Deciding whether or not to get a dog...

8 replies

Jenbot · 25/05/2008 19:27

We have always wanted a dog, but we both worked so it wouldn't have been fair to leave it all day.

My husband now however is working from home, so it seems like more of a posibility, but we don't know if the home-working will work out long term or if he'll have to go back working in town sometime.

I don't know whether to think "you never know what will happen in the future so if things seem stable for the foreseeable future, go for it" or not.

How does anyone know that they're going to be able to stay at home with the dog for a possible 10 years, I suppose is what I'm wondering?
I would be sad to have to wait to have a dog until we retire!

OP posts:

LazyLinePainterJane · 25/05/2008 19:34

It would be sadder for the dog to have to stay at home in the day all alone. Maybe you could get a particularly quiet breed and get 2 of them, for company?

I see what you are saying about not being able to plan for every outcome but there is a difference between saying that he is working from home now and you have no idea how long it will last to knowing that you will be at home for at least 4 years but you don't know after that, IYSWIM.

hercules1 · 25/05/2008 19:36

Some dogs do fine being at home during the day alone. You could hire a dog walker to break up the day too. You'd have to choose your breed and dog carefully though.

nickytwotimes · 25/05/2008 19:37

hi Jen
My bil and sil got a dog because he was working from home, but unfortunately that situation changed after a year. The dog is on its own all day now and while it is okay, it is not ideal and they feel quite bad about it. It's not too bad because, as a teacher, she has long holidays but it is worth considering. Some dogs get very distressed or destructive if left alone.

LazyLinePainterJane · 25/05/2008 19:39

hercules is right, you would have to be careful about the breed. PIL have 2 dogs that are left alone and I think the fact that they have each other is good, they wear each other out.

You would also have to vigilant about walking them in the morning as otherwise they would be full on energy in an empty chewable house

Millarkie · 25/05/2008 19:40

We have just got a dog - I work part-time, dh works full-time but at the moment we pay a neighbour to come in and play with the dog in the middle of the day and to walk her as she gets bigger. And we have arranged for an au pair to live here soon, whose duties are a tiny amount of childcare, and a lot of 'keeping dog company and walking dog'. Are either of those options which you could use if dh were to stop home-working?

morethanyoubargainfor · 25/05/2008 19:40

I feel the best thing to do is find a local dog walker and get your dog used to being left from the onset. If the dog gets used to having someone at home all the time he may suffer from aniexty issues if you DH has to return to office based working and is no longer around in the day whne the dog is older, IYSWIM.

We have a 8 month old puppy and i work for 6 hours a day 4 days per week and my DH is self employed and can be home or away, we have a fantastic dog walker who walks him in the morning and visit's him in the afternoon, our dog has had this since he was 10 weeks old, However we do notice a difference in his behaviour if one of us in home for three or four days then go back out to work, so we try to leave him by himself every day for a short period(sometimes only 1/2 hour) and that seems to work for him.

There is nothing wrong with leaving a dog for short periods as long as you pay him lots of attention when you are at home, and don't ignore him 24/7

I really hope that makes sense,

Original poster

Jenbot · 25/05/2008 20:07

Very helpful to hear everyone's views.

We did think of perhaps getting two in case things changed. Maybe that is something to consider a bit more.

OP posts:

CountryGirl2007 · 31/05/2008 15:17

As long as you wouldn't mind adopting a pair or dogs and also employing a dog walker to come in if your husband does have to go back to working away from home, then there should be a problem. would you consider a pair of retired greyhounds? they make lovely quiet low maintenance pets and need no more exercise than a normal dog does. they are also very friendly and are excellent with other dogs and are generally a very healthy breed. only thing you need is a secure garden as they are capable of jumping quite high. here is a great website for finding a rescue near you: www.animalrescuers.co.uk

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