I regularly read a great dog blog based in the USA, the writer of which has just added a 10 week old pup to their pack a few weeks ago. They are back to work now, working in their words '5/6 hours' and travelling 20 miles each way. Pup stays home in an x-pen with kongs and peepads. Maybe my reaction is based in the sort of doggy world i inhabit (one of doggy daycares and where people say don't get a pup unless you don't work fulltime) so to me when i first start thinking about a pup i knew it was a case of daycare/dogwalker/etc...or no pup.  I am surprised to hear that this person, who i think very highly of btw, is leaving a pup for this time at least 4 or 5 times a week, and this is a pup considerably younger than my 5 month old. Am I being OTT with all my daycare arrangements? I would love to think i was in a way as it's costing me around 60 euro per week but.........i don't think i am.

What do you guys think?

Difficult one. Different cultures have different norms. What we think is OK here in Britain/Ireland and even within our groups of friends/neighbourhood, can be thought of very differently elsewhere. Neither may be right/wrong - who, ultimately, decides ?? We can only stick to what we, personally, think is right whether it is with regard to dogs, children, the law etc

I guess so, though I would be surprised to hear this is the general consensus re pups in the USA, though the comments left on the blog post would hint that it is the norm.

When I got my first 3 dogs as pups I worked full time, as did my husband. Dog would get walked before work, one of us would go home at lunch time and then we would be in by 5. They all just got used to it, it was their routine and quickly adapted. Now I only work part time and generally there is somebody at home all of the time (its just how shifts seem to work out for us) so its not a problem.

Ah but this person is not going home at lunch, i agree hat makes a big difference.

I think this is far more the way things are in the US, for one reason or another. 

I'd be interested to know what sort of dogs pups left like this grow into, and whether it affects the adult dogs they become.

I work full time, the dogs have a pen where they stay during the day.  I put paper down for them as I think it is unreasonable to expect them to hold it.  When I had one dog I gave kongs and chews, now I leave a couple of safe toys - no food in case of squabbles.  It's not perfect, puppy toilet training took a long time but they seem plenty happy enough, pop themselves to bed in a morning.

I am not saying this is unacceptable with adults dogs - my two adults have a run in the morning and stay alone while i work. no problems.

Many pet dogs in the US are 'staked out', kenneled or kept in the yard.

These dogs are well kept, very looked after pets.

I appreciate that, I was just mentioning the different mind set of your average american pet owner.
Keeping them inside for however many hours would be seen by many as a spoiling them... the lap of luxury.

One of mine is now 2 the other is just one.  The eldest I had from a 4 month old and the youngest I have had from 7 weeks.  I had 2 weeks off with my puppy and used that time to get her meal times adjusted to something we could manage while I worked

Personally I don't sell puppies to people that would leave the puppy alone for more than a two hours or so a day. However I'm emigrating soon to Australia, and when I visited there it seemed quite the norm to buy a puppy from a shop and leave it outdoors for the rest of its life. Not how I do things so when I have my first and final litter in Australia, I'll have to vet the owners doubly.

Seems very common on US based lists and forums, as is full time crating.