[Buggin81]

Hi all,
It's been a while since posting something here. I'm needing advice.

My father is having major surgery soon and there will be lots of hospital visits for about a week. I also have a 5mth old Goldie puppy at home.

I don't like the idea of crating him for more than 2-3hrs during the day especially when we're not around. Unintentionally, we have left him in his crate a max. 6 hours and this was because of unpredictable hospital wait times even with an appointment. He was fine. He had access to water, toys and he didn't soil his crate.

I am looking to board him for a few days until I can get a schedule of hospital visits, work, and my puppy. Do you think it would be ok to board him given his age?

Has anyone had to juggle the stresses of puppy raising and hospital visits? I am also unsure about letting a stranger look after my puppy.

 

[Clipper's mom]

I can’t speak to boarding, as I have always used house sitters. But I did have 17 months of cancer treatment (chemo, surgery, radiation, more chemo, lots of complications and side effects) that started when my puppy was 6 months old. I definitely consider that juggling the stress of puppy raising and hospital visits. She is now 3 and doesn’t seem the worse for wear from the ordeal. We found our house sitter by asking if anyone at our vet’s office wanted to earn any extra cash. Good luck.

 

[Clipper's mom]

I should also say that we found a regular puppy play group for her that got her the exercise she needed when we couldn’t do it, and also minimized the time she was in a crate when we were at the hospital.

 

[Prism Goldens]

If dad's hospital is in your town, it seems it might be a good thiing for you to HAVE to leave the hospital and to have someone to come home to.
If you do board, be certain to board pup in a place that will work with him- like a board.train situation. The only thing thats different between you leaving in crate while at hospital and a typical boarding situation is pup will be let out maybe more often- maybe. A better than boarding situation would be hiring someone -maybe a neighbor teen? to come let pup out and play with him,

 

[LucyNoble]

We have had a similar challenge but with a 1 year old. I am sorry for what you are going thru as it is horrible and you are probably worrying about everything! What has worked the best for us is a combination of: having a neighbor come and let the dog out and have play time. Having a house-sitter or dog sitter stay at the home for a night or several days. Also ... doggy day care ... that is reputable and close to your home. Most good day cares have drop-offs as early as 7am and pickups as late as 7pm. I have never boarded my GR as the above options or a combination have got us thru tough weeks (and still does).

P.S. I also hire a driver occasionally but that is a whole different story. It helped me which in turn helped the dog and human I was caring for.

 

[Megora]

I wouldn't and have not.

Because of my parents' health problems (major league stuff), have spent more time than I would like at hospitals the last couple years. You are talking spending an average of 5 hours every day at the hospital.

The dogs were fine at home.... but sometimes I would bring with and let them hang out in the car if I was only staying 1-2 hours or just dropping somebody else off.

Should add - my guys right now have not spent more than a couple hours alone at home in their entire lives. My youngest has never been home alone ever. Their dad though? When he was a puppy, I was working a full time job + in finance (means when the plebs would show up to work or leave, I was part of the crew that had already been at work for 2-3 hours and I stayed 1-2 hours longer than everyone else). He was a very good boy who had a regular schedule where he slept 4 hours in my bedroom all morning before my mom let him out for potty and fed him and played with him for an hour or two.... and put him back in my room for the rest of the afternoon. That's an itty bitty puppy. 5 month olds should be just fine.

 

[Ivyacres]

... We found our house sitter by asking if anyone at our vet’s office wanted to earn any extra cash. Good luck.

What a great bit of advice...

 

[DanaRuns]

To answer your question as directly as I can, people board 5-month old puppies all the time, and they are just fine. I've done it, too. No problems. Your pup will do just fine.

The idea of a housesitter might be good, too. But it might be less stress on you to just board him and not have to worry about it. And if you have to crate him at home, you can hire someone to walk him 2-3 times per day, probably for less than the cost of boarding.

Just get through this period with your father, and concentrate on that. Sometimes, boarding a puppy is the best thing, because that takes away one worry out of the mountain of worry you are dealing with. So, if you don't have another alternative that you like, feel fine boarding your puppy. They are very maleable, and can roll with the situation just fine. Take care of your dad.

 

[LucyNoble]

A care network might be an idea for this forum.

 

[Buggin81]

Thank you all for the advice and ideas. I really appreciate everyone who has shared their experiences.

The hospital is an hour away and I am anticipating long days. Funnily enough, I was in the same scenario 10yrs ago but my dog at the time was very chill and could be left alone with no problems.

I will chat to friends to see if they can help me out for a couple of days.

 

[GOAussies]

Hi all,
It's been a while since posting something here. I'm needing advice.

My father is having major surgery soon and there will be lots of hospital visits for about a week. I also have a 5mth old Goldie puppy at home.

I don't like the idea of crating him for more than 2-3hrs during the day especially when we're not around. Unintentionally, we have left him in his crate a max. 6 hours and this was because of unpredictable hospital wait times even with an appointment. He was fine. He had access to water, toys and he didn't soil his crate.

I am looking to board him for a few days until I can get a schedule of hospital visits, work, and my puppy. Do you think it would be ok to board him given his age?

Has anyone had to juggle the stresses of puppy raising and hospital visits? I am also unsure about letting a stranger look after my puppy.

I hear you. I work as a pet sitter and dog walker, and even I would be hesitant to let a stranger look after my animals! I guess you don't have any family members or friends that are able to board your puppy?

At 5 months of age, your puppy should be able to hold his urge to go to the bathroom for close to 8 hours at a time. He holds it all through the night, right?

 

[Buggin81]

I hear you. I work as a pet sitter and dog walker, and even I would be hesitant to let a stranger look after my animals! I guess you don't have any family members or friends that are able to board your puppy?

At 5 months of age, your puppy should be able to hold his urge to go to the bathroom for close to 8 hours at a time. He holds it all through the night, right?

Yes, he can hold it in overnight and would be ok being left for a few hours, but I am a typical anxious dog parent who constantly worries about him😅

By the way, my dad loves the puppy so much and it's given him something to focus instead of his surgery. Dad has been a huge help while I'm at work.

I found a dog sitter and they specialize in looking after Goldies. I have booked him in for a couple of playdates where they pick up and drop him off for the day. I will also speak with my boss about working from home the next 2 weeks.

 

[Buggin81]

Update
Dad had his surgery late last week. He is doing well and was discharged yesterday. He has a long recovery ahead with rehab and physio but overall is doing better than expected.
The dog sitter I found was able to board my puppy for a couple of days and he did good with her other dogs. Puppy is back home causing mischief😂.
Now, our next hurdle is to teach puppy to be gentle and not jump on Dad while he recovers.

 

[LucyNoble]

Update
Dad had his surgery late last week. He is doing well and was discharged yesterday. He has a long recovery ahead with rehab and physio but overall is doing better than expected.
The dog sitter I found was able to board my puppy for a couple of days and he did good with her other dogs. Puppy is back home causing mischief😂.
Now, our next hurdle is to teach puppy to be gentle and not jump on Dad while he recovers.

Great News on Dad!!! Yeaaaa!

You got this, hopefully the pup will do his part now. 😇