Is this reasonable.. or not? (Please be nice, I feel like a bad mum!)

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MrVelvet

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Right the really really fantastically good and exciting news is.... I've been offered a fantastic job opportunity!

The bad news... is that it's full time! 42.5 hrs to be precise! :( Lola will now be facing 3 days on her own.. and ever so rarely 4 (literally 1 every 6 months). I feel really terrible... is this acceptable? I am looking into perhaps a dog walker coming and taking her out on a 1.5 hr walk... and our neighbour comes back at intervals through the day and has agreed to let her out for wee's and will probably let her into his if he hasn't got to go back to work.

Is this alright? she will be crated until I can trust her in the kitchen alone... She will have food and water and toys, I would never leave her without walking her first either ...

SHould I really look into doggy daycare? How long are your dogs left alone for?
 
Oh for goodness sake :P you daft thing. Thats fine!

Bracken does 9hour days, sometimes gets a wee midday... He's ALWAYS fine and fast asleep when I get home.

Whack her in a crate, loads of toys and water, she'll be fine - if she's distressed, which you'll easily be able to tell, then consider other options. xx
 
how many days a week? how old is Bracken?

Aahhh I am sure she'll get used to it. I just feel like the worst mum ever!!!!!

eta - Would you consider a dog walker in my case? Or would you say Im just disrupting her?
 
get another dog then they can keep themselves company ;)

my working very fit gun dogs used to spend every day in the back kitchen all day - 7.30am-6.30pm - a lab, a cocker and a springer - never once was the place trashed or was there messes on the floor

they did go for an hour walk (ok - 1 miles cycling with them running, 30/40mins runinng round fields whilst i fed/rugs/poo picked etc horses then 1 miles cycle home) every morning - they'd then come in - eat - and take themselves to bed as they knew the routine so well
 
MrVelvet said:
Right the really really fantastically good and exciting news is.... I've been offered a fantastic job opportunity!

The bad news... is that it's full time! 42.5 hrs to be precise! :( Lola will now be facing 3 days on her own.. and ever so rarely 4 (literally 1 every 6 months). I feel really terrible... is this acceptable? I am looking into perhaps a dog walker coming and taking her out on a 1.5 hr walk... and our neighbour comes back at intervals through the day and has agreed to let her out for wee's and will probably let her into his if he hasn't got to go back to work.

Is this alright? she will be crated until I can trust her in the kitchen alone... She will have food and water and toys, I would never leave her without walking her first either ...

SHould I really look into doggy daycare? How long are your dogs left alone for?
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It's doable. For the 3 and occasional 4 days, I would ask a friend/neighbour if they could let her out for pee, 2/3 times a day depending on your hours. Nine hours is a long time to go without a pee during the day. If you need to pay them, so be it.:) If she shows signs of boredom when left for the day, then employing a dog walker and letting her have a good run to let off steam will be the answer.
 
I would go with a dog walker or indeed neighbour letting her out, 9 hours imo for such a young dog would be far to long left even if they where not destructive or messed.
I think you are looking at the correct approach in dog walking or neighbour to break up her day and give her a much needed leg stretch:)
You could also maybe look into a dog flap on the door and a small secure pen errected immediately from the door to secure her whilst in the garden, just another option.
 
My OH and I both work full time and are out of the house from 8.30-5.30. I walk our Border Collie before work for approx 40-45 mins and we have a dogwalker 4 days a week (I work from home one day). She comes in around lunchtime and walks him for 45 mins which breaks the day up nicely for him. In the winter, he gets taken out for a wee when we get home and in the summer another walk of approx 20-30 mins. Ours manages really well on this routine :-)

Great if you've got helpful neighbours too who will lend a hand when you need.
 
Brax is 9months, just. He's fine.

You don't get up at 3 in the morning to let them out for a wee do you? I bet you they're left at night longer than during the day without you worrying.

If you're going to get a dog walker, they need to come every day at the same time. Bracken knows when we're leaving (kiss on the head, in the crate, door shut), and he knows when we come back (hears car, door opens etc). He knows that in between that time nobody else is in. I wouldn't want him spending all day wondering if today was the day the dog walker came in - it'd need to be all or nothing if it was my dog. xx
 
I would go down the dog walker route, I know some dogs are okay left all day without a break but its not something I would be comfortable with. I don't necessarily think the dog walker would need to come at the same time each day, my dogs aren't walked/let out the same time every day and it doesn't seem to have harmed them.
I see your point about them being left longer at night Cedars, but that is really why I wouldn't want to leave a dog all day without a break too, its a big chunk of 24 hours when the dog is alone, particularly if it is crated, not something I would be happy with, just my opinion though.
 
quite right MM, thats one good reason not to leave a dog/young dog so long, to be left alone all day, if you inc night hours and then add as many day hours expecting them to be enclosed, it's to much imo.
You certainly don't need a dog walker every day or the same time my OH walks peoples dogs at different times and on different days it makes no difference to the dog, the days the dog walker is not there then the owners will be filling in walk times anyway.
 
MurphysMinder said:
I would go down the dog walker route, I know some dogs are okay left all day without a break but its not something I would be comfortable with. I don't necessarily think the dog walker would need to come at the same time each day, my dogs aren't walked/let out the same time every day and it doesn't seem to have harmed them.
I see your point about them being left longer at night Cedars, but that is really why I wouldn't want to leave a dog all day without a break too, its a big chunk of 24 hours when the dog is alone, particularly if it is crated, not something I would be happy with, just my opinion though.
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Definitely agree with MM. Mine are left from 9 to 1 and 2 to 5, they have free range of half the house and that is long enough I think. I would be very uncomfortable with leaving a dog in crate for more than 3-4 hours.
 
I think a dog walker is the ideal BUT i looked into this when I was thinking of getting a dog and it was going to cost me about £200/mth which I couldn't really justify. Thankfully my parents dog sit during the day for me so my dog gets to spend the day with their 2 dogs and has people round most of the day. Now though she is pretty good being left in 'her' (my) house if I go out and I think she's actually be fine now if I did have to do this, I just feel it's not fair for her to be left alone all day as she's a very active little soul and needs a lot of stimulation.

most dogs generally adjust though to be honest, if they are secure in their environment.
 
The dog walking route sounds good :) I know of someone who looks after their neighbours dog while they are at work (full days but part time), the dog literally just comes to live with them for the day, and has done since it was a puppy. The woman is an animal lover and her dog gets a playmate so everyone is happy! A perfect situation if you have any lovely, dog friendly neighbours who work from home/work different hours to you/don't work!
I find it rather shocking that dogs are being left for 9 - 11 hours during the day. Surely they just hardly drink as they know they can't go out? Definitely not something I would be happy to do. My dog literally wants attention all the time, I don't imagine he would be such a happy chap with such little interaction. Although I know most will adjust to whatever becomes normal for them, how does it become normal, as surely no-one leaves a puppy for 9+ hours a day!?
 
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