# Where to put puppy while at work?



## AussieGuy (Oct 27, 2009)

Hello everyone. First time poster on here as I am about to get my first GSD pup in early December. 

I was just wondering, Im planning on crate train him, but what do you recommend I do with him while I am at work? I could either turn the kitchen into a day pen, put him in a the back yard (make a day pen in the backyard) or do I crate him for 8 hours? 

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.
AussieGuy


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Without a doubt use the crate. Make the crate the greatest place in the world to be for him from the second he gets home. Feed the pup in there. Give treats every time he goes in there. Never punish by putting him in there. Make it his place. 

I've done this from the day i got lucy and she loves her crate more than anything. She's in there while i'm at work and she loves it and the best part is i don't have to worry about her destroying the house and possibly choking on anything because i control what goes in there with her.


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## AussieGuy (Oct 27, 2009)

Wont the dog get bored and unhappy sitting in the same position, even though i would have heaps of toys in there with him?


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

You would think they would get bored in there, but they just sleep while you're gone anyway. When i'm about to leave to work, my lucy bolts right in her crate waiting for me to leave. She knows the routine so i don't even have to say anything. It's like second nature. I don't even have to say anything, she just runs in there by herself. She loves it in there... It's her place.

Also, if i'm gone for too long, i'll have my mom or someone come by and let her out to go to the bathroom and play with her. She'll let lucy out and within 10 minutes, she's right back in her crate just sitting there. Not because she was told to go back in, but because she just does it. It's kind of funny actually. If she's ever missing whether i'm home or not, the first place anyone checks is her kennel and 99% of the time thats where she is, just waiting in there. It's like her comfort zone, she probably just feels safe in there because its her place. 

The thing with keeping her outside is so many bad things can happen. Puppies want to explore everything. They want to get in everything and chew on everything and rip apart everything. What happens if your puppy gets into something he's not supposed to and starts choking and no ones around to do anything to help. So many toys can easily be ripped apart and swollowed without supervision. Do you really want to come home from work to a dead puppy? It's a risk i'd never be willing to take.


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## AussieGuy (Oct 27, 2009)

Good point. Thanks for the info.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

I noticed in your first post that youre going to be gone for 8 hours for work. Are you able to take a break in between after like 3 or 4 hours and get home to let the pup out? 8 hours is way too young for a pup to hold their bladder. Can you or someone else somehow get home for a mid day walk and potty time?


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## AussieGuy (Oct 27, 2009)

Nah im unable to go home while at work, so thats why i asked what I should do with him. If I fenced offa small area outside, he could play in there and still be able to go to the toilet. I even thought of putting his crate out there for the day.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

aussie - perhaps you should consider hiring a pet sitter or having a neighbor stop over. if not, it might be better to start off with an older pup. at 8 weeks - you're looking at potty breaks every 2-3hrs. staying outside just isn't safe for a pup that age, let alone adults. the sky is the limit for the amount of trouble a puppy can get into out there. same goes for being left alone in the kitchen.

the crate is the best bet for so many reasons. safety, security, foundation for training, etc...


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## AussieGuy (Oct 27, 2009)

Hmmm im a little worried now... Having a puppie is like having kids, except crate training your kids is against the law LOL. 

Ill talk to the breeder and see if they can suggest a solution for my situation.


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## Riley's Mom (Jun 7, 2007)

AussieGuy ... It's really to much to expect a young pup to be able to hold it for 8hrs (plus travel time). Not only is it asking alot from him, but inviting something like a bladder infection. Even adults don't go 8 hours between bathroom breaks, children certainly can't either, why anyone would think it's ok for a dog I don't understand (not you, you're working on this - people in general). It's cruel.

I would not leave him outside, to many bad things can happen. Having a puppy IS very much like having a human child. There should NEVER be unsupervised time or you're asking for bad things to happen.


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

Yeah, I would not leave the little guy in a crate for 8 hours until he's older. Either make the kitchen into a playpen with puppy pads, which will make potty training harder, or get a pet sitter. (An X-pen might be better. Let trouble to get into.) 

When I have a new puppy, I come home at lunchtime for about the first 4-5 months, and then I mix it up and sometimes come home afterwards until I'm sure he'll be okay. 

Don't forget about the middle of the night potty breaks. Some people get lucky and get a puppy who will sleep through the night, but I never get those.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I took my pup to work and left him in his crate in the locked truck w/ the windows slid open. This was not parking lot type situations so totally safe.
The weather was mild, luckily. I was able to potty him and give him play breaks every hour. Puppies should be on three feedings a day at such a young age.
It is not a good idea to leave a young pup crated for several hours at a stretch, not good mentally or physically...

As far as outdoor kennel, if you decide to do this after your pup is a bit older(3+ mos), be sure everything is safe, and he cannot get into anything he can choke on. Or dig underneath the fence. Temperatures should be taken into consideration as well.
I would only leave very safe, indestructable chew toys when left alone. Still, I wouldn't be able to leave my pup kenneled outside.


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## Alicia (May 9, 2009)

Depending on where you work, why not ask if puppy can come with you? It's worth a shot....


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## SuzyE (Apr 22, 2005)

PROFESSIONAL PET SITTER


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## rockhead (Jul 8, 2007)

Don't leave a young pup crated/unattended for more than a couple hours. I would strongly recommend either:

A) Crate with a dog walker visit halfway through the day.
B) Daycare

Rookie is 6.5 months old and I have not left him in the crate for more than 5 hours despite the fact he has no problems holding it 8+ hours overnight.

My schedule rotates, so I am home during the day about 70% of the time. When I find myself working during the day I bring him to a daycare place near my job. They usually have a dozen or so dogs in a large playgroup. It's supervised, indoors, and he has a blast. Great socialization, too. They even have webcams so I can check in on him. It can get pricey at roughly $30/day, but a dogwalker is going to charge close to that for a visit of about an hour. Besides, it's worth it to me.


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## ShatteringGlass (Jun 1, 2006)

For now, I would pen off an area for him in your kitchen perhaps, with his crate in it. This might make house breaking harder, but he is too young to be crated all day while you are at work. When he gets a bit older, maye you could have a secure outdoor kennel installed against your house with a doggy door, but still a penned off section inside so he doesnt have free roam to get into trouble.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

What shattering glass is suggesting is the best possible solution. Well, doggy daycare would be better, but $600/month is not doable for a lot of people. 

Some suggestions: 

Make the kennel fencing tall, six feet. Most dogs cannot jump six feet but they may climb it. So far mine have not. If you cover it over, make sure it is six feet tall so you can get in there and clean it out. 

It does not need to be huge, 6x10 foot (mine is ten x twenty, but it has to contain a bitch and litter).

You want to make the base something he cannot dig under. I use cement. Patio bricks may work, but you want to make sure you are not putting anything down that will get slick when it rains or snows.










The sunscreen may be overkill, as they can get inside, but my house is not air conditioned, so they spend more time outside. Use a sunscreen and not a tarp though as a tarp will fill with water and can collapse even a strong structure and cause damage to your house. 










Speaking of snow, if you are in an afflicted area, you might consider using a gate that is 12 inches above the base, like a five foot gate in a six foot kennel, You have to step over the 1 foot, but you will not have to saw away at the ice and snow in the winter just to get into the kennel. 

I use self tapping screws with an eye to clip an x-pen on for the inside. A single 4'x4' x-pen -- eight panels, 36" high will be plenty. I put the lid on it. Gotta picture:










The small coolaroo cot fits in the 4x4 x-pen, but I tie-wrapped it to the front so that she would not move it back and have it interfere with the doggy door:









Privacy fencing outside so that the dog does not go out and yammer at the neighbors, and so there is a second line of defence is always a good idea. 

Just installing a doggy door into a fenced yard is extremely not safe and will cause all kinds of problems. Muddy paws all over everthing, dog getting out of the yard and run over or shot -- just a few. Eating mushrooms, fence fighting, being tormented by ignorant children a few more. 

Good luck.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Doing this right isn't cheap either. But it is a one time cost. AND, it will be ok to leave the dog in there whenever you go out and if something comes up and you cannot get right home, or have to spend the night in the hospital, or have to go out of town on business overnight, then your dog will be perfectly safe and comfortable in his "room." And you will not have a huge smelly mess to clean up. 

When you get home, your dog may be wet from rain, but not full of mud and you can open the x-pen gate and let him join the family. 

My whole litter trained themselves to this method from about six weeks, no accidents in the inside area -- a little more than 4' square. Giving them the whole half of the room, they did not feel the need to go outside to potty. So I do not see it interfering with house training at all. 

I leave the gate open and older dogs that are up with me can trot out there and potty (when I do not have a litter).


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

don't leave your pup in a crate 8 hours. a puppy needs to be with
their family. why don't you get a sitter to come in and take care of the puppy???


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## GSDSunshine (Sep 7, 2009)

Something I just thought of and hopefully you can find it, I know Elizabeth did this with stark. He had a crate and then around the crate was an X-pen and a puppy pad inside. It looked like a nice set up. Maybe she can chime in... lol


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Doggiedad, are you like suggesting a teenager to come and take care of the pup for eight - nine hours a day -- oh yeah, the teenagers are at school. Bummer. 

Who else is going to work for less than two bucks an hour? 

In a perfect world, we would all work from home or be able to have our puppies right in the office with us. Until then, there are things you can do to have a dog and a job. 

CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE SEND ME A COUPLE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS SO I CAN BE A STAY AT HOME DOG-MOM??? 

Janis Joplin sang a song about a Mercedes Benz that comes to mind for some reason.


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: GSDSunshineSomething I just thought of and hopefully you can find it, I know Elizabeth did this with stark. He had a crate and then around the crate was an X-pen and a puppy pad inside. It looked like a nice set up. Maybe she can chime in... lol


Haha.. I just was going to post about what I did.

Luckly, I had a month off the first month Stark was here and it was in the middle of summer so I didn't have classes either. But I still needed to leave the house every once and while and unfortantely not every store I go to allows dogs (even though I think they should.. haha).

I purchased an exercise pen and a crate as well as a kiddie pool. I placed the kiddie pool inside the exercise pen then attached the exercise pen to the crate. This gave Stark more room to play/lay down in as well as contained the potty section so it was less of a mess for me to clean up.

It didn't affect our housebreaking at all and he was housebroken within a week or so of him coming home (by 9-9.5 weeks).

I also felt better knowing he could go as he needed and had more room to play if he felt he wanted too.

Here is what the set up looked like. This was at our cabin the first night he was home. It was being remodeled so please excuse the mess - oh, and that's me cuddled on the floor IN the pen with him... hahahahaha.










This is the exercise pen I purchased. I used it ALL the time. I LOVED it and think it is essential with a puppy, along with the crate.


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## rockhead (Jul 8, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: selzerWell, doggy daycare would be better, but $600/month is not doable for a lot of people.


Oh, absolutely. I only work day hours 7 or 8 times a month max, and maybe 4 or 5 of those days are Mon-Fri when there is nobody home. (My schedule is perplexing). 

I buy a "ten-pack" of daycare for the discount price (~$30 a day) and it usually takes me two months to use it. A "monthly pass" is something like $500 and there is no way I would be able to swing that; the neighborhood they serve is pretty affluent.

Here's the place 

Yes, it's expensive. But the peace of mind it gives me allows me to have a less stressful day. I can also take that daily bit of overtime and pay for the entire ten-pack in just a couple of days. 

I'll go back to my walker if/when I expand the pack and/or Rookie gets weaned from the crate.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

> Originally Posted By: AussieGuyWont the dog get bored and unhappy sitting in the same position, even though i would have heaps of toys in there with him?


What's more important than what your pup is doing when you are away (and sleeping or chewing on some allowable chew toys is fine).............

Is YOU having a plan for what you do when you hit that front door and arrive home. Cause a good puppy is a tired puppy, and I know I have to plan how to get that tired puppy. I've found anything I do in the house tends to generally not work very well. Instead, at least every other day for months (depending on the puppy) I hit that front door, have a quick pee/poo for the puppy, get into my 'play' clothes and we are gone for the next few hours. Into the car and out into the world. Go to friends. Go to the park. Go meet up friends with good dogs (healthy dogs). Hiking and walking walking walking. Puppy classes?

I feel zero guilt about the crate that I also have to use when I am at work for 8 plus hours cause I know that when I get home it's all about the puppy and having a blast that wears her out. 

Do NOT put the puppy in the yard when you are gone, that's the worst place for it to get into trouble...


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## ShatteringGlass (Jun 1, 2006)

When Shane was younger, I checked out several doggy day cares and decided it was NOT a good idea. I really didnt feel comfortable not knowing about the dogs he would be interacting with, and more than 3 of the places only had ONE person watching the whole group of dogs, and they had to LEAVE the play area and leave the dogs alone whenever they had to come to the front desk. And believe it or not, I dont want my dog to be tired when I get home, I want to play with him!

I did a similar set up that Elizabeth did with Stark. I didnt feel comfortable leaving a young pup in a crate for 8 or more hours, even if a dog walker could come for a half our to let him out. So in the basement I had an ex-pen with his crate in it, and also a wooden box with shavings in it (I guess you would call it a litter box lol). He used the box to relieve himself, had plenty of room in the ex-pen to walk and play, and his crate to lay down and nap when he wanted. He was put there for 4 days out of a week. I didnt have any problems with housebreaking. 

Shane now has an outdoor 20ft long kennel run attached to the basement door (ground level) with a doggy door. There is a penned off area inside the basement with his crate. I think he was around 4 1/2-5 months when I started using this. This has worked great and I am sooooo glad I did this! Much better than leaving him in a crate all day, I dont have to worry about him "holding it" all day, especially if I run late at work or get stuck in traffic. Also, Dalmatians, especially males, are prone to urinary stones, they need to be allowed to urinate frequently and access to water all day, so that was another reason I didnt want to crate him all day.


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## AussieGuy (Oct 27, 2009)

Well thanks everyone for their advice. I'm still sort of stuck on what to do. I work in Currency Management (Armoured Trucks) and so there is no chance of taking the dog to work with me and there is no chance of coming home to take the dog to the toilet while working. I've asked some friends and family and they said they can help on some of the days, so that's a start. There isnt any dog sitters in my area, so I can't hire anyone. The only thing I can think of is to pen him outside with his crate attached. I know it's not a great idea, but I really out of options. I could keep him in a pen inside, but then he can't go to the toilet. How can a pup get in trouble in a secured pen, with only grass and toys to play with?


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

Personally, having a puppy outdoors alone, especially if you aren't even home would never, ever happen in my home. Too many dangers! Oh, I hope you find another solution because that makes me very nervous for you and your new puppy.

Someone could steal your dog, your dog could eat something that he isn't suppose too, it could become too hot or too cold for your puppy, it could rain/snow, there could be a preditor, etc., there are just too many things that could happen!

What I did was attach an exercise pen to the crate, almost to extend the crate area on some tile floor in my kitchen. I then purchased a kid's plastic swimming pool and lined it with puppy pee pads.

This gave my puppy the comfort of the crate with his blanket and den like security, the open area of the exercise pen to play or lay down on the cool tile (also where the water was attached to the pen so he couldn't tip it during the day), and the kids pool where he could easily climb over the side and potty.

I honestly think this setup is ideal when you have no other choices than to leave your puppy for more than an hour or two. 

I put some yummy treats and toys in the exercise pen for him to play with and he was fine. I knew where he was, what he could get into (nothing) and that he was secure and safe in my home.

That's just my opinion though. My puppy means to much to me to just leave him unattended outside while I was away. I wouldn't even do that with my 7 month old puppy now.


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## Myamom (Oct 10, 2005)

http://www.ozdoggy.com.au/dog_walkers_melbourne.html

http://www.pawsitivedogwalks.com.au/index.htm


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## AussieGuy (Oct 27, 2009)

Thanks for your help Elisabeth, I tried searching the web for places like that but the biggest problem is I live 4 hours away from Melbourne which those places are. I will try to find a service near me, but nothing of that nature is advertised here or in the yellowpages. 

Thanks all again for you advice and help.


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