Klarisse Galido - Editor in chief of Knose Pet Insurance

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Klarisse Galido

Klarisse is all about blending vet advice, practical pet tips, and stories from the pet-loving community. As a long-time pet owner, her passion for pets brings to life the everyday joys and challenges of pet ownership.

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Caring for our puppy while working full-time is a challenging experience, but it can be done. With the right tips and training, we can make sure that our puppy stays safe, happy and healthy during the day when we’re at work. These information can help pet owners like us with raising our puppy as a full-time employee.

When to Leave Puppies Alone

At what age is it alright for us to leave our puppy at home when we’ll be out all day? This depends on different factors, such as how old our puppy is and whether or not our puppy has any health issues or concerns. In general, we can leave a healthy puppy home alone when they are over 10 weeks old. However, this doesn’t mean we should let puppies roam free around our homes.

Before a puppy reaches this age, we can start crate training. This helps ensure that our puppy will be ready to handle being in a crate while we’re at work. Staying in a crate helps reduce the risk of accidents and also keeps our puppy safe and secure when no one is around.

Keeping our puppy in a crate is a temporary solution. Puppies that are a few months old or more might not handle being in a crate for several hours at a time. At this age, puppies are keen on being able to explore their surroundings. Having our puppy in a crate all day can lead to behavioral problems due to boredom or frustration so it would be best to consider other options. For example, we can stop home for lunch breaks if possible to let our puppy out for awhile or have a pet sitter come by during the day while we’re gone.

Providing Companionship for Puppies

Puppies are social animals so they don’t respond well to being alone for long periods of time. Having a pet sitter or someone we know, such as a friend or neighbour, spend time with our puppy when we’re working is a great way to lower the risk of boredom or separation anxiety. If possible, have someone stop by every couple of hours. As our puppy gets used to being left alone, we can have these visits occur less often during the day.

Creating Puppy-Safe Surroundings

How can we make sure that our puppy stays safe when we work full-time? If we’ll be leaving our puppy in a crate, make sure that it’s big enough. The puppy should be able to turn around comfortably and have space for lying down without being crowded. Make sure the door on the crate is securely closed before leaving.

If the puppy is older and has been house trained, we can set up a gated area when we leave. This gives the puppy more room to move around and space to explore. Make sure that no dangerous items are around, such as cords that the puppy could chew on.

A Happy Puppy at Home

One of the most effective ways to help a puppy adjust to our absence is by maintaining a happy home environment. This means spending quality time with our pups when we’re home. Puppies are highly social when they’re younger and prefer spending time with their family rather than playing on their own. When we get home from work and when we’re home on the weekend, we can make sure that they have plenty of playtime with the puppy.

When we aren’t home, leaving our puppy with a few safe dog toys might help prevent boredom from setting in. Don’t leave them with toys that can easily be chewed or torn apart, since these could be dangerous. Instead, leave them with sturdy toys to chew on, or consider using puzzle toys. These toys require puppies to figure out how to get to treats that are stuffed or hidden inside them.

Getting House Training Help

Going through house training is among the biggest challenges that we face when working full-time. We can’t expect our puppy to do well with house training if we start it off while we’re away all day. Instead, consider starting this training on a weekend. This allows us to work with and watch our puppy on a constant basis as needed.

When we work on house training, make sure that the puppy is rewarded and praised for eliminating in the right area. Don’t punish the puppy for accidents, since this can lead to nervousness. Keep in mind that crate training can make house training less stressful when we work full-time. Puppies are less likely to eliminate where they sleep, which means they have a lower chance of having an accident. Just remember that they do need to be able to eliminate often during the day when they’re younger, so make arrangements to have someone help out with this.

What to Know About Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety can develop when puppies are left alone, especially for long periods of time. Puppies with this problem can eliminate indoors, bark excessively and exhibit other behavioral issues. Having someone stop by to watch the puppy every few hours or more often while we work can help prevent this from happening.

Don’t forget that we need to look after our own well-being while raising our puppy and working. Having other people around to help out is one of the best ways to ease stress during this time. Unwinding by playing with the puppy after a long day at work can also help you relax while making our bond with them stronger.

Raising a happy puppy when we’re busy at work may be a challenge. At Knose, we know how important it is to create a safe environment for your pets. Subscribe and get regular helpful tips on how to take care of your dogs so they can live their best life.