# What to Do During the Day?



## CourtneyB (Jul 11, 2012)

We'll be bringing home our new furbaby, Baker, on the 26th, and I'm trying to get as prepared as possible. My biggest worry is what to do with him during the day? We are out of the home from 7:30-5:30 through the week, and I was planning on crating him at least early on.

How do you suggest we tire him out in the mornings before we leave? How long should we devote to playing with him?
Any tips for how to make the crate comfortable for "extended stays"?
How long can a puppy reasonable be in the crate before needing out? We are going to try to time lunches so that we can come home during the day. My day's are a bit more unpredictable, though, so some days only my fiancee may be able to come home.

We looked into doggy daycare, but financially that is not an option full time. We could take him to my mom's house during the day, but the two dogs she has with her during the day are not well-behaved at all. They steal food from people, bark constantly, jump up on you, and are very "alpha."


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## BriGuy (Aug 31, 2010)

A dog walker might be a good thing to help you out. Coming home every day during lunch might be tough. Puppies tend to have to potty every couple of hours, but much more often when they are small, but equally as important is spending time with the dog.


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## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

I have read that whatever age they are in months, that's the number of hours they can hold it (up to 8 hours). So a two month old puppy could only hold it for 2 hours. I'm not sure if that is accurate, as my Molly had to pee every 20 minutes during the day (after playing) but slept through the night, even at 8 weeks. In the beginning, Molly was only home alone from 1.5-2 hours a day. Around four months, we increased it to 3 hours, and we haven't gone more than that, at this time.

Is it possible to hire a dog walker, or have someone come during the day every 2 hours to let him out? At that age, you probably don't have to tire him out.. they sleep a lot. I only put durable toys in Molly's crate and before I left I would give her a Kong. If your pup is bored, he will be able to expend some energy chewing on chew toys. We played with her a lot, and basically dedicated all day to her.. we weren't able to do chores for a while..

Good luck with your new pup; I hope it works out wonderfully for you.


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## Golden Bug (Apr 28, 2012)

CourtneyB said:


> We'll be bringing home our new furbaby, Baker, on the 26th, and I'm trying to get as prepared as possible. My biggest worry is what to do with him during the day? We are out of the home from 7:30-5:30 through the week, and I was planning on crating him at least early on.
> 
> How do you suggest we tire him out in the mornings before we leave? How long should we devote to playing with him?
> Any tips for how to make the crate comfortable for "extended stays"?
> ...



It looks like we're on a similar schedule, except it's more of 9 - 630 for us. Typically, we're up at 5AM take him out of his crate, and then we just play with him for awhile. He seems to be pretty rambunctious at that time, then spend maybe 15 minutes or so working on some commands. Play with him some more, and by 7:45 comes around he's pretty wiped out and is getting into sleep mode. 

We have the dog walker come over to take him out twice a day, and I come home for lunch. It's important to have him out of his crate about every 2-2.5 hours for the first few weeks so he doesn't pee/poop in there. 

In his crate, we put a bone in there, his favorite toy and some of old gym clothes that need to be washed. (He loves curling up in them haha). He also has a Kong toy in there but he's not every amused with it. He prefers ice cubes.

Most likely your pup can't go to doggy daycare for awhile anyways. He needs to get his full set of shots first.


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## vcm5 (Apr 20, 2011)

That is WAY too long to leave a new puppy at home. They will not be able to hold it and its just not fair to them. Puppies need interaction, playing, and lots of potty breaks. I would suggest you hire someone (a neighbor or dog walker of some kind) or ask a family member to come by to play with them and take them out midday. Riley is two and whenever I'll be gone for the whole day (eight hours or so) he either has a dog walker come by for an hour midday or he goes to doggy daycare.


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## Golden Bug (Apr 28, 2012)

Vhuynh2 said:


> I have read that whatever age they are in months, that's the number of hours they can hold it (up to 8 hours). So a two month old puppy could only hold it for 2 hours. I'm not sure if that is accurate, as my Molly had to pee every 20 minutes during the day (after playing) but slept through the night, even at 8 weeks. In the beginning, Molly was only home alone from 1.5-2 hours a day. Around four months, we increased it to 3 hours, and we haven't gone more than that, at this time.
> 
> Is it possible to hire a dog walker, or have someone come during the day every 2 hours to let him out? At that age, you probably don't have to tire him out.. they sleep a lot. I only put durable toys in Molly's crate and before I left I would give her a Kong. If your pup is bored, he will be able to expend some energy chewing on chew toys. We played with her a lot, and basically dedicated all day to her.. we weren't able to do chores for a while..
> 
> Good luck with your new pup; I hope it works out wonderfully for you.




That seems about right with their month in age to how long they can hold it. Rocky is pretty good for 2-2.5 hours (He's 10 weeks). 

However, at times, such as last night, he was going every 20 minutes. Even after we took him out. Don't know what got into him then, but he just became a pee machine. Then after that fun hour and half, he was back to normal schedule. When he's out of his crate, we take him out after every time we play with him, immediately upon him waking up, and 30 minutes after he eats, anything else it's every 45 mins to an hour. 

I wish he could make it through the night, he's good for about 6 hours at night.


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## CourtneyB (Jul 11, 2012)

Thanks for all of the tips. I'm looking into dog walkers in the area, although having a stranger in my house when I'm not here does weird me out a bit. 

The current plan is to get up early with him, so he's hopefully tired when we leave. I can almost always come home for lunch around 11, and I'm trying to block off my schedule so I take an hour and a half most days for the first few weeks. My fiancee takes lunch between 1 & 2 and, with driving time, will have about 45 minutes to spend at the house. 

My mom actually keeps my son during the day, and I think I have her talked into bringing my son home around 3:30/4:00 and waiting here at the house with the dog until we get off. Or would it be better to see if my mom could come in the morning, so he doesn't have that first 4-hour stretch?


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## CourtneyB (Jul 11, 2012)

One more thought: We had planned on not installing a doggy door until he was older, so that he's initially trained to alert us when he needs out. What do you guys think of setting up an x-pen for at least part of the day with puppy pads? Is it much too confusing to use puppy pads and train to go outside? Or would he be okay with an x-pen possibly attached to a doggy door?


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## Golden Bug (Apr 28, 2012)

CourtneyB said:


> Thanks for all of the tips. I'm looking into dog walkers in the area, although having a stranger in my house when I'm not here does weird me out a bit.
> 
> The current plan is to get up early with him, so he's hopefully tired when we leave. I can almost always come home for lunch around 11, and I'm trying to block off my schedule so I take an hour and a half most days for the first few weeks. My fiancee takes lunch between 1 & 2 and, with driving time, will have about 45 minutes to spend at the house.
> 
> My mom actually keeps my son during the day, and I think I have her talked into bringing my son home around 3:30/4:00 and waiting here at the house with the dog until we get off. Or would it be better to see if my mom could come in the morning, so he doesn't have that first 4-hour stretch?





CourtneyB said:


> One more thought: We had planned on not installing a doggy door until he was older, so that he's initially trained to alert us when he needs out. What do you guys think of setting up an x-pen for at least part of the day with puppy pads? Is it much too confusing to use puppy pads and train to go outside? Or would he be okay with an x-pen possibly attached to a doggy door?



Make sure to get references from your potential dog walker. They should be able to provide some and make sure they follow positive reinforcement and adhere to the structure of how you want your pup to interact.

I would definitely see if your mom could come over in the morning. Your puppy won't be able to hold it for 4 hours for awhile, and he might get bored and try and stuff, like your couch. 

I think the Xpen sans the puppy pads would be best. When we first brought our pup home he was really good with going on the pads, but we realized after a few days that it was just too confusing for him to go on that and to learn to go outside. So we stopped using the pads and have had to deal with accidents every now and then. But, I think it will shorten the time to house train him. 

The doggy door might be too early for your pup right now; since he will be exploring and it seems they always like to find a way to get into things they're not supposed to. Maybe once he's a bit older.


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

My 13 week old puppy holds it all night (pee and poop) and holds it all day while we're at work (from 7-3:30). No accidents. He's crated all day.

He pees and poops in the morning, we play for half an hour or so. Then when we get home its nothing but love and play time until we go to bed.

No one comes and lets him out during the day. Tucker is crated all day beside him and Reece has free roam of the living room. 

No accidents in our house so far.


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## sdain31y (Jul 5, 2010)

I have a dog walker that comes everyday at lunch to let my 2 yr old Darby out, She's also an invaluable resource in the case of emergencies and I am delayed at work and need her to come for a second trip or when a family emergency required my immediate trip across country. It took awhile and many interviews, etc with potential people before we found one that fit, but it is so worth the effort. Ask for referrals from friends, local Vets, pet stores, local rescues, etc. I am sure he could go all day without the break, but I think its good for him and he enjoys her visit. She even helps around the house with rbinging in the garbage cans, feeding our cats since one is diabetic now, bringing in deliveries, etc. Its a worthwhile investment all around.


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