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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

...to ask how you make sure your dog is happy if you work 9-5?

83 replies

SawnUpLooRoll · 04/11/2018 10:37

We're wondering about having a dog to join our family. However, we work 9-5 and the kids aren't old enough to come home alone straight after school.

We're not sure about having a dog if we're going to be out of the house for long stretches, but naturally some people do have dogs and have similar working patterns to us.

How do you manage, and what advice would you give? I'm also totally okay with advice like 'don't do it' if that's the main consensus, because I want to be realistic. We only want a dog if it will be content!

OP posts:
RangeRider · 04/11/2018 10:40

Unless you're going to have someone coming in and either taking it for a walk or letting it into the garden & spending some time with it during the day then you shouldn't get one. You can't leave a dog alone stuck indoors for that amount of time. It's just not fair on the dog.

puzzledlady · 04/11/2018 10:41

We have a dog walker.

Mari50 · 04/11/2018 10:42

You don’t get a dog if you work 9-5 IMO. I’d love a dog but this is the reason I won’t/can’t get one. I don’t think having a dog walker come in for an hour etc is a solution either

HarrietKettleWasHere · 04/11/2018 10:42

You need a dog walker/sitter or doggy day-care in place, then. If that’s not something you can budget for/not available in the area you live, you don’t get a dog.

Dragongirl10 · 04/11/2018 10:42

It is cruel to leave a dog alone for longer than 3 hours for an older dog and much, much less for a puppy, if at all.

Were you thinking of a rescue or a puppy?

SerendipityFelix · 04/11/2018 10:43

I work longer hours than 9-5, but ddog comes to work with me.

AllTheUserNamesAreTaken · 04/11/2018 10:44

We have someone who walks our dog some day and other days he goes to her house for doggy day care. He does have a bladder of steel so has very occasionally spent the day at home alone, if she is on holiday and i’ve not been able to work from home

twiglet · 04/11/2018 10:45

My DH comes back at lunch time for an hour and we have a dog walker for days he can't do. I work from home 1-2 days a week.

We also went for the right breed we have a rescue greyhound cross who's main love is to sleep. 1 hour with the dog walker and she's exhausted!

Do your research into breeds and energy levels a collie, spaniel, lab can go for hours and needs a lot of exercise. Same with poodles/poodle Cross.

roundtable · 04/11/2018 10:46

I work part time, dh full time. We pay someone to look after the dog at their house on my work days. Also use her when we're on holiday/out for the day etc.

VenusClapTrap · 04/11/2018 10:48

Not really answering your question, but we’ve had an electrician here for several days doing some work for us. Long days, 8am till 6ish sometimes. He has a little dog locked in his van, which apart from taking it for a walk at lunchtime is on its own, sitting on the dashboard all day. That can’t be good can it? I can’t understand why it wouldn’t be better off at home.

I’m not a dog person by the way, so I have no experience, but simple empathy for a social animal would suggest to me that it’s not right to leave a dog on its own all day.

Failingat40 · 04/11/2018 10:48

Generally the options are employing the services of a dog walker or signing the dog up to daycare.

Both will cost you anything between £10-25 per day depending on which option you take.

Dog walkers aren't always in it for the right reasons and I'd be very picky about who I let in my home and trust with my precious dogs. I see many just out the van 15-20 mins with too many dogs on leads before they're back again in the van.

Genuine good walkers are like gold dust. I'd pick one from observation out walking, not by recommendation or word of mouth. The owners have no idea what they actually do with their dog.
Sorry I've gone off on a tangent 

Generally I'd say it's unfair to get a dog in your circumstances. Try sitting in the kitchen or wherever the dog would be, by yourself without any interaction with anyone or anything from at least 8:30 - 5:30 and see how it feels.

Then when your people come home you'll be all excited and happy but then they'll be too busy making the tea, getting kids to activities and getting their homework done to pay any attention to you.
If you're lucky, someone might grudgingly walk you round the block at 9 pm. You go to bed thinking I've got to go through the same tomorrow and the next day...

Sowhatifidosnore · 04/11/2018 10:48

you need a dog walker then - it's not fair to leave a dog alone for that amount of time. Our dog would be gone 2- 3 hours with the walker, by the time they're collected, along with other doggies, then walked for an hour then back again. A good dog walker will take them off to some big park/fields where they can properly run free. Or do you have someone local who can walk your dog for a few quid? The cost racks up if you use a walker every day.
That being said, we only used a walker twice a week, the rest of the time one of us was WFH so the pup had company. Dogs are very social and want to be with their people, I don't think it sounds like you're in a position to have one if you have to use a walker every day. Maybe a cat would be better suited for your family.
RSPCA and other re-homing places won't let you have one from them if the dog is going to left more than 4 hours at a time regularly.
Costs wise our dog cost around £200 a month once food, insurance, 2x walks a week, and boarding ( our dog walker would take her for £20 a day) when we were on holidays was factored in.

CandyMelts · 04/11/2018 10:48

We didn't even think about a dog until we could work from home 2-3 days a week and could pay for daycare on the other days. Dogs are pack animals and you need to put their needs first

Original poster
SawnUpLooRoll · 04/11/2018 10:51

Makes sense. I think we'd need to leave it a few years. We're a rural area and have dog-loving neighbours, but I wouldn't want to get one on the assumption that others will help out.

If we were to get one I think we'd prefer rescue, but I expect both puppy or rescue needs heavy attention in the first few months. I don't work during the 6 week hols, so that might have been the best time to have one join us...

But I don't think a dog would be happy with our working hours. Not unless we get a bigger plan in place. Thanks for all your advice so far!

OP posts:
RangeRider · 04/11/2018 10:53

I don’t think having a dog walker come in for an hour etc is a solution either
I admit it's not something I would do - for me it's something you'd do in an emergency or as a one-off. But I know some people do. I feel guilty if I'm at my desk working hard for several hours sometimes and all DDog gets is a bit of sporadic attention (and the door opened every time she wants to go eat bird food in the garden!) despite her being happy snoozing on the sofa or in my office.

LagerthaTheShieldMaiden · 04/11/2018 10:53

Even with a dog walker it just isn't fair on the dog. You'll get loads of posts from people who leave their dogs for hours, and convince themselves the dog is fine, but it's just cruel.

Original poster
SawnUpLooRoll · 04/11/2018 10:56

It's the same as your kids, really, isn't it? You wouldn't want them alone for hours with nothing interesting. I'm glad I asked Smile

OP posts:
Greyhorses · 04/11/2018 10:59

I had a dog as a child that spent its whole life waiting at home for someone to pay it attention. My parents worked 8-6 and we were at school, I always remember how happy he was to see someone when we finally got home Sad

I would never get a dog if I worked full time. Why would you get a pet that craves company and mental stimulation and leave it alone for 8 hours, it seems a selfish decision to me.
Even worse people suggest breeds bred to be companions for this sort of situation, probably because they are lower exercise, but don’t realise what sort of mental stress they are putting on the animal. Breed it for years to want to be glued to a human and then leave it all day Confused

Mine come to work with me or I plan my shifts so they are not left more than 4hours. If I couldn’t do this I wouldn’t have them.

Blondie1993 · 04/11/2018 11:01

I am lucky enough to be able to bring my dog to work with me. If I was going to be out the house for more than 5/6 hours I would get a dog walker in for him.

starzig · 04/11/2018 11:07

I didn't realise people that work 9 to 5 would have a dog. Round here it tends to be the elderly and unemployed that have dogs and I thought that was because you can't really leave a dog.

SushiMonster · 04/11/2018 11:11

Doggy day care or at least a really good walk with a walker.

But really, dogs aren’t really compatible with a busy family with parents who work out of the house.

Think “what can I offer to the animal” not “I want a dog”

Original poster
SawnUpLooRoll · 04/11/2018 11:11

I had a dog as a child that spent its whole life waiting at home for someone to pay it attention. My parents worked 8-6 and we were at school, I always remember how happy he was to see someone when we finally got home

That's so sad.

I think you've all helped us to make our decision. No dogs yet. Thank you, everyone!

OP posts:
3WildOnes · 04/11/2018 11:14

I don’t have a dog yet but am planning on getting one soon. I’ll do the same as my sister does now. I work part time and on the days I’m out of the house the dog will go to doggy day care (£30pd here so much cheaper than nursery fees of £90pd!). They dont take them from puppies so I will have to take 10 weeks unpaid leave at the beggining.

UpstartCrow · 04/11/2018 11:14

Whenever you think of getting a pet, the first question to ask yourself is 'whats in it for them?'

missyB1 · 04/11/2018 11:18

We pay for doggy daycare 3 days a week and a dog walk one day (I’m at home in their other day). Altogether that costs me £74 a week!! 😮

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