Hi Connie,

Yep dog litter. We papillons are on it here forever during rainy season when they soak up water like mop heads and are free to use the yard when we're outside. Basically I start with a kiddie pool filled with a bag wood pellets or feline pine with a X pen around it. Dont use normal cat litter, it will make a puppy very ill.

There are a lot of short term options. Probably the easiest one for this little guy is an X pen with a wee wee pad for inside. It's a pain but it is short term until he has the bladder control to be crated. One large bag of pee pads is likely enough for this dogs entire life until he's ready to hold it.

If you only have carpeting in your house you may want to invest in a kiddie pool anyways at this phase. It will save your flooring and prevent future issues.

Mt

Thanks for your response, I greatly appreciate it. This makes me feel better, as I am just trying to do the right thing for the puppy.. It is unfortunate that we will have to leave him by himself for 5 or 6 hours for some days but what do other people do that work all the time? Hopefully the kennel will work and be safe for the dog. The safety is my main priority for him as well as giving him loving attention. Thanks again!

 Quote: david schaefer

... what do other people do that work all the time?

What I did when I didn't work at home was to arrange for dog-walker breaks.

Can you ask a neighbor to check on (1) noise (crying, barking, etc.) and (2) safety?

Another thing this will do is bring a possibly-about-to-be-disturbed neighbor "into the fold."

A puppy whining/crying/barking for hours is a multiple problem, from trauma to the baby puppy, to angry neighbors (and angry neighbors are a safety issue, I'm afraid).

wow, thanks for the lame response!

 Quote: David Schaefer

wow, thanks for the lame response!

David, check your PM's for an Offical Moderator message!

Will Rambeau
Moderator

You know David...You come here asking for advice from those of us that have raised pups & HELD DOWN JOBS at the same time.., and then you go & say you are going to do what you stated you were going to do in the fist place before you asked for advice. Also, then you get pissed off when you don't here from everyone here that it is a great idea to leave an 8 wk old pup in a crate or kennel for 5 hours unattended. Why did you waste everyones time when you ONLY wanted to hear that doing this was a great idea.

Anne - check your PM's also.

Will Rambeau
Moderator

I've always heard that the general rule is that young puppies can hold it for the number of hours that they are in months. So in other words, an 8 week old pup can control his/her bladder for about 2 hrs.

What I did with my pup was take him in a small cat crate to work with me and leave him in my car. That way I could check him every 2 hrs

This of course assuming you live in an environment where it's "safe" to leave your dog in a car. Too hot, too cold, and car breakins are usually the reasons not to car kennel.

I would definitely confine this puppy somehow, safely and arrange to have a trusted person (relative, neighbor, etc.) come and let the pup out so it can go to the bathroom. Unless of course, in the case of an outside kennel, you wouldn't need to let it out, but still have someone come and check on it. When puppies come into a new home and are then left (whether in a crate or in an outside kennel) while "mom and dad" are at work, they can become loud and obnoxious (crying and carrying on for hours) which can be an issue with neighbors.

I would say as long as the pup has adequate shade/shelter, food and water and someone to check on him every couple of hours while you're at work, a kennel would be ok. I wouldn't do it, just because there are many things that could happen, one issue was just posted a couple of days ago about a police K9 being poisoned with anti-freeze while outside in it's kennel. Not saying that it WILL happen, just that it COULD happen.

Always good to be on top of things and keep the bad in mind.

I always crated my pups inside the house when I'd go to work. They were never in their crates for longer than a few hours at a time-when they were around 2-4 months old I was able to arrange something with my job, so I could run home and let them out most days while they were that young. Once they were about 4 months, that's when I didn't worry so much about them getting outside until I got home, sometimes only 4 hours later, sometimes close to 6 hours later. I would let them out as soon as I got home, barely gave myself time to put down my car keys before letting them out I was lucky that I potty trained my pups very young (within a couple weeks of getting each one). The only reason I chose not to have neighbors come check on my dogs, is that I didn't trust any of my neighbors (I lived in a trailer court in Gillette, WY that was between I-90 and a very busy RR track). You may have some very trustworthy and honest neighbors willing to help you out with this for a couple of months. Good luck!