Is it possible to get a dog when everyone works full time?

[DontBiteTheBoobThatFeedsYou]

We would get a dog walker, but is it possible especially in the first few weeks when the puppy or rescue dog settles in.

How do people do it?

Or do people tend not to unless they do short days etc?

I work in an animal shelter. The dogs there are alone in concrete cells 23 out of 24 hours 7 days a week. A cosy home like yours where people are with them when they wake up, in the evenings, and at weekends, is infinitely preferable.

Just because the conditions are shit in one place, doesn't mean it's acceptable to leave them alone 8+ hours a day in a different place!

We would love a dog! But we work full time and both DS are at school full time. It just wouldn't be fair.

However, we have borrowed an Alaskan Malamute almost every weekend for 5 years, shes really local to us and is wonderful! It's kind of a half way house. We found her on borrowmydoggy.com. Take a look and see if it's for you.

No. Don't get a puppy if you are not prepared for perhaps 15 years of daily walks etc. It's very cruel to have a dog and leave it alone all day - even if you have a dog walker. Dogs are pack animals and they love company. Lonely bored dogs are a recipe for disaster.

Meadowland that's a sobering way of viewing it! Can I ask you a question?

Dogs trust won't let any of their dogs go to a family with a child younger than 12.
This wipes out a huge population of suitable homes. Why do that?

Don't get a puppy if you are not prepared for perhaps 15 years of daily walks etc.

Wtf? Where in my post did you assume I wouldn't walk my dog daily?!

No. I absolutely don't see the point when you're all at work FT.

Please don’t get a puppy or a rescue dog and then leave them crated or alone all day, just to satisfy your craving for a dog. Please. Even with a dog walker visiting.

Again. Wtf? Where in my post did I say I would shut it in a crate all day? Was it in the bit where I said it would be taken out by a dog walker daily?

The bit where you said you would get a dog walker.

Nope, that's not fair on the dog. Get a cat, cat's are much better at being on their own. Dogs need their people, particularly young dogs.
Even if you got a dog walker every single day ( which gets expensive) the dog will still be alone a lot. Add in pet insurance and food and holiday cover and you'll be spending a lot.
And on weekends, your day will revolve around the dog, no staying out all day at an event etc. You'll need to take pup with you. Or have someone come back in the day to walk, spend time with the dog.

@DontBiteTheBoobThatFeedsYou

100% do not get a dog.

Get a cat instead. Then get a cat flap so they can get out when they want to/need to.

Getting a dog when you work full time is very cruel.

The bit where you said you would get a dog walker.

Yes. The dog walker would walk the dog while I was at work. 9-5, there's plenty of time in the morning and after work to walk a dog.
I didn't realise that I would have to spell that out if I'm honest , but there we go. All spelt out for you.

'
Dogs trust won't let any of their dogs go to a family with a child younger than 12.
This wipes out a huge population of suitable homes. Why do that?'

That isn't true - they do with dogs that they have the FULL history of ( lived with a family who can no longer care for the dog etc) and they do with young dogs where the new owners will train and socialise the dog. You'll often see sign saying the dog could be home with older kids, 8+ or 12+ etc. because all shelters are VERY cautious regarding younger kids and dogs as they need to be, just in case.
DT offered us a puppy and we have young kids.

Nope.

My local one will not let any of their dogs go to people with a child younger than 12. That rule goes for all their dogs.

Perhaps not all dogs trusts do it, but my local one does.

But why get a dog? Just to have someone else look after it for you?

Pointless, cruel, and ridiculous. Dogs NEED company, and a lot of it, and not to be palmed off onto some random 'dog walker' who will NOT give it the same time and care and love that it deserves!

Don't get a dog FFS!

You did ask, and are being told 'no' by most posters, so surely the answer is NO.

Or are you one of these irksome posters who asks AIBU, and then when most people say 'yes you are' you say 'no you're all wrong, I am NOT being unreasonable, so there!'

It's not really doable. My and OH work full time and can't afford a dog walker so no dog here.

My colleague got a dog and she took yep weeks AL followed by her OH taking 2 weeks AL to settle the dog in. Her mum lives down the round who pops in twice a day to keep the dog company and they also hire a dog walker daily and this seems to work

At no point did I say that. Not even close to it.

I absolutely corrected those who made stuff up about the contents of my OP, such as a crate all day long

But at no point have I said that I'm not listening and getting a dog anyway.

Also it's not fair on your neighbours who will have to listen to the constant yapping and whining of the poor thing left alone.

Its possible.
Cruel, uncaring and definitely not pet friendly, but it’s possible.

how would you feel if you were left alone for the vast majority of every day with no tv, no books, no internet, no I-pad, no jigsaws, no crosswords, no company, just four walls to stare at, bearing in mind that a dog preserves time differently.

Ah please don’t. Our neighbours dogs whine and bark all day waiting for them to come back.

We took 3 weeks off work when we first got our pup. I’m fortunate enough to work from home 3 days a week and then he goes to in laws one day and then daycare another. He doesn’t get left during the day. It’s ALOT of work and you need to put the time in. You definitely need a plan in place before you even consider it. I wouldn’t say it’s impossible like people are implying though.

No.
Well, it is possible, but a miserable life for your dog.

-Unless that dog is in doggy day care-

The thing is OP, dog walkers absolutely have their place, but they're not an adequate replacement for the care of a family. Most of the dogs I walk are on my books for reasons other than full-time working owners.

I have one lady who has developed agoraphobia since getting her dog. Her husband and daughter help out five days a week, but there are two days they can't - which is where I step in. However, that dog is never alone, gets plenty of company and training - the owner just needs help occasionally.

Others don't drive and want their dogs to go to new places where they can run occasionally - so I take their dogs down the beach or to an enclosed field, for example. They get a good run, the company of other dogs and the owner is around the rest of the time.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with employing a dog walker - it's often suggested on threads where the OP has small children and struggles to fit in lunchtime walks around toddlers and newborns, for example. But again, the dog doesn't go home to an empty house - it's just taken out for a while to have a good run about and to give the owners a chance to get other things done.

An hours' walk at lunchtime in between four hour blocks of time alone just isn't enough. It doesn't matter that you can walk them before and after work, you're still going to be leaving your dog alone for 7-8 hours a day at a minimum. Add on things like going to the shops, nights out, childrens' activities, non-dog friendly days out - and the time alone adds up and up.

Just because a dog sleeps all day, doesn't mean that they're happy or content. It often means they're bored and have nothing else to do.

Could you put it in daycare? That costs around £15 near me for three hours, not a three hour walk btw but a walk is included and the rest of the time, the dogs are at the sitter's house. That would break up the day sufficiently, otherwise no.

No a dog needs more of your time, love and companionship. Its you he needs, not just walking. A puppy is like a toddler in need