i know that taking your puppy to a day care or what not can definately add up and i'm not a huge fan of it. i only have one dog and yes, he does have to stay at home from 9-3pm back when i was living with my parents. what we did was that we just left him. it was hard because he'd be barking and what not. but it eventually stopped. he realized that we're not abandoning him and we're just gone for few hours and we'll be back. make sure he has place to pee &/or poo and lots of water and food for your puppy to nibble on.
this also helps if your puppy has established its "safe" spot.
and your puppy is perfect age because its not too young. one y/o is good age to be left alone for few hours. its not like your going on a week long vacation.
good luck
