# How much time do you spend with your puppy when you're home?



## Pammie (Jan 22, 2011)

I rarely put my 4 month old pup in his xpen or crate during the day, and the cleanliness of my house is suffering! I really should confine him and wash my floor and do some windows, but Bryley is the best excuse ever to ignore the chores! 

Either my husband or I (and most days both of us) are home during the day and we seem to devote most of the day playing, correcting, taking him to potty and admiring his cuteness! When I am not home my husband does put him in the xpen for a couple hours or will crate when he leaves to run an errand- the longest amount so far in 2 1/2 hours in the crate. He is far less tolerant of puppy antics that I!

My reasoning for not confining is I want my pup to get so use to the house that he does not view everything in it as a potential toy! I want the house to be routine, boring, and mundane so that at some point he can be left in the house unconfined for many hours and not destroy the place- just like I was able to do with my now gone-to-heaven :heartbeat golden who was perfect! I can say that he is getting soooo much better at not bothering stuff. The rattan CD holder is no longer interesting, the stuff on the coffee tables are not either, the pillows on the couch are still sometimes interesting but mostly not, oh- the big one is the floor length sheer curtains are no longer fascinating! Yea! My big hurdle to overcome with Bryley is kitchen counter surfing, or should I say counter viewing! He puts his feet up to see what he might abscond with! And all this time together certainly does strengthen our bond, which I love!

After all that blah blah blah :listen: above, the short answer from me is that when it is just Bryley and me alone at most I confine 1 hour during the day!


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## Bentley's Mom (May 19, 2011)

This is the first week I have been home with Bentley. He goes to my monster-in-law's every day and then I pick him up as soon as I'm off work. We don't have an x-pen or a crate (his "bedroom" is our kitchen). What I have discovered is that since he has free roam of the house I have gotten nothing done, unless you count chasing puppy, playing with puppy, etc.:bowl: Does she nap on a schedule? Maybe you can just put her in her pen for a 1/2 hour before her usual nap time and then every few days extend it by 15 minutes so she is used to playing by herself. Then a few days before you go back to work you can have kind of a dress rehearsal so she knows what to expect and you'll feel better when you have to leave her? I have NO experience at this so hopefully someone with more knowledge will give you some input.


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## aerolor (May 27, 2011)

Your instincts are right Serawyn - play with her. We also have a 9 week old golden pup and she is with us for most of the time, but sleeps downstairs on her own at night in a crate. We only use the crate for night time sleeping and when she is old enough we will dispense with it. We regard her as part of our family to be included in as much as we can. Fortunately we do not have to return to work so she can be with us and not have to get used to spending the days on her own. At the moment we can leave her for a couple of hours and she is fine being on her own, as you say at 9 weeks they sleep a lot. When we are home she follows us around, inside and out and we play a lot. At the moment she is asleep on my feet. When she is awake she investigates everything, house and garden, not much misses her attentions, but she is experimenting (under supervision). Once she becomes familiar with everyday things around the place she will leave them alone, but I expect a bit of wear and tear. 
It is important to socialise and train your puppy and a firm bond of trust is essential to get the best from a dog. As soon as I can I will be taking her out so she will become familiar with different places, and meeting as many people, dogs and different situations as I can. By doing this I hope she will become a well adjusted and happy dog who is a pleasure to have around.


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## Serawyn (May 23, 2011)

Pammie, boy, it is sooooo hard not to spend every waking hour with our babies right? Even when she's napping, I watch her a smile!  

Bently's mom, Ellie loves her x-pen and crate. Both doors are usually open but she just stays in there so I don't have to train her. Sometimes if I'm in another part of the house, I'd close the x-pen door so she wouldn't have free range of the house. She whines a bit and then plays with her toys. She can spend hours inside her pen until I pick her up and take her out. Sometimes, she wouldn't want to come out! 

Aerolor, I heard it's good to socialize a puppy as much as you are trying to do. I am going to be taking Ellie to puppy classes (only if I trust the owners to be responsible and their dogs to not have parvo!). I hope Ellie will be well socialized. She does very well with anyone new who come to our house. In fact, her crate is right by the front door in the living room. We've even thought about putting it in the kitchen if she's too rowdy or anxious, but she loves it there. She likes to see everyone and everything. I do hope she stays this way and that she'll be a happy and balanced girl


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