puppy- when to get one.

Question
Hi. I am going to have to put my precious baby, my 15 year old pekingese, DanNi, to sleep soon. He has ideopathic vestibular disease. My question is not about him, however. I know I will be miserable without a dog in my house. However, I am a teacher, and am gone for about 8 hours minimum a day. Some people have told me there is a way to housetrain a puppy even if you are not home. But I think it would be unfair, even if that is true, for a puppy to be alone that many hours. I have been told that the puppy will just sleep when I'm gone and be awake when I'm home. I don't know what to do. I know the last time I had a dog pass away, fifteen years ago, I was 3 weeks without a puppy to love, and it seemed like 3 months/ The dog's well being is paramount, however. Can you advise, please. Thank you.

Answer
The Power of a Dog

There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
and when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie-
Perfect passion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your heart for a dog to tear

When the fourteen years which Nature permits
Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits,
And the vet's unspoken prescription runs
To lethal chambers or loaded guns,
Then you will find - it's your own affair-
But... you've given your heart to a dog to tear.

When the body that lived at your single will,
With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still!)
When the spirit that answered your every mood
Is gone - wherever it goes - for good,
You will discover how much you care,
And will give your heart to a dog to tear.

We've sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to burying Christian Clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At compound interest of cent per cent.
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we've kept 'em, the more do we grieve:

For, when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short time loan is as bad as a long-
So why in - Heaven (before we are there)
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?

                                                            Rudyard Kipling

Are you still able to read?  I am against leaving a puppy all day.  8 hours is too long for a little puppy.  If you must start with a puppy, wait until summer break.  June is much nicer to go out with a puppy than January, or at least around here.  

We slaughter millions of older dogs a year for lack of homes.  
Consider the animal shelter.  There are many nice dogs, and you can see how
they look with little or no grooming.  You can also see how they behave.  Look
for dogs that want your attention, but are not going wild. Leave the ones that
retreat to the back of their cage.  Look at their teeth.  Look for ones that
still show a 3 lobed, clove like pattern on the front ones.  Leave the ones
that fight letting you look at their teeth too much.  If the points are worn
off the teeth, it is an older dog that may break your heart by dying too soon.
Pinch the web between its toes.  It hurts.  It is OK for the dog to pull away
or whine, but it shouldn't growl, snap or show its teeth.  Think about size.
In a small apartment, a Golden might knock over the lamps when it walks
through wagging its tail.  Since the shelter likely will kill most of the
dogs, you may as well pick out a nice one.

Finding a good breeder and purchasing a puppy that will make a good pet is very difficult.  Almost nobody is intentionally breeding dogs to be nice pets.  Most of your so called reputable breeders are breeding for show or something.  They may say the puppies they don't keep for their purpose make great pets, but the truth is that the parents were selected for other than health and temperament.  Often they keep the puppies in the kennel too long and they miss the important early socialization puppies need to live in the house with people.

Next are the disreputable breeders.  They breed any 2 registered dogs they can lay a hold of looking only at the money they can make selling them to pet stores.  Pet store puppies are easy to find, but difficult to socialize into nice pets, perhaps difficult to even keep alive.  You will not get what you pay for at a pet store.

One of the best sources for dogs with a predictable personality is the rescue
dogs.  These are dogs that lost their home, but were taken into a foster home
to be retrained as necessary and placed in the right home for them.   You may
find a rescue near you starting at
http://www.akc.org/breeds/rescue.cfm  The rescues charge a fee to help cover their expenses, but is much less than the price of a puppy plus all its medical expenses the first year.