Corgi Forums

Milo · **Corgi home alone -** 09-24-2006, 10:05 PM

Hi,

Having just join this gocorgi.com, I have gotten a lot of great advises (to Milo's nipping and barking.. btw still in progress). So, maybe I could get your two-cents about this situation:

I will be leaving my 3 month old pup for three weeks soon

. My husband will be taking care of Milo, but had to leave him for up to 9 hours a day. My question is, how do I keep Milo entertained (he doesn't seems to enjoy toys all that much, including kong and soft dolls) and will he be too lonely? and also by keeping him in a 4x4ft pen inside, will that break his potty training? So far, when I am home, I have been taking him out to pee and poo. At night he crawls out of his crate (inside the pen) and pees on the 'puppy training pad'.

Any suggestions? Btw, Milo will be starting his puppy preschool when I get back. So excited!!

Michael Romanos · 09-25-2006, 01:41 AM

A three month old puppy should not be left alone for such a long time. There are feeding times within those nine hours your husband is absent - I take it you give Milo four meals a day. And then again there are Milo's toileting needs. A puppy needs some companionship and play during their waking hours.
So my advice is to ask for help - neighbours or friends - or hire assistance.

corgimom · 09-25-2006, 07:01 AM

Is there anyone in your neighborhood that you would trust and would be willing(for a fee) to come and play with Milo and feed and Potty him during the lunch hour?, for at least an hour. I think this would be a good idea as he is still very young to be home by himself for 9 hours.

If not a neighbor, there are pet sitting services that will come into your home to do this for you. Check with your vet establishment for references or trainers in the area that may have heard good things about particular" in home pet servcies" that are reputable. During the other hours that your hubby will be at work, leave a radio/tv on for the little guy. You could try a treat ball that he has to roll around to dispense treat rather than a kong, or there is a Cube one that I have seen in the stores.

Cardiguy · 09-25-2006, 07:10 AM

Is there a doggy day care center near you. A 3 mo old dog should not be left alone for 9 hrs.

corgimom · 09-25-2006, 07:55 AM

Cardiguy,

I had thought of the same idea as you, but at 3 months a Doggy day care may not take the pup because they have to have all vaccinations required by the center, and Milo, at 3 months, probably has not gotten all of them yet.

Milo · 09-25-2006, 09:49 AM

I didn't know that! The thing is, we called in a trainer for a inhouse session (Milo, not fully vaccinated, yet) a week ago, who told us that its ok to leave the corgi home alone for up to 9 hours. As long as he can come out to pee on the training pad??? Is the trainer wrong?

Now that I know that a pup at 3 months is still too young. Do you guys recommend puppy day care or any of you can recommend a nationwide reputable doggy service to come in the house for Milo's potty, play and food? Thanks again.

milles2 · 09-25-2006, 10:55 AM

I hate to admit it but Lulu was left home alone for 9 hours when she was 3 months old. Well, home alone w/ Tucker. Tuck is gated into the dining room and at that time she was in her x pen in the middle of the dining room. She had water and pee pad which she never used. She held it until I came home.

She survivied! They were both very happy to see me at the end of the day. A dog sitter/walker would be an ideal solution but it's not the end of the world. Just remind hubby he has to give lots of quality time to Milo.

corgimom · 09-25-2006, 12:18 PM

By In House session - do you mean the trainer coming to your house? I am assuming you mean at their place of work.

Certainly puppy training classes are offered to pups at 3 months of age at places of establishment; but they will be kept on a leash. With Doggy day care, the dogs are running around all together off leash and playing/wrestling and the requirement for Vaccinations may be a bit different with this situation - they usually require their second round of shots in order to participate in a Day Care situation; at least in my area they do.

As Susan stated, Lulu survived; it may have helped a bit to have Tucker in the same room for entertainment(even if she was just able to watch him) from the X-pen. Your Milo will survive also; there are lots of people that work; and their animals are home all day. Would hubby be willing to come home during lunch?

If you are considering someone coming to your home to Take Milo out at lunch and walk him/feed and potty him - Check the Yellow pages in your area(many people have their advertisments there) -as I suggested before, check with your vet. I know my vet and places like Petco or PetSmart usually have business cards from people who do this as a service. I would check with your vet first and see if anyone there has heard of anyone in your area who they have heard good things about.

Also, I think Fluffypants(Jackie) has someone who comes into their place during the lunch hour to take care of Jackie. I am not sure if she is still doing this, but you could PM her and ask her how she likes this set up and how it has worked for her.

sweetlychee · 09-26-2006, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milo

Hi,

Having just join this gocorgi.com, I have gotten a lot of great advises (to Milo's nipping and barking.. btw still in progress). So, maybe I could get your two-cents about this situation:

I will be leaving my 3 month old pup for three weeks soon

. My husband will be taking care of Milo, but had to leave him for up to 9 hours a day. My question is, how do I keep Milo entertained (he doesn't seems to enjoy toys all that much, including kong and soft dolls) and will he be too lonely? and also by keeping him in a 4x4ft pen inside, will that break his potty training? So far, when I am home, I have been taking him out to pee and poo. At night he crawls out of his crate (inside the pen) and pees on the 'puppy training pad'.

Any suggestions? Btw, Milo will be starting his puppy preschool when I get back. So excited!!

Welcome to the corgi forum! My little corgi is named Milo also! But he's a big 8 month old now. On our side, we never left him alone for 9 hours straight or even without a person at home. He has his "grandparents" with him. It is much more hard for a puppy to be left at home because he needs to go potty, play, and is very active during the day.

Can any of your family or friends dog sit? How about a dog kennel though I don't trust a lot of them. Milo was very rambunctious when he was a puppy and he needed a lot of supervision. Now that he's older, he needs less. So I would suggest he not be left alone until he's a bit older.

Good luck!

Milo · 09-26-2006, 10:39 AM

Yeah, we both have Milos! After alot of discussion and research, we decided to put Milo with our vet's doggy day care, when my husband is at work. The vet have all the other dogs' vaccination record and required to have all the dogs' vaccinated current (except for Milo), so Milo should be able to play with them and still be ok... I hope

Its soooo difficult to leave him, been very stressed thinking how he will be . He is just like a baby... sigh, and like Susan mention, I think Milo too will survive

Michael Romanos · 09-26-2006, 08:11 PM

Good on ya, Milo - you've chosen one of your better options.

Fluffypants · 09-27-2006, 10:17 AM

The vet day care sounds like a great option, and I'm sure he will do great! I have had Jackie for over a year, and I still hate leaving her every day . . . so you are quite normal in that respect!

PS- welcome to the forum. I look forward to hearing about Milo as he grows up!

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