dog plus job

[legohouse]

hi, i have been a sahm for a long time,my dog is used to company,i am starting a part time job (cleaning) in April and am not sure whether to leave him at home or he can stay in my car,windows down a bit,bedding,water bowl etc...he is happy in car but less happy being left at home,if he comes in car he will be on own for 2 hrs,a half hour walk then another 2 hours mon,to friday...what do you dog owners think about this? thanks oh,and he will be walked before and after i work.

I'd be very wary about leaving any dog in a car, even with the windows down a bit. It would probably be ok on a cold day like today, but on a still, warm day cars can kill surprisingly quickly. A friend of a friend left their dog in their car on their drive for 10 minutes whilst taking the shopping in and in that short time it overheated and died. In my mind 2 hours is far too long for a dog to be in a car.

I think it depends on your dog. I could probably leave mine for 3 or 4 hours without her worrying. Longer if she had access to the garden. I would recommend you start practising leaving your dog - there have to be sites online about how to accustomise him to being on his own. Start with short amounts of time, then stretch it out. This way, if you ever have some form of emergency where you can't arrange immediate dog-care you can be happy he'll not wreck the house if you have to leave him for a little while.

A reputable person to look in on your dog at home and make much of her/him might suit your dog better. That is what we decided to do and it worked very well. In the summer your plan would not work at all unfortunately. Need a different approach IMO.

People also steal dogs from cars and around here dog thefts are on the increase and its not just pedigrees its all types of dog .

I wouldn't leave a dog in the car unless you had a special situation, like a workplace near here, where the dogs are in the car, parked under a tree for permanent shade, and right by the office so staff can see and hear, and the boot is left open but the cage gate closed.

I do walks/visits for a number of gone-back-to-work-now-children-at-school family dogs, the longest we leave them is six hours, and ideally not more than four.

It's £10 per day plus mileage which includes an hour's walk.

If you get an un-insured cash-in-hand dogwalker, it will cost less but you won't have holiday cover or any comeback if something goes wrong.

good advice as always,thanks