Hey guys I just brought home my beautiful puppy about a week ago. So far, so good on most fronts. She's doing a lot of biting, but I'm having a hard time determining how much of it is puppy play, or a real issue. I'm leaning heavily towards puppy play, but I digress.

This particular question is about what to do with her during work hours.

I work from home, which means I can house train here and whatnot, but for most of the work day, she is confined to either my room, or tied up downstairs so she is out of reach of ruining anything. For the most part, she spends my 8 hour work day resting or playing with her toys, but I feel about about this. Should I?

She seems content. She'll whine for a bit but then settle down and rest, or play. I'll give her ice and treats when I can get her to sit and be a good girl, etc, but I don't want her to think I'm neglecting her in anyway. Is there anything wrong with how I've been handling this situation? I'm not the most experienced dog owner, so I'm trying to everything super duper correctly, and this is something I've been thinking about a lot. I want her to play! And have fun! And do puppy things!

I'm also crate training, meaning she spends about 6 hours confined to the crate at night, and 8 hours confined to either my home office, or downstairs on her leash in the kitchen where she cant' do anything bad unsupervised. I guess I just feel guilty about the 14 hours of downtime. Tell me what I'm doing is right, or wrong! thanks!

I should mention that shes not totally bored throughout the day. I take her for quick walks on my break and whatnot, but still. I feel bad.

Hey HuskyLife!

Congrats on getting your puppy!

Here is my two cents about your questions...

• Biting - I personally don't care about discerning what is playful and what isn't.  It just shouldn't happen period.  For me I either redirected with a hard bone or I screamed loud and walked away from the puppy for a period of time.  By allowing it sometimes and not others you're sending mixed messages.  Consistency is key for your puppy to grasp the concept of no biting.  Period.
  
• Confinement - I personally think you're overthinking it.  The fact that you're asking these questions and posting here shows that you're already giving it a lot of thought and doing it as humanely as possible.  We all have lives that we need to continue on with and the earlier you start getting into a routine of doing what you expect of your puppy the faster it will understand your schedule and get comfortable with it
  
• Guilty - Don't be!  As long as she's entertained, safe, and gets breaks here and there your puppy will get used to it.  While I understand you want the puppy to love you and be loyal, etc...you also don't want the husky to run your life.  It should be a mutual relationship where you make some sacrifices and so does your puppy.  By spoiling it too much at the beginning, you may find it hard to re-teach or break habits later on in life.
  
• Bored - If your husky is bored, lonely, too much pent up energy, etc...you'll know.  He'll chew through everything, whine, howl, bark, escape, and generally turn into a monster for a lack of a better word.  If your husky doesn't show any of these characteristics you're fine.  Huskies are very vocal and high personality breed.  You'll know when she's not happy.
  

Keep up the great work, and don't overthink it! =D

Cheers!

As long as you are showing her attention when you can, it's all good.
Most dog owners work, and most dogs are contained in some way during those work hours. It's normal. Dogs can handle it. If they have something to play with/chew on and are otherwise happy, you're doing great.
Beyond that, you get to spend break time with the dog, which isn't the case for most owners.

When your dog get older, more mature, more trustworthy, you can always think about giving her some more freedom during the work hours. As a puppy though, she won't understand boundaries very well and just want constant attention.

Thanks guys! The positive reinforcement definitely helps.

How old is the puppy now? How often are your breaks and how long does she get to be out for? She has access to water and how long does she have to hold her pee? Unlike the others, I'm having problems with the daytime confinement part for a puppy I thought was very very young. I just would like a clearer picture of her day before I'd say yeah, everything you are doing is ok, or normal. While it's true that dogs can handle the confinement for long lengths of time, very young puppies aren't at that point yet. Husky puppies are generally very calm during the first month or so with its new owner, after that...it's quite a different story for the puppy who doesn't have the physical and mental stimulation it requires and I'd hate for you to be suddenly overwhelmed by your puppy when she gets to that stage. I guess I'm not necessarily seeing it as you teaching your puppy your routine while she is young, and that she will just get used to it, I think that "monster" that a puppy can become is actually caused by a routine that doesn't satisfy the puppies needs. Yes, we all work and dogs are left alone for long periods of time, but the key word here is "dogs", this is a puppy, a puppy that requires a bit more attention right now...to become that dog you want them to be.

@Husky911 and Jimmie (@Artic_wind) pretty much summed up what I would have said.
You start now to raise the dog you want this puppy to become. As an example, if you don't want your dog on your bed, you don't lift the puppy up onto it ... as 911 says, you're sending mixed signals and a puppy can't differentiate.

Personally, rather than having her tied downstairs, I rather see her tied to you. You then become aware of the signals she's sending when she needs to go out, etc. Having her 'tethered' also gives you the ability to correct those behaviours that are unacceptable (chewing on things she shouldn't, for example).

You're doing well, a lot better than some others who will gladly throw the pup into the crate and let it cry its heart out.