Losing my babies?!?!

[karmaboomer]

Alright. I need some advice. Be brutally honest with me, please.

When we got our puppies, we had a very free lifestyle, much less work than we are currently forced to do. Financial problems have led to us increasing our work hours so that we can comfortably stay above water.

Derek and I work 16 hour workdays, 4 days a week. We have 3 days off during the week to spend time with our babies. They are 6 months old. We let them out of their pen in the morning and at night to run around and play with us for about 1/2 hour each time. For the rest of the time, they are in an exercise pen in our bedroom with food (wet and dry), water, a peepad, their toys and their beds. They have each other to play with all day.

We feel positively AWFUL having to leave them every single day we leave for work, and are wondering if our new schedule is too much stress for them.

It would hurt SO bad to let them go to any other home, and there is nobody in our area to "puppysit" for us.

I can't decide how hurtful this situation is to them, but I know it hurts me and I need to decide if they are okay, and if they are not, I need to weigh my options, as horrific as that will be.

Please leave me some feedback:
Is our current situation okay for them?
Is it hurting, helping, not mattering?

I have no flexibility in changing the work schedule. If it would be beneficial for them to live somewhere where there is more time dedicated to them, I think that would have to be my ultimate decision, for their sake. If not, we will plug along and give them 100000% of our love every second that we have available.

Thanks in advance for responses =)

[fasteddie]

Well, they really do like human interaction, as they see us as the head dog. How do they react when you do come home after a long workday? And how are they the other 3 days when you are home from work? You could put on a webcam or camcorder to see what they do all day when you guys are gone. If they seem like they are happy and playful, that should bring you some relief. My Yoda just sleeps when we leave him at home if we go out to dinner, etc. It just depends on how you feel about them and what your situation is. It's always best to let them have a lot of human interaction everyday, but of course that's not always possible. It doesn't sound like their situation is all that bad to me at least...

[MeiMei girl]

I think your babies would be fine.......if you had only one, then I would think differently.


You are able to be with them at least 3 full days a week, so that is good! And it looks like you free feed when you are gone.

What about a pet sitter that would just come by once or twice a day? For maybe one day a week? It would probably cost around $15-25. I know you mentioned that there was nobody in your area, but did you mean 'all day'?

[bettyeanne]

Karaboomer, I see your situation as fasteddie does ... doesn't sound too bad to me. As long as they get your attention when you get home and they have all that time with you the 3 days you are off. Toto, like Yoda, sleeps if we have to leave her for any reason ... doesn't even use the wee wee pad, eat or anything the whole time we are gone! When Toto was that age, she slept a lot anyway ... I would certainly try it and who knows, your situation could change where you would have a little more time each day and not have the long hours you currently have 4 days a week. I know how worried you are but, it's amazing how quickly they learn their "human's" routine and since they do have each other, I would certainly wait and see a while longer! Good luck!!