Anonymous
Post 10/24/2017 13:18     Subject: How do you have a puppy and work?
I would carefully research the breed of dog. A boxer is high energy - but I don't know whether they are considered good with children. You would want a medium sized (not a tiny dog that easily gets stepped on or can be hurt when being man-handled by children) dog that tends to be good with families, isn't the kind of dog who is a "one person" dog - you want one that likes the family. So research the type of dog, then find a breeder and discuss it with them - a good breeder will test her puppies in their first weeks for personality and will tell you which one they'd suggest you get from the litter (obviously, the breeder gets to pick first if they want to keep 1 or 2 for showing or future breeding).

and then your plan of getting a dog right at beginning of summer, etc. sounds good!
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2017 13:07     Subject: How do you have a puppy and work?
I got my dog as a puppy at a time that I lived alone, and I live close enough to work to go home for lunch so she would only be in her crate for 4 hours or so. I get out of work at 4:30. She would have free roam of the house when I was home, which would be all night after that save for 45-60 minutes when I would go for a run. I am not super social so I wouldn’t go out much where she’d be home from like 7pm to the late night.

When I got married, she was well trained enough that she didn’t have to be in the crate. I still would go home and let her out though, she didn’t have a doggie door or anything.

Now, she is older and I’m divorced, and my live-in fiancé works a 6AM-2PM shift so if I can’t get home on lunch he’s able to let her out when he gets home though I still eat at home a lot. If we go somewhere on a day trip or something my parents watch her. They’re in their 70’s but she’s a mellow dog and I think they enjoy having her!
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2017 10:39     Subject: How do you have a puppy and work?
Anonymous wrote:Being out of the house for 6 1/2 hours 3 or 4 days a week isn't working full time. Not to mention her dh will be home for the first 2 months. I'm surprised at all the people saying it won't work well. I'm pp about Ian Dunbar. We've had much better dogs raised from puppies than rescue. Rescues often have many issues from what's happened in the first months/years of their lives. Many didn't get the type of training necessary to reduce agression, fear, destruction, etc. It's way harder to train an older puppy that already has bad habits.



I think it is just one person saying it won't work well, over and over. That's the drawback of anonymous forums.

OP you should be fine! Good luck with your pup.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2017 07:09     Subject: How do you have a puppy and work?
Say what you want about the month to bladder thing, but my 3-month puppy puts himself to bed at 11pm and happily holds it until 7am. he's definitely usually awake and playing with his toys at 4am, so it's not "he can only hold it while sleeping."

in general, he doesn't say anything about needing to go out until we are awake. if we start talking, then all bets are off. he expects to be attended to the minute we start talking
Anonymous
Post 10/22/2017 14:08     Subject: How do you have a puppy and work?
Being out of the house for 6 1/2 hours 3 or 4 days a week isn't working full time. Not to mention her dh will be home for the first 2 months. I'm surprised at all the people saying it won't work well. I'm pp about Ian Dunbar. We've had much better dogs raised from puppies than rescue. Rescues often have many issues from what's happened in the first months/years of their lives. Many didn't get the type of training necessary to reduce agression, fear, destruction, etc. It's way harder to train an older puppy that already has bad habits.

Anonymous
Post 10/22/2017 13:50     Subject: Re:How do you have a puppy and work?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP here again, thank you for your replies. I still have some questions. Boxers are considered a large breed right? So that means their bladder is larger than say a chihuahua, right? My kids really want a puppy and one of my kids has ADHD, but I have seen him be exceptionally responsible with small kids and with my friend's dog. I know dogs help kids with ADHD by lowering stress and building time management skills. I'm a super patient person and I'll read a few books before getting a puppy. I can also lower my hours and work 3 times per week (6 1/2 hours per day including travel) for a few months. If we get the puppy at the beginning of summer and the puppy is 2 months old (is that usually how old puppies are when people buy them?), my husband (who works from home during the summer) and my kids will be able to bond, and train the puppy during the hours I'm at work. Then the puppy will be 4 months after they go back to school and my husband back to working at the office. But from what I'm reading it seems that 4 months is still too young to leave crated for 6 1/2 hours without peeing, correct?


No puppy has a bladder that big. If you do that plan and hire a dog walker for once maybe twice, you should be able to manage by that age. By 6 months, you shouldn't need to crate the dog if you gate the kitchen.

As for your kids - kids are not great with puppies. The dogs know they are kids and are much harder on them than on the adults. Plus, your kids have no parenting skills like speaking in an authoritative voice. Once the dog is older and calmer, your kids will be able to walk the dog. Your kids can certainly keep you company on a walk and take care of some of the maintenance, but don't expect much.


+1

OP, strongly reconsider getting a puppy (vs. a young adult). The fact that your kids "want a puppy" is not a reason to get a puppy.

Consider getting a young adult rescue dog that has been in a foster home. The foster parent will know its temperament, whether it is good with kids, how long it can go without peeing, whether it is crate-trained. All that groundwork and vetting will be done for you and position you for success in a way that a puppy cannot.
Anonymous
Post 10/22/2017 13:34     Subject: How do you have a puppy and work?
pp again, before I get flamed for saying it will work, in the book you will learn how to keep the puppy busy with less time to be destructive when he's alone. Buy black Kongs, fill them with kibble and no fat plain yogurt and freeze them. As you're leaving put a Kong in his crate or confined area. Figure out other safe chew toys, etc. https://www.amazon.com/KONG-K1-Extreme-Large/dp/B0002AR0II/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1508693446&sr=8-3&keywords=kongs

Find a puppy trainer with credentials CPDT and get puppy started right away by 10 weeks or so. The whole family should attend puppy classes and you work on training constantly at home. ie: hand feeding puppy, treats for rewards. You learn to understand your dog's needs, etc.