I would really like a dog and would appreciate some help from some dog owners on whether it is realistic.......

[tryingtocookacurry]

.........because, I work 4 days a week and would be out of the house between 7:45am and 3:15pm.

However, the lady who lives two doors down is willing to either keep the dog company for an hour or walk the dog half way through the day for me.

What do you think? Is this possible?

Definately possible, I have a dog (before baby), bought him from a shelter, I always thought better in my kitchen some of the day and loved rather than in there!. Only thing I would say is be prepared for the hard work, if little doggy is locked away he will need his routine and walks, so whatever the weather you are out every day, my dog wakes me up and follows me round the house if he does not get his walk on time!.

I jog in the mornings, so the dog would get a morning jog with me before I go to work every day and then an evening walk round the rugby field. I do appreciate this will have to be rain or shine!

I am just a little worried that I won't know whether the woman has walked him/her or not and when reading up on which sort of dog, the information says that dogs can become very destructive if left alone.

He/she he would be on its own for 3 hours either side of his walk with the walker.

Is this still too long considering it would be 6 hours in total?

I just don't want to make a dog unhappy! No matter how much I want one.

What kind of dog would you like to get? You need to make sure you don't get one that needs hours and hours of exercise. Like a collie etc

I think the time alone would be okay, when we first got our dog (a GSD) I worked and he went out daily with the dog walker. He was only destructive when he was a tiny puppy. (And he was too cute to get mad at!!!)

Thank you guys - no, I was already aware that I could not have a puppy, but would really like a dog that is still reasonably young enough to get used to my kids and cats and to be trained - so I was looking for a year to eighteen months. What do you think?

I also would really like a chocolate lab?

We do like weimeraners but I have read that they become hugely destructive and are prone to seperation anxiety. Does anybody know whether this is true?

Any ideas on breeds of dog that would suit us? I have used the internet breed sites but the one offered a toy dog and that would be no use to me as a jogging companion. Unless I got a baby sling, LOL

That's a great site and I will look through it, however it would be really helpful if they just stated which dogs could be left for a period of time and which dogs couldn't - iykwim! I think it's called independence, so how long they are okay on their own for.

I did speak to a lab breeder the other day and she said she would encourage me to have two. But I'm not sure I could afford two and manage with two in the house.

It is the gundog group that I like - I also liked the working cocker, but again, its about us suiting the dog not the dog suiting us.

What about a lab cross from a shelter? Theres lots of them and they would need less excercise then a pure lab (depending on the mix). I think you'd be fine having a dog as long as it was'nt a young puppy. 1 - 18 mths sounds good, you still have the playfulness but they can hold there bladder a bit longer and you might be able to get one which has basic training.

There is a lovely animal shelter near us and I have already spoken to a lady on the phone and should go and have a look.

Good luck and enjoy your doggy. Animals from a shelter will also come vacinated and chipped. I have read a bit on dogs from shelter homes too, it may be worth you asking. A dog generally weighs up the household in the first few days to work out who is the boss.......... make sure its you. My dog took lots of notice from my husband at first but not me. I had to adjust my tone of voice to make him listen.

I'd be inclined to get a nice mixed mutt. Having said that I adore (and have) a Jack Russell terrier but I still maintain they are country dogs best for households where there's the luxury of enough terrier time.

All dogs that are working breeds either need to be worked or a substitute for work found for them. Gun dog breeds are lovely but not always the easy option since there's been fearsome over breeding of the more popular varieties. You never used to see a nasty Lab but sadly, that's no longer the case...

Your day (jog- snooze- walk or cuddle- snooze- walk) sounds perfect for a lot of dogs I would have thought.

Our dog is a rescue so we're not entirely sure of his ethnicity, as it were, but he looks EXACTLY like a border collie crossed with a golden retriever. You'd think he would be full of beans, but in fact he doesn't always have ENOUGH energy for us! (Husband is long distance triathlete and I run up to half mara - pooch knackered after about 3 miles!)

Partly I guess it's because he's a bit older (6 when we got him), but I also I think it probably depends on the individual dog, they don't all conform to breed, especially if a mixture.

Good luck, I hope you find a perfect companion.

How ecxiting getting a dog!

I work 4 days a week (currently off on hols yay!)and am out the house from 8am to 3.15pm, dh leaves before me and is home later. We have a black lab who is 18 months old and he is fab. He gets a walk before i go to work then a big walk at 3.15pm for 50 mins ish with ds and I, then dh takes him out running every evening for pprox 45 mins. Dh does not work in school holidays so he has been getting loads of extra walks.

When we are at work we actually leave him in the yard, he has a kennel, lots of toys and he loves it, plus I don't worry about him trashing my house as he did when he was inside!

We got ours aged 8 months from laradore welfare.

Good luck.

I don't want to put a downer on this but I would think very very carefully about getting a dog with the day you describe. Definately do not even consider a working cocker they will work 18 hours a day and if you don't keep them stimulated they will go mad and be very challenging. Labradors are great dogs but do need a lot of exercise and will also "employ themselves" if they are not stimulated mentally.

You do sound like you have a busy life - do you have 2 hours a day free - this is the minimum you will have to give to a dog every day and that is just the exercise, there is training, feeding, clearing up after it etc.
If you do have 2 hours free a day would you rather be walking across a muddy field or having a few minutes of me time!

I don't in anyway want to put you off. I have 5 kids, (2 sets of twins and a middle son) and also have 3 dogs!!!!! But they are my passion and take up all my life. I love them to bits but do sometimes want a break from poo picking and dog hairs on everything!!

Good luck in your choice

Thank you everyone who have helped!

We have now got a choc lab!

Can I ask you all what you feed your dog because I rang up a 1-1 training lady today and chatted to her in general about getting him booked in for some very much needed training

She told me that the food he is on is not good - Bakers - and is like feeding a child Smarties.

So what is the best food as will be going to Pets at home tomorrow for a Halti and a Kong.

we use Wagg which you can get at PAHome. There are different varieties. all good. Dad used it for his working lab - but also throw in extras like toast crusts, end of cereal packets and even the last of the tea n the pot to keep strength. Although labs are easily over fed and can get fat. How old is he?

Lab should not need a Halti if trained properly - a good slip lead will suffice. They're easy to train as they will do anything for food, but be warned that choccies tend to be the most mentalist!

I have a lurcher now. she's great, but I miss having a lovely lab around. even if they do chew holes in the walls/destroy bathroom contents and eat pretty much anything they can get their mouths on. Major stimulation required!

Ours was on Bakers and someone told us teh exact same thing! We feed ours BETA and add in some leftover meat, bread, cereal, rice to make it abit more exciting.

We tried a Halti and ours hated wearing it, went to dog training and now he walks great on the lead - we use a check chain.

Enjoy!

Thank you! I have just been and had a good look round the new pet shop by us and decided on their own brand of food which is cheaper than bakers but has no additives at all.

I have also bought a halti and my Mum is letting me borrow her short and long slip leads for first training session on Sunday.