# Worried & hopeful



## KL83 (Feb 28, 2019)

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and need some advice; apologies for the long post. I have wanted a cockapoo for such a long time, and have spent the last year researching (books, videos, everything I can find) everything about cockapoos and training a new puppy. I have gone through the worst year of my life, and would love a puppy to focus on raising as well as I can, as my companion. I am on a waiting list with a reputable breeder, who may have a litter by summer.

I live with my partner, and soon (once her visa comes through), his 8 year old daughter. My partner and I work full time, and we live in a rented flat, on the 5th floor, with a balcony.

I am extremely worried about the pup being home alone, and I don't want to be irresponsible or unfair. These are my thoughts about getting around the above issues:

- Much of the advice I have received say working should be fine, since I work 9-5, Monday to Friday and can plan in advance.

- I would take a week off work when I first got the pup, and would get it used to being in the crate/pen alone, building it up gradually. The pup would be crated overnight too.

- When we are home, the pup will be taken to toilet on the balcony (on lead/harness and NEVER unsupervised), using a fake-grass toilet, roughly every 30-60 mins. When I am out, the pup will be in the kitchen, in a play pen with the grass toilet, open crate, filled kongs etc, radio on. I will also have a pet camera set up.

- I will have a dog walker visit at lunchtime for an hour (for a long walk or playtime).

- As soon as I am home, the dog will be walked (once vaccinated).

- I will work on chew-toy training, to alleviate barking and boredom.

- If this did not work, I would look at seeing if I can afford daycare.

I'm sure I have left some stuff out, but I'm trying not to waffle on. I would really appreciate any thoughts or advice; I know it will be so much work, I just don't want to be selfish or irresponsible, or unfair to the wee thing. I'm also really worried about damage/behaviour issues, and barking disturbing neighbours. However, I can't bear the thought of not getting a pup until I'm retired..

Thank you so much for reading.


----------



## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Sorry but I am afraid working full time and having a young puppy almost never works out and what you outline is difficult for even an older dog. How are you expecting the pup to learn to be housetrained when they are left so long with little choice but to toilet in the house? Toiletting on the balcony does also not sound like a great idea as I am pretty sure smells will linger. 

For an older dog you would need to commit to a decent walk in the morning before you start work, a dog walker in the day and then a decent walk in the evening as soon as you get home, plus expecting to spend a considerable amount of the evening occupying the dog with training.


----------



## KL83 (Feb 28, 2019)

Thanks for your reply.



> How are you expecting the pup to learn to be housetrained when they are left so long with little choice but to toilet in the house? Toiletting on the balcony does also not sound like a great idea as I am pretty sure smells will linger.


By taking time off initially, and taking the pup out to toilet regularly, using constant supervision. It wouldn't be toileting ON the balcony directly, but on a fake grass litterbox. The only time it would have to toilet indoors would be if it had to whilst I was out, using the same grass litterbox so it associates grass with toileting. Many people do similar with puppy pads, who don't have garden access. Many people these days need to work sadly, and my hours are predictable and not long or with any overtime.



> For an older dog you would need to commit to a decent walk in the morning before you start work, a dog walker in the day and then a decent walk in the evening as soon as you get home, plus expecting to spend a considerable amount of the evening occupying the dog with training.


Once vaccinated, I'd be taking the pup out before work, and after work, and a dog walker would give it an hour's walk at lunch time. None of my research or discussion with owners so far has suggested that a cockapoo would need three big walks a day. Training and time spent with the dog in the evenings would be more than fine, and I'd be attending puppy classes too.

I would consider daycare (a local one does a mix of walking, training and play) if necessary.


----------



## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

A week is not going to be anyway near enough time for a pup to become house trained and they will be toileting lots in the house while left as they will have no choice - the chances are this will be everywhere rather than on the neat toilet area you are intending.

If you have a good local daycare get in touch with them, find out if they have space and what they charge and factor that into your budget - if you don't need it then that is money you have gained but expect to and budget for it now to make sure you can. For the early weeks before vaccinations see if you can find someone who can call in a couple of times per day which is much better for a baby than one longer visit and gives your pup a slightly better chance of being at least semi clean.

Cockapoos are often very much velcro dogs who want to be with their owners more than anything else - they are also lively intelligent dogs who can get up to a lot of mischief when left


----------



## SkiTrak (Jul 16, 2016)

*My Experience*

My situation was very similar to yours and here is what I did that worked well for Snickers and Me. Snickers is my 2.5 year old Cockapoo. He is my first dog. I am 62 years old, worked full time when I got him, am single and live alone.

I worked from home the first two weeks after I got him to get him settled and understand his needs.

I got a puppy apartment (google it) for potty training and for when I had to leave him alone (even for a few minutes) until he was trained. It was worth every penny I paid.

If you are going to leave him alone for more then a few hours put him in a doggy day care. So based on your description you will need to use a dogie day care.

Putting the dog in a small daycare with a operator that interacts and trains the dogs is a great way to get them trained fast.

Once the dog is trained you can use a large daycare like Pet Smart which can be less expensive.

Take some puppy training courses. I used Pet Smart and did 3 six week courses, one hour per week. 1 would be adequate, 2 ideal the third did not really add anything. Realize you are being trained as well as the dog.

I have Snickers groomed every 2 months. I have him shaved as much as they are willing to (they have me sign a release I will not freak out when I pick him up). Doing this saves you from brushing them all the time. If you brush a lot you can go longer between grooms. Grooming at Pet Smart is about $70 which includes a bath. I find Snickers stays pretty clean for about two months before he needs a bath. You should not give a dog a bath more then once a month.

I got full health insurance for him the first two years (pays for part of shots and vet visits and major expenses like surgery. It was about $600 per year. After that I switched to just major expenses (less then $300 per year) because I want to avoid making a financial decision if he needs a expensive procedure.

Dogs are a big commitment, they affect your life in both positive and negative ways, but most dog owners will tell you it is well worth it.


----------



## KL83 (Feb 28, 2019)

SkiTrak, thank you so much for your helpful and positive response, and sharing your experience with Snickers (any photos of him?).

I plan to do a mixture of working from home an time off for the first few weeks - not because I expect a pup to be toilet trained in a few weeks, but because it helps establish things and help the pup settle.

I planned on a puppy apartment too (what I meant by play-pen area) to keep the pup safe, secure and only able to chew on toys etc.

I have reached out to a few daycares that walk and continue to train the commands you've started them off with. I'd probably do a mixture of day care a couple days a week, and have a friend visit the other days. My partner also hopes to be working from home some days in the future.

I don't think we have PetSmart here, but I planned on attending a six week puppy class course from The Dog's Trust, for starters.

The grooming and insurance stuff was so helpful too, thank you! I don't mind the short-clipped look at all, I quite like it, and I was thinking of some life long insurance plan that covers big, high expense stuff.

Any and all advice much appreciated! I'm also reading lots of puppy training/care books.


----------



## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

That all sounds much better KL83  

Sounds like you are in the UK so I would recommend looking around for really good puppy classes - with the benefit of time you can go and have a look at some - good trainers will always welcome people coming to watch a class. You are ideally looking for a small class, where the dogs are not crowded together, no pushing pulling or shouting and happy pups who are learning each week - take a look here http://www.apdt.co.uk/dog-owners/local-dog-trainers

Insurance wise I would always suggest a lifetime policy with PetPlan - they are not the cheapest but they do not hike the premiums like some companies do and over the years I have claimed many thousands for Molly with her various health complaints


----------



## KL83 (Feb 28, 2019)

Thanks 2ndhandgal  I am in the UK, in Scotland. This is the first set of classes I'm looking at:

https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/our-ce...lasses-with-dogs-trust-trainer-julie-morrison

She's on your link for my area 

I'll definitely keep looking around for more small, positive classes as I'd like to do more than one course.

I can only afford SO much for insurance, that said I do think I'm likely to go for PetPlan, and I like the idea of lifetime cover. I'd rather pay a wee bit more for peace of mind, so long as I can afford it. I'm glad you've had decent experiences with them, but poor Molly!!


----------



## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Excellent 

Yes she is not the luckiest with her health as she has pancreatitis and has also had joint issues with luxating patella but she is generally a happy girl who loves life 










Achieving her life goal - more than twice her bodyweight in dog biscuits!


----------



## eeverett (Jan 1, 2017)

*Sorry to say...*

I hate to say it but I think you've chosen the wrong breed for your lifestyle. We got our cockapoo when he was 6 months old. The young woman who purchased him when he was two months old found him to be too much. My dog was extremely high energy; needed a lot of playtime and room to run. My husband and I are retired but still could not keep up with him and could not get anything done. So right away we had him in doggie day care 2 days a week. We did crate him at first, at night and if we went out for a couple of hours. It made him very anxious and he chewed up whatever was in the crate with him. 

Don't get me wrong, we adore our "little boy", and maybe he's not typical of the breed but somehow I think he is. I attend a meeting of about 25 people once a week and several of them have brought in new puppies. I'm amazed at how calm and quiet these dogs are compared to my little guy. Again, sorry to be so negative but a young cockapoo might not be the right fit.


----------



## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Extra thought - we see lots of cockapoos at our training club. They are lively and often more than the owners expect - but well bred and reared in a family home from a show cocker rather than working cocker seems to give a much calmer more settled dog.


----------



## SkiTrak (Jul 16, 2016)

*Pictures of Snickers*

As request here are a bunch of pictures of Snickers. Not sure why some are coming through as links but the links seem to work.

Here are two pictures of Snickers when I first got him:
https://scontent.fyvr3-1.fna.fbcdn....=84dbea279b9a6896b7e86ab7d3c8d848&oe=5CDF88A3
https://scontent.fyvr3-1.fna.fbcdn....=d805e19d44e1e1de7d1a5573cda9348b&oe=5D1DD7F8

Here is a more recent shot:










Here is a shot during his last groom, he is almost done:https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...X6f_w8hZyw0DLG7urfQ_nsl3hFvg4zTEbnFXGe6ZpSgbH

Here he is as SnickerClaus
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...SZ1AisjstT4xBa7ZLBeAdXhOb_oXjVS6pFO0DAitjHR3R


----------



## SkiTrak (Jul 16, 2016)

As mentioned Cockapoos really want to be with you and they are high energy dogs. Snickers gets a 30 minute off leash walk every morning and goes with me everywhere I go. He can be left alone. At first he cried when you would leave but he got used to it. I leave the TV on with the sound at a normal level to keep him company. He will most likely lay/sit at the door waiting for your return. Leave him in the puppy apartment until you can trust him not do do any damage. Snickers was destructive for a while, chewing furniture and anything left on the ground with a special desire for shoes and slippers. Now he never damages anything.

Any time he thinks you are going out he will be right there hoping to go with you.

Anytime anyone comes by he is right there greeting them.

The key is to train your dog and to not give in to him if he whines. Also to know when they need something other then just to play like going out for a pee or poop.

Cockapoos are easy to train and they want to please you but like people they have their quirks. Snickers can be stubborn at times and ignore you when he does not like what you are wanting him to do. Snickers does not like going in the car so as soon as we approach all four paws get planted if he is on leash and if not he sits and will not come and may even walk away if you approach him. But once he is in the car he is fine. Get something like a car seat so they can see out the window otherwise they could get motion sick. Just remember you are the boss not the dog.


----------



## KL83 (Feb 28, 2019)

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate all the advice and responses, and of course, the lovely photos of your beautiful dogs!

Since my post, I have moved house (no balcony now, but green spaces outside and a large park directly behind us). I have also got in contact with a dog walker who will visit twice a day. This means I will feed and walk the dog (or play inside, before vaccinations are done) before I go to work, and then the dog walker will visit twice for 30 minutes each time. I also have a friend near by who will pop in for a visit. I'll then take the dog out again when I am home from work.

I would take two weeks off initially, and get started with crate training, alone time training, chew toy training and socialization, as well as toilet training.

The breeder I am hoping to get a pup from home rears, and the mother is a show cocker, which will hopefully help, as 2ndhandgal was saying.


----------



## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Perfect - good luck with your pup 

Not sure if any of your green space is enclosed and so dog free - but if it is then it is fine to start toilet training outside immediately. If not then you will need to do in house initially but be sure to take pup out lots in your arms to get used to all the sights and sounds of the outside world before they can go down on the ground.


----------



## KL83 (Feb 28, 2019)

Thanks 2ndhand! Hoping I will be accepted by the breeder who's list I'm on.

The green spaces outside are not dog free, there's a few around, as well as some cats. I will toilet train inside until all vaccinations are done, but be taking the pup out and about in a sling as much as possible until it can go on the ground.

At this point, I think I'm most worried about barking disturbing neighbours, though there seem to be quite a few dogs and some puppies in the same development.


----------



## mytoyspoo (Mar 30, 2017)

Not sure with some of them saying it’s not the right time. I’ve a new puppy with twin toddlers we just rehomed him on Saturday. 
I would say not to give him a lot of attention in the first few days and let him find his safe spot in the house . 
Why I say not to show a lot of attention is when u go to work after the first week of leave he will get used to u being home for him and keep whining until u come back. 
We brought this little guy home and he kept whining when I put him in laundry room all set up. He felt safe in the living room with tv running in the background and he prefers to sleep all night in the living room in his dog bed or down while the rest of the family is upstairs in the master. We got used to that because the first day when we bought him home we had something come up and we ran to Hopsital to visit someone leaving the pup at home with water and food bowl. We came back after couple of hours and now he is used to being alone in his safe place even when we are not around. So I’m glad I don’t have a whining pup . Work your way . Initially it’s tiring and overwhelming but relax it’s just a phase. Goodluck


----------

