Is a new puppy okay to stay home alone for 8 hours while I work?

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.

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.

No, Oscar is too young to be left alone for eight hours. He will not be able to hold his bladder long enough for this. He will need someone to come by every two to three hours to let him outside to potty.

It depends on the puppies. Tiny breeds like Shih Tzus are prone to hypoglycemia, so make sure that they have food available or that you come home every 4 hours to give them a snack. 8 week old puppies shouldn't be expected to "hold it" longer than 3 or 4 hours, so they will need potty breaks if you do not want them urinating in the house. You should also consider crate training before you go back to work, so they have a safe place to stay while you are gone and won't be able to chew up things that could cause them harm.

If she is eating and drinking well on her own, then yes, she can survive being alone for that amount of time. If she is still nursing and not completely on to solid foods, then she would likely survive, but may not be getting enough nutrition, which can lead to problems if she has multiple days of being left alone for that long. If you are just leaving her alone for this long for one day, then she should be fine. If you are planning to leave her alone for 10 hours each day, then you should also worry about behavior problems developing. Puppies left alone for that time without human contact or other stimulation will develop behavior problems where they are less social and may be more aggressive and overactive. It's best to make sure that she has some contact with people and gets some exercise every four hours to ensure that she doesn't develop behavior problems later on. I hope that helps and all is well with Beetle.

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.

It really depends on the age of the dog. If it is an adult dog than he can probably be home 6-8 hours alone without needing someone to take him out. If it is a puppy, than he would probably need someone to let him out to go to the bathroom during the day. It also depends on the dog's temperment as some dogs need more attention and exercise than others.