How much time is needed to care for a new puppy?

Question

My boyfriend and I are thinking of getting a new puppy (like tomorrow) and we just wanted to know about how much time every day needs to be devoted to caring for the puppy? I work 8hours/6days and he goes to school full-time and works part-time. We're home in the evenings and don't travel. I just don't want the puppy to get depressed or destructive. Is it really okay to leave it in a crate (with blankets, food, waters, etc.) during the day? I don't want to get a dog and then have it be unhappy.

Answer 1

It doesn't sound like a puppy would be a good choice for you right now. Having a pup is just like a baby, they need alot of time and patience, especially early on. A new pup won't be able to be crated all day, since they can't hold thier bladders very well (a good way to tell is by how old they are...2 months - 2 hours, 3 month-3 hours,etc.) and you don't want to let him have run of the house as he can get scared, bored, or just lonely and destroy things. Not to mention eating stuff that may be harmful to him. If you are really thinking about getting a dog, you should consider adopting an older dog from your local shelter. Many of these are already housebroken, need less supervision (don't leave him alone right away though, he can still be destructive) and make wonderful additions to a family.

Answer 2

Puppies need a lot of time and attention... it is always good to take a good couple of weeks off of work when you first get one. Puppy should only be put in a crate at night and perhaps for an hour or so during day if you pop out for a while. Any longer than this will cause your puppy a lot of distress and does border on maltreatment.

It is always better not to leave a new puppy unattended for any longer than 3 hours at a time. You'll need the first few weeks to get him settled and start working on house training and general obedience.

It sounds like a very spontanious decision... perhaps you should wait and think about it a bit more before you decide..do a bit more research about which dog is right for you as it is a big responsibility. Remember you'll have to puppy proof your house before the puppy arrives.

Answer 3

I just got a 4 month old puppy. I'm a stay-at-home mom with 3 school age kids. I couldn't imagine leaving our pup for a full day, 6 days a week. I feel it would be unfair to the puppy to be crated all day, so many days of the week. Why don't you get a turtle or hamster or something that is expected to be confined for a long period of time....or even a cat. We have a turtle and he is a very cool pet. It satisfied our "pet" need until the time was right to get a puppy...which happens to be now!! We thought long & hard before we crossed the puppy bridge. Good luck with your decision. Just remember, saying no now doesn't mean no forever. There will be a better time in your life to get a dog and it'll be worth the wait.

Answer 4

If you are not home during the day, is there someone that come to care for the puppy in your absence? Puppies cannot hold their bladders that long and will get very destructive if left alone for any length of time out of boredom, even if there are toys out. You should have a crate to contain the dog, also really helps in house training. Puppies take a LOT of time because they have tons of energy and needs loads of training to be a well behaved animal. Think it over carefully because puppies are a lot of work. I have found that having my puppy is harder and more time consuming than my kids were as babies! You'd be best off adopting an adult dog from the shelter.

Answer 5

My family just recently got puppies on Christmas. Because they are so small they need a lot of care. Every 3-4 hours, they need to be taken out to go to the bathroom. Food, Water, Blankets, and Toys will settle fine in the crate or kennel for a little while. Unlike my puppies, they would rather be out then in. Just remember that on days when not working, take time to play with the puppy so that they spend some quality time with you.

Answer 6

puppies need constant attention , maybe you could consider a older dog that needs re homing from a shelter or from a Private foster home, that has already been potty trained and use to being alone during the day. Dogs are 10 to 15 year commitments ,take time to research what would be right for you .dogs have feelings just like you , please don't get a dog for all the wrong reasons and have to give it up down the road. Dogs truly are humans best friends.

Answer 7

Just don't do it. A puppy is a LOT of responsibility. I go to school full time and work part time. My boyfriend on the other hand, doesn't have a job right now, and it seems like there STILL isn't enough time to care for an 8 month old dog.

WIth a puppy you cannot leave it alone for more than one hour per month of age. THat is about how long they can hold their bladder. If you are going to potty train it, you are going to have even more issues. I suggest waiting until you have more time on your hands. A puppy is like a child. It cannot be left alone for long periods of time. It cannot be left crated for long periods of time. It takes TONS of time and work to train it (let alone house train it)...

I just don't think that with working and school you don't have time for a dog.

Answer 8

You don't have enough time. You have to watch the pup quite a bit and will have to take it outside several times a day to go to the bathroom; however just leaving it outside is not a viable option this time a year as small pups cannot keep themselves warm and without the vaccinations can catch colds easily. The puppy is going to be VERY unhappy. If it's inside, it will destroy your furniture because it won't have anything to do (normally you can exhaust a dog enough with a long walk to let it last while you are at work, but pups are too small and their undeveloped bones don't take well to long walks)... not to mention go to the bathroom on the floors. A pup has too small of a bladder to hold it in for hours on end! Crates are not a viable solution for animals to be in for hours and hours on end, really only at nighttime for sleeping and maybe a few other times. The puppy is going to CRY wherever he is and will drive your neighbors and yourselves insane. Pups need near constant attention to tire them out properly (through games) so they will sleep for hours without crying.

Answer 9

how old is the puppy, if it 2 weeks-3.5 weeks old, then you need to spend quite a lot of time with them. They cry if they feel alone (no one at home) and if you plan to potty train them, you should spend more time to train them. Just like having a baby, sometimes you have to wake up in the middle of the night just because they're crying. If you're busy, I think the best way is to crate them for security reason. However crating a dog for long period is not good for the dog's personality. He would become unsocialized with surroundings, fierce and destructive, I think with your busy time, you should get an older puppy, say like 5 months old maybe? Good luck with your new dog

Answer 10

I have had a puppy for 2 months. When I got her she was 4 months old and she was a riot. I attend school full time (at the time I got her I was going part time, now at full time I have to manage my schedule so that she would not be home for no more than 4 hours per day alone).

Even then it's a lot of work. She constantly wants to play and wants attention. She needs to be outside constantly to pee/poop. I enrolled her in a training course and I have to train her at home which takes time. I'm also in the process of house trainer her (which can take up to 6-8 months).

Now at 6 months she's a little better. She still wants to play constantly and doesn't need to go out as much, but she still needs to go out when she jumps around the door in circles. She now takes naps with me when I want to take naps, but once she's up she wants to run around and play. You have to have A LOT of patience for a puppy. I know my boyfriend tells me constantly that he thinks i'm a really patient person when it comes to her, which I guess I am.

Puppies are REALLY destructive when left alone or perhaps just in general. I know my puppy doesn't tear up my things thank god, but she tears up her toys and takes the stuffing out so much that I'm constantly replacing the toys. Even the unbreakable sturdy toys she gets to. When she's not interested in her toys she's always finding something on the ground to play with. Therefore I'm always cleaning, moping, vaccumming up my place to make sure she doesn't get ahole of anything.

As for leaving the puppy along in the crate all day, it would be horrible I think. My puppy is really lucky because I have a 2 bedroom apartment so I took my office and changed it around so that the room is an office/puppy room. Her crate, toys, water bowls, are in the room. It's really nice and it's a good size room; however she's only in it for the time I'm away in class and that's about 4 hours. I don't work so...

I love her to death and even though I don't have much of a life, I love her to pieces! I feel truely in love with her personality and her looks and I don't plan on getting rid of her for anything. As for the puppy being my boyfriend and I's. He likes her a lot, but in the end she's my responsibility. I pay for the vet bills, classes, food, toys, clothing, etc for her and he just plays with her and takes care of her. Good Luck.