puppy schedule

[Anonymous]

We are getting a puppy in a week! I am a teacher and will be home all summer, which is great. But I will have to go back to work at the end of august. I want to spend a lot of time with the puppy, but don't want to cause separation anxiety when we go back to school. We are going to crate train. I was figuring I would make ure to put the puppy in the crate for a couple of hours a day.... any suggestions re: a schedule where we will eventually be away 8 hours a day (with a dog walker)? It's like being on maternity leave for 3 months and then going back! I would really appreciate any suggestions from knowledgeable dog owners! Thanks

[Anonymous]

We have a 16 week old puppy. He is currently 10 pounds and will be 20 pounds at adult. I am a school nurse and work M-F 8:30-1:30. Here is our current schedule:

6AM- wake up, out to pee/poop
6:15- Breakfast, then play inside
6:45- Out to pee/poop
7:45- 8:15 Walk in neighborhood (pee/poos again)
8:30- 11:00 CRATE
11:00-11:30- Dog walker comes and takes him out and feeds him lunch
11:30-2:00- CRATE
2:00- I get home from work and immediately take him out
From 2PM until 5PM or so, we are usually out driving to kid's sports, out at the park, etc.
5:30 PM- Dinner
6:00- Walk around neighborhood for 20 minutes or so
From 6:30 until 9:30 we play with him, make sure he is going out to potty at least every 60-90 minutes
9:30 PM- One last potty trip outside, then crate for the night. He sleeps 9:30-5:45AM, sometimes 6AM

We got him at the age of 8 weeks and he was 4 pounds. I was home with him for the first 6 days we had him as it was Spring Break. The first two days we had him, I pretty much stayed home all day and did potty boot camp where he was going out every 20-30 minutes no matter what and not allowed back in until he peed. He peed every time. Those little suckers pee, let me tell you Then I started crating him during the day an running an errand or two, but made sure I wasn't gone for more than an hour the first time, then slowly worked up to the two and a half hour mark by Sunday before I had to go back to work. We have been following the above schedule ever since he was 9 weeks old and it has worked great!

On the weekends we crate him a lot less during the day so we can crate him in the evening and go out to dinner or something and not feel bad My last day of work is this Friday and then I am off for 6 weeks. I am hoping to work up to him being able to go from 8:30-2 in the crate by August 1st when I go back to work. By then he will be 5 1/2 months old and I am guessing around 13 pounds. "They" say puppies should be able to hold it in their crates during the day for one hour longer than their age in months. So expect an 8 week old puppy to be able to hold it a MAX of 3 hours during the day if crated. Night time is a lot different. I recommend cutting off water by about 8PM at night.

Anyway, hope this was helpful and gives you some idea Puppies are a LOT of work, but also worth the training and time you put in!

[Anonymous]

I'm a dog walker and I started walking a puppy when he was 10 weeks old. The owners walk him early, around 6, then again before they leave for work around 9. I come at 12, take him out for a 30 minute walk, and feed him. He is crated until I come back at 3 for another 30 minute walk. He is crated again until his owners get home, around 6. They take him out then, and again before bed. When they are home, he is mostly out of the crate. He is now about 16 weeks old. I also recommend training early on. It will save you a huge headache. Puppies catch on pretty quickly if you're firm and consistent.