My husband and I will be bringing home a lab puppy sometime in April or May of 2026. We found a breeder and mama we love, and we are expecting her to go into heat sometime this month. I am a teacher, so finding a puppy that would come home as close to my summer break as possible was important to me, but it may be closer to the spring time just depending on what nature decides.
That being said, both my husband and I work outside of the home. I know that I will be able to bring puppy to work, and my husband may be able to take our puppy to work, too; however, I am concerned about both the idea of taking puppy to work with us and the idea of leaving her at home.
If she were to stay home, she would be alone from 7:40-3:40. My husband can come home midday, and we'd hire a pet sitter to come for an hour in the morning and afternoon.
Pros: We can be consistent about outside potty training, puppy would be exposed to less people and less germs, feels generally "safer"
Cons: My husband would have to work longer each day to make up for the longer lunch break, puppy won't have as much socialization opportunity, and will be alone for approximately an hour and a half a time.
If either one of us were to take her to work, we'd have a little pen set up in either my classroom or his office which would include a crate space, play space, and (potentially) a potty space. My main concern is allowing her to use the grass outside somewhere that is not our home that may have had contact with wild animals or unvaccinated pets. I've never seen animals other than squirrels and birds outside of my work, but we have dumpsters, so I'm sure raccoons are about. I also see people walk their dogs on the sidewalks near our school, and while I haven't seen people in the grassy areas around our school, we are fairly residential, and I couldn't guarantee that it's clean and safe the same way I can in our fenced in back yard.
I would feel safer with her having an indoor potty set-up, but I'm concerned that it will delay full potty training. We would implement a "four off the floor" rule for any time she wasn't in her pen and make sure people washed their hands before holding her.
Pros: puppy isn't alone, increased socialization opportunities
Cons: potential for more exposure to germs, potential for delay in potty training
We are getting this puppy with the intention of her being a therapy dog prospect, so early exposure to children particularly is important to me. Has anyone played with the same decision that we are, and if so, what did you decide?
submitted by /u/Rough-Jury
[link] [comments]