Puppy update: managing a puppy whilst working

So I realised the other day that I have been putting pictures up on Instagram about Jessie but haven’t done an update on life with her for a while. Jessie is now 14 weeks old and has grown so much since we first got her. She is now allowed outside to interact with other dogs as she’s had her final set of injections (for now, I think she needs a booster at about a year old). J has found a lovely route to walk with her from our house, just up the round and onto a bridleway where she can be let off the lead. So far she is really good at coming back on command and doesn’t stray too far from us. We still put her back on the lead when we pass horses but she has shown a restrained curiosity about them so far. We’ve also taken her up to Westonbirt Arboretum which is great for both children and dogs as they have a huge section where dogs are allowed and have dog bowls and bins at various places as well as a cafe, shop and good toilets and changing facilities for children. We’re planning her first beach visit in a couple of weekends time which I’m sure she will love. 

 

She’s dropped down to two meals a day now, by her own volition really as she wasn’t eating her meals properly when she was on three so we switched her to two and increased the amount at each and now she eats everything up straight away. We made sure to keep offering her a good number of treats in the transition from 3 to 2 so she didn’t end up hungry. And we’re still soaking her last meal of the day for about half an hour before dinner, on advice from the vet, so that she doesn’t need to have water available in the night and it helps keep her fuller for longer (apparently). We’ll probably keep doing this until she is six months old. Though we have had the occasional upset food bowl when she brings a toy out with her to breakfast time! Thankfully she cleaned up after herself. 

The big transition has been after the summer holidays I’m now back at work so she’s had to spend some more time by herself during the day. My father in law very kindly volunteered (was asked to volunteer) to help out with the pup up until October half term during the day. I think he has actually enjoyed it and has often had Jessie over at his for the whole day instead of popping over to ours for a couple of hours in the middle of the day. It’s been really helpful especially when J has to go to work early and his dad has been able to do the morning walk. Long term it isn’t reasonable for us to expect him to look after Jessie everyday and so we’ve looked at some other options. A dog walker would cost up to £10 a day for the four full days that I work, if we presume that I walk her on my halfday. So as I work in a school I work for 39 weeks a year, so in one year we would end up spending £1560! And that’s presuming I can find someone who is willing to only work termtime. That’s a pretty insane cost when you think about it especially as walking the dog is one of the things we wanted to get a dog for. Even getting someone to come in daily for a comfort break would probably be about £5 a day. And both of those options would still mean that she was spending most of her day in a cage. So we’re looking into getting a kennel and run for the garden. So she would be in there whilst we’re at work and will have space to run around and space to do her business and hopefully won’t get bored. It will cost a bit I think, but will be much cheaper than having a dog walker in the long run. What does everyone else do about managing a dog and working? Are there any better options? I mean I can’t be the only one to work and have a dog.