New here and getting a puppy.

maryv · #1 06-04-2009, 11:31 AM

Hi, I just joined this board and I have questions about Boxers. My husband and I both work fulltime (gone around 7:30a and home around 6pm). We have a big, fenced in back yard but we want our Boxer to be an indoor dog. What do we do with her during the day while we are gone? My husband could come home at lunch but it would be a quick 15 minute let the dog outside and back in. We haven't gotten the puppy yet but she should be ready in July. Any suggestions? Thank you.

Mary

BxrMommieNAZ · #2 06-04-2009, 01:19 PM

For the first 3 months or so it would probably be a good idea to hire a pet sitter, dog walker, or even a neighborhood older teenager or stay at home mom to come in 2-3 times while you are gone to let your pup outside. At only 8 weeks old or so puppy will not be able to hold it more than 2 MAYBE 3 hours if you are REALLY lucky and will also need to be eating 4 times a day or so at that young of an age. So I would urge you to hire someone to come in, take puppy out to potty, feed puppy, play with puppy for a few minutes (even if it's just a 20-30 minute visit) and then to come back 2-3 times during the day PLUS have your husband go home and do the same thing on his lunch so that someone comes in approximately 4 times a day during that 12 hours.

Good luck.

JeffDery · #3 06-18-2009, 11:42 AM

Hi,

The answer is: You put him/her in a crate with a kong filled with goodies a bowl of water and some toy. In the crate, the dog will not eat the house, will not get eletrocuted eating power cable and you will leave knowing your dog is secure.

This is when the dog is old enough as stated in the previous post. When Dax was younger, I left her in a secure room with newspaper on the ground. I left her for a maximum of 3 hours at a time. I work 2km from my house so at first I was comming home much more often. ( yes see peed on the floor, but could not hold it, she was too young. ) After a while, I started to lock her in her crate. she peed twice in her crate as a puppy. So crate does work.

Now it is different, schedule is: leave to work at 8am --> Go in the crate, back at 12pm, let her out and then she sleep a bit on the couch while we eat lunch then we leave (back in the crate) at 1pm and back at 4-5pm.

Also, since you don't have you puppy yet, please read my last post... http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/sho...16#post1252416

Make sure you are ready to change your life (for the better :-)