[JuneBugs Momma]

Hello and welcome!

I am just curious as to where you leave the dog during the day while your gone 9-10 hrs a day? Is he in a crate with it being large enough for a pet bed/sleep area AND also a place to put a puppy pad in there for him to go potty? (Oops, nevermind, I see you use a play pen) or does he have run of the house all day?

At 11 weeks, most breeders, at least reputable ones, will keep them until they are between 10-12 weeks of age (earliest 8 weeks). Keeping him in a crate (playpen) for 9-10 hours is wayyyyyyyyy to long for a pup, let alone an adult. If later on he has free range of the house, I can just imagine the mischief AND the possibility of peeing and pooping accidents in the house. Plus the unthinkable of an injury occuring while you are gone. I also make it safe practice that there are NO COLLARS on the dog while unsupervised. Wether in a playpen or not, it can get cought on something and cause stangulation (it happened to my sisters lab when he was about 5 months old...devistating!).

Expecting to housetrain and housebreak a pup when you are gone 9-10 hours a day might be an unrealistic expectation. I do not know what your plans are as far as housebreaking, but, breaking your pup of going on puppy pads when he is alone 9-10 hrs a day and expecting him to then know it's only ok to go outside is a challenge.

When I was single working 9-10 hr days, I had a rescue chihuahua who was strictly indoors. To fit my lifestyle and to make her more confortable, she had free-range of the house but I trained her to go potty in a litter box. It worked well and I had no issues..the litter I used specifically for dogs worked excellent and there was no offensive odors in the house.

Just some things to think about & Good Luck!