How about finding out if there are dogwalkers in your area who can come and take them out during the day? there are people who do that as a profession, or, you could put up a poster asking if someone would like to do it.(it must be someone you can really trust though!) That was the solution I intended to use when I got my dogs, as I didn`t want them to be alone for that many hours.

Also, as someone said above here, it`s a question of what happens when you get home. Some dogs are happy with sleeping all day alone if you are prepared to give them lots of attention, excercise and fun when you get home.

It`s also a matter of choosing the right breed. I mean, all dogs are pack animals, and most really prefer to be with you. But some breeds are more independent than others, depending on what the breed was originally used for. For instance, I now have standard poodles. They were originally used to halp hunters fetch birds in water, and so they are a breed that is very aware of their owner, very cooperative and very social. And they don`t like being alone. When I grew up, we had a dachshound. They are also used for hunting, but they have a much more independent role, they go off alone to find prey and get hiding prey out for the hunter. So they are more independent, really stubborn and more comfortable being on their own. (as a rule though, there are lots of differences between individuals). Our dachshound was not crated, she was quite happy sleeping alone all day. But then, when sometimes we came home for a short while and went off to see a movie or something, she was devastated. So it`s good to have someone who can watch the dog an evening every now and then when you`re going somewhere and can`t take it with you.

I generally don`t think it`s ok to leave small puppies alone all day every day though. They need to learn to be alone gradually.

Just a little bit of a warning though, most dogs do learn to be alone when they have to, and deal with it fine. Some don`t. I have one with separation anxiety. Her vet thinks it`s a genetic thing. Not fun, it makes our everyday life quite complicated. But, my philosophy is, when you decide to get a dog, you just deal with it, even if it doesn`t turn out to be exactly the way you wanted. And she`s a lovely dog in every other way. But, there are solutions to such problems as well. There are lots of people who love dogs and who are home during the day for some reason, taking care of kids, being unemployed, working from home or whatever. So, we`ve been able to find good people to take care of our dogs while we work all day. (This really is not to discourage you at all, really, I just thought I`d mention it, I think it`s good to think things through before you decide to get a dog.)

I hope you figure out what`s best for you. Dogs are a lot of work, mine take up much of my time, but they brighten every day!