Advice on getting a puppy

[Anonymous]

Our family has been considering getting a puppy for a while. But we are unsure whether we can pull it off. Neither my husband nor I had a dog going up so we are new to being dog owners. Would welcome any advice moving forward. We are hoping to get a mini-doodle/ cavapoo/ aussie doodle. Our issue is that My husband has recently now returned to work in person and has to be in his office 3 days. I am a teacher so out the house around 7:30am back around 4:30 each day. My hubby thinks that with our schedule we absolutely can not get one now because for three days it would be home alone. I agree that this is not ideal so wanted to know what options we would have on those three days and what the expected cost might be for daycare, dog walkers etc. Is that even a good idea for us to consider leaving a dog at home for 8 hours??!!! We do have a fenced in yard if that makes a difference.
Our other thought is to get the puppy right when school gets out for summer so I would have 2 months with the me home full time first. Would that make most sense? We're kicking ourselves for not being ready for this puppy a few years ago when we were all at home, but this wasn't the right time.
Thanks in advance for any help and advice you can offer. We desperately want a dog but want to make sure we are making smart decisions.

[Anonymous]

Do this in the summer, OP, when you are home and can train/housebreak your dog. It will make it so much easier.

Next, do you really want a puppy or would you consider adopting an older dog? We rescued a 1 yr old lab who was a really easy addition to the family, but he definitely came with some odd quirks that we couldn't get out of him (like, never ever touch his feet). You could find a slightly older dog whose owner passed away or some other situation like that if you aren't comfortable with a true rescue. When I was a kid, we adopted a 10 month old dog from a breeder because he'd gotten bigger than the breed standard and couldn't be shown. He also came housebroken and with a number of commands.

I love dogs, so I will always tell you there is a way to do it!

[Anonymous]

Wait till summer and hire a dog walker. We have a little dog/got as a puppy and it needs walked 3 times a day and we cannot leave her home alone. I know plenty who do but she gets upset.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our family has been considering getting a puppy for a while. But we are unsure whether we can pull it off. Neither my husband nor I had a dog going up so we are new to being dog owners. Would welcome any advice moving forward. We are hoping to get a mini-doodle/ cavapoo/ aussie doodle. Our issue is that My husband has recently now returned to work in person and has to be in his office 3 days. I am a teacher so out the house around 7:30am back around 4:30 each day. My hubby thinks that with our schedule we absolutely can not get one now because for three days it would be home alone. I agree that this is not ideal so wanted to know what options we would have on those three days and what the expected cost might be for daycare, dog walkers etc. Is that even a good idea for us to consider leaving a dog at home for 8 hours??!!! We do have a fenced in yard if that makes a difference.
Our other thought is to get the puppy right when school gets out for summer so I would have 2 months with the me home full time first. Would that make most sense? We're kicking ourselves for not being ready for this puppy a few years ago when we were all at home, but this wasn't the right time.
Thanks in advance for any help and advice you can offer. We desperately want a dog but want to make sure we are making smart decisions.

Do not get a dog especially not a doodle. It isn't fair to the dog who need people to train them as well as take care of all their needs.

Sorry!

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks! Can anyone give me an idea what we would expect to pay for a dog walker? Do people use doggy daycare places for the purposes of avoiding the doggy being alone. Are these a good alternative?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks! Can anyone give me an idea what we would expect to pay for a dog walker? Do people use doggy daycare places for the purposes of avoiding the doggy being alone. Are these a good alternative?

My puppy loves doggy daycare, but it runs about $50/day where I live. You also need time in your schedule to drop off and pick up the dog. Plus the dog always comes back stinky from pee and needs a bath. It's not zero effort.

If you get a girl, plan what you'll do the week she is fixed. You'll need someone home and she won't be able to go to daycare for 10 days or so.

[Anonymous]

You can get a dog walker when your husband has to go in, you don't have to do daycare (once she is trained) BUT I would do daycare 1x a week for the socialization. Not sure where you are but I really liked Whole Dogz on the west end in Alexandria. She will also get used to daycare and you can board her there when you go away.

[Anonymous]

Definitely wait until summer, it's just so much easier to potty train when you actually want to be outside with the dog. Plus you'll be home with it for a couple months, so you can really concentrate on training. It will also give you time to figure out the best care options for when you go back to school depending on the pup's personality.

[Anonymous]

Unless someone is home most of the time, it's best not to get a puppy. Maybe an older dog would work better. You would have to crate a puppy for those hours you are gone and having someone once a day for 20-30 minutes to walk the dog isn't much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unless someone is home most of the time, it's best not to get a puppy. Maybe an older dog would work better. You would have to crate a puppy for those hours you are gone and having someone once a day for 20-30 minutes to walk the dog isn't much.

+1 And small dogs need to go out to the bathroom a lot more than larger dogs. They are also harder to house train.

[Anonymous]

If you do decide to get a dog, make sure you find a breed that is calm and doesn’t need a lot of exercise. Doodles are high energy. I wouldn’t leave one one home all day.

[Anonymous]

I think you’ll be fine. Agree get the pup when school gets out so you can housetrain/etc. when you are home for the summer. I disagree that all doodles are high energy. And in particular cavapoos are pretty chill from what I’ve observed. I don’t think you’ll need doggy daycare at all. You’ll probably need a dog walker twice a day at first while you are at work and pup is still little and ultimately probably a once a day midday walk once it’s a bit bigger. I imagine it’ll be about $20 a walk although if your pup is decent on a leash you can probably get a 13/14 year old neighbor to walk the pup right after school for a bit less.

[Anonymous]

If neither of you has owned a dog before, why do you want to start with a puppy? How did you choose which crossbreeds you are interested in? I feel like so many people go into getting a puppy without understanding what they’re really getting into.

If you’re home with the dog for the first two months, but the pup will ultimately be alone 3 days a week, make sure you’re doing away training during the first couple months. That’s a tough adjustment for a dog to make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If neither of you has owned a dog before, why do you want to start with a puppy? How did you choose which crossbreeds you are interested in? I feel like so many people go into getting a puppy without understanding what they’re really getting into.

If you’re home with the dog for the first two months, but the pup will ultimately be alone 3 days a week, make sure you’re doing away training during the first couple months. That’s a tough adjustment for a dog to make.

I’m not the OP, but I am guessing she chose breeds that are a good match for a first-time dog owner. Would you recommend she get a breed that is more difficult to train, with a possible difficult early life that is being rehomed? People skewered a different poster on another thread for asking how to find a young adult dog with a mild temperament, basically saying an inexperienced dog owner would never find such a dog. Puppies are work, for sure, but it’s not that hard. Way easier than babies and obviously most of us had babies without having been parents beforehand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you do decide to get a dog, make sure you find a breed that is calm and doesn’t need a lot of exercise. Doodles are high energy. I wouldn’t leave one one home all day.

Agreed. Doodles tend to be high energy and not good being left alone. If you plan to do daycare every day you’re both at work, it will be fine. But, if the plan is to transition the dog quickly into being left alone during the day, you might be disappointed. What do you like about the breeds you mentioned? What kind of time do you plan to devote to training? Do you have kids, and if so what are their ages?