Questions from a Soon To Be Mom

[IslandGirl]

Hi All,
In a few months, I maybe a mom to a 7wk old pup. My husband and I are both ready for the responsibility and the fun times ahead . Ive been reading ALOT lately and getting advice from the breeder, and other pet owners.
Everything seems pretty straight forward in terms of care, food, etc... except for my future corgi's day time routine.
Both my husband and I work 8 hr jobs, so our corgi will have lots of private time. Ive heard both bad and not so bad thoughts about leaving the puppy alone during this time. I would like to know what your thoughts are on this. Our house is big enough for us to construct a spacious play area during the day. Im also planning on taking a few days off during his first days home. Ive seen many ppl lead 9-5 jobs leaving pets home, but Ive never known if its right or wrong...or if corgis need specific care.
I was also thinking if a bed time location should be different from his daytime area? Or does he need to get used to one place?
Im open to all opinions and advice. I really think I'll be a good mom, I just want to make sure Im doing it the right way.

Thanks!!

[Michael Romanos]

Congrats in the impending Corgi pup and I bet the excitement of it all is building up.
Leaving a young pup alone for hours daily is NOT a good idea at all. Pups want to toilet, eat and have lots of attention and company (when awake). Leaving an older pup alone daily for hours is also not a good idea. Leaving an older Corgi alone daily for hours is not ideal.
The alternatives are: wait until one of you may be in a position to stay at home or call on home during the day, hire help/get a neighbour/friend/ relative to help. Helping is to call at your home and feed the pup and play with the pup and take a suitably capable pup for a walk. A young pup needs three or idealy four divided meals a day. An alternative to this (when applicable) is a dog day care/kindergarten facility if you can afford it.

[glencorgi]

My first suggestion is going to be wait until the puppy is 10 to 12 weeks old to bring him/her home. All your adjustments, acclimation, house breaking and other training will go more smoothly.

Debbie

[MattC]

My wife and I found ourselves with the same problem when we purchased our new pup. Many times we both have to work overtime. When we first got Nick my wife took a week off to play with him and get him accustomed to his new surroundings. We also crate trained him. When it was time for the both of us to work all day we had a dog walker come twice a day to walk him for one hour each walk. We also coupled the walks with puppy day care. But be warned. Nick did pick up viruses just like a child does at day care. After about a year or so we cut it down to one walk and rest assured ever since we have had that little guy in our apartment overtime has not been an issue. There is nothing better than coming home to a happy corgi! I hope this helps.

[MyPemCharlie]

I agree with Debbie that 7 weeks is very young for a breeder to let a puppy go to a new home. 10-12 weeks would be preferable. My main concern would be the housetraining. The "average" puppy at 2 months will need to pee or poop about every 2 hours, 3 hours at 3 months, 4 hours at 4 months, etc. If the pup becomes accustomed to peeing/pooping indoors, the habit will be extremely difficult to break. Can you line up a pet sitter like Matt and his wife did to come in a few times a day for the first 5-6 months? That would be very helpful for housetraining, and to keep the pup from getting too bored.

I would move the puppy to your bedroom at night (in his own crate) so that he can feel like part of your family "pack". Also, you'll be able to hear him when he wakes up and needs a midnight potty break.

Welcome aboard and good luck!

[KJohnson]

Luckily we didn't to worry about leaving Westin home for more than three hours by himself when we first brought him home from the airport(at just barely 8 weeks). When he was alone, however, he was in his crate or in a small area we had constructed for him. As for sleeping, our pup has a crate in our room where he sleeps and a crate in the living room that he can sleep in if he is too wound up when we are ready for bed (the crate has a small area around it so he can play and then lay down when he is ready). We've found that this works best because he can be a part of our bedtime routine either way. He gets 10 minutes of on-the-bed pats-time with mom and dad and then he either goes in his crate or in his area after that and the lights go out.
It's really all up to you and what you feel comfortable with.
Congrats on the new puppy, they are joys and terrors all rolled into one amazingly cute package! Take lots of pictures and share them!

[Corgi_Lover]

Congrats! i also recently got two pups but they were 14 and 16 weeks old. At that age they were easy to potty train and we were able to leave them home for 5 hours at the most in there crates before we need to take them out. and if they were out of there crate they needed to go out every 2-3 hours. So my first sugestion is wait until they are 10-12 weeks old. Or atleast 8 weeks at the very youngest. Second is get a crate and crate train him as soon as possible. this will make potty training pretty easy. Ok and i agree with the others you should stay at home the first week or atleast a couple of days. if not possible he will probably bond with you the fastest. He should be fed 3-4 times until he is 2-3 months. and he will need to go out every couple of hours so if you have any dog lover neighbors you should make them your new best friends. AS for the crate you will want one that is about 28X21X20 but when your puppy is young yoy will want to put something in it so he has just enough room to standup, turn around, and laydown. that way he wont soil in his crate. hope this helps. you can e-mail me if you have anymore questions...

Welcome aboad and once again, congats!

[IslandGirl]

Thanks alot to all of you for your responses.
I will contact the breeder to find out if I can take him home at a later age. However Ive read that at the 8wk mark the pup is more suspectible to become scared and agitated. At 7wks or 9+wks after is recommended. Of course the older is always better in terms of house training maturity, etc.
And I will find a way to make this work while both of us are working reg. hrs. I considered the daycare option for a few days a week, but doesnt that just break the routine that dogs usually need? Ill most likely find a sitter or have my neighbor come over.
Also, is it necessary to have them sleep in crates at nite while in your room? How about just a cozy dog bed near our bed? Im just thinking less confinement as possible...

[glencorgi]

Originally Posted by IslandGirl

Thanks alot to all of you for your responses.
I will contact the breeder to find out if I can take him home at a later age. However Ive read that at the 8wk mark the pup is more suspectible to become scared and agitated.

Developmentally, 8 weeks can be a fear period.

At 7wks or 9+wks after is recommended. Of course the older is always better in terms of house training maturity, etc.

IF the breeder is letting them go at 7 weeks, he/she is not breeding within the Code of Ethics of the Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club of America. 9 weeks would be much better.

And I will find a way to make this work while both of us are working reg. hrs. I considered the daycare option for a few days a week, but doesnt that just break the routine that dogs usually need?

Not if it is a routine thing in itself.

Ill most likely find a sitter or have my neighbor come over.

That would be a good option as well.

Also, is it necessary to have them sleep in crates at nite while in your room? How about just a cozy dog bed near our bed? Im just thinking less confinement as possible...

Depends upon what kind of "surprises" and or "gifts" you don't mind stepping in when you get up in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning. Seriously, crate training is the smarter way to go. It is a great boon in house training; you don't have to worry about puppy getting into things and chewing things during the night - can be literally a life saver for your puppy.

I hope you do some more reading and research on the benefits of crate training and see how beneficial it can be.

Debbie

[Michael Romanos]

Letting pups go at seven weeks...... not the best idea, not the worse and a lot of unguided breeders allow it; 8 weeks ... more the normal universally; 9 weeks, 10 weeks considered the ideal as long as the pups and the mother are happy and the pups are able to utilise the extra week or two to learn life-enhancing skills and ideas to get into the swing of things; 11 weeks, 12 weeks as per previous comment. Any longer and the pup/s and mother might become anxious about the future.

[glencorgi]

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos

11 weeks, 12 weeks as per previous comment. Any longer and the pup/s and mother might become anxious about the future.

I will have to disagree about pup/s and their dam becoming anxious about the future.

Debbie

[Corgis4me]

Originally Posted by IslandGirl

Also, is it necessary to have them sleep in crates at nite while in your room? How about just a cozy dog bed near our bed? Im just thinking less confinement as possible...

Don't count on a young puppy staying in his cozy bed all night long, and if he has to potty in the middle of the night, he will probably find a spot in your bedroom to do that on. I got my dog at 11 weeks old and he was crate trained already to sleep through the night. I thought the first night that I brought him home that I would have to take him out in the middle night or that he would whine but I had no problems . He continues to sleep in his crate at night and he is almost 2 1/2 years old.

One thing also that will help with potty training with a crate at night is to take away his water at least 2 hours before his bedtime.

our dog has a bed in our bedroom, but he prefers his crate; he doesn't look at it as a bad thing, he will also nap in it at times. Also, he needed lots of potty breaks outside when we first got him so I hope you can find someone to help you out, or at least come home on your lunch hour. Good luck to you.