Is a dog possible in this situation?

[Famalam13]

DH desperately wants a dog, has his whole life and it is very important to him. I really want to find a solution therefore but I won't agree to one of it is not right for the dog or our current family.

So situation is DH works full time and is out of the house 7:10-6. I work 30 hours a week over 3.5 days. We wouldn't have an issue with getting a dog walker.

Live in our own house which is a new build over three floors with a small garden. We aren't precious about fur.

We have a one year old DS who will be an only. We also have two adult cats (middle aged so still healthy and active) and we don't know what they are like around dogs.

If we did get a dog the top floor of the house would be off limits as the cats' domain.

Is there a dog that would work in this situation?

[BiteyShark]

Depends on the dog... you may find a dog walker is not enough on the days you are both out of the house. I use day care to cover my work days so he isn't alone.

As for DS are you planning on a puppy or older dog. If puppy I would say no as I cannot imagine having the sheer mental and physical energy of trying to manage a puppy and such a young child. A chilled out older dog then maybe.

[Thewolfsjustapuppy]

I agree with Bitey, a puppy would not cope with being left for those hours with only a dog walker once a day and it would be very hard to train a pup with such a young DS. Doggy Day care is great though. However an older dog may be fine, with a dog walker and someone at home 50% of the week. It depends on the dog.
Living on three floors would make puppy house training a nightmare but should be fine with an older dog who won't need to go out every 20 mins.

[averylongtimeago]

No, or at least not yet.
Your baby is too young for you to cope with a puppy if you doubt this read some of the recent puppy threads and an older dog could find a baby/toddler very difficult. Most reputable breeders and rescues won't let dogs go to families with babies or toddlers for these reasons.
If you do want to go for a puppy, you need to be at home with it pretty much all day at first and for most of the day for months. House training would be difficult impossible almost you risk separation anxiety and destructive behaviour.
An older dog could live with that schedule, but only if you used dog walkers and day care. TBH, it's not much of a life, shut in for hours on end every day, with just a brief visit from the dog walker.
Your house set up sounds OK, lots of dogs are not allowed upstairs.
So, an older dog, maybe, one day, when your children are old enough to respect it and you have the time and money to care for it.

[Famalam13]

Thanks all for confirming what I already suspected :) We are shattered at the end of a day caring for DS so waiting until he is more independent is definitely a good idea.

We are very open to an older dog (in fact it would be our preference) although we would have to have some meetings between it and the cats before committing.

I will chat to DH and suggest waiting until DS is in school. With childcare much reduced we would be able to afford doggy daycare and I would shift my hours to shorter days. How many days a week would it be reasonable to put a dog in daycare? 3 or 4?

[Famalam13]

Just chatted to DH who is disappointed but agrees that things aren't right for a dog at the moment. We will revisit once DS is in school and in the meantime DH will look at dog walking. Elderly people in our area are often looking for help with their dogs as they struggle to cope anymore.

[BiteyShark]

How many days a week would it be reasonable to put a dog in daycare? 3 or 4?
My dog is shattered after day care so you could probably get away with 3 if you are working just half a day on the 4th.