Those of you that work full time with dogs......

C

CalllyH

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How long do you leave them and what do you do in the day with them?

I really want my own but I'm looking into doggy day care but it would be about £200 a month, even just for a dog walker to pop in and let it out for a wee, they wont need to walk it.
 
I have 3 dogs (my OH constantly raises his eyebrows and grumbles!) and we both work full time.

They get walked for an hour and a bit in the morning before work and an hour after work. During the day a dog walker either comes and takes them out for an hour, my mum will pop over and sit with them for an hour or so while they have a run and a wee in the garden.

If I'm working locally I pop home myself at lunch time and have a play with them and let them out, do a speedy training session, etc. I thought i'd feel really guilty about leaving them 4/5 hours at a time but quite often I'll come home at midday and they will be fast asleep in pretty much exactly the same positions i left them in! The only thing I would say is that luckily I was working from home until the boys were 12/14 months old as they had the worst puppy pea bladders and couldn't have held onto it for more than 2/3 hours!

The dog walker is £16 a day for our 3.
 
I work 08.30 to 17.00 three days a week and 11.30 to 19.00 the other two days, plus one Saturday in five. However, the surgery is less than a minute's walk from the house and I get an hour's lunch break, plus I can take them to work with me if I really need to and leave them in the kennels with a nurse popping in and out.

On my late days they have a big walk in the morning plus free roaming time on the yard, on my 'normal' days it's a quick walk in the morning and the longer one in the evening, but whichever day it is they get 45 minutes in the middle. So they have four hours alone either side, really, starting and ending with another big walk.

Before I managed to get this (absofrickinglutely amazing) job I worked nights, 00.00-08.00, opposing my OH who works a normal job so the dogs would never be alone for too long. It nearly killed me but I would have carried on doing it. :o
 
Ahh maybe I should rephrase this, those of you that work 9 - 5 away from home without the option to pop home at lunch or someone to let them out.

I know it's not really doable but I can look at options. There is alot of managers at my work that do it thus the dog will be at home 8 to 9 hours on it's own
 
My dogs go to my parents when I'm working 9-5 BUT when my rescue bitch had her first season I had to leave them at home for a couple of weeks. They got a walk before work and a walk after work each day. They have constant access to the garden via a dogflap - and TBH I think they were perfectly happy with the situation.
 
That's the thing, whenever I've been home mid Day for dogs that are normally left they look at you like wtf are you doing her this is my quiet time!
 
I used to work full time shifts. I'd walk dogs after work and pop home in my lunch for some really high energy play time and wee break :)
 
CalllyH said:
Ahh maybe I should rephrase this, those of you that work 9 - 5 away from home without the option to pop home at lunch or someone to let them out.

I know it's not really doable but I can look at options. There is alot of managers at my work that do it thus the dog will be at home 8 to 9 hours on it's own
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I will now be inundated with 'shock horror dreadful owner' type responses, but this is currently what I do - I have reduced my working hours to 9am to 4.15pm because of my long-ish journey to work, but I cannot get home at lunch time.

I have 4 greyhounds - they cope fine with this routine - I wouldn't have any other breed if I was doing this however :) Greyhounds are the laziest, most laid back dogs you will find IMHO, they sleep all day and are quite OK with being left.

I was so paranoid when I first became single (ex-husband worked shifts so the dogs weren't left as long) that I videoed the dogs when I was at work - I reviewed 8 hours footage of sleeping greyhounds :D
 
I work full time however have shortened my lunch and cut out breaks so I work from 9-4.... My partner has recently gone back to work (he has had a hip replacement so was at home) and we now leave her at home with her crate, water and a meaty bone with run of the hallway during the day. I don't sleep very well and so generally don't go to bed till 2am and I am up at 6 so I figured that leaving her in the day is no different to someone leaving their dog from 10pm to 7am over night.

It is not an ideal situation however she copes fine. We go for a long walk in the morning and go to regular training sessions throught the week. We have just started flyball and are lucky enough to have friends with agility equipment. She copes absolutely fine and is normally still asleep when I get home!
 
I have always had dogs and have always worked full-time however OH is a teacher so 2 days a week they are alone for up to 10 hours (with access to garden and radio on) the other days it's between 5 and 8 hours.

This is for 8 months of the year as OH is off for 4 months. I also work from home occasionally.

I'm sure many people will say I am a terrible owner but none of my dogs have had any psychological problems in the 35 years I've kept them this way.
 
BoolavogueDC said:
I used to work full time shifts. I'd walk dogs after work and pop home in my lunch for some really high energy play time and wee break :)
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As I said, people who can't just 'pop' home I'd like to hear from.

Thanks guys, I was debating looking at a rescue whippet, I want something that will enjoy long walks but is generally quite in the house. I'd secretly like a chiwauau but not sure it would cope with seven mile walks.

It would get walked in the morning then a really good walk at night and weekends.

If you could recommend me any other breeds to consider that would be good.
 
We've always kept ours kennelled during the day when we were at work (or school) ...dog gets fresh air and sees what is going on around it....and plenty of exercise and stimulation and company on either side of the working day....and none of them have lost any limbs or heads or keeled over and died. I have modified my working hours around the dog, to my own detriment financially so they can live with a little time alone.
 
Thanks cc, I thought you were going to give me a high and mighty lecture about not leaving them, one of my neighbours has a big kennel outside so is an option too, the dog never barks etc and Its a nice big run for it.
 
I've given my next door neighbors access, they come everyday to keep him company, only cos is a pup. When I had Joey he slept all day so there was no worry, had access to garden all day too so he was free to do as pleased... Pup as not trusted yet only gets access to a quarter of garden and neighbors let him in the full garden when watched.... All fun
 
I work full time- I am out of the house 8.10am until 4.30pm so the Dogs have to survive that. We used to have a dog walker and she was amazing- but having moved out into the sticks there is no one local here to do the walking. So, the routine is now long walk at 7.15 untill 8am then I leave him with stuffed kong and toys. I return home half 4 and we go straight out for another walk of about an hour, or if the weather is too hot, he's out for a wee then play in the house etc until cooler evening walk. However, my partner works from home thursday and friday so it is only three days a week and i am a teacher so for 12 weeks of the year im home most of the day.
 
I think a lot depends on choosing the right sort of dog. A greyhound is the sort of dog that can (mostly) be left to sleep during the day without too much fuss. Any dog bred for close companionship- such as the phalene we are getting- would not be happy being left for that amount of time. Luckily as it will be mostly my mum's dog and she doesn't work its fine, but most toy dogs would be unhappy being left alone all day. Papillons/phalenes are also pretty energetic in the house. I think a good dog for you would be one which provided it gets enough exercise will be laid back in the house. Maybe a lab, golden retriever, greyhound, whippet. Not a puppy for sure! If you do go down the greyhound route, the Retired Greyhound Trust has lots of different branches with a large selection of dogs, so you could certainly find one that suits you.
 
It's not really leaving him alone but the principle is the same.
When I was on nights, he'd sleep all night with my OH, get a walk when they got up at 6am and when I went to bed at 0730, he'd come to bed and sleep until 4pm. The only time he was unimpressed was when my OH was in the house and shut him out of the bedroom. Wherever I am in the house, the dog has to be there too.

If my OH was working away, the dog was effectively left to his own devices for 8 hours while I slept like the dead. It didn't put him up nor down.

I'm back on days and if my OH is away for a couple of days, the dog has to cope for the 8 hours I'm working. He's never unhappy and when driving past, he is often lying in front of the window watching everyone going past.
 
I work 9-5 and unfortunately cant get home at lunchtimes anymore as I work too far away.

Mine get a short walk in the morning, about 20 mins or so then a longer walk in the evening (I have different breeds so length of walk depends on breeds!). Since I've been in the current job I have someone go in at lunchtimes to let them out in the garden and spent half an hour or so with them. I don't have them walked as the basenjis and afghan are unreliable off-lead and I would worry about them getting loose as we are fairly near a motorway.

The arrangement seems to work well, they are all happy, well behaved dogs and always fast asleep when I get home. The lady who comes to see them in the daytime is a retired neighbour who offered to do it for free originally - she loves dogs but cant have them in her rented flat and loves to spend time with them - but I give her £20 a week.

I think if you work 9-5 and no one is available to let the dogs out at lunchtime then its not really fair to the dog...
 
I'm out from 7.30am to 4.30 and the dogs go in their kennels. Most days they get a lunchtime walk from MiL or do things with OH but if not they are quite happy with that arrangement. They have plenty to look at, space to move about and can do their business if required. However I agree that this works with older dogs and not pups.
 
Worse things have happened to dogs than to be left at home while the owner earns some money to pay for its upkeep ;)

So long as they're happy if you need to leave them then so be it - I walk a few dogs who don't 'need' a midday walk but the owners too guilty!
 
UnaB said:
I think if you work 9-5 and no one is available to let the dogs out at lunchtime then its not really fair to the dog...
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Mine don't get "let out" but have constant access to the garden via a dog flap. We live in a small village and there are no dog walkers covering my area. The dogs don't seem to mind.
 
We have 2 dogs and they are left from early morning to 5:30pm when my husband arrives home, they are up with from 6am and walked around 7:30am, they sleep all day and keep each other company through the day.

I wouldn't just have one dog on its own though, I personally think that wouldnt be unfair unless it's a dog that only likes his own company.

They are fussed, loved, played with, snuggles on the sofa all night and similar in the morning and you can tell they are glad of a rest when it's back to the beginning of the week again as they are usually tired out by Sunday evening, so I do think the peace and quite through the day suits them fine.

I also feed at a certain time so there bowl movements are timed for when they are in the garden or walked, they have a small snack in the morning though.

I think so long as you carefully consider the breed, temperement, the right age and a good routine to suit your circumstances and your dog then they can manage well during the day.

Although some breeds will crave company or have more energy than others, I can see how it wouldnt be fair on some.







A dog walker/sitter is an excellent idea for a single dog.
 
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