What do you do with your dog while you're at work??
 

My girlfriend and I used to have a Yorkie, but he died after being attacked my an off leash dog. As I'm sure you all understand, my girlfriend and I loved our puppy very very much and there's been something missing in our lives ever since. We are wanting to get another dog, but our situation has changed. I used to be able to spend the majority of my days at home. Now she is in school all day and I have a full-time job. We are both too far away to be able to come home during the day to let a dog out. I'm assuming there are a lot of people in this situation, so what do you do?? I really want a dog but will not get one unless the conditions and our situation is right. I just figure a lot of people have dogs and everyone can't come home from work, can they?? Any opinions/input would be greatly appreciated!

This is what I would do.

During the day, I would pen off an area or small room in the house to contain the puppy. A lot of people use bathrooms, laundry rooms, or kitchens. Obviously make sure it's puppy proofed and he/she can't get into any trouble. Make sure you have a pee pad, toys, bed, food, and water. This way, the puppy has room to run and play, sleep, eat if hungry, and have a place to potty. At night I would crate the puppy so that as soon as you woke up in the morning, you could take him/her to the pee pad or outside to relieve itself.

To be honest, I wouldn't get a dog. Especially not a puppy. It's just not fair to expect a dog, much less a Yorkie (who is a companion breed) to spend all day cooped up in your house. That is my honest opinion. I understand that there are circumstances where people have to work and I understand completely because I am in school but I am still able to come home to let them out and they are only alone for a couple of hours a day.

However, there are ways to compromise. If you decide you absolutely have to have a dog, what Ashley V said is great. It will definitely need to be confined but still have enough room to walk around. I would also look into taking it to day care a couple of days a week.

Well, we don't have our Yorkie yet (getting her January 20th!), but most of my friends and family have dogs/puppies and when they go to work they have an exercise pen or a small room set up for the dog for when they leave. They put a few toys, pee pad, some water and food. I've read that it's good to leave one of your articles of clothing with the dog so that they don't feel so alone. My parents leave the radio or television on for their dogs when they are out.

Of course, another option is the day care. My local petcetera offers day care for 3.99 an hour, they give specials for full days, and a full week is only $59.99 -- if you can afford it, find a day care that is reputable and that you feel comfortable with. Even a day a week will help your little one socialize with other dogs and not be so bored at home!

Good luck, I'm sure you will make the right decision!

Is there a doggie daycare in the area? If you don't want to leave your dog every day, using the daycare one or two days a week can be more economical and will give your dog a break from being alone all week. I hope you can work something out. I am sure you have a void in your life without your little friend.;)

My suggestion, would be to get an xpen, where you can put food, water, toys, bed and a pee pad(I love xpens). If you get one, make sure you wait until at least 12 weeks, as most of the time, if they're small and are going to have hypoglycemia(unless it's a pretty good sized pup) it will be in that 12 week period. I say go for it. the reason I say this is, I'm home all day, if I'm on the floor playing with my dogs, they will play, but, as soon as I quit paying attention to them, all 4 of them(including the puppy) go and lay down and sleep. Most dogs on the studies they've done, sleep all but about 4 hours a day. Just make sure when you get home from work, you spend a lot of time with him/her spoiling! I think it's more quality time than quantity time..Another suggestion, buy 2 of them..:)

PrincessDiana- I appreciate your honestly. Like I said, I'm not going to get a dog and be selfish about it. I love dogs way too much to do that. What do you plan to do once you're out of school?
I have checked into doggie daycare because we used to go once per week. This would cost $20/day, which is pretty much out of our price range. I have seen where I could hire a dog walker for like $12 a day I think, but that's still pretty steep for me. I thought about possibly getting two dogs but everything online says that's a bad idea.
Thanks for all of the advice so far and more opinions are welcome!

I've gotten 2 before, never had a problem, just twice as much fun

I'm hoping to get into med school :)

I actually think having two dogs would be helpful. My two keep each other company when we are not here. I honestly believe that dogs do better, behave better, live longer in pairs. Imagine being in a foreign country where nobody spoke your language or understood you. Then imagine finding someone from country. With dogs, it's the same thing. Even if they don't necessarily LOVE each other, I think it's beneficial for them to have someone like them around.

I guess I should have asked you how long each day you will be gone? Outside potty training will be impossible if you're gone for more than a couple of hours a day but there is no reason why you can't train to potty pads. That's what we did with Franklin at first. I still don't think it's a great idea for you to get a dog if you're not going to be able to be around a lot but everyone has given you great suggestions and there are options if it's something you really want. Have you thought about asking a friend or family member to come by and just play with the dog for 30 minutes a day? You could still pay them but it wouldn't be nearly as expensive - maybe a younger family member who needs extra cash? Even one day at daycare a week would be better than none so if that's all you can afford, do that.

It's obviously your decision in the end - follow your heart. Do you think you will be able to give the dog the attention and love it deserves? Keep in mind that a dog cooped up all day will likely be a nightmare when you let it loose. Yorkies (and puppies) have a lot of energy and if they spend all day doing nothing, you can imagine how they will spend it once you let them out. ;) Of course you've had a dog before so you know what it's like.

Sorry this is a novel, I just kept thinking of things to write. Good luck! :)

Is it possible to hire a teen in your area to come in after school and feed, play with the dog? I bet you could find someone for not much money or better yet, maybe a stay at home neighbor wouldn't mind earning a little pocket change to check on the puppy once a day

My male is old enough to hold it till I get home, my female who is still a baby stays in her x-pen until I or my husband gets home. She uses a potty pad and has toys to occupy her while we are gone.
I have a similar situation to yours, I go to school full time and my husband works 2 jobs. I don't think my dogs mind, sure they would prefer to have us home 24/7 but, they do fine when we are out.

My advise to you would be to get an older yorkie. 5 or 6months or a Rescue. I am able to come home at lunch and get off at 2:30 but I still worried about my guys when I'm not there specially when Maci 7-14weeks because of hypoglycemia, caused by fasting (too much time between meals) and puppies dont always eat when you first get them....(mine anyways)...
And I'm sure you remember Yorkies are probably one of the most affectionate breeds around and they do like being with their people.. A responsible teen sounds like a good idea! Most teens I know would be thrilled to get $15.00/$20.00 a week to just check on and play with a puppy....

Actually, we have two yorkies and it worked out better for us. They can't even be apart from each other.

My tiny Diva stays in an ex pen in the bathroom with her crate, toys and pee pad, plus food and water. If I can get home at lunch and spend time with her, I do. If I can leave early and see her, I do.

I have a job that does allow me to work from home on Fridays so yesterday, she slept on my lap whilst I worked.

I've had dogs before and they've done just fine being home alone until their "peeps" came home. And that's the way it is for many of my friends.

Even Diva's dad, my brother's Yorkie, is home until his oldest son arrives home from school at 3. He's over a year old and crated until then.

I work full-time and Miles has been crated during the day from the second day I had him. It's a decent sized crate, so he can still move around. When I get home from work, we always go on a long walk and have some play time so he can get exercise and get some of that energy out! He sleeps in bed with me at night, so he's not crated then, either.
Crating him actually helped with potty training. He learned to hold it until I got home. Now that he's 8 months and doing well with potty training, I'm going to get a gate to keep him in the bathroom or kitchen. It's definitely possible to have a dog and work full-time. Just be sure that you're spending quality time with the dog when you're there. :)