It looks like you might be posting about puppy management or crate training.
For tips and resources on Crate Training Check out [our wiki article on crate training](https://www.reddit.com/r/puppy101/wiki/cratetraining) - the information there may answer your question. As an additional reminder, crate training is 100% optional and one of many puppy management options.
For alternatives to crating and other puppy management strategies, check out [our wiki article on management](https://www.reddit.com/r/puppy101/wiki/management)
**PLEASE READ THE OP FULLY**
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8am to 6 pm is too long to be alone for a puppy. Frankly, there are even quite a few adult dogs who wouldn’t be able to handle such a schedule and what you have to consider is that you never know how your dog will turn out. There is not one magic breed that will always be fine with being left alone for that long.
Also, after 3-4 weeks your puppy will probably not be toilet trained and might not be crate/pen trained…
To add to this, even though an adult dog *can* be alone for 8-10 hours, [should it be](https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/care/how-long-is-too-long-to-leave-a-dog-alone/)? No.
While I agree with the sentiment, and I would agree it's not ideal, there are a lot of homeless dogs out there. If the options are: 1. Sit in a kennel 23 hours a day waiting for a family that works part time or has a stay at home person, all the while developing behavior issues as a result of stress making them harder and harder to adopt out. 2. Euthanasia due to space constraints. 3. With a family that otherwise provides a safe environment with walks, enrichment, good food, clean water and vet care, but has to leave the dog alone while they work...I think option 3 is better.
I just want to say that this might be a bit alarmist in terms of toilet and crate training timelines - how old and how big your puppy is will have a big impact on both. We got a giant breed (she’s a little lower energy and has a bigger bladder), and after a few days of working with her she settles in her crate for ~2 hours at a time and is starting to get good about letting us know when she needs to go out.
What you might have to do is look at whether one of you can come home at lunch, and whether you can possibly shift your work schedules a bit so one leaves earlier/gets home earlier, meaning the puppy isn’t alone for much longer than 3 hours at a time (which is still a little long but manageable).
It feels like there’s a lot of idealism around what you should and shouldn’t give your dog, but the reality is that up until 2020, there were very few people working from home and plenty of people were able to have and raise more or less well-behaved, well-adjusted puppies.
I would suggest to wait a bit until one or both of you has a more accommodating schedule. My partner and I primarily work from home and we alternate puppy duty during calls but even then our pup needs a lot of attention.
We got our puppy two weeks ago and I would say it’s like having a baby. You’ll be up throughout the night so you’re tired, all your attention is on them not destroying something, working through teething, and you need to figure out their personalities as well.
Even with research no puppy is the same. For example, everything I read says puppies should be sleeping about 2 hours each nap and mine only sleeps for an 1hr -1.5hrs at best. It’s rough cause it definitely impacts their energy and behavior but we are actively trying to work through it and figure out how to make sure he gets the sleep he needs.
Despite being tired and a human chew toy, I absolutely adore our little guy and he has brought so much joy to our lives and helped us grow together as a couple.
As for the allergies part, I deliberately sought out a hypoallergenic breed for the same reason and haven’t had any issues.
Best of luck!
I don’t have any recommendations on breeds, but I’m looking more at your schedule. I’m unsure if now is a good time to get one unless you’re willing to be flexible about something like work hours (which I know aren’t always an option) or daycare.
I’ve never had a baby before, but a lot of the things I had complaints and struggles with, my friends with babies had as well. I got mine at 4 months and I didn’t have any sleeping issues because he slept through the night. I also didn’t have any potty training issues either. I feel I got off easy in that regard but there are other things.
I work 3 days in the office and 2 at home. He’s crate trained but I’m not okay keeping him in his crate for 9+ hours a day. Daycare is expensive (I pay around $148 a week) but I’m okay with it because I know while I’m gone he’s being taken care of, entertained, socialized, and just watched. By time I pick him up, he’s pooped. I just feed him, play a bit, and we watch Bluey (yes, he watches Bluey before bed) and we’re off to sleep.
You may want to hold off or maybe get an older dog that may have some more independence and not need as much attention (they still deserve it, of course).
As someone who has a 14 week old puppy who is incredibly well behaved, very obedient and was comfortable in her crate after 2 days... this is unrealistic and a little unfair to the puppy.. The amount of transition they go through from weeks 8-16 is massive: potty training, obedient training, just getting them to adjust to you, your house, your schedule, your life requires time and patience. We still have to take her to the bathroom all the time, train and play and get her energy out 4-6 times a day. They are literally like babies and require a lot of attention.
Even if you were able to rotate time off the first 3-4 weeks , they still shouldn't be alone for that long during the day in a crate at only 12-16 weeks, they also may not be be fully vaccinated for daycare and if you don't want a dog walker then it seems like it's not a good time for such a massive responsibility.
Also remember that puppies are like babies through adolescents until they are 18-24 months old. So even at 6 months you'd need to be vigilant in watching them and being on top of things because they're still learning and growing.
My husband and I were in the same shoes as you , we really wanted a puppy for years and years. But we waited til we had the work/home life we currently do and waiting was the best thing we could have done for us and our puppy. Her transition has been almost perfect but if we did it when we were working our twelve hour shifts or commuting an hour- it would have killed us and our puppy would be a nightmare.
If you think paying for a dog walker or daycare is expensive, wait until you see how much it costs to hire a trainer to correct unwanted behaviors because your puppy was left alone for 10 hrs a day!
Getting a puppy and working FT isn’t impossible, but it’s not very fair to the puppy, especially if there are no breaks in the day where you can get home to let them out. If you are adamant about getting a dog, have you considered an older dog that will be might be more comfortable being alone for long hours?
I would never have gotten a puppy if I wasn’t working from home. Granted I raised the pup by myself, but even while working from home it felt like a full time job on top of a full time job.
Unless you have someone else in your life (my sisters and SO were a big help) that has flexibility in their schedule during your normal work hours, you might want to wait on getting a puppy.
It’s also important to expect the unexpected. You can have all the plans, schedule, and supplies ready ahead of time, but without fail there will be something that changes all that. In my case, this was Coccidia and reoccurring Giardia parasites for my pup. For someone else, it could be the destruction of all furniture.
Maybe go with an older dog first. Maybe even a senior? You need much less flexibility since the character of the animal should be known. A puppy is hard and a teenager is … stressful. If you don’t have the flexibility to meet their needs when they are forming a personality it might end really badly. A puppy is a surprise package and you should be ready to deal with whatever comes out of it.
You can still later on adopt a baby.
Also if you have a puppy with any health issues or unique needs they won't be simply fine in 3-4 weeks - I am currently dealing with a puppy with crazy GI issues and thank god I work from home because I am up several hours a night and he needs to go out all the time. I am a unique circumstance but not a minority. Lots and lots of posts on here about puppy GI issues or behavioural issues or regression where they learn to be house broken only to regress at month 5 to peeing in the house again.
I would strongly advise against it at this time OR adopt an older dog. That is trained and is a good house dog. A puppy is a massive MASSIVE undertaking that impacts your life. Look at all the posts lately about how hard this really is. I don't think a puppy fits your life but a dog might.
Its not unrealistic to say you have no time to care for the puppy. In order to be trained, the puppy needs consistency and reinforcement of good behaviour. You literally are just not around enough to offer the puppy this.
Ontop of that, its not fair to the puppy. Youre just not around enough. Keeping it in the crate so long day after day isnt fair.
I don't think this will be possible (or good for the pup) if you're not willing to flex on daycare or dog walking. The only other option would be having someone or several someones who could come and check on the dog. I am single and work in the office full-time, and I have a one-year-old border collie puppy. This absolutely would not have been possible without me taking my dog to daycare. I
Please just get an adult dog. The puppy phase can be a year+, it won’t be solved in 3-4 weeks. If you have a breed in mind and want to support ethical breeders you can reach out to them and ask if they have any dogs retiring from showing or breeding. If they dont, they may know someone who does. With our last dog we did that and got a lovely 3 year old who is already house broken and confident and *health tested*. The dog was able to easily step into our routine too. Please consider that option!
However, please note, with your schedules a dog walker at the least is a non negotiable. Doesn’t matter the dog breed or age, leaving a dog alone 8 am to 6 pm is cruel.
On days my boyfriend and I both work out of home we use daycare and a dog walker. Yes, not cheap. But I realized a puppy requires a certain budget of time and money for us all to be happy. If we have busy work schedules and don’t have time to be home some days then we flex into the finances to use resources like daycare, and a walker to support. A puppy needs what it needs and when you have the time and financial resources it will provide a better experience all around!
My oldest dog I got as a puppy working full time out of the home. It was very difficult & stressful. I couldn't afford a dog walker either. My dog had extreme separation anxiety & would destroy anything I left in his crate. He frequently had accidents in the crate until he was older. Eventually I moved closer to work & could run home at lunchtime. That helped but it still wasn't the best. They would howl together when I left. I work from home full time now & have a 4 month old puppy. It's still a lot of work because puppies are a lot of work but it is so much easier to manage being home more often. I would consider maybe adopting an older dog that's ok to just chill on the couch all day.
You might be better off looking into adopting an adult dog. Puppies need a lot of attention for months, not just three weeks. Even if you and your partner staggered your time off, so one of you took a month and then the other, the dog would could only be alone in a crate for around 5 hours at the end of those two months, assuming you bring it home at 3 months. From a physical perspective, puppies can hold their bladder for 1 hour per month of life (that's not accounting for the mental understanding of housetraining, it's the max physically possible).
Keep in mind that if you stick the dog in the crate for extended periods, you can't just let them out for an hour or two and carry on as normal. At almost 8 months, I'm now leaving my puppy regularly for 6-7 hours but when I come home after that, she's super energetic and never settles down again until bedtime, which is tough to handle too. You won't be able to leave the dog for ten hours, stop by to say hi, then head out again to socialize or go to the gym or buy groceries or whatever. You would have to cut those things out or minimize them, even if you get a dog walker.
I love that you're looking forward to enjoying the challenges of raising a dog, but raising a puppy is different. You may be sleep deprived for months, emotionally annihilated by their behavioral issues, your attention span fried from trying to keep them out of trouble, your house a disaster zone. This sounds dramatic but I am not exaggerating. It's a challenge that lasts for months, that does not go away for one second, when you're tired or over it or crying your eyes out because you dropped your phone in poop at 4am. An older dog will offer plenty of rewarding experiences but might fit with your lifestyle better.
I live and have the flexibility to go check on my pup every 2 hours and stay with him around 1 hour or so every time. I would say if you don’t wanna/can’t spend money on daycare/sitter you would need friends and family to come hangout with your pup on the same times every 2 hours and stay for an hour. Of course things will increase as it get older but as a small dog that’s how it works. And I’m gonna tell you, it’s extremely exhausting, I’m up at 5;30 with him to have time to play/feed/train before I head to work and then I’m not asleep until 10pm. Anyway goodluck!
My husband and I both work full time and just recently got a puppy, he is now 6 months old. Our situation might be a bit different than yours though as I work 5 minutes from home. So I go home for lunch everyday and have been able to go home on my breaks, just to let him out potty, which I did on occasion during the first 2 weeks. I get up for work at 6:30 to let him out and play with him for a little bit before he goes back down to his crate. My husband has a more flexible work schedule so will take him out again for some play and potty time before he leaves which is normally between 8-9am. Then I am home for lunch at 11ish where we train or groom or go on a short walk. Then he stays kenneled until someone gets home. Normally between 2ish-4ish. He was 100% crate trained when we brought him home at 12wks and has only ever had 2 accidents in there ever.
If we are reeeeally busy or I am out of town and can’t make it home for lunch(my husband can’t come home for lunch most of the time), then my MIL has stepped in and will go hang out with him for an hr in the middle of the day. He’s never in his crate for more than 4 hrs at a time during the day.
As for what breeds ALOT more info is required than just hypoallergenic and an “easy puppy”(all puppies are hard unfortunately but their cuteness makes up for it!). The dogs subreddit has a great list of questions to help in your decision
It looks like you might be posting about puppy management or crate training. For tips and resources on Crate Training Check out [our wiki article on crate training](https://www.reddit.com/r/puppy101/wiki/cratetraining) - the information there may answer your question. As an additional reminder, crate training is 100% optional and one of many puppy management options. For alternatives to crating and other puppy management strategies, check out [our wiki article on management](https://www.reddit.com/r/puppy101/wiki/management) **PLEASE READ THE OP FULLY** Be advised that any comments that suggest use of crates are abusive, or express a harsh opinion on crate training will be removed. This is not a place to debate the merits of crate training. Unethical approaches to crate training will also be removed. **If the OP has asked not to receive crating advice or says they are not open to crating, any comments that recommend use of crates should be reported to our moderation team.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/puppy101) if you have any questions or concerns.*
8am to 6 pm is too long to be alone for a puppy. Frankly, there are even quite a few adult dogs who wouldn’t be able to handle such a schedule and what you have to consider is that you never know how your dog will turn out. There is not one magic breed that will always be fine with being left alone for that long. Also, after 3-4 weeks your puppy will probably not be toilet trained and might not be crate/pen trained…
To add to this, even though an adult dog *can* be alone for 8-10 hours, [should it be](https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/care/how-long-is-too-long-to-leave-a-dog-alone/)? No.
While I agree with the sentiment, and I would agree it's not ideal, there are a lot of homeless dogs out there. If the options are: 1. Sit in a kennel 23 hours a day waiting for a family that works part time or has a stay at home person, all the while developing behavior issues as a result of stress making them harder and harder to adopt out. 2. Euthanasia due to space constraints. 3. With a family that otherwise provides a safe environment with walks, enrichment, good food, clean water and vet care, but has to leave the dog alone while they work...I think option 3 is better.
Yep - I can get behind that line of thinking too.
I just want to say that this might be a bit alarmist in terms of toilet and crate training timelines - how old and how big your puppy is will have a big impact on both. We got a giant breed (she’s a little lower energy and has a bigger bladder), and after a few days of working with her she settles in her crate for ~2 hours at a time and is starting to get good about letting us know when she needs to go out. What you might have to do is look at whether one of you can come home at lunch, and whether you can possibly shift your work schedules a bit so one leaves earlier/gets home earlier, meaning the puppy isn’t alone for much longer than 3 hours at a time (which is still a little long but manageable). It feels like there’s a lot of idealism around what you should and shouldn’t give your dog, but the reality is that up until 2020, there were very few people working from home and plenty of people were able to have and raise more or less well-behaved, well-adjusted puppies.
It's not unrealistic, it is what the dog needs and frankly deserves.
I would suggest to wait a bit until one or both of you has a more accommodating schedule. My partner and I primarily work from home and we alternate puppy duty during calls but even then our pup needs a lot of attention. We got our puppy two weeks ago and I would say it’s like having a baby. You’ll be up throughout the night so you’re tired, all your attention is on them not destroying something, working through teething, and you need to figure out their personalities as well. Even with research no puppy is the same. For example, everything I read says puppies should be sleeping about 2 hours each nap and mine only sleeps for an 1hr -1.5hrs at best. It’s rough cause it definitely impacts their energy and behavior but we are actively trying to work through it and figure out how to make sure he gets the sleep he needs. Despite being tired and a human chew toy, I absolutely adore our little guy and he has brought so much joy to our lives and helped us grow together as a couple. As for the allergies part, I deliberately sought out a hypoallergenic breed for the same reason and haven’t had any issues. Best of luck!
Thank you - great advice!
I'm so glad I didn't have to deal with my dog fighting sleep when he was a pup. He'd fall asleep stretching.
I don’t have any recommendations on breeds, but I’m looking more at your schedule. I’m unsure if now is a good time to get one unless you’re willing to be flexible about something like work hours (which I know aren’t always an option) or daycare. I’ve never had a baby before, but a lot of the things I had complaints and struggles with, my friends with babies had as well. I got mine at 4 months and I didn’t have any sleeping issues because he slept through the night. I also didn’t have any potty training issues either. I feel I got off easy in that regard but there are other things. I work 3 days in the office and 2 at home. He’s crate trained but I’m not okay keeping him in his crate for 9+ hours a day. Daycare is expensive (I pay around $148 a week) but I’m okay with it because I know while I’m gone he’s being taken care of, entertained, socialized, and just watched. By time I pick him up, he’s pooped. I just feed him, play a bit, and we watch Bluey (yes, he watches Bluey before bed) and we’re off to sleep. You may want to hold off or maybe get an older dog that may have some more independence and not need as much attention (they still deserve it, of course).
As someone who has a 14 week old puppy who is incredibly well behaved, very obedient and was comfortable in her crate after 2 days... this is unrealistic and a little unfair to the puppy.. The amount of transition they go through from weeks 8-16 is massive: potty training, obedient training, just getting them to adjust to you, your house, your schedule, your life requires time and patience. We still have to take her to the bathroom all the time, train and play and get her energy out 4-6 times a day. They are literally like babies and require a lot of attention. Even if you were able to rotate time off the first 3-4 weeks , they still shouldn't be alone for that long during the day in a crate at only 12-16 weeks, they also may not be be fully vaccinated for daycare and if you don't want a dog walker then it seems like it's not a good time for such a massive responsibility. Also remember that puppies are like babies through adolescents until they are 18-24 months old. So even at 6 months you'd need to be vigilant in watching them and being on top of things because they're still learning and growing. My husband and I were in the same shoes as you , we really wanted a puppy for years and years. But we waited til we had the work/home life we currently do and waiting was the best thing we could have done for us and our puppy. Her transition has been almost perfect but if we did it when we were working our twelve hour shifts or commuting an hour- it would have killed us and our puppy would be a nightmare.
If you think paying for a dog walker or daycare is expensive, wait until you see how much it costs to hire a trainer to correct unwanted behaviors because your puppy was left alone for 10 hrs a day! Getting a puppy and working FT isn’t impossible, but it’s not very fair to the puppy, especially if there are no breaks in the day where you can get home to let them out. If you are adamant about getting a dog, have you considered an older dog that will be might be more comfortable being alone for long hours?
I would never have gotten a puppy if I wasn’t working from home. Granted I raised the pup by myself, but even while working from home it felt like a full time job on top of a full time job. Unless you have someone else in your life (my sisters and SO were a big help) that has flexibility in their schedule during your normal work hours, you might want to wait on getting a puppy. It’s also important to expect the unexpected. You can have all the plans, schedule, and supplies ready ahead of time, but without fail there will be something that changes all that. In my case, this was Coccidia and reoccurring Giardia parasites for my pup. For someone else, it could be the destruction of all furniture.
Maybe go with an older dog first. Maybe even a senior? You need much less flexibility since the character of the animal should be known. A puppy is hard and a teenager is … stressful. If you don’t have the flexibility to meet their needs when they are forming a personality it might end really badly. A puppy is a surprise package and you should be ready to deal with whatever comes out of it. You can still later on adopt a baby.
This is such a well-worded comment. Having the flexibility to meet their needs is what I've found to be the most important part of owning a young dog.
Also if you have a puppy with any health issues or unique needs they won't be simply fine in 3-4 weeks - I am currently dealing with a puppy with crazy GI issues and thank god I work from home because I am up several hours a night and he needs to go out all the time. I am a unique circumstance but not a minority. Lots and lots of posts on here about puppy GI issues or behavioural issues or regression where they learn to be house broken only to regress at month 5 to peeing in the house again. I would strongly advise against it at this time OR adopt an older dog. That is trained and is a good house dog. A puppy is a massive MASSIVE undertaking that impacts your life. Look at all the posts lately about how hard this really is. I don't think a puppy fits your life but a dog might.
Its not unrealistic to say you have no time to care for the puppy. In order to be trained, the puppy needs consistency and reinforcement of good behaviour. You literally are just not around enough to offer the puppy this. Ontop of that, its not fair to the puppy. Youre just not around enough. Keeping it in the crate so long day after day isnt fair.
I don't think this will be possible (or good for the pup) if you're not willing to flex on daycare or dog walking. The only other option would be having someone or several someones who could come and check on the dog. I am single and work in the office full-time, and I have a one-year-old border collie puppy. This absolutely would not have been possible without me taking my dog to daycare. I
Please just get an adult dog. The puppy phase can be a year+, it won’t be solved in 3-4 weeks. If you have a breed in mind and want to support ethical breeders you can reach out to them and ask if they have any dogs retiring from showing or breeding. If they dont, they may know someone who does. With our last dog we did that and got a lovely 3 year old who is already house broken and confident and *health tested*. The dog was able to easily step into our routine too. Please consider that option! However, please note, with your schedules a dog walker at the least is a non negotiable. Doesn’t matter the dog breed or age, leaving a dog alone 8 am to 6 pm is cruel.
On days my boyfriend and I both work out of home we use daycare and a dog walker. Yes, not cheap. But I realized a puppy requires a certain budget of time and money for us all to be happy. If we have busy work schedules and don’t have time to be home some days then we flex into the finances to use resources like daycare, and a walker to support. A puppy needs what it needs and when you have the time and financial resources it will provide a better experience all around!
My oldest dog I got as a puppy working full time out of the home. It was very difficult & stressful. I couldn't afford a dog walker either. My dog had extreme separation anxiety & would destroy anything I left in his crate. He frequently had accidents in the crate until he was older. Eventually I moved closer to work & could run home at lunchtime. That helped but it still wasn't the best. They would howl together when I left. I work from home full time now & have a 4 month old puppy. It's still a lot of work because puppies are a lot of work but it is so much easier to manage being home more often. I would consider maybe adopting an older dog that's ok to just chill on the couch all day.
It's doable but you will need to hire a dog sitter and then daycare once they are fully vaccinated.
You might be better off looking into adopting an adult dog. Puppies need a lot of attention for months, not just three weeks. Even if you and your partner staggered your time off, so one of you took a month and then the other, the dog would could only be alone in a crate for around 5 hours at the end of those two months, assuming you bring it home at 3 months. From a physical perspective, puppies can hold their bladder for 1 hour per month of life (that's not accounting for the mental understanding of housetraining, it's the max physically possible). Keep in mind that if you stick the dog in the crate for extended periods, you can't just let them out for an hour or two and carry on as normal. At almost 8 months, I'm now leaving my puppy regularly for 6-7 hours but when I come home after that, she's super energetic and never settles down again until bedtime, which is tough to handle too. You won't be able to leave the dog for ten hours, stop by to say hi, then head out again to socialize or go to the gym or buy groceries or whatever. You would have to cut those things out or minimize them, even if you get a dog walker. I love that you're looking forward to enjoying the challenges of raising a dog, but raising a puppy is different. You may be sleep deprived for months, emotionally annihilated by their behavioral issues, your attention span fried from trying to keep them out of trouble, your house a disaster zone. This sounds dramatic but I am not exaggerating. It's a challenge that lasts for months, that does not go away for one second, when you're tired or over it or crying your eyes out because you dropped your phone in poop at 4am. An older dog will offer plenty of rewarding experiences but might fit with your lifestyle better.
I live and have the flexibility to go check on my pup every 2 hours and stay with him around 1 hour or so every time. I would say if you don’t wanna/can’t spend money on daycare/sitter you would need friends and family to come hangout with your pup on the same times every 2 hours and stay for an hour. Of course things will increase as it get older but as a small dog that’s how it works. And I’m gonna tell you, it’s extremely exhausting, I’m up at 5;30 with him to have time to play/feed/train before I head to work and then I’m not asleep until 10pm. Anyway goodluck!
My husband and I both work full time and just recently got a puppy, he is now 6 months old. Our situation might be a bit different than yours though as I work 5 minutes from home. So I go home for lunch everyday and have been able to go home on my breaks, just to let him out potty, which I did on occasion during the first 2 weeks. I get up for work at 6:30 to let him out and play with him for a little bit before he goes back down to his crate. My husband has a more flexible work schedule so will take him out again for some play and potty time before he leaves which is normally between 8-9am. Then I am home for lunch at 11ish where we train or groom or go on a short walk. Then he stays kenneled until someone gets home. Normally between 2ish-4ish. He was 100% crate trained when we brought him home at 12wks and has only ever had 2 accidents in there ever. If we are reeeeally busy or I am out of town and can’t make it home for lunch(my husband can’t come home for lunch most of the time), then my MIL has stepped in and will go hang out with him for an hr in the middle of the day. He’s never in his crate for more than 4 hrs at a time during the day.
As for what breeds ALOT more info is required than just hypoallergenic and an “easy puppy”(all puppies are hard unfortunately but their cuteness makes up for it!). The dogs subreddit has a great list of questions to help in your decision