Help! I'm a nurse and must leave home for 13+ hours some days!

[LucyGoosey]

Hey everyone!

I just got my little girl, Lucy, a 7 week-old Silky/Yorkie yesterday. She's basically my shadow when I'm home. The problem is, while I don't work everyday, the days that I do work I must be gone for a good deal of the day and I'm worried about separation anxiety. That's right: I have separation anxiety anxiety!

I just need some advice on toys or training methods so she doesn't lose her mind when I'm gone. I got one of those things that you spray the treat goo into and they have to work at it to get the treat - I've read that that'll keep some dogs busy for hours... but probably not 14.

I don't think it'd be wise to put her in the cage for the entire time, even with a good feeding schedule. I don't want to upset my neighbors by having a little dog yapping all day long either.

My plan is this: I've created a little 3x3ish "playpen" area that includes her food/water dishes, some puppy pads as well as the cage with some towels and toys. I figure if I leave the cage open she can still roam around a little - or at the very least not be cramped up in a little cage - and then use the cage for naps and stuff. Plus she likes Styx so I'll leave that playing while I'm away (if nothing more to offset the crying/yapping if it happens).

I imagine this will become less of an issue as she gets older, but my first night of work is tomorrow and I'm nervous. I guess worst-case scenario is that she lost bowel/bladder control all over and I'd have some cleaning to do, but as a nurse, you don't want your patient sitting in or in contact with their own mess for any longer than it takes to get them cleaned up once you know about it.

Thanks for any/all advice! Cheers!

[Nancy1999]

I'm sorry to tell you this, but a 7 week old Yorkie shouldn't be left alone for that long, I'd be very worried about her. A good breeder won't even leave them alone that long, and that's why many backyard breeders sell them before the minimum recommended time of 12 weeks. They don't want to babysit and once they sell them, it doesn't matter to them if the kick the bucket. I don't even think a puppy day care would take her at that age, because she doesn't have her required shots. I like the idea of the playpen, but at that age, she could suffer a bout of hypoglycemia, and you wouldn't even know until it was too late. I'm very upset that a breeder would sell to you knowing your work hours. Is there anyway, you could have someone come in and check on her several times a day. I'm sorry to be so harsh, but this really worries me. I would have recommended you get a rescue who was older. Sorry to be so negative.

[chickensmith]

I also agree that at 7 weeks she's too unpredictable to be left alone for that long. Chew treats and anything she could swallow would not be a good thing to leave her unattended with. The playpen is a great idea for her to keep her out of trouble....but getting a dog sitter at your house could be a good route (parent, sibling, friend, neighbor?) since you are gone for so long. If you leave food there's no garuntee she will eat....and that wouldn't be good.

[LucyGoosey]

@Nancy - that is shockingly negative, but I must defer to your wisdom. I have a friend whose mother has several toy dogs (including a Yorkie/Chihuahua mix) and she's agreed to puppy sit for me while I'm at work - at least for the next couple weeks, bless her.

That was really stressing me out. She's good if I only leave for a few hours - there's some food eaten, some water drank, a couple piddles and a deuce on the pad, no other mess - I just don't wanna imagine this x6, you know? For all I know, she'd be fine, but I'm glad I don't have to chance it. Thanks for the advice!

[TiffanyandTeddy]

Well first things first congrats on your baby girl.

As mentioned above, no doggie daycare will take her as she is too young and is not spayed yet. The youngest they will take is anywhere from 5-6 months and has to have a managers approval. (I work for one) Seeing that you work a lot of hours and that your little girl is still very young, you will probably need to look into hiring a private pet sitter to come in and check on her. The play pen idea is good, I just got mine in from ebay & I love it. We left Teddy and Lola alone today in their playpen for probably 3 hours tops and we came home to poop all over it along with their water bowl tipped over. It was a mess and if their poop isn't picked up from their pad fast enough they will eat it I hope everything works out!

[Yorkiemom1]

It is outright dangerous to leave a 7 week old baby alone for more than 4 hours, let alone 14 hours!! You just can not do this! If this baby has a drop in bloodsugar because she did not eat anything for 4 hours after you leave her alone, she will most certainly be dead or so very close to it, in the additional 10 hours it takes you to arrive on scene. I have no respect for a breeder that would let a baby this young go out to a new home (too young to have been started on vaccinations, too young to trust her to eat to keep her sugar up), especially if she was told this baby would be left unattended at this age for that length of time even one day a month! It is illegal to sell puppies under 8 weeks of age in many States....it is unadvisable to sell Yorkies before 12-14 weeks of age because of all the teaching the momma does during those weeks....she is teaching social behavior to that baby, submission to older dogs, bite inhibition, etc.

[Rachael1983]

Is there a kid around between 10-14 years old that may be interested in earning a little extra money while you're at work. After school some kids may be able to stop by, play with your puppy, clean up for you, get the mail and lock up. It's cheaper than a real babysitter and an alternative to daycare since they won't take the pup that young.

[chickensmith]

Originally Posted by LucyGoosey

@Nancy - that is shockingly negative, but I must defer to your wisdom. I have a friend whose mother has several toy dogs (including a Yorkie/Chihuahua mix) and she's agreed to puppy sit for me while I'm at work - at least for the next couple weeks, bless her.

That was really stressing me out. She's good if I only leave for a few hours - there's some food eaten, some water drank, a couple piddles and a deuce on the pad, no other mess - I just don't wanna imagine this x6, you know? For all I know, she'd be fine, but I'm glad I don't have to chance it. Thanks for the advice!

Yeah!!! That's awesome! Wonderful you were able to find someone to help you out!!!! Its so exciting bringing a new baby home...but so stressful too! Take extra special care of her because she is so young....she will have you wrapped right around her hairy little paw in no time...if she hasn't already!!!

[gemy]

First welcome to you and your new puppy! I am happy you have a plan for her, as I do agree with all the posters about her youth, and 13hours is too long. In the short term also have a back up emergency plan in case your friends mother has to cancel on you. Is your friends Mom going to come to your home, or are you brining the puppy to her?


If she should not be around other un-vaccinated dogs, and not taken out far in public places until she has completed her puppy round of shots.


Even when she is older 13+ hours to leave alone even an adult dog is a great stretch of time. You can forward plan here and investigate doggy day care facilities, and even a short term boarding facility for the times you need to work.


Here are some ideas for you: Pet stores often have brochures and business cards of folks who do a lot different things: dog walking, pet sitting, etc.
Your vets office also may be a good source of information


Your community newspaper. Mature teenagers for lunch hour walks and or late afternoon walks. Senior citizens community and or residences - have young seniors who might just love the chance to pet sit in your home - many seniors can't have animals in their residences and must live out their remaining years with no beloved pet. And they might just love the extra pin money.


Your job: You are in a wonderfull field that gives you lots of different employment opportunities. In the future you could look at employment that allows you and even welcomes you to bring your pet to work with you.


Good luck with day 1 !


Also btw their are pet cameras you can set up, and you can see your dog on your cell phone when you are away. Like Nanny cameras. I am not so sure what they are called but I hope you get the idea.


Good luck with day1

[Nancy1999]

I got Joey at 12 weeks, and kept him in a play yard with bed food and water and pee pads. I was home, but needed to put him someplace when my eyes couldn't be glued on him. Let me say that I tried many water dishes and he would spill them all, either he'd step in the dish, or knock it over with a toy, I was constantly refilling his dish. So what happens if he knocks over his water and then he's without water for 13 or so hours? Also, they will eat their poop, if you don't remove it. Don't forget, if they don't eat and develop hypoglycemia, they will lose their appetite complete and won't want to eat, that's why you need to know the symptoms of hypoglycemia and be ready to act with Nutri-cal or Karo Syrup if it occurs. I wonder if a teenage would be responsible enough to do this? I'm glad you found someone who will babysit for a couple of weeks, but that's still way too young to start leaving alone. I think your babysitter sounds great, especially since she has other dogs, I would pay her to babysit, it will help immensely with socialization, which can be a real problem for dogs who are left alone all the time, but you really need someone for a long time, I'd say over a year at least. These things will come back and cause you all sorts of problems down the road.

[gemy]

For the water I use a water bottle, they get the hang of it really quickly, especially if you put a little honey or maple syrup on the tip, they lick it off and in the process find out this thing dispenses water.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by gemy

For the water I use a water bottle, they get the hang of it really quickly, especially if you put a little honey or maple syrup on the tip, they lick it off and in the process find out this thing dispenses water.

The honey is a good idea, we had a water bottle, but Joey wasn't all that fond of it.

[bellajayne]

I would go with the friend dog sitting at least until old enough for dog day care. I think it is not only unfair for a young dog to be left for 14 hours unattended but it will also be peace of mind for you on those work days. When you come home after a day that long you are tired and drained I am sure...pup will be ready to go after a long day of waiting...wanting exercise and playtime. If this is taken care of the way it should be you can have quality time after the long day.

Just some additional food for thought!

[LucyGoosey]

Thanks again for everyone's input (I would've responded more frequently but apparently every message needs mod approval lol) - for the next couple/few weeks I'm gonna have my friend puppy-sit and then after that, well, I don't know.

My vet relieved me of some of the worry that y'all were causing me lol - I'm not thrilled about leaving her home alone for extended periods of time, and I may not even have to, but at this point it's more about social issues and coming home to find my place destroyed - my vet says, at least with Lucy's weight, she's not worried about hypoglycemia; which was something I more or less dismissed when the store clerk was telling me about it (and made me sign a paper about it too!).

But Lucy's such a sweetie that I've already got no fewer than two families willing to watch her for me (of course, this may be because she's a small puppy- things might change when she gets older) but eventually I will do the doggy day care thing. One that I found so far opens after I have to be at work and closes before I get off haha. The search continues!

[Kimbieann]

I got my little Bella when she was 8 weeks old. I took her to work with me for the first week only so we could bond together. I work in an office and my boss was totally cool with it. After that she was home while my husband and I work from 8:30am to 5pm.

But I am gone 9 hours a day and I leave her in a large excercise pen that takes up one whole wall of my kitchen. It has her indoor potty on one side, her toys in the middle with her dry food and treats and water and her bed on the opposite side. She does not starve. The breeder also free fed the puppies so Bella was used to that. Now that Bella is 5 months old she waits until I get home to feed her dinner but if she is really hungry she will eat from the dish that is left in her excercise pen. I leave the radio on for her during the day. When I get home I pretty much play with her from 5:30-10pm at night. It can be tiring but I give her LOTS of time to play with me when I am home. She gets 100% of my time which sometimes annoys my husband because he wants attention too. Plus my hubby and I take her in the car with us at night and weekends. She goes everywhere with us unless its to the store then one of us stays in the car with her.

Bella is now 5 months old and does not have separation anxiety. But she does know if I am 30 minutes late, they have this internal clock going on I think. lol She lets me know by talking away at me (balling me out) when I get home until she settles down a bit. But if I get home right on time she is fine and I take her food bowl out and make sure she eats and we play for the rest of the night in between cooking dinner for the hubby.

13-14 hours does seem like alot of time away but I would make sure you spend alot of your time when home playing with her and take her everywhere with you like I do when not working.

Also I had to totally re-arrange my wake up time. I get up two hours early now so Bella can play a good hour to an hour and a half out of her excercise pen in the morning before I go to work. So I wake up at 5:30am spend 45 minutes getting ready for work and I am downstairs with her from 6:30am until I leave at 7:45-8am. So I no longer get 8-9 hours of sleep anymore and had to adjust to 6-7 hours of sleep at night.

So far Bella is the sweetest little doggy I could have ever asked for. She LOVES people, other animals and is VERY social. And per my neighbor she NEVER barks while I am gone. She is not a yappy dog thank goodness. lol

I think dogs will adjust to every owners schedule and be just fine. Lots of love and attention when home will make up for alot. But thats just my two cents.