Puppy torture

[BarbV]

I play the game all the time....its not possible now, but who knows about next year????? I've always dreamed of one of every colour!

As for getting a puppy....either you have someone come in mid-day or you go home at lunch. A young pup just cannot last 8-10 hours, even in a crate, and you'll have a devil of a time with housetraining otherwise. (You do NOT want the dog to be forced to pee/poo in the crate).

The other alternative is get an older dog. That was the route I chose when I got Indy. I wasn't up for another round of puppy training, but knew that Bacca needed a buddy. So when Bacca was 10 months old, I got Indy who was also 10 months old.

At first I separated them in crates during the day, then gradually expanded their space by blocking off the kitchen area. Eventually, they were allowed full house access, but they were almost 2 years old before that happened.

 

[sable]

I used the months vs the hours in a cage when I left the house. Three months old, 3 hours, 4 months old 4 hours, but never beyond 8 hours at any age. I caged my pups til they were about 1 3/4 months old.

I would leave for 15 minutes and come back to see what they were doing when they were in more of an open area, and not in a crate. As the days went by, the longer I would leave them by themselves gated off in the kitchen and family room, sheltie proof areas. Now when I come back home there are toys all over the familyroom. They had a great day playing and keeping each other company.

I know its not easy when you work. Do you have an area that you could gate off, or yes an X-Pen would be great too. My stylist trained her dog to pee on those wet pads, she works long hours.

If there is a will there is a way. Possibly?