# End of Summer... Tips for Working Parents



## Bronson (Jun 25, 2013)

So the end of summer is near... which means Bronson's mom gets back into her teaching schedule and he loses his partner in crime during the daytime hours. Overall, we're very happy with his progress so far and would like to maintain our momentum. He's completely house trained and goes straight to the door to bark when he needs to go potty, and he's pretty much sleeping through the night if I do a good job running around with him after I get home from work. But I just wanted to tap into the knowledge on the forum for any tips / considerations when preparing to leave our puppy for the workday hours. 

His living establishment / den consists of a small laundry room where he has his bed & water bowl. We're debating installing a doggy door to give him access to a large fenced backyard, but I worry about giving him free reign while we're not around to monitor his behavior. I'm concerned he would dig himself under a fence (never exhibited this behavior though) or cause general destruction back there if he was bored. But I'm sure he would prefer the freedom to roam instead of being locked in the laundry room for 8-9 hrs. Thoughts?

My office is about a 15-20 minute ride from our house, so I could theoretically come home for lunch and let him out once during the day. I can see this working for a small transitional period, but it would be difficult for me to reliably come home every day. 

Any advise or encouragement would be fantastic... Here are some pictures to enjoy as a preemptive thanks for your help!

#1 - Tug o war
#2 - Fresh out of the family catfish pond
#3 - Learned to jump onto the dinner table... trouble maker!


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## lilyloo (Jun 20, 2012)

What a cutie! I agree that he's too young to let him have free run of the backyard. Our pup didn't start digging till around 3-4 months old. She's over a year old now and she still digs occasionally if not supervised. 

I'm sure you've already thought of this, but I would suggest waking up 30 min-an hour earlier than usual so you can take him for a morning walk/playtime. Also, consider having a dog walker come by once or twice a day while you're gone. Even though you'll be able to come home and let him out, how long would you be able to stay? Sometimes them seeing you for 10-15 minutes and then being put up again just makes things worse. If you had a dog walker that could spend at least an hour with him, that would help greatly.

Be prepared for a crazy pup when you come home at the end of the day! I work from home now, but when I worked away from home 3x a week, our girl was a different dog on the days that I was gone. Soooo much more energy!


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

How old is your dog?... I would crate and check during the day but, not so regularly the dog can guess the exact moment I return. While I would start by being punctual, I would quickly vary the schedule... I like to keep things unpredictable so the dog doesn't start to anticipate (that leads to frustration and anxiety) 

(Must learn to to wait because that's what they do in the wild... animals wait, that's what they do.. only around humans do they howl and bark incessantly)


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## Bronson (Jun 25, 2013)

He will be 16 weeks old when we need to start leaving him alone for the day... 

I plan on taking him for a nice walk / run before leaving in the morning... But I can only imagine the explosion of pent up energy when we get home!

Dog walker is a potential idea, but it's hard to find trustworthy services that will respect both dog and property. If I did come home to let him out during my lunch break, is only be able to stay for 15-30 minutes. Not a lot of time...


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

I would crate him. 16 weeks is too young, he could hurt himself (eating plants/ rocks/ choking hazards etc). Crate is safest at this age. 

My personal opinion is that 8 hrs is too long. We have a 19 month old and a 10 week old and we do not even leave our 19 month old that long. I would definitely come home at lunch to let him out to use the restroom, have a little lunch, and run around the yard. If you can't, hire a dog walker (use yelp or ask your dog trainer for a referral or your breeder), or look into a dog day care. Some allow intact dogs and likely yours is so young they will allow him intact. 

We both work full time as well. We have had help recently bc Chase is only 10 weeks and we were only leaving him 2-3 hrs, but next week they start their 8-12, 1-5 schedule. If we are late or anticipate not being able to get home we call a neighbor or send Miles to dog day care and Chase next door.


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## Bronson (Jun 25, 2013)

So it's been a busy couple of days knocking things out for Bronson and I think we found some good solutions for us working parents... 

First, we installed a new panel-less door to the laundry room (Bronson's den) with a nice 2 flap SecurityBoss dog door. This gives him easy access to the back patio and yard area. We definitely didn't want to give him free roam of the whole back yard, so I picked up some 7 ft T-posts and 5 ft high feed lot panels from a farm supply store and built him a nice enclosure. Even found an old gate in the scrap pile to use too! Now we can limit his territory to the back patio and some grass area... 

Think he'll be happy? Clearly Bronson was just as tired as I was after working under the blazing hot sun all day...


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

Looks good. Assuming you don't have any predators that can hop that fence?


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## Rudy (Oct 12, 2012)

Bronson good stuff but be very careful about Ponds catfish, gold fish they do not support clear clear waters .

General speaking terms most ponds have zero clear cold streams poor air support all waters need in and out to feed them and keep the waters fresh and 

clear and clean like a filter by nature 

they are loaded with bugs some can take a pup and reduce them fast

I suggest if he ponds up give him clear clean waters and a good scrub

Hunting we lost a pup to ponds they found water borne illness then death

this waters remote look great and it was clear it made a 90 lb lab so sick and weak in 3 days it killed the pup

found out free ranging cattle had pissed and $hit in it

Ducks, honkers worse carry very bad bugs that can impact mates into the ponds 

None moving waters most full of risks


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## CatK (May 29, 2013)

I go home 3 lunchtimes per week and we get a dog walker twice per week. 

Go with references, make sure they're insured, and check out their van etc to make sure it's safe, clean and comfy. I agree it's hard to get back every lunch but I figure I wanted a dog so the least I can do is go out of my way 3 times per week. The dog walker can ease the load a bit but I can't afford him every day. 

Nice long walk in the morning sets you off on the right foot and I'm getting in shape along with it


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## Bronson (Jun 25, 2013)

Seems like Bronson is adjusting just fine to his new daytime accommodations... Only casualty was a flowering bush that was impressively dismantled. I wasn't even mad after examining his precision and technique. Might train him to trim hedges in the front yard 8)

He definitely loves his swim sessions even more now... Just wish we had some access to those clear / cold waters that Rudy mentioned. Hard to find down here in Texas swampland...


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