Give your typical day in your life with your puppy

[Kellylaine]

I would like to see some post on someone's typical day with their puppy. For example puppy gets up, puppy eats, puppy plays a little, you and puppy go for a walk. I love routines and I would love to see others routines.

Thank you :-)

[Gil]

Get up and dressed, let puppy out of crate and head outside. Gil ( 5yr old dog ) and Logan play while I eat breakfast. They eat breakfast. Logan outside again. Crate time if Gil has class or I have errands. Little bits of training snuck in among the play. Practice recalls once a week at flyball.Last potty trip before my bath and to the crate for the night. Will be adding walks as the three of us need to get ready for a walk in Oct. Will add a foundations class for Logan in a couple of weeks. He is 16 weeks and 21 pounds. No set routine and time for things. breakfast can be anywhere from 4 am till 7 am. Play time usually happens but may not if I'm heading out early.

Jenny

[Gideon's girl]

Routine sounds nice, but other than potty training, I don't like giving my dogs too much routine, especially not a breed that is as prone to OCD as Border Collies are. I train my dogs to be flexible. Some days they are in their crates a lot, some days not at all. Sometimes they go with me, sometimes they don't. Usually they eat inside, sometimes it's outside. Sometimes they don't get to herd the goats, chickens, or the calf. Sometimes I work them both together, sometimes I work them seperately. Sometimes Gideon goes for his walk first, sometimes Micah, sometimes both walk together. They are both very accepting of whatever comes their way and it is rare that they try to tell me what they think I should be doing.

[Nanda & Nelson]

On weekdays I get up around 7am, walk/play with Nelson for 45 minutes, we both have breakfast. Then he goes in the bike trailer to the office, I ignore him there - and he entertains himself or sleeps until noon. We then go to the dog beach behind my work, he plays/swims/fetches for an hour or so, and then sleeps all afternoon. Bikeride home, he get cuddles and play from my boyfriend, then either he or I will take him to the park again to play. Then, before bed, he just goes out for a quick pee and thats it.

 

On the weekends, he sleeps in, we sleep in. Take him for a quick pee in the morning and then we usually go for hikes/walks/shopping, he just comes everywhere with us. Therefore he is very easy and is used to city sounds, people etc. And I'm sure that when we leave him alone he is happy he has some alone time .

[Mdaniels]

I don't have a "puppy", Ben is about 4.5 yo--but I can tell you what he does. I am an early riser, so they are up for potty breaks early (other dog is a greyhound). After everyone has had potty and morning treats, I have coffee and read news and boards, etc. Ben and I then go out for about 20 minutes of ball tossing, his favority thing. When its dark in the morning, we use glow in the dark Chuck its. I get ready for work, he settles back down. He is home with my retired husband all day and they have a few rounds of ball during the day. I come home and take him out for ball or a walk or both. Everyone eats. Quiet time. Bed time.

 

Not too exciting!

[rushdoggie]

Husband up at 6:15, lets dogs out and pets them then does his own thing. 6:45 he leaves for work and puts the puppy in the bedroom with me. Puppy used to tear around the bed but has learned to lay down with me until my alarm goes off at 7.

 

I get up, and feed the dogs and myself. Lately puppy works for his breakfast (weave poles or retrieving). Some days I load them in the car and take them for a 30 min off leash run (theres a few places close by) and return home at 8-8:15. Some days I play with them in the yard (the weathers been awesome here, so its great), some days I huddle on the couch with coffee and they chew bullies.

 

I prep for my day, get dressed, let them out for a pee and then crate puppy and leave the house between 8:15-9 depending on the day and when my 1st visit is (I am a home health therapist). I come home at lunch unless its my 1/2 day and usually spend 40 mins or so at home letting the dogs out and sometimes throwing a frisbee for 5 minutes if its nice out. I then give the dogs a chewie or a frozen Kong and crate puppy again. After work (about 4) I do housework, and play with them and train depending on how I feel and if they had a morning run. In the winter I am likely to load them up for an off leash run after work, in the summer I tend do to that in the AM. Then its dinner, finish paperwork for work and quiet evening time. 2 day a week I go to class. Once with the old dogs for nose work, once a week for obedience with puppy.

 

I work 1/2 days on Wed, I try to play with the dogs. Ieither go for a hike, or the beach, or a really long run or something. Now and then in bad weather we sit home and watch TV on the couch together. Every other week we have a private obedience lesson.

[urge to herd]

Not a puppy, but here is Gibbs' day:

Up between 5:30 and 6. For the next few weeks, at least once a week it will be 5. Out to potty, then he snoozes until I get my 20 minutes at the computer. Off to either the dogpark for fetch or a good long walk, some of it off leash.

 

If I'm not working that day, he goes with me to run errands, as long as it's not too warm. We get in a couple informal training sessions, a few minutes here and there on whatever I think he needs. BC soccer in the back yard, a brisk walk in the afternoon, some wrestling with DH, who is retired. Dinner at around 5, then quiet evening.

 

If I am working long hours during the day, I have a couple dog walkers that I ask for help. He LOVES his BFF's, and seems to be able to hang from the front door vertically when he hears them come up the walk. My work schedule varies wildly, from being home several days in a row to working All The Time, so the BFFs are very gracious about flexibility.

 

We go to nosework 3 times a month, and I use every opportunity to take him out in the world and become familiar/at ease with noises, unexpected visuals, etc. He's doing great with all that.

 

His schedule is made to fit my schedule. I'm an early morning person, so he's an early morning dog. I like to be out and about right around dawn, so he gets to watch the sunrise. I agree with Gideon's Girl, the dog's routine should fit into the human's routine rather than the other way around.

 

Ruth and Agent Gibbs

[Gary_and_Karen]

^{I work a couple days a week (2nd shift) so the schedule can vary on those days, but on the days I'm off (not really off as I work harder at home than on the job a typical day can vary but roughly goes like this: Xena will whine just loud enough in her crate (in our bedroom) anywhere from 6:30 to 8:00 to let me know she needs to go potty, then she goes back in her crate till we get up about 9:30 - 10:00 (we are used to 2nd shift hours even on my days off, and Xena is used to our schedule and is content with it) I take Xena outside about 10:00 AM for potty and playtime, she will chase frisbees and/or balls and bring them back to me, after about 1/2 hour she has had enough and is ready to go back in the house. I put food in her bowl, and she also likes green beans and a carrot, as well as a homemade dehydrated sweet potato chip, if it was warm outside she also looks for an ice cube or two to crunch up. Xena relaxes in the kitchen/dining room area while I get some chores and projects done. Then she is usually ready for another outdoor playtime by around 1:00 - 1:30 PM for about 1/2 hour then ready for inside again. She relaxes while I work on more projects. (sometimes she is just intersted in a walk outside). Occasionally inside she'll bring me one of her toys for some inside playtime too. After supper around 5:30 PM she is ready for another outdoor playtime, then back in the house about 6:00 PM, then close to 6:30 she starts looking for her dessert (plain vanilla yogurt), then usually between 7:00 and 8:00 she goes in her crate with a peanut butter Kong, (some evenings we may have her up on the bed for a while first to chew on her Nylabone, but after about 1/2 hour or so she gets too figidity and we know she is ready for crate time, she naps till about 11:00 PM and gently whines for her night time potty, afterwards I'll have her on the bed again for about 1/2 hour more of chewing her Nylabone then it is bed time in the crate for her till the next morning. (that is just a basic idea of an average day, but it can occasionally change according to the day)}

 

^{(Usually she might like to stay outside longer, but with the warmer, more humid weather from late Spring to early Fall she is ready to go back inside to the air conditioned house after about a 1/2 or so at a time}

 

^{(I do take a bowl of water with ice cubes in it for her for the times I do take her outside for play time)}

[Syncrope]

Like Gideon's girl, I don't give my pup a whole lot of routine. I always felt like it'd help improve lifelong adaptability if I mixed things up a bit. Plus my schedule doesn't allow a whole lot of routine... nor does my energy level. Since Luna ended up growing bigger than her crate (and larger than I thought she'd be from the beginning) I haven't replaced her old one yet, so she sleeps out in my room at night. Sometimes she sleeps in my bed with me, and I smell like dog on those mornings I wake up. She wakes me up at 9am on weekends (non-work days) and 6am on weekdays (work). Amazing how she seems to know exactly when I wake up on different days of the week.

 

Anyway, I usually wake up to a paw or nose prodding my face, which is enough to get me out of bed. I let her out to do her business, which takes no longer than 15-30 seconds before she runs back inside. She trails along with me while I get cleaned up and make breakfast. She gets her breakfast once I'm done, usually chicken and some veggies and berries, sometimes an egg if I'm in a rush. Depends on the day. I give her a quick brush and we're out the door.

 

She rides with my to the office in her seat harness and does her business once more before I start work. She's good about hanging out while I'm busy and doesn't get into anything. We often take a mid morning walk through town, and sometimes if I get off early we run over to the park. She doesn't find other dogs interesting (except for other border collies) and just plays frisbee with me, or whatever.

 

Afternoon we run home. After a half-hour jog through the mountain trails around the house (hey, I need exercise, too!) we settle for the evening. Sometimes we just romp in the yard outside instead of hitting the trails and go nuts in the backyard. It used to be my grandparents property, and they had sheep (and border collies!) so the field is pretty expansive.

 

At night we have one more training session before bed and she has her munchies, and she chills on the couch or bed with me while I laze and watch TV or hop on the laptop. She does her business outside once more before we go to sleep.

 

Weekends are a lot more lax, but usually involve more playing in the yard and training time.

[Sirwhiskey]

Whiskey gets up around 7-ish and eats breakfast. He usually has morning energy and plays with our 7 year old Golden Retriever. I usually take him for a morning walk to get out some energy or sometimes he trots next to me on a slow bike ride. After the walk, he is usually content to play alone for a bit. Midday, he wants a snack so I put food in a puzzle ball that he has to nose around the house to get his food out. After that, we may do an activity which can vary from - playing ball, frisbee, doing obedience training, agility training, or letting him play in the sprinklers for an hour. He will usually play alone again for a bit or rest and then starts bugging us to kick the soccer ball (his favorite thing) - we usually do that for a while and probably go for another walk. If it is a weekend, we will go for a longer hike in the woods or to a park. He likes to go where he can chase squirrels, watch ducks and turtles, and things like that. He eats dinner and then usually insists that we interact again, so we usually will do frisbee or throw the soccer ball again - sometimes while we watch TV. We usually do another training session at night too. At other times, whenever he can get our other dog to play, he will always wrestle with him. Our days are filled with a lot of Border Collie time!

[ChantalB]

This is fun!

 

I also like varying routine.

 

We wake up at 6, throw the dogs outside and I get ready. Back them up, go to work, they run around the bush for 8-9 hours (forestry work) we go home relax, eat, train and play and go to bed. Weekends are trials or clinics. Sometimes I leave my oldest home on Fridays when we have weekend trials, or the day of a class that night.

[juliepoudrier]

Let's see, pup is 9 weeks old today. She sleeps in a crate in my bedroom, and since I have a regular job now, she is on something of a routine because I have to be on a routine to get everything done either before or after work. I get up at 6, or before, if she wakes me up to go out. All dogs go out and I escort so I can keep an eye on her and make sure she pees and poops. If she's busy playing with Lark or Kes, I will go back in and put on some clothes and then head out to do chores (feed/water chickens, check/feed/water/move sheep). She is allowed to accompany me on these tasks. We then come in and feed the cats. At this point she may come in the house, or go in an X-pen outside, or just stay out with the big dogs (only if she's busy playing with Lark or Kes).

 

Then I feed all dogs. They all go back out. I usually try to accompany her, but sometimes she just goes out with everyone else or in the X-pen until I have gotten dressed and am ready to leave for work. Then all dogs come in (Birdie will get one last potty walk by herself so there are no distractions), Birdie goes in her XL crate, others are crated or left loose as needed.

 

From 8:15-5:15 or so, she stays in her crate. When I get home, all dogs go out and again she can hang out with me while I do chores. If she goes potty right away, she can come back in and play while I check e-mail, etc., before we do chores.

 

She gets crated or put in the X-pen again (usually X-pen unless the weather is nasty) while I go to the pasture that's a mile away to feed the guard dog there and check on the sheep. When I come back she is given freedom in the house as long as she's behaving herself. I will try to get some freelance work done in the meantime. I then feed everyone and it's out one last time before bed. Bed time is usually 11-11:30, maybe earlier if I'm really lucky, which isn't often.

 

This routine is somewhat variable and depends on what I have going on generally. Weekends are usually different since I am often working outside and so she can either hang with us (me and the big dogs), or if I'm doing something that doesn't allow me to keep a close enough eye on where she is and what she's doing, I will move the X-pen to the general area where I'm working and she can hang out in that while I do what I need to do.

 

At this age, I would normally take her on short walks with the rest of the dogs, but the ticks are already so bad that I am not venturing near any of the usual walking trails. When Birdie is in a crate or the X-pen she has plenty of toys and chewable stuff to keep her busy. When she's out, I try to make time to work on her recall and teach her a few basic obedience commands (like sit). When we're out and about in the yard, she also gets lessons in "don't chase the chickens" and "don't harass the cats." Otherwise, things are pretty unstructured.

 

J.

[SS Cressa]

It is interesting to read everyone routine. Tbh I don't have one in a strict sense.

 

Morning is around 9a and that's when I offer outside to the dogs. Most of the time the adult refuse.

 

From there anything happens. (Hikes, training, chilling, playing, work, etc)

 

Night they get fed generally between 11p-1a and than we go to bed.

 

I do know if I get up before 8am my adult dogs will refuse to budge from the bed and they give me very dirty looks.

 

When my pup was younger I fed 2x a day.

[juliepoudrier]

One thing I wanted to mention regarding routines is that border collies (and most dogs actually) like a routine. A routine for the day isn't likely to create OCD--not in the way that, say, allowing the dog to attack the broom or fixate on squirrels will. If I am always gone for an 8-hour workday, then that routine becomes normal and the dogs learn to potty before I leave and to hold it till I get home. Those kinds of routines are invaluable. The dogs know what to expect, and when, and it also helps to set boundaries.

 

Maybe it's just because I manage a sizeable pack on a farm, with a full time job and a freelance job, but routine is what keeps us all sane (and helps me not to miss doing all the stuff I need to get done)!

 

J.

[terrecar]

I am assuming you line the 9 week old pup's XL crate with newspaper so she can relieve herself during the 8 plus hours you are away. Do you provide bedding in the crate as well, or do you consider that a choking hazard? I used bedding in half of the crate and never had a problem, but I did use very tough imitation sheepskin. I guess the safest thing is to just line the crate with newspaper. I do know of one pup (not mine) that had to take a trip to the veterinarian for eating a throw rug, but none of mine were quite that ambitious about chewing. I was also able to come home at lunch time to check on the pup.

 

If I am always gone for an 8-hour workday, then that routine becomes normal and the dogs learn to potty before I leave and to hold it till I get home. Those kinds of routines are invaluable. The dogs know what to expect, and when, and it also helps to set boundaries.

[Gary_and_Karen]

Make sure your dog is not tempted to even eat the newspaper (not sure how toxic the ink might be), my dog will shred newspaper if she gets ahold of some. Fortunately she does not have to be crated for any extended period during the day as there is usually always someone home. I have a very tightly woven sheet in her crate that while she has over time chewed a few small holes in it, she doesn't seem interested in constantly chewing it.

 

How safe are those "potty pads" they advertize for pups to pee on indoors, are they fairly chew proof ?

I am assuming you line the 9 week old pup's XL crate with newspaper so she can relieve herself during the 8 plus hours you are away. Do you provide bedding in the crate as well, or do you consider that a choking hazard? I used bedding in half of the crate and never had a problem, but I did use very tough imitation sheepskin. I guess the safest thing is to just line the crate with newspaper. I do know of one pup (not mine) that had to take a trip to the veterinarian for eating a throw rug, but none of mine were quite that ambitious about chewing.

[terrecar]

I don't think piddle pads were even available last time I had a pup that had to be left for 8 hours, but that is a good question. Regarding the newspaper ink, the remedy for that used to be to ask for the end rolls from my local newspaper company (for some reason the printing press could not use the roll up to the end).

[OurBoys]

Regarding the newspaper ink, the remedy for that used to be to ask for the end rolls from my local newspaper company (for some reason the printing press could not use the roll up to the end).

Or you (general you) could call your local newspaper and ask them if they use a soy-based ink which they probably do. I just wouldn't use the shiny, glossy inserts.

 

Printing presses don't use the last bit on a roll due to it not being possible to paste (attaching the used roll to the replacement) and they don't want the roll running out. I didn't ask DH why it wasn't possible. I'm thinking because presses run so fast they literally print off 1000's of copies per second and they can't stop them on a dime?

 

ETA: Or maybe it's 1000's of copies per minute. It's been years since I've worked at a print center. My memory is a bit rusty.

[juliepoudrier]

Terrecar,

She has newspaper down, a little pan with pine horse stall pellets (since that's what they had in their X-pen to encourage them to go in one spot), and a towel (chosen carefully so it has no holes or strings that could be hazards). And of course appropriate chew toys.

 

As far as I know, most newspapers used soy-based inks nowadays, so worrying about toxicity from ink isn't high on my list of concerns. I'd actually be more worried about a pup eating a puppy pad since those are made of plastic materials and would be more likely to cause a blockage than shredded and eaten newspaper.

 

FWIW, I would consider what was in a pup's pen/crate on an individual basis. Birdie has never been one to shred papers or bedding, so I'm pretty confident she's not suddenly going to start (in contrast, the 16 y.o. dog has to have nothing in her crate, much as it pains me, because she *will* destroy anything I put down as bedding). The pup also goes 8 hours at night without an accident or even a request to go out, so I don't think going 8 hours during the day is excessive. At any rate, she has plenty of room if she does need to go, so I'm not terribly worried that I am somehow being unfair to her.

 

I'll assume that you didn't intend for your post to come across as holier-than-thou WRT how I'm raising my pup.

 

J.

[Kassidy]

8 hours at night is much different than 8 hours during the day. Most pups can last 8 hours at night. Hardly any can last 8 hours during the day. But if the crate is an acceptable place to go, then it should be fine, just don't expect her to be able to hold it that long. Just wanted to add that, as many people think that if their dog can easily hold it for 8 hours at night, they should be able to for 8 hours during the day. It's the same way for us also, most people can last all night without geting up to go the bathroom, even if you sleep for 10 hours. But going 10 hours without going to the restroom during the day is a whole other story.

I think if she knows that the crate is an acceptable place to potty then 8 hours in the crate is fine during the day as long as she has room to move away from the potty.

[juliepoudrier]

Sigh. I have raised plenty of puppies. Thanks for the well-meaning advice, but it turns out she does hold it during the day. Perhaps she's just exceptional like that. Or perhaps she's pretty much sleeping all day, which makes the day really no different than the night. But what do I know? Clearly I'm just clueless about it all.

 

J.

[Kassidy]

Sigh. I have raised plenty of puppies. Thanks for the well-meaning advice, but it turns out she does hold it during the day. Perhaps she's just exceptional like that. Or perhaps she's pretty much sleeping all day, which makes the day really no different than the night. But what do I know? Clearly I'm just clueless about it all.

 

J.

Sorry if I came off trying to tell you what to do, I had no idea whether you had raised 0 puppies or 10 puppies. Congrats the on the exceptional pup.

[terrecar]

"I'll assume that you didn't intend for your post to come across as holier-than-thou WRT how I'm raising my pup."

 

[Edited out for bad humor]

Of course I did not intend my post to come off as holier-than-thou. I think it's pretty obvious from my post that I have kept a pup similarly crated, although I didn't expect any of them to be 'exceptional' for 9 hours at 9 weeks, hence the newspaper.

[terrecar]

8 hours at night is much different than 8 hours during the day. Most pups can last 8 hours at night. Hardly any can last 8 hours during the day. But if the crate is an acceptable place to go, then it should be fine, just don't expect her to be able to hold it that long. Just wanted to add that, as many people think that if their dog can easily hold it for 8 hours at night, they should be able to for 8 hours during the day. It's the same way for us also, most people can last all night without geting up to go the bathroom, even if you sleep for 10 hours. But going 10 hours without going to the restroom during the day is a whole other story.

I think if she knows that the crate is an acceptable place to potty then 8 hours in the crate is fine during the day as long as she has room to move away from the potty.

 

Oh, I agree if you are talking about a puppy.

 

I used an XL crate and put half bedding and half newspaper. ISTM that a puppy will consider the surface (being newspaper) as an acceptable place to potty, and will not soil the bed. At least that is how it appeared to me. The pup would go on the paper but not the bedding.

 

I never found the newspaper in the crate to be a problem in terms of the pup learning that the crate was an acceptable place to go once the newspaper was taken up as the pup grew older. Also, the pup at 9 weeks would usually only urinate on the paper during the day, and would not always defecate.The crate was big enough to separate the areas.

 

My point here is that I personally never found it to be a problem in terms of house training. Once the pup could hold its urine, I never had a problem with a soiled crate. While in theory the pup might associate the crate with a place in which to relieve itself with my set-up, that never actually happened.