How do you take care of your pets during the day?
My daughter got a puppy back in June and he is now a bit over 4 months old. She is a teacher and during the summer she was mostly home with him though there were a few times when he went to puppy day care - which he loved.
Now she is back to school fulltime and Jake is in puppy day care from 7am-5pm. I work at home but not for myself and I do need to be in my office all day. Of course I can take breaks but not scheduled.
He is still enough of a puppy that he needs to be watched like a hawk so he could not be left roaming around the house - he will eat pretty much anything. He does sleep in a crate at night but is not good at going in the crate at any other time.
Jake is a very friendly and lovable dog, they love him at daycare and he gets a lot of energy out playing all day with other dogs. But this is getting expensive at 23.00/day - my daughter is not complaining, I am just looking to see what other people do.
The main concern with him being home on his own is getting into foods that are bad for him and eating non-food items. Also he is very social so I think he would be bored without company (people or dogs) and again, I can't spend the time with him while I'm working. Also of course accidents are an issue.
This is our first pet so I would be interested in hearing what other people do or suggestions about alternatives to puppy daycare 5 days/week.
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Maybe cut the day care to 2-3 days a week, and use a dog walker instead? I don't know where you live, but most big cities have these types of services. My 3 dogs are older now and they have each other when I'm at work. I make sure they are fed before I leave and that they have plenty of bones and things two chew on so they don't get bored. It would be really bad to put Jake in a crate all day without a break. Is there a room in the house that has tile that you can put him in? When my dogs were younger, my sons were still in high school so they would take the dogs out and play with them when they got home from school. Maybe there are some teenagers in your neighborhood who are responsible and can walk Jake when they get home from school? Puppies need to be on a schedule just like children. The trick is to work out a daily schedule for Jake that does not having him sitting alone in a crate for 10 hours a day. Maybe you have a friend that is retired that might like to hang with Jake during the day? I once had a dog who had a day job riding in a delivery truck. We delivered live stock to pet stores and had to leave the truck running with the AC on at all times. This dog would guard the truck so no unauthorized person could jump in and drive it away. Dogs love having a job to do every day. Good luck with Jake, and I hope you are able to find something fun for him to do without spending too much money.
her last day of school in June and while the kids loved him I don't think the school would allow it on a daily basis. Thanks for the idea though. 
I had pee pads at one end, a water bowl, and a puppy bed. It worked out very well. They had more freedom than in a crate and yet were contained so they didn't chew up the house or do their business where they shouldn't.
I bought this one - it can be configured in whatever shape works best for you. I still use it as a flexible "baby gate" to direct the flow of the dogs at different times of the day.
http://www.amazon.com/Midwest-Black-E-Coat-Exercise-Pen/dp/B000H904WI/ref=sr_1_2?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1412624588&sr=1-2&keywords=exercise+pens+for+dogs
