Opinions on people with dogs who work full-time..

Well, i work full time and have 3 dogs, a labrador, pug and basenji. All 3 have the run of my house (except for the kitchen, the lab can open cupboards!!!!) whilst im at work and most days when i come home all 3 are flat out on my bed snoring away :) They get let out at lunchtime and have 45mins ish walk in the morning and about 2hours in the evening so they are well exercised. None of them chew or bark and they keep each other company. Never had any behavioural problems from any of them and they seem very happy with the arrangement. I was unemployed for several months after being made redundant and i LOVED being home with them all day, but they still just wanted to kip in my bed lol!
 
*runs home to release her hopping doggy into the wide world so she can hopefully find a better home with someone who isnt an animal abuser*
 
We have a Dog, both work between 40 - 60 hour weeks and manage perfectly fine!!

Willow gets left in the house from 7.45am- she has access to the Kitchen and hallway and has her bed, toys and food and water.
She is walked for 45mins first thing and she spends this running around, playing with her doggy friends and tiring herself out!

My Mum & Dad or OH's Mum & Dad pick her up at Lunchtime- she goes to either of their houses and plays allll afternoon with their dogs.
I pick her up from either house at 7pm-ish and then she has her tea. She then gets walked at 10.30pm-ish.
 
I think the trouble is that some dogs seem to cope very well with being left all day and others cope really badly with that sort of routine. So, personally, I wouldn't recommend anyone embarks into dog ownership knowing the dog will be left all day, five days a week, because you just cannot guarantee the dog will not be distressed. (Although, I suppose if you rehomed an dog that was already be left for that amount of time, you might be a bit more certain).

However, if you already have a dog, and you know it copes well left alone, then if your circumstances change and you have to be away all day on a regular basis, I can't see too much of a problem with that, even though it is not the ideal situation.
 
I am one of those lucky people who has my dogs with me all day every day as i work at home on the farm. They will do the rounds with us in the morning then come back in for breakfast and, if the weather is bad they will refuse to leave the house again and voluntarily have 8 hours of peace and quiet (even when I keep popping in to try and get them out again). Each to their own really - if I had huskies I bet they would be out all day with me but it seems I ended up with a bunch of lazy wusses :rolleyes: :D
 
Mon-Weds, I am out of the house 8.30am-5pm. I do a quick leash walk in the am, and our dog walker comes in at 11am-ish, when the dogs go to the dog park for 60-90 minutes. She sends me pictures/writes a full report, so I see evidence of major hoonage! As soon as I get home, I take them to the dog park, or for a walk in Central Park. My weekends are mostly geared to the dogs, and we either take them hiking in the country or to the beach.

Growing up, we weren't allowed a dog, as my parents both worked full-time. But I think in this age of dog walkers/doggie daycare, it isn't such an issue.
 
As others have said, it depends on the individual dog.
I know dogs who are more than happy to be left all day. Whereas, my neighbours dog does nothing but howl, yap and whine all day. From the moment he's left to the moment someone comes home. He is destructive indoors too so he gets shut in the garden. The shed door gets left open for him for shelter which is where is bed, food and water are kept. However, he never goes in it. Just sits by the back door all day long. He is well known in the community and things have been said as he is clearly NOT happy, however, as he has food, water and shelter, there is nothing anyone can do.

With regards to rescues, SOME not all rescues will allow you re-home a dog even if you do work full time.
OH and myself both work from home but there are certain rescues who will not even give us a second look. Why? Because we have two children under the age of 10!
 
When I was working full time my dog went into one of my stables with a chew, a toy, and a treat ball with half his breakfast in. My friend lived at the yard and would let him out twice - once when she got back at about 3pm (I worked from 2pm-10.30pm) and once at 8-ish both times with her dogs - one of which is my dogs half brother.
 
prosefullstop said:
Mon-Weds, I am out of the house 8.30am-5pm. I do a quick leash walk in the am, and our dog walker comes in at 11am-ish, when the dogs go to the dog park for 60-90 minutes. She sends me pictures/writes a full report, so I see evidence of major hoonage! As soon as I get home, I take them to the dog park, or for a walk in Central Park. My weekends are mostly geared to the dogs, and we either take them hiking in the country or to the beach.

Growing up, we weren't allowed a dog, as my parents both worked full-time. But I think in this age of dog walkers/doggie daycare, it isn't such an issue.
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Sounds like your dogs have a fantastic life :D
 
I got one of our dogs from a rescue centre he did suffer from major separation anziety because he has been shipped from pillar to post because he would obviously destroy things when left.

But previous owners had made him like this. spent every waking min with him & then suddenly they had to work all hours, bang goes his routine. You couldn't even leave him in one room & you be in the other it was that bad I couldn't go shopping without him destroying the house. They had created this monster ;).

however other dog very mad collie we have had from a puppy, put straight into a routine of walkies & play when we are home, sleep time when left, never ever chewed or depressed.

Both dogs are now happy in each others company & in a regular routine.
We don't come home to a slobbering, stressed dog that has destroyed everything.

Surely it is better to let dogs have their own space & not spend all day with them so they get so attached you can't even pop out for a min without them getting so stressed they will eat through plaster :eek: to try & get to you, ummmmm nothing like letting a dog like this rule your life! (Of course not all dogs are this stupid!!:rolleyes:)
 
Surely it is better to let dogs have their own space & not spend all day with them so they get so attached you can't even pop out for a min without them getting so stressed they will eat through plaster
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I'm not sure anyone is implying that......
 
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I feel insulted! I've been home all day (bar a trip to town) and Tink has ignored me! She got out of bed at half 9...lazy sod and has slept/pottered around the house/garden without so much as a query as to whether I'm actually here or not...

Actually judging by the way she's looking at me right now, I think she'd rather I wasn't here! :D

I think she copes alone all day, she'd probably prefer it if I only came home to feed her. *wipes away tear*
 
Tinkerbee said:
I feel insulted! I've been home all day (bar a trip to town) and Tink has ignored me! She got out of bed at half 9...lazy sod and has slept/pottered around the house/garden without so much as a query as to whether I'm actually here or not...

Actually judging by the way she's looking at me right now, I think she'd rather I wasn't here! :D

I think she copes alone all day, she'd probably prefer it if I only came home to feed her. *wipes away tear*
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Save her the hassle and get her a dogflap and a feed bowl with a timer for Christmas then she'd never have to see you ;):D
 
Cat&Mouse said:
But if I didn't work full time & hadn't got my dog over his separation anxiety this is what he would be like everytime I needed to pop out.;)
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I don't think it is anything to do with whether you work full-time or not! I work from home and have been at home with our dog most days from puppyhood, but she still is happy and content if we do sometimes go out all day. It is partly basic temperament and partly upbringing.

On the other hand, our old dog was originally bought as a puppy by someone who did go out to work all day, and he developed severe separation anxiety (which was why he was re-homed). So leaving a dog all day right from the start does not guarantee they will cope alone, just as being at home with your dog doesn't necessarily lead to separation anxiety!
 
This thread is going to get everyone fired up! :eek: People are going to have such massively different opinions.

Brig and Jake had 3 days a month on their own due to OH's shifts and access to the garden via a dog flap at all times. I would not want to make them hold for 8 hours-way too much time, but that's just my opinion.

When they were younger, the neighbour would come round and spend an hour about three times a day with them (she's retired!) or take them to her house once they were old enough/toilet trained. She currently comes round and babysits the puppies and big dog Brig-did 3 days for us last week. Star person. Even though we want to move, I think we're going to wait til the pups are older so they won't need her so much.
 
For me, the issue isn't so much about whether you work full time or not, its about the lifestyle you provide your dog and ensuring he/she is healthy and happy. I'm sure we've all seen owners that work full time and ensure that their dogs are properly exercised and looked after - by the same token some people who don't work or are at home all day don't. That's generalising I know but I think its unrealistic to expect people not to have dogs if they work - and where would all those dogs go anyway, the rescue centres are currently stretched to the hilt!

I do work full time and so does my OH. Our Collie, Freddie is on his own in the house from 8.30 until 4pm when OH gets home. He's walked for nearly an hour in the morning before I go to work, OH walks him for another hour when he gets home, then he gets another short walk at bedtime. He comes to the stables with me and he gets longer walks/more activity generally at the weekend. I normally try and work from home 1 day per week but this isn't always possible. He copes fine, isn't destructive, doesn't howl, bark or whine and doesn't mess. I'll admit I'm not keen on leaving him all day and its not my preferred option but that's the way it is - if he was unhappy with that routine, we would do everything we could to change it but he's not.

I leave him with a couple of treats and the radio on and he sleeps all day on the sofa. In fact some mornings, he's already asleep on the sofa before I've left for work!
 
Taffyhorse said:
For me, the issue isn't so much about whether you work full time or not, its about the lifestyle you provide your dog and ensuring he/she is healthy and happy
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Ditto that. I know someone that leaves their collie at home while they're out at work full time, but she's got run of the garden if she wants it, gets a run in the evening, and she's actually a very happy dog.

I walk a few dogs who's owners don't even work full time, they spend most of their days in a cage because they are reckless and under stimulated.

If someone has a dog, be it high-energy or a snoozer, if they are prepared to spend their non-working hours on the dog... what's the problem? It's not realistic to say a full time worker can't have a dog. Just depends on the person and the dog!
 
A dog can live for 15+ years - how can anyone say that they will know their situation for that length of time? Things change.....

When we got our mutt I worked shifts and t'other half worked 9-5, so it was only rare occasions he was left for any length of time. However, my job changed and I had to work 9-5 too. What should we have done? Handed to dog in to a pound? Had him put down? Tried to survive on one wage and risk being repossessed? He was a rescue dog who had spent 18 months in the rescue centre before we had him. With us at home during the day or not at home, I think he's better off now than the rarely handled, badly behaved, institutionalised mutt that came home with us that first day.

Our situation might not be ideal, now, but the dog is happy enough. He's getting on a bit now anyway so sleeps even more than he did. He's currently snoring at my feet.

You do the best you can with what you have.

That said, I don't know if we'd have another. It would have to be the right dog.
 
When I worked full time we put a big dog flap on the utility door which had their beds and a radiator in,they had access to the garden and were quite happy being left 6/7hrs a day.

To be honest if we hadnt had these facilities I would have paid for someone to pop in and walk them at lunch time, I dont feel I could of left them all day.
 
amymay said:
Sounds like your dogs have a fantastic life :D
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Why, thank you. As they're city dogs living in an apartment, I am struck with a massive guilt complex, and compensate by going above and beyond with their exercise/fun stuff needs :D

Stella and Prince don't know they're born. Our old dog walker used to tell me some awful stories about dogs lacking in attention. She walked a Brussels Griffon who, apart from his hour's walk at noon, was crated from 9-7 every day of the week :(
 
I'm home more now but when we adopted our greyhounds my partner & I both worked full-time, i did 8hr shift but locally so the rescue were fine about it as i could pop home during my lunch hour to give them a loo break after 4hrs. We'd probably have been fine with 1 hound but i felt uncomfortable about the time they'd been spending alone so opted to take on a pair as they are used to company. They sleep most of the time when i'm home and i've tested when they'd ask to go out themselves and its usually between 6-8hrs, if we go out for the day then we don't usually leave them longer than a 6 hour stretch and 8hrs seems the maximum as Hector is sort that if he's desperate for he loo but no-ones there to let him out he'll just go so i'm comfortable that they're coping fine within those limits.

It did make job hunting harder not wanting to end up out 12hrs a day like OH because of a commute even with a dog walker, but before i got the dogs i accepted that if i'm out 8-9hrs and can't get home midway myself i'd have to fork out the expense of a dog walker. I guess in dire financial situation i could probably leave them the full day without problems but its not something i'd personally want to do long term.

I get the impression that many of the dogs living nearby are left outdoors during 9-5 hours as its much noisier than at weekends with dogs barking. Some of those dogs don't seem that happy and i think its perhaps the case there outside so they can't cause any mess or destruction inside.

Interestingly it seems more common on an american greyhound forum i go on for members dogs to be left 8-12hrs and no one seems to comment it being excessive and most adopt from rescues. Most tend to either muzzle all dogs or crate them to avoid incidents and only a few have use of a dog-door. Being a low energy breed helps although sure not all would be happy with the set up as some do suffer with separation anxiety as although came from kennels they'd of had doggy company and usually people milling about and taking them out every few hours so its not quite the same.
 
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I'm working from home as I type.
I work full time, but luckily from home most of the time.
My Labrador is currently snoozing on my bed, and will remain there for the day the cheeky monkey..
I will try and chuck her in the garden for a quick wee later, but to be honest I think she'll take one look at the rain and go back to bed.
I do get my mum to collect her if i'm in the office all day though, but have left her for 7 hours on the very rare occasions and she's really not bothered.

I would love to try one of these doggy web cams you attach to the collar, but to be honest I think all i'll get is a view of my duvet.
 
Whilst working full time may be ok with an elderly dog,I do feel puppies need much more time put in if they are to become pleasant house dogs.Therefore my puppies do not go to full time workers. Even with full timers I think someone to give them at least a "comfort break" at midday is essential.It is just a distrust of human nature that makes me think the elaborate arrangements made for these dogs may not continue once the novelty wears off.We never sell puppies to flat dwellers ,or shared garden space as it would be so difficult to house train the puppy.I also believe that dogs need outdoor chill time ,just to mooch and dig around..be a dog in fact with no disipline in those periods,just relaxation. Without a fenced garden that would be impossible.
 
EAST KENT said:
Whilst working full time may be ok with an elderly dog,I do feel puppies need much more time put in if they are to become pleasant house dogs.Therefore my puppies do not go to full time workers. Even with full timers I think someone to give them at least a "comfort break" at midday is essential.It is just a distrust of human nature that makes me think the elaborate arrangements made for these dogs may not continue once the novelty wears off.We never sell puppies to flat dwellers ,or shared garden space as it would be so difficult to house train the puppy.I also believe that dogs need outdoor chill time ,just to mooch and dig around..be a dog in fact with no disipline in those periods,just relaxation. Without a fenced garden that would be impossible.
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I live in a flat and my 5 month old pup has done very well with the house training side of things. It takes a little extra effort but I wouldn't describe it as terribly difficult. After all, the same rules apply, you just have to think ahead and act a bit faster to have them outside in time. Of course I would love to live in a house that allowed me to just throw open the back door and let him come and go as he pleases, and I'm sure he'd love it too, but I don't. And he really doesn't seem unhappy in any way. After all, he gets plenty of mooching-around-being-a-dog time on his walks, both on lead and off. He also gets to be a dog inside the flat too. I tried to get him to imitate a hamster for the sake of a quiet life, but he just didn't grasp the nuances of hamster-impersonation :(

I do agree though that trying to bring up a new pup if you're out of the house for 8 hours plus isn't something I'd want to try.
 
Both OH and I work full time, so our Jack Russell goes to her breeder during the day. She's small, so is happy to use a litter tray if needed (if it's wet and she won't go outside lol), she has a little pen with a companion, and is let out for a run a couple of times a day in the courtyard. She seems happy with the arrangement.
 
My mum and step dad work full time - they work nights - is that cruel? :rolleyes::rolleyes:
My mums dogs get full run of downstairs of the house and back door is open for them to run around. If they go on holiday I let them ahve the back door open all day when i`m in work..they sleep the majority of the day on the sofa and get full attention when there are people are there!

My oh works full time. He has 4 dogs. 3 in run with a roof 3 walls and big kennel (2 lurchers share, 1 sprocker in on own but can interact with other through mesh) the bitch lurcher goes on the boat with oh`s dad all day
They`re walked for 2 hours in morning, 2 hours in evening, worked at weekends in winter and are the happiest dogs i know...they`re quite content sleeping on their 3 seat sofa in the run or in the kennel.

I cant see how working full time when you have a dog is any different to working full time and owning any other animal? :rolleyes:
 
It's been really interesting reading through everyone's posts and seeing everyone's situations. I started a similar thread some months back asking how everyone managed because I refused to believe that the only people who can have dogs are people who are lucky enough to be able to afford to work part-time or not at all. The responses were all very similar to the ones I've just read through....

... probably not surprising considering it's probably the same people that have replied, just realised that was a silly thing to say... moving on...

Currently, myself and my partner are living in a rented house without a garden (boo) so absolutely no doggies for us at the moment! But, one day, I very much hope that we'll be able to have some (2 at the most!) We're hoping to move onto camp (OH is in the RAF) and then he will be approx 10 minutes walk away from the house where he can go back a number of times throughout the day. We'll see... I guess you never know these things until you feel you're in the right situation, even then, perhaps it won't be quite right.

It's great to hear how you normal folk cope - yes it would be lovely for all of us to have our dogs at work with us or, even better, to not work at all! But, seeing as the majority of the population work full-time, it's a good job they do manage, otherwise there would be many, many more dogs PTS or left homeless and starving..

Good on you chaps! :D
 
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