Will leaving a puppy alone affect its development?

A puppy will need feeding about 3-4 times a day so leaving it any longer than four hours is not a good idea.

By Peter Blatch

Wednesday, 26 September 2007

I want a gundog for my wildfowling and rough shooting and now have the chance of buying a puppy. My problem is it will be left alone for eight hours a day while I'm at work; will this affect its development?

Gundogs
PETER BLATCH says: You should think very carefully about this because taking a puppy from its mother, brothers and sisters is going to be a stressful enough time in its life.

To then leave it for long periods without company isn't going to help matters - it is bound to get dreadfully bored and this will almost certainly affect its psychological development.

On a more practical note you should also remember that a puppy will need feeding about 3-4 times a day so leaving it any longer than, say, four hours is not a good idea.

By the sounds of it you are in a rush to get a dog for your shooting so why not give some serious thought to buying a fully trained dog that's 2-3 years old?

Not only would this be able to cope better with being left for long periods of time during the day, it also means you don't have to wait another two years while you train a puppy.