I often feel guilty

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GinaB

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At how long my girls are left as I work full time. However, today I was on a half day and the pair of them have largely ignored me, just engaged with each other or are sleeping :D
 
If we consider the argument of pack hierarchy, then mostly, dogs are just happy to be in our company. As I age, I find that 'training' is more easily achieved whilst doing everyday chores, rather than setting aside specific times for 'classroom work'.

Alec.
 
I admit, I don't do training with Jess, but I've only had Rua 9 weeks so I will often ask her for a 'sit' or 'down' when she doesn't expect it but she also gets on lead training sessions too :)
 
GinaB said:
At how long my girls are left as I work full time. However, today I was on a half day and the pair of them have largely ignored me, just engaged with each other or are sleeping :D
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I think the thing that is important here, is that you have two. company for each other.
 
Luckily my lot aren't left for long now, but I never worried about them when I was living alone and working full time - I had lots of video evidence to show that they were typical greyhounds and slept all day, regardless of whether I was there or not :D Like BSL says, it is good that your two have each other for company, I think that helps a lot :)
 
This is very much what I've found - I've just moved for uni and my collie has come with me and I was worried about her being on her own all day while I'm at uni instead of with our other dogs but last week when I was here before starting my ocurse she literally sleeps all day, every day (she is 11 tho)
 
I've got whippety type dogs. People think I'm exaggerating when I say they sleep for 20 hours a day. If anything I'm underplaying it :lol: I have to literally drag my youngest out of bed on a morning for a wee, and then he legs it back to bed before I can even suggest a walk. He like to get up for a walk about 4pm, preferably a good 10 mins in the car with the windows open, 30mins of galloping in open fields and a 10 min car ride home, followed by food, another nap, a brief awakening at about 6/7pm for some fuss and a bone and possibly a fun game or ideally a nap snuggled next to me on the sofa, then back to bed by 8pm. He is THE laziest creature I have ever met!
 
BSL said:
I think the thing that is important here, is that you have two. company for each other.
Click to expand...

Rua is a recent addition for this very purpose :) had her 9 weeks now. Jess I've had 2 years but I was living elsewhere and she wasn't alone as long but I moved 9 months ago. It was a bumpy few weeks while they settled with each other but they get better together everyday! And Rua is learning more each da has well. (She's 18 months and had never had any sort of training prior to me getting her)
 
The time when I found it was beneficial to be working from home and thus be there for my dogs was in their twilight year. They needed to go out more often for toilet and they would have been extremely unhappy going in the house. They wanted more short walks and fed little and often. I am not trying to be a "downer" with this, it was just something I had not thought about until it happened.
 
My old dog, Beastie is 13 now and she is very glad to wave goodbye to everyone so she gets peace and quiet (I left her with my parents when I moved out as she is very much a dog set in her ways. She was 10 when I moved out and it wouldn't have been fair) :D although my dad took ill back in March and isn't yet back in work so he's with her most of the time now. Much to her horror. She ignores him most of the day! :D
 
I had the exact same feelings when I started part time working 8 years ago. I had worked fulltime for the previous 20 years, always jobs where I could pop home at lunchtime to let everyone out for a wee but fulltime none the less. The 2 dogs that I had at the time were most put out by the fact they were woken up at lunchtime and expected to stay awake for the rest of the day. They were obviously quite content with the sleep all morning, have a wee and a sniff around the garden for half an hour, then back to bed for the afternoon routine. My current dogs, although brought up with the part time work hours, are more than happy to sleep for most of the day once they have had their morning walk, they dont particularly approve of my doing housework and disturbing them in the afternoons. Seems I spent the previous 20 years worrying for no good reason!
 
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