# New German Shepard puppy. How long can you leave her alone?



## Tomal11 (Jul 11, 2017)

Hey guys. 

Was hoping for some advice. Me and my wife have just bought a new German Shepard pup. Have always wanted one and the opportunity unexpectedly arrived. We are however both full time worker. She works 7 hours a day 5 days a week and i am a doctor at the local hospital so my shifts are varied. So we came to the conclusion that the most she would be left alone is 7 hours if it came to it, but I believe that's a bit too long. (Even if we did take her for a long walk before and after). 

My wife thinks we should get a (extra Large) cage but I feel that's cruel, and think it's a good idea to leave her in the kitchen for that time with lots of toys and food but she thinks it will be destructive. 

What is your advice on this? I've been looking at dog sitters and dog walkers which wouldn't be a problem if it came to it, but have read on this site that some people leave their dogs a lot longer and they seem to do fine. 


Also any other advice you can give would be great!

We haven't got her yet and have only payed a deposit but if I eventually feel it would be unfair on her to be alone then I will sacrifice the money and wait another day. But we both already love her !

Thanks


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## Tennessee (Apr 13, 2017)

Get a crate, it's not cruel. 

7 hours is fine, not ideal but fine. You'll be cleaning up accidents for the first week or two before she can hold it.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

7 hours is NOT fine for a puppy that small. Hire someone to come in every 2-3 hours to take the puppy outside. It will take awhile before she can hold it for longer. If you let her have accidents in the crate you will have a much harder time with housebreaking.


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## Tennessee (Apr 13, 2017)

Mine is housebroken just fine at 15 weeks, I had to leave her for 7 hours. 

big crate enough for her to poop on one end, sleep on the other. Almost every day I also set up an exercise pen and attached it to the crate, put the puppy pads in the x-pen. Bathroom/play in the pen, sleep in the crate.

NancyJ is correct that if you've got the money you absolutely should pay someone to check on her!!

But I said "fine" for a reason, don't let people convince you you're a monster for crating a young dog during the day, it sucks but it's a dog they eat their own poop if you let them for pete's sake she'll get over it.


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## Tomal11 (Jul 11, 2017)

Thanks for the reply. She will be 14 weeks when we pick her up. And she's apparently already fairly well house broken. 

What do you mean by attaching an excersie pen?

Thanks everyone


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## sebrench (Dec 2, 2014)

I wouldn't leave a puppy crated for more than 3-4 hours at a time (except at night). If you can, I would have someone let the puppy out of the crate around lunch time for a potty break and some exercise. When the puppy is older, 7 hours in the crate should be fine.


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## Eli Griffin (Apr 5, 2017)

*It is fine!*

I got my puppy at 8 weeks and it stayed in its crate for over 5 hours some days when i was at work or school. He was fine because at that age they sleep A LOT. If possible I would get a relative or friend to come by and let'em out for a few minutes if it is over 7 hours.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Do you have time to completely devote yourself to the pup after you come home for work? This can be much harder than worrying about crating for 7 hours. I personally think you'd be better off with an adult dog. 7 hours is way too much for a young pup like that. They need to relieve themselves about every few hours and of course is not able to hold it that long so she will learn to soil her crate. She most likely will eat her poop out of boredom and this habit is gross and hard to break. 
Raising a puppy often sounds romantic, cute and fun until reality hits. Just my 2 cts.
My own personal experience: looking forward to a pup, 2 weeks into having the pup, pulling out my hair, staying the course and two years later having an awesome dog. I am mostly home so devote a lot of time to properly raise a pup. I found that raising a GSD pup is a full time job. I honestly don't know how you can do this well with 2 full time jobs.


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## Pytheis (Sep 23, 2016)

7 hours is definitely too long for such a young puppy. I think the "rule" is 1 hour/month of age in the kennel. Even with my adult dogs and older pups (think 8 months), I never left them in a kennel longer than 4 hours. That was my max. If I wasn't able to take my dog out more often, I would ask for help from a friend or family member. I know that plenty of adult dogs can and do handle 8 hours a day while their owners work, but I personally don't like doing that.

Will either you or your wife be too tired after work to put in the necessary training, socializing, playing, etc.? Expect many sleepless nights for a while. When I brought home my boy, I didn't sleep through the night for 2 months. That was especially long, but that isn't uncommon. Puppies are SO MUCH work. I'm sure that you have already heard all this, but I just wanted to remind you. The hard part will not be leaving him/her during the day. It will be rushing home after work, saying you can't go out with friends, making sure your puppy is getting the proper exercise and socialization, running outside constantly while you potty train, putting up with a ton of puppy biting, constant training, less vacations... I could continue. You get the point.

As far as using a kennel vs. putting the puppy in the kitchen, I prefer kennels. They seem safer to me, and it is not cruel. If done right, the puppy will view it as its "bedroom" and choose to go in there on its own. However, if left in there too long, it will soil the crate, making potty training even harder. If you really have no option but to leave the puppy for 7 hours straight, go with the kitchen. If you can have someone come in to take the puppy outside for a walk, go with a kennel.


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

Tomal11 said:


> Hey guys.
> 
> Was hoping for some advice. Me and my wife have just bought a new German Shepard pup. Have always wanted one and the opportunity unexpectedly arrived. We are however both full time worker. She works 7 hours a day 5 days a week and i am a doctor at the local hospital so my shifts are varied. So we came to the conclusion that the most she would be left alone is 7 hours if it came to it, but I believe that's a bit too long. (Even if we did take her for a long walk before and after).
> 
> ...


How old will she be when you bring her home? I'm not a fan of too much crating, but a lot of the time I think it comes down to each individual dog. Some seem to do fine with the crating, some don't. But if you're bringing home a 7 or 8 wk old puppy, I would never want to leave them pottying in the crate at an age where they can't hold it. My worry would be how it could carry over to overall potty training, which is 100% easier using a crate. Same with leaving them loose in the house. Besides possibly being destructive, I don't ever want them to go potty in the house.


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## rocco1 (May 14, 2017)

I'm currently raising my GS puppy right now, he is 5 months old. I'm retired but my wife still works so I'm home with my pup all day. I planned for this for a very very long time before selecting and bringing my pup home. My wife always wanted a GS but we were both working and very busy. So I retired and my wife is happy. 

I knew it was going to be hard. I was wrong!!! 

Its insanely hard work. Training, walking, potty training, crate training, vet checks, consent watching and correcting him. He is into everything. No time for beers with my buds, or for anything else right now. It will be worth it we are best buds already. 

My day starts at 6am ends at 10pm, I'm exhausted by then. He is crate trained and he sleep all night now yaaaaaa. 

3hrs is the max I will leave him in his crate and thats not often. 

I just don't understand how this would be possible if my wife and I worked full time.

I wish u the best, this is just my current experience, thank god I found this site its been fantastic!!!!


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## KaiserAus (Dec 16, 2016)

If possible can you take some annual leave? We got our puppy over Christmas so that I had 3 weeks off at home with the puppy to help everything settle.
We got our puppy at 8 weeks old. Luckily my parents came to visit so I didn't need to worry about him after the 3 weeks when I had to go back to work. He got another 8 weeks full time care with my parents.

He was about 4 months old when he was left on his own every day. We are at work for 10 - 12hrs a day. I leave him in a well secured garden... he can't get out at all. I come home to various things chewed and destroyed. That is not his fault, it is to be expected, he doesn't get into trouble for it.

He gets 40min - 1hr of play and training in the morning and 2hrs of walking and training in the evening... every day without fail. My guilt would eat me up if I didn't dedicate that time to him. 

It is hard work, puppies are hard, and although things get better even when they get older it still takes up a huge chunk of your time. But if you are determined and you really want a dog you can fit it in around your life. Remember your life doesn't need to revolve around the dog's (expect maybe at first when they are small) it should be the other way around.

If you can't get someone to come and take him for walks whilst the puppy is little, then I would look at a room that you can shut him in that will give him space to sleep and poop and play... a bathroom or somewhere similar or perhaps a enclosed kennel area outside.


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## Tennessee (Apr 13, 2017)

Tomal11 said:


> Thanks for the reply. She will be 14 weeks when we pick her up. And she's apparently already fairly well house broken.
> 
> What do you mean by attaching an excersie pen?
> 
> Thanks everyone


Mine came with hooks like on a leash to make it into a circle and unsnap to break it down. Instead I just snapped it to the front of the crate. 

If you're going this route understand she's going to be penned for around 16 hours every day. 

That requires a serious amount of dedication on your part to make up for that. I train or work with my girl over an hour every day. Most days after her second training/exercise session of the day and dinner. I go sit in my backyard for an hour+ let her run around, sniff stuff, chase birds, and lay in the grass with something she found to chew on. Some days that's still not enough, so I'll play fetch with her squeaky toys in our den. 

It's like a baby, your life centers around them for awhile. Personally I enjoy it and I'm looking to get an even higher drive dog, but it's not for everyone.


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