Having a dog and working?

hellsdarkrose

hellsdarkrose

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I was just wondering how many of you have dogs and work 9-5?

If you do is there someone at home to look after the dog or do they cope on their own?

Just curious cuse i'm nosy
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i work 8-6 3 days a week, dad has lunch @ home so lets dogs out/walks them then. big dog can be in house all day (only if dads on a course or something) but my mum will pop home if not to let them out for a wee
 
Yes I do and it works fine, they have a long walk AM and are with me when I do the horses, they sleep most of the day, have access to the whole house and garden, mine is NOT a show home! Then another long walk and up to do the horses in the evening. They come out riding and long reining the youngsters etc.

Both of mine are rescues, all my dogs have been adults in need of a home, becuause I work I will not have a puppy. The lady in rescue happliy hands them to me because she knows what an excellent home I can provide.

To to be frank one of mine would probably have been put down if it wasn't for the fact that he came to me and my circumstances and experience have given him his only chance. He has been completely screwed up by the "perfect home" you know the one that the RSPCA are always looking for and as a result can be very aggressive even after a year of working with him.

The other one ended up in London as a puppy and came to me not even knowing his own name, he would not even make eye contact and had not been trained at all, at a year he knew exactly what a bitch was and had possibly been set loose on the street!! that too was a perfect home!!!!

So I for one do not hold with the blanket judgement that anyone that works should not have a dog, mine are happy and healthy and having spent the morning helping me mend the school fence are sound asleep somewhere as I write this!

Lets face it most people working part time have a family and the dogs I can offer help to are just not suitable for that, to be honest a lot of rescues would not be. Not everyone works outdoors or can take their dog to work.

Providing you don't keep them shut in all day and that when you do come home they get plenty of interraction with you then you can provide a better more suitable home than some people that are at home all day!!
 
We have Chimo, a 7 month British Inuit

We both work 9-5 (OH often works later but not me!!) and we come home for lunch, sometimes take different lunches so she has more company.

She gets a walk in the morning and somestimes a walk at lunch or she gets let out with next door's dog fo a chase around the garden.

when next door comes home at about 3 she tries to let her out but 9/10 she is asleep and does not want to get up! I am usually home by 5:30 and we have a play before getting a nice walk in the evening.

she has chewed a few things (eats the post occasionally!!) but when we leave her at lunch or in the moning we give her a long lasting chew (like a denta stick) or she has a toy that has treats in and you ahve to move around to get them out.

At the weekend she really gets quite tired as we keep her awake!

She seems a very happy dog and has never known any different, obvioulsy it is not ideal in a "perfect" world but can be done, it is just a bit hader having to get up early for a walk each morning!!

(we are hopefully moving soon and will get another dog eventually to keep each other company)
 
Despite what people tell you its fine to have a dog and work. Most of us aren't blessed with the good fortune of being able to work part time (or not at all) so our dogs learn to adapt to our lifestyle. I have two JRT puppies, who are at home 8-12 (then I come home for lunch) and 1-2/3 when my partner gets home. They are perfectly well rounded happy pups and enjoy nothing better than getting me out of the house in the morning so they can have their kong's stuffed with food and all their toys out! They get walked every morning and every evening, but being pups they only get a ten/fifteen minute walk.
Research the type of dog you get well enough and there's no reason why you cant have a dog and work.
 
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Despite what people tell you its fine to have a dog and work. Most of us aren't blessed with the good fortune of being able to work part time (or not at all) so our dogs learn to adapt to our lifestyle. I have two JRT puppies, who are at home 8-12 (then I come home for lunch) and 1-2/3 when my partner gets home. They are perfectly well rounded happy pups and enjoy nothing better than getting me out of the house in the morning so they can have their kong's stuffed with food and all their toys out! They get walked every morning and every evening, but being pups they only get a ten/fifteen minute walk.
Research the type of dog you get well enough and there's no reason why you cant have a dog and work.

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Thank you all for the advice.

I am trying to persuade my OH that it isn't cruel to do this to a dog. I know it isn't ideal but it would get walked in the mornings I would be able to come home for a lunch hour to let the dog out and then I get home about quarter past five so I could take it for another walk etc.

I think it is just that he has always been brought up to believe it is cruel to do that to a dog. But I believe with the right dog it isn't and that after a while they get used to it
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Ors are at work with us most of the time, but we also have a dog flap which works very well, especially if one of them needs a pee in the night! The dog flap isn't successful with husbands terrier though, she is an escape artist, hopefully after being spayed she won't go off after dogs anymore!
 
I am at home all the time but my whippet sleeps for 90% of the day so I am sure that she could happily be left for a few hours at a time. I am not sure about some of the more active breeds which need more exercise and "brain work" to keep them happy and healthy but lazy whippets seem content enough to curl up in the sunshine for hours on end.
 
We have three. 2 Greyhounds and a JRT. We work long hours but have a dog walker. When the JRT was a pup the walker came twice a day and my cleaner also let her out. She comes three times a week so is around in the afternoons.

If you get the right breed and plan properly I agree with everyone here that us 'workers' often provide better homes than the 'good home' wanted by many rescue centres that requires a home all day presence.

Mine sleep ALL day apart from their walk and are shattered at the weekends when we keep them awake.
 
I work freelance: three days at a writers' studio, and two days at home. On the days I'm out of the house, Stella goes to doggie daycare twice, so she is only left one day (9am-4pm). She has a pretty busy life, so I'm sure she appreciates her rest day
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I do the same as KarynK,

The dogs have the run of the house and garden but generally spend the day snoozing.

They get a long walk morning and evening and are quite happy to be left during the day.

I am careful that the dogs I get have a suitable temperament for this lifestyle and I rehome older adult rescues. Also I always have more than one dog so they do have company all the time.
 
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