Puppies..

[HarlemHeat37]

For those that have had experience raising puppies..I have a Doberman, but I adopted him, so I'm not familiar with puppies until now..

My girlfriend just got one 2 weeks ago, a German Shepherd, he came from a breeder with a great history(we know others that have gotten dogs from her)..

She's a vet tech, so she knows what she is doing when it comes to the physical/medical parts, but it's her first puppy..he's being crate trained, and he got used to it really quickly, he's already fine with it..

So for those with experience, how much time should you spend with a puppy of that age on a daily basis?..I ask, because I often have to take care of him(I work at home, so I pretty much have free time all day and night most of the time), since she has to be at work a lot..we often have to leave him alone for 2 hours or so at a time or whatever, since we're both usually busy with appointments throughout the day..he always sleeps in his crate during this time though, we haven't had any problems yet, we usually check on him every few hours and allow him to pee and do what he needs to do, even when we're busy..

I ask, because he likes me, but he doesn't really listen to me..she has taken the "mom" role, so he listens to her and looks up to her in that way..the problem is that she often has to work(she comes home on her break though) and she often leaves him at home in his crate(after playing with him)..

How much attention/playing time should he be getting on a daily basis?(I know it varies from dog to dog, obviously, but general answer)..he's 9 weeks old, btw..She currently spends about 3 hours with him during the morning, 2-3 at night, and a half an hour on her break, so around 6 hours a day when she's working..I usually spend a few hours a day with him as well..I imagine this is enough time overall, but does he need her to spend more time with him(because of the way he views her), or is it fine like this?..

[The Reckoning]

i crate trained my dobie whenever he was a puppy (dobie puppies are the best chick magnets btw). id leave him in his crate for about 2 hours while i was at school but our house keeper would secretly let him out to play around the house .

i never saw it as an issue of time but who and where id let him play. try to take the puppy outside alot and really have him play with children and lots of different people. id recommend taking him to dog parks and/or petsmart so he can be accustomed to strangers. "aggressive" breeds should be spoiled nonstop and introduced to all sorts of experiences before they get older.

i say this because my dobie doesn't trusts kids or bigger dogs. he just wasnt around them very much when he was a pup. also, i was surprised when i was cutting some cedar trees with a chainsaw and he tried to attack it . he hadnt heard a chainsaw before, and it really set him off.

being with a puppy 6+ hours a day is perfectly fine. just make sure he gets to hangout with lots of different people, learns how to (love to) swim early and is around machinery, and he'll grow up into a great dog.

also, german shepherds are velcro dogs. like it or not, she will probably be his "momma" and he'll listen to her moreso than you. that's just how it goes. good luck.