2 months and a half, female puppy in Hong Kong

by Vanessa
(Hong Kong)

Just bought my puppy from a breeder 5 days ago. She’s been very alert, playful and already learn how to sit and go down :) and sometimes she does her business on the right place… still learning lol

OK, the thing is that my husband and I, we both work, I work day time, and he works night shifts mostly, during the time we’re not at home, we confine her in bathroom area with potty, food, water and of course her toys… I don’t have the crate thing to put her in while we are away, been reading blogs, websites and people said is not convenient to leave a puppy longer than 4hrs inside the crate and we both work 8hrs or even more.

All the time when we at home, she is there with us, rather playing or sleeping. During night time she comes right next to bed and sleep with us in her basket ;) we have a big patio but again people said that is not good to put your dog outside even thought with doghouse blab la, she will grow aggressive and defensive… but on the other hand she will have more space, and fresh air. By the way she's gonna have her first shot on 3 days.

Ok, my question is, should I buy the crate and put her in while we’re sleeping? This is to avoid any accidents with cables and that sort of stuff, and only come out for food and play time while we are present, then when we both go to work, put her outside on doghouse with toys and everything she needs, so she relates “outside” for when mommy and daddy is not home… I don't want to keep her all the time inside the bathroom area, she’s going to grow very big and she needs more space, also recently she’s been eating her own feces, people told me is normal on puppies, but I guess she’s stress being there… what should I do?

Thanks a lot for your kind help; your website is very helpful!!









Hi Vanessa
Yes, 8 hours is definitely too long for an 8 or 9 week old puppy to be in a crate, and although leaving her in the bathroom area is okay for a week or two if there's no other option, it's not great.

I think what you suggest with crating her at night, and putting her in a safe, fenced outdoor area (as long as the weather isn't too hot or too cold and she has shade, water and toys) will work just fine.

It's perfectly okay to leave her outside during the time you are away if the above criteria are met, as long as she is indoors with you whenever you are home and gets plenty of love and attention. The negative results such as aggression, bad behavior and so on result from leaving a pup outdoors alone day and night, with little or no human interaction or training. This is not the case in your situation.

Hope this helps, best of luck with your puppy