Hi
I would desperately like a daschund puppy and have found a breeder. But I work Monday to Friday office hours and my partner works some days, some nights. So there could be 2 days per week (unconsecutive) that the puppy would be home alone. Is this unfair? As much as I want a dog I don't want to get 1 if it will cause it distress.
Also the breeder advised that the puppy needs feeding every 4 hours, I was amazed at, this can anyone give me a second opinion?
Thanks

I would not leave a puppy alone for more than two hours at most until it was at least 3 months old at the earliest.  Cannot hope to house train a dog if you leave it longer.  An unsupervised puppy will at best be lonely and at worst destructive and "dirty" without proper supervision, attention etc etc etc

FWIW I do work full time, when my previous pups were tiny they went to a creche for 6 months, my current one has travelled everywherre with me since he was 7 weeks old.

And yes they do need 4 meals a day for several weeks, going down to 3 and then two by 6 mos or so, depending on  breed.

Remember they are just the same as human babies, they need more frequent feeds whilst tiny and more nappy changes too! :D

Great thanks for your honest advise. Looks like a puppy is not for me, maybe I will try and get an older dog.
Just out of interest though where would I find details of a creche and is it expensive?

Not as big over here as they are in the US but I was lucky, a veterinary nurse was starting up her own home business and so we were one of her first clients; it meant that my dog had company all day, was exposed to other safe dogs, cats and children until she was old enough to be left for longer.

Between 6 months and 12 months old she then came to my home during the lunch hour for an hour.

It cost me circa £10 per day however bear in mind that I live in the sticks.

An older dog may well be the solution for you, one that is happy to be left for up to 4 hours and the two days it is left alone, maybe use a dog walker?

Best of luck

I'm not a big fan of the creche or doggie daycare idea, especially for young puppies.  Often people running them don't have the necessary experience to supervise interactions between the dogs adequately.  And even if they do have the necessary experience, they often have more dogs than they can supervise closely, one-on-one.  Puppies can learn a lot through being bullied or learning to be a bully and it is hard to read the signs of this happening sometimes.  Certainly I would never trust another person who is also looking after other people's dogs to also look after any of my puppies.  I would rather the puppy was looked after with no other dogs around.

There's no reason you could make it work but you will have to use all your holiday up when you first get the puppy to spend afew eeks settling it in and then coming home for your lunch hour everyday when your hubby isn't there.  However it will be hard work and why not get in contact with dachshund rescue if you really want the breed to see if they have any older dogs that are used to being left, or your other option is have alook in rescue centres and see if you can find a dog (pedigree or crossbreed) you like the look of, either way giving a dog another forever home.

By asking the questions you have anyone can see you want to put a dog first and would rather go without then be unfair to a puppy! :)  Maybe you could have your dachshund puppy if/when situations change or when you retire (I know that will be along way off ;) )

I'm 26 so retirement is a while off :-) But thanks I think you are right, I will have a look for an older dog unless I win the lottery and can retire early!

Some people have made this sort of a scenario work but it always takes a lot of thought, work and, something you can't plan for, luck!  The fact is many working homes don't pull it off and the dog ends up rehomed so when embarking on something like this I think you have to consider how you will feel if it fails.  There are alternatives you can consider.  When I got my first dog my husbands shifts ensured it was not left for more than half a day but when he came off shifts I felt it only fair to give up work and we just lived frugally but comfortable foregoing many of the luxuries that others regard as essentials.  I have since done some occasional part-time work but have otherwise supplimented our income with investments that I have had plenty of time to consider during the many hours of happy dog walking :)  Maybe a couple of those things will give you food for thought about how you might manage dog owner without depriving it of too much of the human company that all dogs have been developed to desire.

Hi Isabel. Thanks for your reply. The last thing I want is to end up having to give the dog away or having it distressed and I think even with careful planning it will be too risky. It's nice to hear that there are people who will give up a lot to make their dog happy. I think we will have to get a cat and stick to that for now!
Best wishes.

If I hadn't been able to reshuffle my life to accomodate a dog I would have definately got a cat.  I understand some of the oriental breeds are quite dog-like in terms of interest in humans, willingness to learn tricks etc so it may be worth investigating them or maybe you would be happy with just a nice moggy to sit on your lap :)

i work full time,& arrange my holidays so i can have 2-3 weeks off to settle pup in. i dont suppose youd be allowed to take pup to work?

well done for considering everything,thats what makes good owners IMO

If you are going to get a cat please remember that many of the oriental breeds (more dog like) really crave the company of their humans, you can get two together but may have to accept that they bond with each other rather than you - and the house will take a bashing as they are very energetic, mischievous breeds and kittens more so ;)

Oh well shows how much I know about cats :)
Back to the drawing board.
What about a house rabbit?

Not saying I disagree with you Isabel, it's a good idea ;) :) just helping the OP to make an informed decision ;) :D :D

Oh that's fine.  I just hope if the day ever comes when I have to think of getting a cat that someone gives me some sensible advise :)

Thanks for the info, although I think we will just rescue 1 from the cat shelter, and my partner who is in most days loves cats and will look after it :-)

Hi Michelled, if I could I would take the puppy everywhere with me but no you are right I don't think my office would be too impressed! Never mind :-(