Is there any way to have a dog when you work full time?

[LittleLionHeart]

I know this has been done to death, and working full time is why we don't have a dog (DP and I both lawyers). So I'm looking for some bright ideas more than a flaming. We are both out of the house from 8-6 or 8-8 in bad patches. One of us is usually okay to be home by 6.30 even if the other is working late.

We could both work a day at home per week I think, so four days a week in total including weekends. Could the rest ever be done by a dog walker without being cruel on the dog?

I don't see a time when we both won't work full time and I have wanted a dog for 8 years

Cruel is starving a dog, beating a dog , leaving a dog out in the cold with no shelter

Having a dog at home walking it before work, leaving it for 4 hours , warm and cosy then someone coming into walk it for 1 hour then leaving it again for 4 hours then walking it and feeding it and playing with it, giving it attention is not bloody cruel

Flaming drama queens

OP

Get the dog you want and get a dog walker to come in and let it out at lunch time , many dogs live quite happily like that

Don't listen to some of the nonsense on this post.

salene what an ignorant post. You really don't know too much about dogs. There are probably handful of dogs which don't like company, ive heard of them occasionally. Not that I've ever actually met one.

Salene. That's a dog shut in a house. Alone for 8 hours a day. I wouldn't do that. It's unfair.

It is entirely different leaving a dog for a few hours from time to time with no one in the house, to it being a permanent arrangement.

I hope as a reasonable person OP, you won't get a dog unless you can actually care for it yourself, or pay for someone to care for it in your absence. It's simply not fair on the dog otherwise.

I work 3 days a week from 8-4. Two of those days I pay £10 for a 2 hour group walk. They are usually still passed out when I get home! The other one day they go to daycare (at my dog walkers house) which is £20 including pick up drop off and 2-3 walks. It's a routine they've always had and don't seem to mind being left. I always leave them with stuffed kings to soften the blow!

I have two big dogs - we work full time, leave the house at 7.30, back by 5pm. They are, and always have been the laziest dogs known to man, even as pups.

They get walked morning and twice in the evening. I used to come home at lunch to walk them but it's 90oF here and they flat out refused to go out.
On both my maternity leaves they sniffed at the baby and then lay down for the whole of the day. Right now they are both asleep ignoring each other.
They get off leash walking and I take Frank in runs with me. But to say them being alone all day is cruel is laughable.
We rescued both of them, Elvis from the pound at 8 weeks, and Frank off the street when he was 7 weeks. They are happy and loved dogs.

OP I think if you have a dog walker or can take it to doggy day care a few days a week, it's perfectly feasible.

That's perfect holly.

I get so cross with people like salene talking such bollocks. Obviously not aware dogs are capable of chewing parts of their bodies through stress/boredom, or dogs having to be rehomed having caused neighbourhood problems throw howling so much. But imparting stupid advice happily.

People can have dogs and work a lot; but they need to put plans in action, so the dog they care about, are actually, you know, salene cared for

thickandthin.

I'm not talking bollocks thank you very much I worked for a dog rescue for years and we would happily rehome to working people, people in flats you name it..!

Why because there is over 20,000 bloody dogs PTS every year in the UK

And spouting nonsense like you can't work and use a dog walker because it's cruel to potential dog owners isn't helping the matter.

We needed people like this OP we had way more dogs than we could rehome

So you tell me what's cruel.. Having a dog in a loving home where it's left while owner works and a dog walker comes in to walk it or being left in kennels for months sometimes years to rot then being Killed because no one wanted it.

So I'm sorry you have zero clue what your talking about ..

I've seen cruel first hand and believe me the OP would be as far away from cruel as possible

OP please please go along to your local pound and save a dog from death.

Probably will get a flaming but - I've got two dogs and work full time. I have a dog walker come in at lunch time 2 or 3 times a week, I work from home 1 day a week so that means they are left 8 hours probably 1 or 2 days a week.

They are small breeds chihuahua and shih tzu and also go out for a walk every day when I finish work of 30-60 mins and off lead as much as possible. On the weekend we have long walks - go to the woods, the beach - wherever they can run.

They are content and happy. My dog walker says half the time they don't want to go out at lunch - as they are content in their beds. If I'm working at home they sleep most of the day and are fine.

I work in an office for a large company - and many of my colleagues also have dogs, all work full time. Some have dog walkers, most don't (and have larger breeds than mine), no one I know has doggy day care.

So maybe we're all not the norm but all our dogs seem perfectly happy and well. I might add that some of my colleagues have rescues - and imo 8 hours in a warm house on a comfy bed with water and biscuits is a hell of a lot better than being locked up in a cold kennel for 23 hours a day.

If you had someone come in and walk the dog it would be an option. Also if you can afford a cleaner if could be an option that she was in a few hrs and let the dog out in garden also.

So walk dog in morning, dog walker 10-12, cleaner 3-5pm to be company and let out whilst doing stuff,

Sparkle pup

There is nothing wrong with what you do, thousands of dogs live like that quite happy..

Some dogs do get separation anxiety and can't be left but most don't..

I've seen way to many dogs unwanted, uncared for to ever think a dog living in a home life, warm , fed and walked to ever think what you describe is not a suitable environment for a dog.

So any other working people who would like a dog but thinks it's not possible it is, very much so. There are So many poor dogs stuck on death row , just waiting for there chance at happiness.

I still think you're talking bollocks salene, and tbh highly sceptical to hear you've worked with a dog rescue. I'm involved with one, and would never rehome to fulltime workers without a plan for the dog not to be left for hours on end. Unless it's the one dog you get rarely that really doesn't mind being left with it's own company.

Obviously people do have dogs and work, as illustrated by this thread. Many have dog care in place, which is perfect. Many many more don't.

To the Op, I reiterate, if you can't afford a good covering of outside help to care for your dog, please don't get one. And essentially not a puppy.

When we got our dog we were in both working completely different jobs, it meant that he was never really left and the odd day he was a lady we knew picked him up an hour after I left for work and brought him home just before I was due to come home. She missed having a dog but didn't want the commitment of one full time to it worked out for us all.

Sadly circumstances changed which means that every 3 weeks we need to leave our dog (he's 6 years old, large lab cross) for 8 days in 21 (from7.30 to 3.15pm. Of the 8 days he goes out with a dog walker 4 days, I come home at lunch 2 days and my mum pops in for the other 2 days. He is ok with it now, he's left with some frozen kongs etc and hes happier it if one of our 3 cats stays in with him so we make sure that at least one is at home. I still feel guilty though as he's a sociable boy and I'm constantly looking at ways to reduce my hours or change jobs. If these had been my working arrangements before we had him then I probably wouldn't have had him or looked for a more chilled out dog or pair of dogs but things happen which are outside our control so we make the best of them. I absolutely love having a dog and make sure my days off revolve around lovely long walks with him. I should add he has 30 min walk in morning and an hour when I get home too.

Well u think what you like but I can assure you I have volebteered for one, not just one 3 in fact , a greyhound one, the a bull dog one and lastly a Stafford rescue for many years.

And I can assure you the Stafford rescue cannot be picky about rehoming, we got way to many dogs.

So the only person speaking rubbish here is you, but hey just you keep rehoming your 1 dog a year to the perfect home. And send any people like the OP to rescues who need to and want to rehome dogs.

I think even with a dog walker coming in every day it would be miserable for a dog.

When Dh got a new job and no longer worked from home I went from f/t to p/t as I couldn't stand the thought of my dog being on her own five days a week. And we have a lovely dog walker. But it's still a long time to be left five days a week with just an hour out for a walk. Dogs do get lonely. My dog might sleep amost of the day when I'm home but I know she prefers me being here. She follows me round the house.

I think the only way you could do it is with doggy daycare rather than a walker. Round here (North) it's £18 a day.

Salene if you volunteer in rescue why are you sending the OP to a pound?

Dogs will adapt - that is how dogs are different from wolves and how they are domesticated. However dogs prefer company and stimulation and to leave them regularly for hours a day is not ideal. Most dog lovers would recognise this and try to offer a better life to their dogs.

I have a fabulous dog walker who comes in twice a day and takes my little monster out for long group walks. I get photos sent to my phone of him running madly around and playing with his friends, and when I work from home I can see that he absolutely adores my dog walker (goes bonkers when she comes in) and that he sleeps for the rest of the time. So yes, it can be done although it's expensive. But we agreed that we'd only get a dog under the condition that no matter what, we wouldn't leave him on his own for more than 2/3 hours.

Because we also take dogs out the pound off death row when we can, pound dogs are way more needy than rescue dogs as rescue dogs are not often PTS but pound ones are...

It's that OK with you....do you approve of that..?

On the days you aren't there, you have a dog sitter/walker/cleaner who is there 10 to 4pm.... 6 hours a day, the three days a week that one of you isn't there, so about £180 a week, depending on where you live....

Yeah... because of course the only solution is to hire a bloody servant for SIX HOURS A DAY to look after the dog... this place is completely crazy sometimes, that's hilarious.

Four days a week with someone a home, and three days with a dog walker coming in, sounds absolutely fine, a much better deal than loads of dogs get.

Thank you so much for all your thoughtful comments. We will not be in this house situation changes. We probably could afford the daycare but it would have to be four or five days a week and I'm not sure what we'd do during the bad work patches. Thank you for contributing though. Here's to a dog in thirty years' time

We will not be getting a dog until our situation changes*

It is foolhardy to suggest to get a dog out of the pound in the situation that is being suggested. Pound dogs are not assessed, there is no back up or support.

It is generally recommended by ALL good rescues that dogs are taken from rescue so they will offer lifetime support which will then allow the rescues to get the dog from the pound.

LittleLIonHeart I am not sure where you are but Canine partners and assistance dog need weekend boarder/fosters. There dogs in training need to go to home situations at the weekend when they are not training. It is the best of both worlds for you and the dog. You can enjoy the dog while you are at home and it gives the dogs a weekend off - they come pretty trained too :)

OP, you don't have to give up on having doggy companionship. Go to your local rescue and go through the checks to take dogs out for walks. Look at the Cinnamon Trust. They do such bloody brilliant work. I volunteered for them for 12 months in 2011. It was so rewarding.

You seeem a reasonable person who gets that it isn't fair on the dog when he's alone so much. I really think volunteering somewhere would be something you'd enjoy.

It's very different to have your circumstances change and the dog needs to be left more. It's far from ideal but yes already there in these cases. To go out and deliberately bring a dog into a situation where he's left alone for hours is very different.

I highly doubt that salene has anything at all to do with rescue organisations. It smacks far too much of bullshit.

Hope rescue are often in need of Christmas and school holiday foster homes. The dogs are assessed and matched to the right foster home. If you had annual leave during these times maybe you could try it out while you are home? Even if it doesn't work out you would have given a dog a break from kennels for a week or two and your assessment of them in a home would go a long way to help find his or her forever home.

As someone else suggsted look at borrowmydoggy.