Advice for working and owning a dog

[sausageloverparty]

I would like to get a Daschund, ideally from a puppy so we can train from scratch. My husband and I both work full time so we're happy to pay a dog walker to come in daily.

Just wanted peoples opinion on whether this is ok? Basically we're out the house 8-9 hours a day so a dog walker would break this up by an hour or so daily.

Also, if this is acceptable what do people do in the early stages of a puppies life when it's too little to be walked and you have to work?

Any (gentle) advice welcomed :-)

[thesnapandfartisinfallible]

Unless you can arrange someone to look after the puppy then you just don't get one. Some people take turns taking a lot of holiday so that between them, they have at least the first two months covered but puppies can't be left for more than an hour or two. If you can't stay home then your best option is to get a dog a couple of years old.

[MikeUniformMike]

Don't. Get a cat instead.

[BiteyShark]

My dog only copes with being left for around 3 hours in a day and he is 2 years old. I work full time and the only way I can do this and own a dog is to use daycare.

Some dogs can cope with being left for longer but other get stressed and destructive. You won't know which yours is until they are here.

As a puppy you need to build them up to get used to being alone. I spent the first month at home when I had a puppy and then I was very fortunate that I found someone to look after him when I was working. I too had the idea that we would just use a dog walker but when he came it was obvious that this would not work hence using daycare.

[missbattenburg]

Basically we're out the house 8-9 hours a day so a dog walker would break this up by an hour or so daily.

This is not going to work. A puppy cannot walk very far so a walker with adult dogs is not going to do - you might get away with paying exclusively for the hour and have a walker sit with the puppy but this could be much more expensive because you are essentially paying for all the dogs spots (e.g. 5 x £10 and hour).

Pups also need almost constant supervision for the first few weeks/months and is most likely to become incredibly distressed when left alone for four hours with no build up.

Dachs are notoriously difficult to housetrain in the best of circumstances where someone is there to observe and let them out every half an hour, or so. Left alone to mess (which the puppy will have to do) it may take a year or more.

Day care often won't take young puppies, though you may be lucky and find one, But that means you are trusting someone else to raise your dog right, because they are with them all day.

Even if you could magically get to the stage where the dog was fine being left and house clean, being alone for 8 hours a day, five days a week is not fair, imo. I have refused to have a desperately-longed-for dog for 10 years to avoid this very circumstance. I waited until my circumstances fitted what a dog needs.

[Emptynestermum]

It's not just walks dogs need but company and training, which is ongoing. Puppies need constant care. You could use day care every day but that will be expensive and they wouldn't train him like you would.

A cat may be a better choice if you are working full time and would like a cuddly companion at home. :)

[squee123]

it won't work without daycare, and it might be hard to find one that will take a puppy.

It will likely be a lot less trouble to get one of the more dog like cat breeds. They will run to the door to great you and follow you round the house and happily sleep all day when you're out and walk itself.

[SlothMama]

That's too long for a puppy/young dog to be left imo, find a daycare or don't get a dog.

[EllaDownTheLane]

A puppy so you can train it from scratch....but you won’t be home to do so? I wouldn’t get one.

[freddiethegreat]

I got an older puppy/young adult rehome in May. Staffy, admittedly. He’s not badly trained & he really does his best & tries to please. But a short working day with a dog walker is pushing it for him. Now he goes to daycare 3 x a week. The other 2, my son leaves at 8.30, my elderly neighbour, who is fond of him but unable to manage his strength so can’t walk him, comes in for half an hour at 10.30, the dog walker comes for an hour 12.30 - 13.00 and my son is home 15.30 - 16.00 & takes him for a run. I walk him before & after work. And we are lucky that it just about works. I can’t see a full working day, even with a dog walker, being viable for a small puppy.

[Knittink]

A dog walker isn't enough if you're out of the house for 8-9 hours. It's not just about exercise, it's about company. It wouldn't be fair on the dog. You would need 'doggy daycare'.

[lazymare]

Nope. That's very unfair on the dog. I am out twice a week for about 5 hours and I still think that's too much so haven't got a dog yet.

[MissWilmottsGhost]

Hmm. DH and I both worked full time when we got DDog. TBH I wouldn't recommend it or do it again as it really isn't fair to the dog.

I did go part time shortly after and was hoping to reduce my hours at the time, so it was never intended to be a permanent arrangement.

We got a young dog, not a little puppy who would be terrified of being alone.

Also we got a breed of terrier which are more independent and less likely to be stressed by being alone than, say, a hound like a dachshund.

Unless you are working short hours or work from home then it isn't going to go well. The dog will be lonely and stressed, it won't get adequate training when it needs it, and you will get a badly behaved dog which will probably bark all day and annoy the neighbours, piss/shit on the floor for you to come home to every day, chew everything from boredom, and generally it won't be an enjoyable life for either you or your pet.

Don't do it.

[Pfingstrose]

As a breed, dachshunds have huge issues with separation anxiety. They get very attached to people and HATE being left alone. Join any dachshund group/forum (there are plenty on FB) and you will find scores of people struggling just to leave the house to go to the shops without their dog screaming and crying for the duration. For such a small dog they are seriously loud too.

Working full time and having a dog isn't a good idea anyway for reasons already stated by pp, but as a dachshund owner myself I'd suggest that it is probably one of the worst breeds to think of attempting it with!

They are wonderful little dogs but they are extremely needy and quite hard work. It is worth doing your research carefully.

[Knowivedonewrong]

My parents have a Mini Dachshund.
They can't leave him for more than 4 hrs, he has separation anxiety. When they do leave him he usually shits on the floor.
I've been with him when they've gone out, he was a pain in the arse, whinging and whining. He's noisy too. The neighbours have complained about him barking when they are out. The live in a detached bungalow!

[starcrossedseahorse]

How about a Ragdoll cat or two? They are very doggy and adorable. I don't think that a dog will work for you in your current situation and definitely not a puppy.

[DogInATent]

You need a cat. Or fish. Or a reptile. Definitely not a dog.

Your working patterns are not compatible with keeping a dog mentally healthy. They're not suitable as weekend-only companions. Sorry.