Hi

We have a 12 week old puppy, and to be fair she is settling in well to the 'new' routine of my partner and I going to work each day.

Saffy (Springer Spaniel) goes for walks in the mornings, then at lunchtime (we return from work) and then at night.

She seems to be fine in her crate/pen area when we are away, i just wanted to check we werent doing anything bad by leaving her for so long ie. 4 hours at a time..

Are we doing anything wrong with leaving her for this length of time? The reason i ask is my partner is worrying every minute of the day when we are away from home and becoming depressed, so any thoughts/recommendations around balancing life, work and puppy time would be appreciated.

thanks

I am probably setting myself up for the fireing squad now but here goes.......

I believe you can go out to work and have happy dogs. I work 9 - 5.30 every day with at least 2 days a week travelling so home at 8ish. Now I admit if it was just me working those hours I would never entertain the idea of having a dog, but I am lucky that my OH works shifts so our dogs get left for 4 hours a day 2 weeks out of 3 (3rd week not at all because OH is on nights). Our dogs get everything they need, plenty of excersise, love, play, training classes etc and we have 2 very happy dogs. I'm sure they sleep while we are out because they always seem to be in the same place we left them, and when I am able to work from home they just sleep in their beds until dinner time. If I came back to a house that was completely destroyed everyday I would know my dogs are not happy, but everything is completely fine so I take that as a sign that they are fine too.

Both my dogs have been left on their own from a very early age and therefore have no problems with it. If we had wrapped them up in cotton wool and for some reason our circumstances had changed, they would find this very difficult if it started when they were older.

Sounds like what you are doing with Saffy is completely fine. I wouldn't worry, because I'm sure she isn't

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Springers are very versatile, and young pups sleep about 18 hours per day.
OK so you should have had all these worries/issues discussed with the breeder before you even thought about getting a pup. Now you have her, make sure the time she has with you is quality time. I've posted in another thread about pavement walking/exercise for her.
Make sure she has a crate as a secure area while you are out - it's a home not a punishment zone. The longer you are away for work, the more important it is to interact with the pup when you are home (and exhausted from work etc) but you chose to have the pup so give her the quality time she needs.

Sgurr

Thanks for the advise.

She gets a lot of attention when were home and we do enjoy taking her out for walks, although she has become a little difficult with the 'street' walking.

We had discussed these concerns with the breeder, and kept in contact with the breeder who to be fair has told my partner to be stronger and more confident which is starting to work

I think were worrying over nothing, however its nice to hear other peoples thoughts and recommendations so thank you.

I think what you are doing is fine, puppies sleep a lot during the day. We are retired now so at home all the time, our dog is coming up 5 years old and she still sleeps all day except when its food time then, as though an alarm as gone off, she is up and at it.LOL
I think most breeds, a long as they have regular and sufficiant walks, spend the rest of the time asleep.
Mary
x

While I agree that dogs should play an important role in your life, they shouldn't completely take over. Tomorrow, I return to work and Oscar (13 weeks) will be left for 4 hours. As you are giving her plenty of attention when you are at home, that's absolutely fine. She'll get used to her routine and will sleep when no one's at home. Oscar sleeps when I'm out. He leaps out his crate and acts as if he's missed me but he's yawning and stretching. I know he's been asleep and is fine.

yeah mine are left for up to 4 hours around 2 times a week and are absolutely fine ... i have never had any problems with destruction. I seperate when i go out - Oscar is in our living room - he has a bed and is not crated - i tend to find him asleep on the sofa when i get back.
Bella is just 4 months and likes lying on tiles so she is in the kitchen - again not crated but i have a bed for her to lie on if the tiles get too much. I leave a puppy pad next to the door for her to go on but to be honest she is gettign better at holding it and very rarely is there anything on there.

Both have crates which is in our bedroom and they go into here on a night - Bella has her door shut and Oscar has his open now but spends most time in bed

When i go out i always leave a chew for them or a kong so it keeps them occupied and the rest of the time they sleep

I have a dog and two kittens, both hubby and I work. Initially my son who worked shifts was still at home, unfortunately he has fled the nest. I don't believe there is a problem with working.

I make sure my dog has plenty of stimuli and plenty of exercise on my return.

It isn't an ideal situation but there again it isn't an ideal world.

Sue