Hello all! I've been lurking for a while, and here I am looking for advice. I've owned dogs my whole life, always got them as puppies. Most of my life I had Australian Shepherds, so I have some understanding of a high energy companion who requires a lot of exercise, all about finding dog hair in my food, and the occasional ripped up socks and chewed hole in the carpet. However, I always assisted my parents, and have never done it alone. I'm finally financially stable enough to fill the empty husky shaped hole in my heart, but that comes with of working full-time.

I work second shift (2:30-10:30), so that would give me several hours at the start of the day for runs, walks, play, training, grooming, etc. I live in th city (the entire house is fenced in), and my commute is pretty short, however I don't have the option to pop in during lunch breaks. But, I do have roommates with a dog (Aussie), friends in close proximity who could help, and tons of options for dog walkers, sitters, and daycare. I live near serveral parks, including a dog park, so lots of opportunities to socialize. I also have the same two consecutive days off every week. My back yard is quite sizable for the area I live, but our neighbor has chickens that roam around our yard a lot so the dog would never be outside unattended.

I guess my concerns are everyone's concern when working full time and wanting a lovable, quirky, independent husky. But the main thing for me is the very early months, particularly crate and potty training. I'm not in the position to take several days off work the first couple weeks. So is it possible to give a puppy a great start while working full time? I think my open mornings and close proximity to potential and hired help are benefits, but I just want to make sure I can give a husky pup the best life I possibly can.

Any advice is welcome!

Hi Chis. I think that fact that you work the later part of the day is good because you will be able to take the pup out and get him/her tired before going to work, but I am concerned about the amount of time he will spend alone especially when he has very little bladder control. If you had someone around that could let him out every few hours it might work? Maybe an older puppy might work better if you don't have that option.

Just remember that you are the entire world to that little puppy - so the more time you can spend together the better.

Jenah wrote:

Hi Chis. I think that fact that you work the later part of the day is good because you will be able to take the pup out and get him/her tired before going to work, but I am concerned about the amount of time he will spend alone especially when he has very little bladder control. If you had someone around that could let him out every few hours it might work? Maybe an older puppy might work better if you don't have that option.

Just remember that you are the entire world to that little puppy - so the more time you can spend together the better.

Thanks for the reply Jenah!
Your concern is my main concern as well, and probably the only thing keeping me from sending emails for pups at this moment. My initial thought was to break my time away in three hour increments. So have a friend or walker come around 4 or 5, let it out for an hour, then by the time 7 or 8 rolls around my roommates could let the dog out with their dog. If they have other plans hanging them up I'd have to rely on another friend, or at worst more hired help. By the time the last 3 hour period is up, I'll be home.
I've thought about having the walker place the pup in a playpen after they leave rather than putting it in the crate so it could relieve itself away from its play and rest area, but I'm wondering if that will just make potty training more difficult since it is technically going in the house.

I think it may extend the housebreaking process a little, but overall the pup will be happier? We cant crate our puppy for various reasons and he managed to housebreak in 3 weeks. We still have an accident every few days or so, but overall he is fine.

I just hope he/she doesn't get lonely, but if your roommate has a dog as well they should be happy together.

You sound like you are ready to have a pup. I think the biggest question is are your friends? If your friends don't mind helping you or you have someone you trust lined up to aid you when you are at work, then you should be fine. If you can get home or someone can get there every 3 hours then potty training probably won't be set back that much. If you want to really help yourself out you might see if the breeder will hold your pup until 10 weeks instead of getting it at 8. That will give you pup more time to mature with mommy and since everyone else will probably take theirs at 8 weeks that will also make it where your breeder might do a lot of potty training for you. Some pups come home nearly already potty trained if gotten from a great attentive breeder.

You definitely sound ready! For the potty breaks work with friends as well as going to your local dog walker most of them do this thing called puppy brakes where they pop by your house every couple of hours for a small play session and a potty break this will really help you in the first month until your puppy can hold it for about 3 or 4 hours. You totally sound ready so don't worry too much!