I just got an 11 week old Shih Tzu 3 days ago. I am a teacher and we have been out of school all week because of a huge ice storm in the Midwest, but come Monday I will have to go back and the puppy will be alone for several hours. I live only about 3 minutes from my school so I can come home at least once per day, but two of those days I will have to come early (8:45 - 9:15). The other 3 days I will be able to spend about 30 minutes with my puppy at noon. I am thinking that this may be too long for the puppy to be in a crate. I leave my house at around 7:20 in the morning and get home at around 3:20.

I purchased an appropriately sized crate, but I'm wondering if I should maybe put my puppy in a sectioned off area of my laundry room that is just large enough for my puppy's bed, water bowl, and a puppy pad. I have a pet gate and have set up a little area like this to see if it would work. The puppy pad is about an inch from the bed. Is this far enough away that he will not feel that he is soiling his den area? Also, I had to fold the puppy pad and the pad holder in half to make it fit (because my gate wouldn't stretch any farther). The pads are the large kind, but folded in half they are kind of too small. I tried taking it out of the holder so I could customize the size, but when I did the puppy started chewing it up. I thought about just using newspaper, but wonder if he would chew those up too?


This has been a real ordeal--I wish I had waited until summer vacation to get the puppy now, but I guess I wasn't thinking everything through too clearly. I just want to do what is best for my puppy. I have tried to think of anyone who could come over during the day to play with and let the puppy out of the crate to potty, but there is just nobody. I'm concerned about the two days when I will have to leave him alone from 9:15 until 3:20. I'm not even sure that coming home at noon the other three days will be soon enough, because even then he will have been in the crate for almost 5 hours. And once a month at least I will have a meeting that may prevent my coming home during the day at all. Any suggestions on how to get through until summer break (end of May)? Should I use the laundry area with the combo bed/bathroom setup instead of a crate? Or will this ruin any chances of my puppy ever being satisfactorily potty trained?

Thank you very much for any help you can offer.

Many dogs survive and do fine in situations I don't think are the best. Have you looked for a professional dog walker? If you found one that could come in days you can't give the puppy a mid day break, it would be a big help.

I see the pads and the gated area as a mistake. However, leaving such a young puppy all day in a crate is a mistake too. Maybe if you have to, try one, and if it seems to be going bad, try the other. Some things work better with some dogs than others.

For things that have worked over and over for me, see https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post251809

Thanks to Labman for the help. I feel a lot better because I finally found a college girl who can come for an hour at noon on Fridays and for about 1/2 hour at noon on Tuesdays. I will be able to come home for about 30 minutes at noon on the other weekdays. I hope this will work out. I have decided to put the puppy in the crate since he will be attended to within 4 1/2 hours before his first break every day. I may even be able to sometimes come home on my planning time around 9:00, which will mean he'll be in the crate for only 1 1/2 hour at first, then around 3 hours before his noon break. Or would it be better to keep him on a routine of getting the noon break every day? (He's 11 weeks old.)

Thanks again for the help. I have taken my puppy to the vet for his first visit and shots but didn't think to ask all these questions. I've also spent hours on the Internet but couldn't find anything that would address my specific issues.

Sounds good. At that age, expect a few accidents when left 4 1/2 hours, but not many, and not enough to ruin the dog's instinct for cleanliness. I have routinely left puppies that long even starting a few days short of 7 weeks.

May be just a well you didn't find much on the net. Much of what is out there is very poor.

Note, I combined your 2 questions. I think it makes it easier for everyone to see the whole picture. I am expected to take care of such details in the Dog forum.