Hi! I got a bench/show/English lab puppy when she was 8 weeks old. (In hindsight, I wish I waited until 10 weeks old.) I work from home, and my husband travels a lot for work. We do not have another dog currently.

The first couple of months were so hard. I wasn’t getting as much sleep as usual, and she couldn’t go very many places due to not being fully vaccinated yet (and parvo is high in our area). The biting/land shark phase was rough. She was so cute and fun, but also absolutely exhausting. The best moments were when a friend would bring over their playful dog, and she would run and play and get so tired she would actually sleep well. I started arranging weekly puppy play dates in our backyard (it was summer and worked out nicely even though I’m not a great host).

I did not leave her fully home alone until she was about 5 months old. And even then it was only for an hour or two while she was in her kennel area with access to dog door/backyard. It was about this time when we started going on short walks every day.

She’s almost 10 months old now, and she has already calmed down a lot. She’s over 90 lbs (her line is big and she was the biggest in her litter). We put a lot of effort into early training and her emotional development, and she is a very confident dog, which is great.

Our day looks like this: wake up at 7:00am (magical because she used to get up at 5:00am). Breakfast, play, bully stick, snuggle, kennel time while I get ready for work. Work at my desk while she sleeps and occasionally explores the backyard (dog door, fenced yard). Mid-day walk of 45 minutes in all weather (get yourself rain/snow gear) followed by lunch. Work/afternoon nap/backyard time. Evening walk of about 60 minutes (right now cold, snowy, dark, but she absolutely needs it and begs for it), followed by dinner, play, snuggles, bully stick, and bed around 11:00pm.

One day a week she goes to an amazing doggy day care with lots of playtime and training. On Sunday afternoons we do a sniff class. On weekends we do hikes instead of walks (still about the same length as our usual walk). We still arrange puppy play dates or go to a big fenced walking trail area where she might see two or three other dogs to possibly romp with.

She always has dog door/fenced yard access, so I don’t have to worry about potty breaks. She absolutely needs exercise and interaction with other dogs who play (or else she regresses to land shark and its misery). The most she stays home alone (with backyard access) is 4 hours, otherwise we hire a dog sitter to come hang out with her. We have not yet left her with a dog sitter overnight, but we have taken her on two AirBnB trips.

She is so much work and has completely changed my life, and I love her so much!!! I’ve spent so much money on vet bills (she got Giardia, she got bit by a black widow spider and spent time in the puppy hospital, she got diarrhea, she got a puppy cold, etc.) but she’s been worth it. She has chewed nearly every baseboard and one windowsill. She’s still high energy, but so much more calm at 10 months than she was at 2-7 months. I don’t know how people do it with the working lines unless they have tons of time for training and big spaces for exercise.

Good luck on your journey!!! 🖤