Those of you who work full time....

What do you do with your dogs when you're working?

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Can't answer it accurately, have kept dogs kennelled both alone and with company during the day, depending on their needs and our circumstances. No excessive barking complaints, no destroyed kennels, no dogs rehomed or PTS for those reasons, no melted dogs. And better than stuck in rescue for months and years on end, IMO. That is just my experience.
 
About three days a month, the OH's hours coincide with mine. The fabulous neighbour has them at her house if she has someone to help her get them there-she's not young! Or she comes in four times a day to let them out and toplay with them. She is brilliant and whenever we consider moving, the thought of leaving her stops us!
 
Mine is at home in the day. He is a Chihuaua X Toy poodle and he uses the cat flap to get in and out of the house and has free run of the garden and kitchen/diner.
My other half works from home 2 days a week, and I only work til 3pm on a Friday and our cleaner is in during the morning, and on a Tuesday my mum usually takes him out to my Nan's.
He gets an hour to run around in the morning at the horses and then same again if not more at night, and when I am not at work he is with me all the time, pretty much wherever I go.
So he is pretty happy and isn't alone too much, the cat is always there to keep him company (they sleep together) and he can go in and out to go to the loo ir get some air etc so I don't see anything wring with leaving him all day on the odd day if I have to!
 
We go out 8.30, friends teenage daughter comes to mine straight from school so left till 3.30, she usually leaves about 5 & comes in during school holidays too, she likes the rest from younger siblings. Prior to her was with ex boyfriend who left for work at lunchtime. Dog has run of the house anyway. The odd day in summer if she can't make it, I've left back door open, v high fence & locked gate & asked retired neighbours to keep an eye out.
 
Thanks for the replies (and the votes for those that haven't posted :) ) I'm sure this has been done before, but I couldn't find a post on it so thought I would do one.

Its interesting to hear how others keep their dogs, and manage work alongside. There are enough reasons why I shouldn't get a dog, but think the chance of a dog being miserable/stressed alone would be a showstopper. Its nice to hear of others leaving theirs alone in the day.

Thanks for more input CC - you must be sick of my questions! :o
 
Left alone but her day varies as I often work 'normalish hours' but OH tends to start later in the day and work later. So on average only alone from maybe 12.00 to 5 or 6pm. Never worried or stressed, just sleeps and loves her little life. No-ones life is perfect :D
 
My days off often fall in the week, hubby is off at weekends, and I only work about 11 days a month anyway. On days when we're both away, dad lives in the house next door, so he comes round, lets them out an throws sticks a few times til we're home. All in all, the dogs do very well, and have each other for company too!
 
Mine get left at home - they have each other but before I got Max Sweep was left on his own in the house. They are quite happy either together or on their own - they take advantage and sleep on the sofa/bed:)

In the summer when its hot they also have the run of the garden but rarely go out...:rolleyes:
 
I answered for when I was working full time.
I had 2/3 dogs at that point. I started work at 9.15am and finished at 9pm with 1 to 2 hours for lunch, 5 days a week. Dogs were walked before work and then I always came home for lunch and let the dogs out to play in the garden. OH finished work at 3.30pm and would let them out then as well.
1 of the dogs was always crated when we were out as she'd chew everything and anything :/ The other 1 or 2 could be left out.
 
I get up at 5.30am feed them and take them to the stables with me, they run about for just over an hour whilst i do my jobs, we come home, i get ready for work and put them in their outhouse (sidehouse bit attached to the kitchen, insulated and has a window about 2mt x 3mt just has bedding toys and water) about 8.10am with a kong each and go to work till 2.10pm so they are alone for 6 hours a day. I get them at 2.10 and we go back up the stables. Somedays my partner is home at 12.30 but even if he's not they are happy for 6 hours with exercise either side.
I think they eat their kongs then sleep for the rest of the time. :D
 
I am lucky enough that my boss lets me bring my dog to the office. Seems to be getting less unusual (or perhaps its because I'm in a rural area) - I know two other office dogs on this business estate. I miss lunch and take her for a walk instead.

Each morning a sandwich van visits the estate and my dog gets a free sausage from the nice van lady. She is so excited to get to work every day! But after her sausage she settles down for a good sleep - ideal really.

I feel I could leave her at home as she's very good and wouldn't leave the garden - and when I had my old dog too it wasn't a problem on the odd day I needed too as she had company. Would rather avoid it now and keep her with me - and if I'm not in the office (out at meetings, trade shows etc) then there's always a colleague here who's happy to hang out with her.
 
Mine is left at home, but I am only out of the house for 7 hours inc. commute. He gets a good run (2 hours) at the yard either end of the day and he seems happy enough - I've caught him flat out snoring on the occasions when I've got home early!
 
Left alone all day. He sleeps.

Now, obviously I am a very terrible person because we had him from a pup and crate trained him, so he was alone in his crate all day.

He was crated until he was 10 months, and we came home at lunch until he was 2, which was 2 months ago. Since then he has been alone all day. He has usually taken himself off to his bed before we leave for work. He was equally happy in his crate.

But obviously you can't leave them home all day because they'll go mad, get crooked bones, get rickets, and you'll have to give them up when you realise what a total utter failure you are...hmmm.
 
Lily was always taken to my mum's for the day so that she spent her time mostly in the barn or the house with the rest of the family pack. Unfortunately since she was stolen from the yard mum's not willing to take responsibility for Thea :( I don't blame her either - Lily going wasn't her fault but ...
So Thea is left at home with a crate and run in the kitchen. The run isn't huge but she can stretch her legs, pee and generally misbehave and it prevents her from damaging furniture.
I go to work about 8.30, OH comes home 12 - 1 to play with her, then I'm home about 5.30 and either take her to the yard or am then home for the night. In time (waiting for a clear weekend to sort it out) she will have an outside kennel with a run.
Discussed it with our vet and she actually thought we were doing the best thing by getting her used to being alone from an early age (although at some point we will be getting another dog or better still will get Lily back so it won't be permanent) as it's harder to transition from canine company / you being at home all the time to being solo, she also agreed that with a working breed (T is a Working Cocker) that being outside would be much better for her.
 
I work full time from home so my dog isn't left alone but she sleeps ALL day so I would never feel guilty if she did have to be left alone during the day.
 
My dog stays at home alone, now this can get a bit complicated but here goes… basically I work 9-5.30 Monday to Friday, my OH’s working hours vary so some days he doesn’t leave home until midday and some days he leaves at 7.30 but back at 4.30pm. So depending on when he leaves or gets home I vary my lunch hour so that I break up the day for the dog, he’s not left for more than 3.5 hours and when left he is given filled kongs to play with (he sleeps!).

When I go back for lunch we either do some training or a walk or over to the park so he’s ready for another snooze until someone is home from work.

We’ve only had him two months but it works well for us and he’s happy to be left. IF we move house again I’ll be getting a dog walker in during the day but at the moment we have no plans to move (we have to save up the deposit to buy first and I need a new car and lorry before that :D!)

ETA: It takes me 7-8mins to walk from my office to my house!
 
Betty is walked for a minimum of 30 mins in the morning, then is alone either in kennel and run in the garden, or in the house (if the weather is really foul, or if its midgey as hell)

she gets a longer walk when we get home, and stays in the house over night.

she is left from about 8.30 till about 5.30 mon-fri.
 
Thankyou for all your replies, it is interesting to see how others keep theirs, and learning that others keep lone dogs in the house all day is also a bit of a relief to me.

LL I really hope you get your dog back :(
 
I answered 'other' as Henry comes to work with me at the office and i work full time. He loves it including the perks which include extra play time every now and again if someone is after skiving off for 5 mins or so and licking out peoples left over ready meal cartons and yoghurt pots (usually when i am not looking!).

I regularly go to meetings for 3 hours plus out of the office and he stays and just sleeps, people dont even know he is there. I also will leave him at home for upto 6 hours if i have to but only when there is no other option and he manages fine with a couple of kongs and the run of the kitchen. Have sound recorded him when i was out all you can hear between naps is the treat ball being knocked around on the tiles!
 
I would love to take him to work, and this may be an option when doing the farm visits, at least some of them - but I'll have to see.

I'd love to have him in my current office too, but think that wouldn't be H&S approved ;)
 
My 3 are home all day, in the kitchen and my mum comes over once or twice a day depending on our shift lengths. The plan eventually is to have a kennel and run so they're out during the day to save my mum a trip. My puppy is just over a year old but this arrangement's worked well with her, had her with me from about 3 or 4 months old - the dogs lived with my mum whilst OH and I were doing hospital runs everyday
 
One goes to work with my OH and the other two stay home. If he is close enough he goes back to them at lunchtime. If not, they are alone from about 8.30 til 4.
They know no different and seem perfectly fine with the arrangement.
 
I couldn't answer aaccuratly but did as close as I could. We have three....all with seperate crates but all in the same room and next to each other. Quite often a friend will let them out if we're both at work but they have previously come to work too.
 
Purdey comes to work with me (or stays with OH if he is working at home). She is currently sprawled in the middle of the office with the remains of my block of post it notes :o
 
We both work shifts so mostly they aren't alone for lone. This week I left home at 3am and back at ten am. They don't even realise I'm gone as sleeping. If its a day shift my Dad comes over and sits with them, walks them etc. They love their Granddad :)
 
My two are left on their own for at least 8 hours per day and are fine (including relatively new rescue dog who was completely un housetrained when we got him - now clean all day! Thanks to Cayla for the crate advice :cool:)

They are big dogs, they get a 45 min off lead walk in the morning and an hour off lead in the evening, plus agility/obedience classes twice per week in the evenings as well.

When I was looking for my second dog I had so many rescues tell me that I was an unacceptable potential owner, as leaving the dogs for this period of time was 'abuse' and 'cruelty to animals' and that leaving a big, active, intelligent dog for this period would result in severe behavioural issues. This is despite me explaining I've owned dogs of all breeds, all my life.

The rescue that I went to in the end, I was completely open with the working pattern and they just said - if the current dog is OK with it then a new dog should fit in with the routine as well. A much more pragmatic view!

I should also add that far from being mistreated and neurotic, my new rescue has gone from being completely untrained to obtaining Bronze KC Good citizen in 8 weeks, Silver in a further 6 weeks, and is now pretty much ready to take his Gold test after only 3 weeks! :D:D
 
When I used to work shifts, my dog was only left for four hours but now I'm working 9-5 I have a dog walker who takes him out all day and he gets two walks and chills out at his house with his pet dogs til 4pm. Now I'm doing more days on my own at work he's starting to come with me to work which is saving me some money!
 
katie4002 said:
When I was looking for my second dog I had so many rescues tell me that I was an unacceptable potential owner, as leaving the dogs for this period of time was 'abuse' and 'cruelty to animals' and that leaving a big, active, intelligent dog for this period would result in severe behavioural issues. This is despite me explaining I've owned dogs of all breeds, all my life.
Click to expand...

Dont get me started on rescues and their attitude towards to working owners!!

:mad:
 
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