To get a dog if I work full time?

[Elizabethhh]

DH and I would absolutely love a dog but we both work full time which is the only thing stopping us. The dog would be left at home from around 9-3 as that’s when DDs get home from school and DH gets home at around 4-5. DH would be able to go and see the dog from around 12-1 a couple times a week. Even though we would love a dog, we don’t want to bring one into a home where it will be miserable and won’t have a happy life and that comes before our wants

Dogs are social animals, they want to be with their pack. If you are out all day you need to provide an alternative pack and that will be hard work and expensive.

"We could get a dog walker for the days that DH can’t manage a trip home at lunch time. He can also take them in for one day a week at work"

In which case Elizabethhh that could make it feasible - but that's not what you said in your OP hence the responses

My girl is 9, when we got her I worked part time and from home but our circumstances changed and I had to go back to work full time when she was 5. My husband is on the road a lot and some days he is at home all day, some days in and out and other days not there at all.

We rely on daycare and walkers, which is expensive but I would not leave her alone for longer than 4 hours (used to be 3) It is doable but you have to be very committed and realise it is costly,

So you want a dog.
A. Do you have a garden? If the answer is no then I would strongly think about not getting a dog if it means it will be locked up in the house for most of the day all alone. Dogs are a social animal and for them having company is really important. So it would be cruel to just keep a dog for the rare times you are at home.

Yes it requires commitment but thats not what a lot of PP have said- plenty just said "no its cruel" which isnt helpful

Walkmydog.com. People walk your dog for free as they can't have their own. They have references etc you can check. Lot of mature students do it.

It's not ideal but is workable. I got my dogs when with my ex and they weren't left alone for long we had a good set up. But then we split up and I wound up with 2 dogs and having to work full time. Absolutely no danger were my dogs being rehomed just because I had to work so we got into a routine. Granted they are notoriously lazy little sighthounds so breed and temperment come into it. We do a very long walk in the Morning, I pay a dog walker to take them on a group walk in the middle of the day then we do a short walk/play in the field when I get home from work. So yes I work full time but they get more exercise and socialisation than many other dogs I know, and they are happy and good natured. But tbh I can be in the house at the weekend and the dogs just.......sleep.....they also sleep when I am not there. I have had a dog cam and they sleep right through until they hear the door! Saying denying them the toilet for 6 hours is unfair is an invalid argument because your dog will sleep right through the night for longer without going out.

While if I was in this situation now without a dog and considering getting one i would be thinking very hard about it and swayoing on not getting one....i will argue my case with anyone who says (and it has been said to me) that i shouldn't have a dog/should have rehomed them when my situation changed - also been said by people who have never owned a dog-also been said by people who would be the first to judge someone giving up their dog for whatever reason - also been said by someone who was at home full time yet only walked their very active bull breed around the same block every single day on a lead.

Point I am making is it is never black and white and sometimes people can be a bit judgy

I should also add that outwith work my dogs and I do almost everything together. We are always walking, lure chasing, fun shows, when I go to my boyfriends they come too, if we go out for dinner we often choose a dog friendly place and take them. My dogs are my life

Are there any breeds you’d say absolutely NOT to go for in this situation?

The thing is that dogs are very individual. You can’t guatantee what breed would cope with it. And no puppy should.
If you’re taking on an older rescue dog they should be able to advise you.

Think most of it has been said but would be very difficult to leave a puppy at all and very cruel. An older might be able to cope with a longer period alone but getting an older dog would be very difficult as any shelters would not rehome a dog with you if you work full time neither would any reputable breeders.

Each dog is individual but there are "general" breed characteristics that are worth considering. Sighthounds tend to be very laid back. The more "intelligent" breeds (collies and the like) tend to need alot more stimulation-mental and physical. And this is another point. Mental stimulation is just as important. You can walk all the miles in the day but if the dog is getting nothing mentally out of it it is not fair. Games, learning tricks, searching for food etc are good ways to do this and can be incorporated into your leaving to keep them amused. There are some rescues who are quite happy to deny dogs a comfortable (working) home and have them remain in a lovely concrete kennel to be gawped at :) but some of the smaller rescues are a little more realistic! All my dogs have been rescues/rehomes (6 in total) Talk it through with various and they can help match you to a suitable dog.

You'll always get the saint brigade saying they would never do this, that or the next thing. Reality is if only non working people got dogs we would have an even bigger problem than we do now of there being too many dogs in shelters. There is being sensible but this is real life not a Disney film and we do need to be realistic.

get a cat. you can leave a settled adult cat 24 hours with fresh water and food.
some breeds are very sociable and can be trained like dogs.

Don't do it. My DH would love a dog but we both work full time so it is not feasible. Leaving a dog alone for hours on end is cruel.

Don't put it into dog daycare - awful places. Unless it happens to be someone who does it from home on a small scale.

You would need to commit to a long walk every morning before you all leave. Dog walker at midday for an hour and then another walk in the evening. If you can stick to that regime 365 days a year then I don't see a problem

Honestly it will depend on the dog but fgs don't get a puppy. Ours pulled the seal off the back door, chewed the inside of the washing machine rubber seal. Cost £100 to repair and then did the same to the dryer. We kept telling each other to keep the doors shut but people kept forgetting (there are 4 of us!).

He then tried to climb up the wall to get to a coat which he thought had treats in resulting in a nice hole in the wall. The inside liner of our kitchen bin has a large hole as though someone has cut a 6 inch square out of it. We know its the dog. We don't know how it did it.

And we are experienced dog owners. In your position if you are going to go ahead then get a rescue. Their personality is developed and you can see what they like.

You can read all you like about breed traits and you then get the dog you get! Ours in a bit of an idiot but he's my idiot

There are plenty of people I know who have dogs and their circumstances change. However they almost always seem to move heaven and earth to make sure that the dog doesn't lose out. Whether that be dog walkers, dog day care (we know a fab one!) or ensuring that someone comes back in lunch break etc.

What I would say though is don't expect your kids to do very much. They will for the first few days and then lose interest in the boring stuff (in their view). Walking the dog when its cold/raining. Clearing up dog sick, even feeding the dog will get forgotton.

Breeds have traits but other than that they are individual which is why you get posts saying my x breed is laid back followed by another person saying theirs is high energy. What I would recommend is looking at the cons of each breed, e.g. whether they are prey driven or their typical health issues and decide whether you could cope with them.

As for whether they can be left will depend a lot on the individual dog. And even then outside factors can influence that. My dog was happy being left then had a series of admissions to the vets following which he developed anxiety and was upset at being left so we had to start again getting him used to it.

It's a bit of a catch 22 in that adult dogs with a known temperament would be best but then a lot of the rescues won't rehome to anyone working full time. It is much easier to buy a puppy who will be more of an unknown factor and will take a long time getting used to being on their own for extended periods.

That’s fine if you get a dog walker. But it’s doable if you get a dog that isn’t keen on walking much. Growing up I had a daschound and it was left alone 8am to 3pm while I was at school. When I came home I used to force her on walks. But all she wanted to do was pee and head home after a few minutes. The whole walk (I would try to aim for 20-30mins walk) she would drag slowly behind until the second we turned around to head home and then she would be on top speed to walk home. During the day she would just lounge around. She was let out morning first thing, 3pm, 6pm and 10 pm. If she needed a wee in middle of night my mom would take her. Our current dog loves walks and to play w other dogs in the park. But it works bc I’m stay at home mom. She gets loads of walks every day and loves it. 😀