Can I leave my new puppy alone inside or outside while at work?

The general rule of thumb for crating is 1 hour for every month of age plus one. This means he can be crated a maximum of 3 hours at a time before needing to come out, go outside, etc. It would be best at his age for him to be with someone throughout the day instead of short visits during the day.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. As long as you are providing the puppy with a place to sleep, plenty of water and toys you should be ok to leave him for 3-5 hours with no problem. You can even look into the PetCube to interact with him remotely when you are not physically there. I also recommend using a product called FreshPatch to help potty train and give him a place indoors to go to the bathroom. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Great question! Six hours a day is too long for a puppy to be in a play crate. He really needs to be let outside to potty and for a walk every two to three hours at a young age. Once he is around six months of age, he can stay inside the play crate for up to six hours, and when he is fully grown, he can be there for eight hours but no more than 10 hours. I would arrange from someone to come over to your place once during this six hour period to let him out and play with him. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Congratulations on our new puppy Twinkles! Twinkles is still a baby and she will not be able to hold it from 8-4. At her age, she can only hold it about 4 hours. If possible, have someone stay with her or some to check on her, let her out...etc during the day. It's important to try to establish good housebreaking routines early and stick to a schedule. You also want to be sure to have a secure location for Twinkles to stay when you are not home so that she does not get into trouble. Once puppies are 6 months old, most of them can hold their bladder for 8 hours. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

I highly recommend crate training puppies regardless of where you adopted them from. The general rule for leaving dogs is how many months plus 1 in hours. So if he is 6 months old, you should be able to leave him for 7 hours. Congratulations on your new puppy and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Congratulations - Brenna is adorable! There are plenty of puppies who are just fine being left alone while their owners work. I think the play pen and potty pads will be perfect - just be aware that it may take a little longer to house train her if she is using potty pads. She can have walks and play time before and after you work. You also may want to look into interactive toys for her while you're gone - she could have her breakfast in a food puzzle to give her some stimulation.

Being only 6 months old, it is safest in a kennel until he gets used to the new routine. It will prevent him from having an accident and destroying things out of bored and possibly ingesting something that may harm him. If you can start getting him used to the kennel before you leave to let him know it is a safe spot that would help. make sure you give treats when he gets in there. Leave him toys as long as he does not destroy or ingest them, and make sure to rotate toys so he does not get bored with the same one every day.