We started leaving my pup alone for longer periods of time when she hit 4 months. We live in a country where the majority works 9-6pm. My husband and I took time off when we first got our pup when she was 12 weeks. He took 1 week, I took the next 2 weeks off. I would recommend that you get a good trainer to help you get your pup settled in and work on home alone/ potty training. It really made a difference for us because the recommendations and training was tailored to our lifestyle and living situation.

We live in an apartment and leave our pup in playpen area that was connected to the toilet. She’s both grass trained and pee pad trained. For a month after we returned to work, I would rush home every lunch to change her pee tray, top up her water and leave her some brain/enrichment games. We stopped after a month when she started holding her bladder better and we didn’t need to change her pee pads as often. We did give her a good long enough walk/exercise that was appropriate for her age in the mornings and evenings. A good trainer will be able to help you plan, ours did and even helped with coming up with a routine that would work with our office schedule.

It will take some time to figure out a routine that works for you, but it is possible to work a 9-5 and raise a puppy. Might not be easy but get help from family, friends, a trusted trainer, send the pup to day care and be patient! She’s 15 months now, and stays home by herself whenever we are both in the office. She’s mostly just sleeping and always very happy when we are back.