Away from the house

Question
Me and my family are wanting to get a maltese puppy at about 8 wks of age but we work during the day and the kids go to school. The earliest anyone is back is at about 4:00. Will this be a problem for a maltese puppy?(we don't have anyone to look after one during the day)If so would it help to get  one at the start of our longest holiday of the year so we couldbe with the puppy most of the day?
Please write back with and ideas or suggestions.

Thanks from Brian

Answer
First off, Maltese puppies are great family dogs. You probably have done your research already on the breed. If not, I will tell you that some of them are extreme lovers, and others are bity, and a little of a nuisance. If it is a boy pup, then he will potty train faster and hopefully easier than a girl dog. Girl dogs in the maltese family have a hard time retaining information. No doubt the breed is smart, clever, obediant, and of course, cute.

Depending on the personality of the dog, it may be very hard on the dog to be gone all day. I know with my dog that if I leave the room, house or even pull out the car, he barks and has terrible separation anxiety with me leaving. Since my dog loves to lick and love, he needs people around him all of the time to fill his "love quota" as I call it. He gets bored too easily and self-destructs, or destructs in general! I am not saying your future pup will destruct or be scared when you leave, but someone should be near him or her ecspecially in the first year of life. Dogs require time, attention, patience, and lots of money and love.

It seems like your family is in the exact position that I was in three years ago. No pets at the time, young school age kids who want a pet so bad, and work, work, work! I recommend that you do NOT get the puppy until someone can stay home with the puppy for a long time or for most of the time. I had to wait until my life was ready for the dog. I do not regret waiting because now that I look back at it, things changed and the whole time and place thing was not right. I am sure you can handle the dog though.

I do NOT recommend getting the dog on a long break and then leaving to go when the break is over. That is waaaaaaaaay too tramatic for a dog to go through, and could lead to other behavior and social issues in the future that could be very hard to get rid of.

Plus, as cute as they are, it does get tiring sometimes and can really test your patience and your goals. The worst thing to do is take a puppy in and then have to return, put down, or sell to someone else just because you can't handle it or take it anymore. It almost came to that breaking point several times in my family. It was a rough roller coaster ride, and still is.

Sounds like life is full already. Maybe it is just not the right time for a dog. Think of it like another job. It really takes that much patience and time. If you are fortunate enough, maybe you could hire a doggy nannie for your puppy. Or maybe you could set up a schedule between your spouse so that you do the afternoons and someone does the mornings. As a general rule that I try to use, try not to leave the puppy alone for more than one or two hours. Three hours tops. This is because their bladders are small and they literally have to taken out every twenty ot thirty minutes to pee.  Either way something has to give. :(

I wish I could give you a 100% yes and a green light to go get the dog you want, but I do not believe that now is the right time. Sorry! You can do whatever you want though, what I write to you is only a suggestion.

Best of luck with your decision.