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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

So how do people have time to look after dogs?...

45 replies

Kbear · 03/05/2012 23:09

I mean if you leave the house early and are out at work all day? This is one of my 87100 reasons for not getting a dog when begged by DCs who are the "only children in the world who don't have a dog".

I leave the house at 7am and I'm back at 5.30pm. Sometimes DH is here all day (shift work), sometimes not.

Do you all walk the dog at 6am before work or when you get home? Do your dogs snooze all day or eat the furniture etc?

How does it work then? :)

OP posts:

BoatingLakeDiva · 04/05/2012 18:56

i do tend to agree with you yesbutnobut

rubyrubyruby · 04/05/2012 18:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ObviouslyOblivious · 04/05/2012 19:00

I work out of home twice a week. On those days I am up at 5am or shortly before and walk the dogs. My dad is with them all day and lets them in the garden twice. I then walk them once DS is in bed and we've had dinner, at the moment at around 8pm. This is on days where I'm not doing agility in the evening!
They were my life before I had DS and I owe it to them to get up early and give them my evenings.

Weasar · 04/05/2012 22:49

yesbutnobut I can't re consider my plans when we already have the dog and I cant do anything about having a full time job!
Many people work full time and leave the dogs at home alone all day. We are fortunate that because of the location of my work I can be with him as much as anybody who works full time could once we are both back at work.

Riversidegirl · 04/05/2012 23:06

I know of people who are at home all day who never walk their dogs or play with them.

I also know of people who work and have to leave their dog for 4 hours at a time but on return they take them to socialise at training clubs, take them on pack walks (30+) at the weekends and/or take them out for a couple of hours walk each day.

Is it quality or quantity that counts?

axure · 04/05/2012 23:10

Agree with posters who suggest an older docile dog such as a greyhound might fit in with your family and would perhaps be better than kennels for the dog. It could be worth considering.

Original poster

Kbear · 04/05/2012 23:15

I imagined greyhounds to need loads of exercise?

OP posts:

Riversidegirl · 04/05/2012 23:34

Greyhounds have quick bursts of energy and then are shattered for a long time after.

Original poster

Kbear · 05/05/2012 08:09

oh I see! Know how they feel!

OP posts:

StealthPolarBear · 05/05/2012 08:22

yesbutnobut - £25
You can get a nursery place round here for that, admittedly, one I chose not to use, but still
In fact my fantastic CM is not much more....

Onlyaphase · 05/05/2012 08:33

We used to stagger our working days when we first got the dogs, so they were never left more than 3 hours. Plus we had a dog loving cleaner, gardener and a dog walker who used to stay most of the afternoon, but we were very lucky with all of them. I'm a SAHM now, so am around a lot more.

But the key is that we thought about in advance and chose to get two puppies from the same litter, so they were never left alone, and always had space to run around and trash the house and have a lovely time. I wouldn't do it again though unless I was going to be at home more, young dogs benefit massively from companionship.

BoatingLakeDiva · 05/05/2012 08:37

onlyaphase - isn;t that a no no? Getting two pups from same litter? Glad it worked for you but I have heard that two from same litter can cause probs with bonding, training etc.

DilysPrice · 05/05/2012 08:39

I also know people who work full time and have (spoiled-rotten) rescue greyhounds - it's perhaps the one situation where it really can work, and as amber says, it's definitely better than kennels for a breed which is not always going to be snapped up by a SAH family.

Ambi · 05/05/2012 08:50

Depends on the dog, I have a very lazy dog who hates being up and awake.

Riversidegirl · 05/05/2012 11:02

My husbands like that Ambi and I haven't re-homed him yet!

suburbandream · 05/05/2012 14:42

I think someone needs to be there for the dog most of the time TBH. Until I can get our excitable pup trained a bit better he can't come on the school run, so he's alone for about 1 and a half hours, twice a day. I'm a SAHM so I am there during the day, but I have a regular docs appointment every week for DS2, meaning I'm out of the house all morning so we have dog sitter then. Dogs need a lot of attention, especially when they are little. Could you go for a cat/rabbit/fish?

suburbandream · 05/05/2012 14:43

£25 a day sounds good, I pay £10 an hour!

yesbutnobut · 05/05/2012 15:03

suburban that's why I thought - £25 for the day includes pick up and drop off and it's better value than a dog walker which is £10 a walk. Probably once my dog is older I will think about a dog walker but at the moment I think she needs the company, and she does enjoy being with the other dogs.

clam · 05/05/2012 19:59

ormirian Side issue, but where on earth does your dh teach that enables him to get home at 3.15?

OrmIrian · 07/05/2012 08:11

We live about 50 yards from the school clam! To be honest he isn't usually home by 3.15 (perhaps once a week) but the older kids are. And in an emergency he can come home at 3.15, let dog out for a while and then go back to school.

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