[cassieqh]

I just got my puppy yesterday and then today got assigned to a job for the next two weeks, monday through friday, 8am to 5pm.... I have a yard and the weather is good here.  Should I leave him out until I get home or should I crate him all day?

 

[BurningRiver]

I would refrain from leaving him outside unsupervised. Theft is a worry (especially with cute, wiggly puppies) as is worry of predators, bees (many boxers have allergic reactions to bee stings where their entire heads swell up), poisoning by people who mean ill toward animals, etc.

You are correct in your thougths that 8 weeks old is too young to hold it for an 8 hour work day. Usually young puppies need to be taken out once every 4-5 hours.

Can you have a neighbor come over and let him out?

What about hiring a dog walker or a pet sitter to come over and let him out?

Taking him to Doggie Daycare?

If these are not options for you, I would purchase an exercise pen and line one side of the floor with newspapers so that he can potty on them and not have to lie in it. This is obviously the least desirable option, because it may make potty training harder later on, but still much better than inadvertently conditioning him to lie in his own potty.

Good luck, hope this helps!

 

[cassieqh]

Thank you for responding.  I am going to be able to come home and let him out at lunch.  So it looks like the poor guy is going to be spending the next two weeks in a crate during the day.... is that going to make him crazy?  Should I leave toys in there?

 

[BurningRiver]

You should start crate training prior to leaving him in it. Start slow and work up to longer periods of time. Use treats to get him to go in, and then gradually work up to closing the door behind him. Give him a kong filled with peanut butter to keep him occupied. You can leave other toys in there, just make sure that it's nothing that he will be able to tear apart, eat and get intestinal blockage as a result (no stuffies and no toys with squeekers). It's been my experience that rubber toys like the kong tend to work best.

Hope this helps!

 

[ssimmons99]

Our dog is crated during the da - but we also keep her there when we are at home and cannot keep an eye on her 100%.  Especially at 8 weeks - they can get into a lot and they don't know what they can and cannot do.  Don't feel bad using the crate - it is better than them getting hurt or you getting really upset when they chew up the couch.

I would try to make sure that the puppy gets some exercise before going into the crate too - that way they want to rest/sleep when you put them in.  

The only things I leave in the crate is a kong toy - something they cannot get a piece off of - no rawhide bones/sqeaky toys/stuffed animals that they might get something off of if they worked on it for 3-4 hours.