[MarianaB]

Hi all,

It's the 5th Day of Tom at home, and for the first time he is staying alone for the entire day (9 hours). He is 12 weeks old, around 17 lbs. and has the best behaving manners I've ever seen in a puppy. He stays on a play pen that I built for him at the end on the kitchen, where he has his crate and lots of space to play, eat and a pad just in case he needs it.


He has managed well for a couple of hours alone, but today I'm kind of concern. I got a Dog-Sitter to come around noon to check on him and keep his habits of lunch time and potty time. He is still not exploring the backyard, I just introduce him to the outer life yesterday, and he seems to like it, we'll get there eventually. He already do his pee and poop on the pads (9/10), and he is on chewing mode all the time.


Now my question to you all Golden-Wise owners. Is it too bad if he stays alone during my working time? Will he have a behavioral change if he stays alone for too long hours? Is he old enough to go to the backyard and do his potty outside?


I would appreciate any advise for this first-timer worker mommy!


Happy Golden Year!

 

[ArchersMom]

You'll have to commit basically all of your free time to exercising and training. He'll probably sleep most of the day which means he needs to get exercise before you leave him in the morning and as soon as you come home from work or else he might be destructive or keep you up at night.

Are you asking if he's old enough to go out into your own, private backyard? If so, yes he's been old enough to go outside for months. If it's a shared yard then I would talk to your vet about Parvo/distemper risk in your area.

 

[Chok1344]

Don’t worry about it hun. He will be eating, peeing and sleeping the whole day you’re missing ?

Hi all,

It's the 5th Day of Tom at home, and for the first time he is staying alone for the entire day (9 hours). He is 12 weeks old, around 17 lbs. and has the best behaving manners I've ever seen in a puppy. He stays on a play pen that I built for him at the end on the kitchen, where he has his crate and lots of space to play, eat and a pad just in case he needs it.


He has managed well for a couple of hours alone, but today I'm kind of concern. I got a Dog-Sitter to come around noon to check on him and keep his habits of lunch time and potty time. He is still not exploring the backyard, I just introduce him to the outer life yesterday, and he seems to like it, we'll get there eventually. He already do his pee and poop on the pads (9/10), and he is on chewing mode all the time.


Now my question to you all Golden-Wise owners. Is it too bad if he stays alone during my working time? Will he have a behavioral change if he stays alone for too long hours? Is he old enough to go to the backyard and do his potty outside?


I would appreciate any advise for this first-timer worker mommy!


Happy Golden Year!

 

[nolefan]

You'll have to commit basically all of your free time to exercising and training. He'll probably sleep most of the day which means he needs to get exercise before you leave him in the morning and as soon as you come home from work or else he might be destructive or keep you up at night. ....

THIS THIS THIS Consider the dog walker a necessary investment in your sanity and your dog's well being for this first year at least and just be prepared that your days of vegging with netflix are coming to a long pause for the next couple of years. If you're not already enrolled in obedience class with him, I urge you to find one. Obedience classes will help you keep on track with training and teaching him new things and exposing him to life outside the house. When the weather is nice, take him everywhere with him you possibly can - get a crate for your car and take him places - he can wait in the car while you do an errand and then you can train or play for a few minutes before heading to the next place. Build a new normal

 

[eeerrrmmm1]

Goldens are high energy working dogs that want to be around people all the time. Spending 5 days a week in a playpen isn't what they were bred to do so, yes, it's quite likely that he will develop behavioral issues.

As other posters have mentioned, in order to avoid destructive and disruptive behaviors you're going to need to spend as much time as you possibly can exercising and training your puppy before you leave for work and when you get home. As he gets older he'll probably need at least 40 minutes of hard play (running to fetch a ball etc) which you could do in two 20 minute sessions and a couple of long walks per day. Some people use mealtime to train by giving the kibble as they practice basic obedience commands. That would help with mental stimulation and basic training.

You should definitely be bringing the puppy outside unless you live in an area with a lot of canine infectious diseases or stray dogs etc. Early exposure to different environments is extremely important between 8-14 weeks to avoid having a fearful/overly reactive dog. Please read up on the puppy socialization window and check out the socialization checklist sticky at the top of this forum. If you live in an area with parvo, distemper etc please ask your vet what they recommend you do to properly expose and socialize the puppy before the socialization window closes (which will be in about 2 weeks!).

 

[MarianaB]

Thanks!

Thank you so much! this is so useful!


I was a little afraid to take him out to the backyard, since he was afraid to go. I took him out and he loves the snow and all the fun of his balls hiding in the snow.


But what about salt? I live in Toronto, and they usually spread the streets and sidewalks with tons of salt to melt the snow. Will he be ok with the snow? or should I get him some shoes? I don't think he will like the idea of shoes, but of course it's training time so the sooner the better.


I'm not yet into training classes, he is so well behave; he has just been at home for a week and he is not peeing out side the pad and now he is holding his poop until he is out. Many people told me that without putting him on the crate he wouldn't learn how to hold his pooping time, well he has! And he sleeps right next to my bed with his crate open and he stays just fine there (no need to keep it close).


Any advise would be appreciated, right now I'm the new mom :x

 

[eeerrrmmm1]

Oh, if you're in Toronto bring that puppy outside right now! Lol! I can't imagine there's a big problem with strays or infectious diseases there thankfully. It really is important for the puppy to be exposed to new environments and people early on. If you can, bring him outside every 3 hours or so to use the bathroom. Using puppy pads is teaching him that it's acceptable to go in the house. It's much better to quickly potty train by bringing him outside on a schedule until he learns to tell you that he needs to go out. We used bells on the door since day 1 at 8 weeks and Luna was potty trained at 12 weeks.

You're right to be worried about the salt. It could hurt his little paws. Maybe try boots if there's too much snow to keep him off the salted areas. Or wipe his paws off when you get inside.

We use doggie daycare and it's wonderful. Luna comes home happy and tired from playing. We're lucky to live near an incredibly beautiful and well run one. I'm assuming Toronto probably has some great options too. He's a little too young now but it may be a good option for you once he hits 4 months old.

Good luck!

 

[MarianaB]

Oh, if you're in Toronto bring that puppy outside right now! Lol! I can't imagine there's a big problem with strays or infectious diseases there thankfully. It really is important for the puppy to be exposed to new environments and people early on. If you can, bring him outside every 3 hours or so to use the bathroom. Using puppy pads is teaching him that it's acceptable to go in the house. It's much better to quickly potty train by bringing him outside on a schedule until he learns to tell you that he needs to go out. We used bells on the door since day 1 at 8 weeks and Luna was potty trained at 12 weeks.

You're right to be worried about the salt. It could hurt his little paws. Maybe try boots if there's too much snow to keep him off the salted areas. Or wipe his paws off when you get inside.

We use doggie daycare and it's wonderful. Luna comes home happy and tired from playing. We're lucky to live near an incredibly beautiful and well run one. I'm assuming Toronto probably has some great options too. He's a little too young now but it may be a good option for you once he hits 4 months old.

Good luck!

I heard really ugly things about the daycare's, I'm using Rover app to have a dog-sitter coming by at noon.


Today he hold his poop until we went out in the morning.


Tom is missing one vaccine, and I'm waiting to do a check out with the vet just to confirm he will be good to go to the park where more dogs will be.


Luna looks so happy and healthy, will try something like the bell to see if comes around that, he is quite smart:nerd:

 

[Sweet Girl]

Thank you so much! this is so useful!


I was a little afraid to take him out to the backyard, since he was afraid to go. I took him out and he loves the snow and all the fun of his balls hiding in the snow.


But what about salt? I live in Toronto, and they usually spread the streets and sidewalks with tons of salt to melt the snow. Will he be ok with the snow? or should I get him some shoes? I don't think he will like the idea of shoes, but of course it's training time so the sooner the better.


I'm not yet into training classes, he is so well behave; he has just been at home for a week and he is not peeing out side the pad and now he is holding his poop until he is out. Many people told me that without putting him on the crate he wouldn't learn how to hold his pooping time, well he has! And he sleeps right next to my bed with his crate open and he stays just fine there (no need to keep it close).


Any advise would be appreciated, right now I'm the new mom :x

Toronto is the WORST for salt. Seriously, it is so thick on the sidewalks around me.

What neighbourhood are you in? Honestly, when I got my pup, my vet said there is virtually no parvo or any other infectious disease around here. We have zero strays, so my pup was outside from day one when she was home at 8 weeks (just out in front and back of my house, not in parks til fully vaccinated). Every dog in my neighbourhood is well cared for and vaccinated (I always asked when a dog came walking by before my pup had all her shots). And our training class rule was that as long as all the pups were at the same vaccine point, they were fine to be together. We started classes just under 9 weeks old.

For the salt, I use the Pawz balloon boots. You can get them at Pet Smart, Global Pet Food or any dog boutique (and Amazon). Watch a video on You Tube about how to put them on - it makes a BIG difference. You have to know what you're doing and be very confident and quick. If you wind up sort of begging the dog to let you put them on, it just won't work. It's only bad on days that the sidewalks are wet and salty. When they're dry, it doesn't seem to bother their paws (at least not my dog's). But they are easy peasy when your dog is used to them - I pop all four on my dog in 30 seconds.

But yes, get out there with your pup! He will need lots of exercise before you go to work, with your walker, and when you get home. Toronto has TONS of dogwalkers. Find a good one and keep him or her for life. :smile2:

 

[scully91]

Musher's Secret has worked great for us with the salt issue here in Michigan!! Slather it on before we go outside and it keeps her paws nice and supple. I'm sure boots are much more effective though!

 

[daisy1234]

I personally feel it is a long time to leave a puppy alone. For sure have someone come in during the noon hour at the very least. Using puppy pads confuses the dog, you want them to go outside but you are teaching him to go inside with the puppy pads. Are you also just allowing free feeding? I know people work and have dogs as well, but puppies are like babies and need constant supervision and stimulation. I just feel you are setting yourself up for problems when the puppy is bored and starts acting up.

 

[FosterGolden]

I've always worked full time with dogs. We do agility, field work, obedience, and more. No behavior issues with the six dogs I've had. Is it ideal that a pup or a dog spends time home alone? No, not really, but it is reality. But, most people work and fortunately dogs are able to adjust quite easily. I have friends who are early retired and do dog sports that have had more issues with their dogs than any dog I've ever had, both potty training and otherwise. Genetics are very strong! For me, personally, I also would not purchase a 10 energy/10 drive dog from a breeder. I let the breeder know what I am looking for and what my lifestyle looks like and they help me choose the right breeding and puppy for me. It's important to get a puppy that you can live with!


I stay home, on vacation for the first two weeks. The second or third week, depending on the pup, I work half-days or I go in for an hour or two here and there. Typically, some of that time is working from home since my employer allows it. During this time, we work on a schedule, potty training, crating, car rides, etc. and we do a lot of socialization and bonding (playing, training, etc.). Since most people work, the morning is a good time to do some off leash nature walks, go to places where dogs don't typically visit, and generally get out and about. We went to the beach, river, puppy hikes, fields out in the middle of nowhere, etc.


I'm back to work full-time by the time the puppy is 11-12 weeks old and I have a dog walker. I get up early, feed, exercise the pup, then back into the crate around 8am with a frozen Kong snack. Dog walker comes around 11:30am, stays for 45-60 mins and plays outside and potties. She puts him in the crate with a frozen Kong. I'm home by 5pm or so, feed dinner, and we train, play, etc. until he falls asleep around 10pm. My puppies have all slept through the night pretty much from day one.


I am home every night and my time is dedicated to the pups. Most nights, we have training and my pup spends some time waiting in the vehicle while I train my other dog, but then the pup gets to come out, socialize, run around, train and sometimes play with another pup. That's pretty tiring for a puppy. Weekends, we run around, train, socialize at trials, hike, go to the beach, swim, etc. If I go out without the pup, I make sure to get his exercise time in.


Back when I had a social life other than dogs, I basically just didn't do anything the first year I had the pup with the exception of weekends, when I'd get up early and tire them out for hours so I could do movies and dinner or whatever. These days, I'd do happy hour early or have the dog walker come a second time, but most of my non-dog friends have kids or exercise regimes after work or they go to bed early so we save most socializing for the weekends.

 

[MarianaB]

Thank you so much! I'll look into it!

I'm at near danforth and pape area int Toronto East. I feel the same way here, all my neighbors dogs are very well taken care and it's been a couple of days already since I read it was ok to take him out at least for a walk down the street and he seems to like it, tho he is still afraid of busy streets, I think its just matter of time for him to get used to the buses and cars and trucks and all the noise around the city.

Highly appreciated!