in 6 hours of work a day instead of 8, and only use one vacation day each week. I did this for a couple of weeks, and then cut back to 3-1/2 hours AM and PM, with a 2 hour break to go home with the puppy.

If your employers are at all flexible, you can make this work. Otherwise, I'd look into a petsitter to let the puppy out during the day while you're both gone.

**MaggieRoseLee** · 09-22-2010, 11:32 PM

I also have to go to work so my puppies need to be CRATED for longer than I'd like when I first get them. But using the crate is a huge help. I just realize that they may not be able to last the entire time, but I use a large enough crate that they still have a clean place to lay in.

Crate training is key. So if there is an accident it's an easy clean up.

SARAHSMITH · 09-22-2010, 11:32 PM

Victoria Lynn, you are being quite mean with your assumptions. Don't assume or even suggest that I am looking for a dog that would do nothing but protect my backyard! Sorry to be mean right back, but boy did that hit a nerve.

I can probably get home during my lunch hour but it would mean I could spend about 10 minutes with the pup, pretty much just let it out to pee/poop assuming it would even do it that quickly. Would your try that? Is it feasible that it would do it's business quickly?

We have a little nook in our garage that we are thinking about keeping him that is made for storage. It's an empty area about 8 ft by 6 ft. I know a small crate is great for training but that's 7 hrs in a crate. At least a bit more than 4 hrs in crate if I go home for lunch. Seems that is too long for pup to hold it and a long time confined to such a small space. Maybe one a bit larger, then coming home lunch hr could be the solution.

If it would be unsafe for a grown dog to be in a hidden fenced yard, then I would love to hear that, as we would instead build a kennel. Just thought that 2 acres to roam while we are not at home would be great (once the dog was of appropriate age of course).

If a kennel would ultimately be better, then could we use that with a small pup? That would certainly help with potty training if the puppy had access to go outside, but I'm just worried that that wouldn't be safe for some reason, but not really sure why it would not be safe.

Liesje · 09-23-2010, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chicagojosh

how much freedom are you planning on giving the little guy? I would be VERY careful leaving a young pup like that in a garage. the is sooo much he could get into so puppy proofing will be huge.

I agree. A baby that young I'd rather just deal with accidents than the dangers of so much freedom, so I'd use a crate or expen.

When I got Nikon, I had a college student come over during the day to let him out and play with him. I went home around 11am to let him out and then she came around 3pm. 10 minutes is plenty of time, at least for my guy I never had to wait around for him to go, that was always the first thing he did (and I carried him out to prevent accidents along the way) and then if I had a few more minutes of time to play, even better.

I'm getting another puppy in Nov. and I plan on keeping him in my kennels in my van so I can let him out and socialize him on my breaks.

09-22-2010, 12:34 PM	#1 (permalink)
SARAHSMITH Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 200	house training puppy when both work all day? My husband and I both work, so our puppy will be alone from about 7:30 am to 2:30 pm. He'll be about 8 weeks I think when we get him and know he will not be able to hold for that long. I read puppies can hold about 1 hr longer than months of age, so 2 months = 3 hrs of holding. We have a great little nook in our garage. Plan to put him there during the day. Eventually plan a doggy door and hidden fence to our 2 acre lot during the day, but not while still so young. How should we go about house training? Also, how old before we can train with hidden fence/doggy door?

09-22-2010, 12:50 PM	#3 (permalink)
chicagojosh Elite Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Wicker Park, Chicago Posts: 1,789	how much freedom are you planning on giving the little guy? I would be VERY careful leaving a young pup like that in a garage. the is sooo much he could get into so puppy proofing will be huge. __________________ A tired puppy is a good puppy CODY - Sable GSD Born 11/15/09 MANDI - GSD/Husky/Lab Mix Born 6/3/06

09-22-2010, 11:09 PM	#7 (permalink)
Cassidy's Mom No Stinkin' Leashes Moderator Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 24,959	7 hours alone is a bit long for an 8 week old puppy, but if either of you can take some time off, it's doable. For example if one of you could take off the first week and the other the second week, now your puppy is 10 weeks old and should be able to hold it for at least 3 or 4 hours. And if either or both of you can take long lunches for a couple of weeks after that, you could easily get to where the puppy could be crated the entire time you're gone. I work 4 days a week, and after the first week off with a new puppy I work 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the evening, with 3 hours off mid-day. I'm about a 45 minute round trip from work, so it's not feasible for me to go home unless I take a long lunch. So I was able to get in 6 hours of work a day instead of 8, and only use one vacation day each week. I did this for a couple of weeks, and then cut back to 3-1/2 hours AM and PM, with a 2 hour break to go home with the puppy. If your employers are at all flexible, you can make this work. Otherwise, I'd look into a petsitter to let the puppy out during the day while you're both gone. __________________ -Debbie- Dena 9/12/04-10/4/08 Forever would have been too short Keefer 8/25/05 Halo 11/9/08 Cassidy 6/8/00-10/4/04

09-22-2010, 11:32 PM	#8 (permalink)
MaggieRoseLee The Agility Rocks! Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Bushkill, PA (The Poconos!) Posts: 22,215	I also have to go to work so my puppies need to be CRATED for longer than I'd like when I first get them. But using the crate is a huge help. I just realize that they may not be able to last the entire time, but I use a large enough crate that they still have a clean place to lay in. Crate training is key. So if there is an accident it's an easy clean up. __________________ MACH2 Bretta Lee Wildhaus CGC TC TQX Glory B Wildhaus NA, NJ, NF + LOL (still) "*Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." - Oscar Wilde*

09-22-2010, 11:32 PM	#9 (permalink)
SARAHSMITH Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 200	Victoria Lynn, you are being quite mean with your assumptions. Don't assume or even suggest that I am looking for a dog that would do nothing but protect my backyard! Sorry to be mean right back, but boy did that hit a nerve. I can probably get home during my lunch hour but it would mean I could spend about 10 minutes with the pup, pretty much just let it out to pee/poop assuming it would even do it that quickly. Would your try that? Is it feasible that it would do it's business quickly? We have a little nook in our garage that we are thinking about keeping him that is made for storage. It's an empty area about 8 ft by 6 ft. I know a small crate is great for training but that's 7 hrs in a crate. At least a bit more than 4 hrs in crate if I go home for lunch. Seems that is too long for pup to hold it and a long time confined to such a small space. Maybe one a bit larger, then coming home lunch hr could be the solution. If it would be unsafe for a grown dog to be in a hidden fenced yard, then I would love to hear that, as we would instead build a kennel. Just thought that 2 acres to roam while we are not at home would be great (once the dog was of appropriate age of course). If a kennel would ultimately be better, then could we use that with a small pup? That would certainly help with potty training if the puppy had access to go outside, but I'm just worried that that wouldn't be safe for some reason, but not really sure why it would not be safe. Last edited by SARAHSMITH; 09-22-2010 at 11:39 PM.

09-22-2010, 12:48 PM	#2 (permalink)
Stosh Crowned Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: tyler texas Posts: 8,434	My pups were trained to a doggie door by the breeders so when I got them at 8 wks they knew how to use it. Is there anyone that can come over and let him out before you get home?

09-22-2010, 12:59 PM	#5 (permalink)
Jax08 Crowned Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: NNE PA Posts: 14,331	Is there anyone that can go let him out during the day? That would be better rather than giving him a larger area that he can relieve himself and start a bad habit of going in a crate or a pen.

09-22-2010, 10:54 PM	#6 (permalink)
Victoria_Lynn Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 101	Where do you live? Here in Florida it gets pretty hot, so depending on your area it may not be very humane to keep him in the garage. If you don't mind me asking, why did you get such a young pup if nobody would be home to care for it? I'm not trying to be mean or anything but housetraining is like caring for a baby. You have got to be watchful at all times and be two steps ahead of the pup. If you are looking for a backyard dog that will do nothing more than protect your backyard, than maybe torturing the pup to a small area in the garage will make a backyard seem like paradise.

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