i am returning to work next week after being home for the last six weeks(i work at a school).
and i am wondering how jubilee who is 12 weeks old will cope.
i will be out of the house for just over 4 hours.
is there any thing i can do to make her feel less lonely.

I would leave her with lots of toys blankets etc so she can have a bit of a play and a snuggle., 4 hours isn't a long time., but to a pup it might be an eternity., is Jubilee caged or will she be raoming free??

I am sure some more experienced people on the board may be able to give some more constrictive advice !! :D

Natasha

Leave the radio on for her! In my experience when left they tend to sleep.

natasha.
she will not have the run of the house.
she will stay in the living room or kitchen do not know yet which one it will be

As she is still a pup I would leave her in a room where it will be easy to clear up after her as she will have most likely accidents. And if you don't leave her already I would try and go out an leave on her own building up the time each day until you have to go back to work.

You mihgt like to get her a kong and stuff it as this will keep her amused for quite a while. :) (For info about stuffing kongs if you do a search it has been discussed before several times)

Whenever we leave Bailey we always give him his kong stuffed and loves and can't wait for us to go! :D

HTH but i am sure others will be along with advice later.

Tracy :)

Hi there
I also leave Morgan each day to work in a school. I have been back to work for three weeks and he is just fine. I leave him a stuffed kong, a soft toy and a nylabone. he also has a great thing called a Havaball which you fill with food and he has to roll it around to get stuff out. He is in a crate when I'm not there, as it saves the stress of not knowing what you're coming back to. In my experience the crate was the best thing I bought but if Jubilee hasn't been used to it over the past six weeks it's probably too late to get your pup used to it in time for you going back to work. Good Luck, I'm sure things will work out:-)

Has she been left alone before?

I will probabley get slated for saying this but:
I would crate her at the beginning and try leaving her for short periods of time out of the crate, until she can be left for a full 4 hrs out of the crate. Do you really want to come home to chewed kitchen cupboards or funiture? It will give you peace of mind and you will know that she is safe.

Make sure if you leave her out of the crate that there is nothing that she can chew or destroy and nothing she can get to that will harm her
.
Give her plenty of praise and maybe a reward if she has been good when you return.

The radio left on is good company for them. Plenty of toys and fresh water

Good luck

I leave the radio on for Molly when she is left. As I am home with her all day we have now got her used to being left if we go out. She really did not like being on her own. And she does come everywhere with us, in this weather we do tend to leave Molly at home as its to hot in the car etc. so she gets her blanket and the radio on and she sleeps until we come home. She is such a good girl never damages anything. The only thing she does do which we find very funny is she will go into the bathroom and pull our face towles of the sink and leaves them in the hall for us to come back too? :) Good luck I am sure things will be fine for you.

Julieann and Molly

There was a article on the news yesterday or the day before re a animal shelter that has started to play classical music 24hrs a day in all the dog kennels.They have found that the dogs seem significantly calmer.

Lucy

The face toweks is not as funny as it seems. dogs feel comforted by having something smelling of their owners to snuggle with, makes them feel happier about your not being there. Try wering an old teeshirt overnight, and leaving that with her when she is left!

A long time ago we had a puppy who would go round and get one shoe of each person's in the house. She NEVER chewed them, just put them in her bed and slept with them:)

Wendy

I totally agree here. I fought against crates as I thought them cruel - then my pup ate a hole in the wall! I finally gave in and trained her to a crate over a weekend. I decided after that that I would never NOT crate a puppy again! My last one was crated from the beginning with no trouble (pup in crate and older dog loose). She is about 20 months now and has been out of a crate for the last three.

I believe the crate is NOT just a convenience for you it is also for the safety of the dog! A friend of mine had a litter of puppies, kept one. House was totally puppy proofed, BUT...

Took the two older dogs out for a walk and came back to find puppy had strangled itself in the blind cords:( It was AWFUL!

4 hours is a reasonable time to have a puppy crated. We leave the TV on for our dogs and give them stuffed kongs when we go out. That is the only time they get stuffed kongs so they look forward to us leaving:)

Wendy

As Jackyat has suggested, leave a radio on (somewhere where she can't get to it) I'm sure she will be fine. Have you left her alone for small periods of time leading up to this., or will this be her first time alone?? She will get used to it, in time :D

Natasha

Sam, I'm probably going to get blasted for this, but I would suggest two puppies, or possibly one pup and one cat.

4hrs in a crate sounds far too long to me.
Ted

Depends on the size of the crate and how sure you can be that your dog is totally safe. Read my reply above:(

Wendy

i have got a cat who is 7 yrs old and will put up with so much from jubilee but then wants to get away from jubilee because she becomes so playful.

what size crate should i buy, jubilee is a cavalier king charles

I agree with leaving the radio on etc but I wouldn't give her all the toys all the time- try rotating them a different one each day etc- I gave Kass all her toys and she never bothered with them the novilty wore off:)

Stacey x x x

The crate that [link http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/commerce/command/ExecMacro/ols_prod_detl.d2w/report?prrfnbr=8702135&prmenbr=6970&type=big&thisMode=ols&cgrfnbr=75413]Argos[/link] sells would be a perfect size for a cavalier.

fiona
x x x

Stock Nutrition sell cages the one ive got for a Westie was only £29.99 I give a kong and a couple of toys and a old slipper of mine, I left my pup for the first time today just out for 2 hours and she was lying sleeping when I came back, left t.v. on in 1 room, radio on in the other for the other 2 dogs. Ive got the kind of neighbours that if they make any noise when im out I will be told about it.!!!!!

Providing the pup has had sufficient stimulation and a good walk before being left for the 4 hrs, I am sure she will just sleep. The problem will arise if you wake up, have breakfast, then put pup in cage for 4hrs - asking for problems. If you can develop a good routine before you leave her, then she will be fine and pleased of a rest!

I thought Molly was pulling of our face towels to say "hey your not meant to leave me"! She does sleep with a t-shirt with her it's my husbands ! It is true about your smell helps them feel safe and your going to come home?

Julieann

she will be taken for a good walk in the morning before i go to work.
i have put one of my old night shirts in her bed that i wore before doing so.
thanks for all your advice,i will not feel so bad about leaving her now

Mine used to collect my shoes after I left :rolleyes: Never a complete pair and never chewed or even damp .... I just couldn't figure out how I'd take off my left shoe in the bedroom, then walk downstairs to take off my right one ;) :D :D :D