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Permalink Reply by robin on February 18, 2009 at 3:24pm

Sounds like a nice schedule to work with, my husband and i both work full time. (7:30-3:30.)Foxi gets up with us around 5:30 and goes out to potty then she eats, plays and torments the cat until 6:45 when we leave. We do not return home until 3:45 and then Foxi gets to go out for potty, play/excercise and later eat supper and play some more until bed. Your pup is eight months? so he/she should have bladder control good enough to last 6-8 hours without you having to run home. The key is consistancy in the schedule. Your pup will adapt to your routine. The older your puppy gets the longer they can hold it. I think Foxi was 6-7 months old when she started holding it 8 hrs. I do want to add that my corgi does not have freedom to run around the house when we are not home. She is in her own secured area(den). Also you'd be amazed how much they sleep while your away so dont worry. Just be consistant!!! Hope this helps!

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Permalink Reply by Amanda & Tuck on February 18, 2009 at 3:35pm

Thanks Robin!

We're waiting to hear back form the breeder about a 7 1/2 month female old pup we met this past weekend.The breeder has another dog that will be available and puppies planned for the summer -she wants to make sure everyone gets the home that will be the best fit for their personailty. This little girl is a bit shy but by the end of our visit she was giving us corgi kisses all over :) She won us over and I am hoping she will be ours - I find out next week!

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Permalink Reply by Sarah C. on February 18, 2009 at 4:26pm

Seconding this. While crated my corgi caught on very quick. After she got used to the crate, I ended up taking all the toys out because I realized she just passed out and slept the entire time she was in the crate and largely ignored/pushed out any toys and chewwies in there. It reminds me of when people are on a plane. You bring all this stuff to do/read but it seems most people just nap the hours away anyway.

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Permalink Reply by Cindi on February 18, 2009 at 3:50pm

When I teach classes, I always suggest being as close to "dog" as possible. We discuss using a twice a day method: In the morning, get up early and go for a good walk, stopping half-way to let your dog do business, and then head home. Once home, feed your dog. Of course, after eating your doggie will have to do business again. That will settle him in for the time you're gone.

Repeat the same when you come home, feeding him after his walk. The reason we talk about this in class is that the natural world of "dog" says the pack migrates, eats, then settles in. In other words, they work for their food. By setting up your walks this way, you retain some of the natural dog behaviors, as well as get your dog a good workout before you leave and before bedtime. That way your dog has exercised out a good bit of energy and is ready to settle down.

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Permalink Reply by Julie on February 18, 2009 at 4:32pm

Caleb and I have a good routine, although I should add he was a year and a half when I got him, so he already knew how to hold it and not to go in the house. When Caleb doesn't come to work with me, here's our routine:

At 7 we get up and go for a walk, he does his business, and we come back to the apt where he gets breakfast. He is gated off in the living room, so he has some room, but not free reign (The cat needs a safe place too) of the apartment. He spends the rest of the day napping.

I get back anywhere between 4:30 - 5:30, and we go out for another walk, then it's dinner time, then we play.

When he comes to work with me, he gets one more potty break at 2 in the afternoon, just so he can stretch his legs a bit and get out of the office. He naps throughout most of the day though, so really his 2 pm potty break is more of a 2pm Julie-is-tired-of-staring-at-the-computer break. :-)

At first I felt horribly guilty on the days I left Caleb at home, until it dawned on me that he does the same thing in either place: sleeps!

I was advised by Caleb's rescuer to get a routine and stick to it no matter what to reinforce the lesson that he will be able to do his business when he needs to, giving him no reason to do his business where he shouldn't, which is what we did, and we've never had a problem.

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Permalink Reply by Amanda & Tuck on February 19, 2009 at 12:28pm

I have read that you need to leave an hour or more between exercise and food to prevent stomach twisting. Does everyone do that or is that being overly cautious. I like your suggestions and I think I will definitely plan a walk/exercise before food - how long to I need to wait? Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Rockstar on February 19, 2009 at 11:52pm

I typically get my boy up at about 7:00-7:30, we walk until he relieves himself, he gets fed and then we play until I'm forced to get ready (think fetch, running outside, etc.) We take one more walk and he's either confined to a room or my mom watches him until I come home from work. Dex normally takes a lot of naps in the afternoon so this works quite well.
Dinner is at 5:00-6:00, and we repeat the same routine. After the dinner walking etc, he normally plays hardcore until about 10:00 pm.
On days I don't work, he gets to go to my grandparents' house and plays with their dog and spends a few quality hours outside. Then he naps all evening.
Also, remember, what goes in on schedule comes out on schedule.

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Permalink Reply by Cindy & Jeremy & Caden too! on February 20, 2009 at 2:07pm

Please let me know as soon as you get word about Isabella.

Caden now only needs to go out about 4-5 times.(When we first brought him home it was 8-9 times a day).
We have yet to leave him in his crate during the day for longer than 6 hours... we are now thinking about squaring off part of the dinning room, so he has a chance to free roam.. but most of the time, like everyone else says, he sleeps the whole time. We crate him at night, usually no longer than 9-10 hours.

My husband works full time (home by 4:30) and I'm in school at night and work part-time in the afternoons.
The usual routine (Monday-Friday) -walk at 7am, he plays around on his own until I get up to make coffee and I feed him at 9. Take him for a long walk or fetch session around 11-11:30. I get him nice and tired and make sure he is extra-panty with sideways tongue, which is what I like to call it, then into the crate. Jeremy walks him about 4:30-5 and then dinner. And last walk is about 9.
On the weekends, if we want to sleep in, till about 9, we just make sure we walk him about 10:30-11, the night before.

I've heard mixed things about how long you should wait between feeding and exercise... I definitely wait at least 30 minutes. But sometimes, when we take him for a walk when he is starving, that's when he starts to have a grass buffet. So it's a judgment call, just a regular ole walk before or after a meal, I think it's okay... but if you know they are going to be running about, thats when I wait 30 minutes to an hour.

And every 2 weeks, we take him to doggie day care, just to mix it up and in case I have a long day at work. He is usually tired for the next 48 hours.

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