Walking - how long do you?

[AtSea1979]

Is it possible to have a dog and work full time?
How often/long do you actually walk your dog?
Considering getting one but sadly don’t think I have the time.

I am out for about 1 hour 20 minutes.
of that it is 10-15 to the nature reserve on a lead, and same back at the end.
The rest he is off the lead and running and running and running and running and ..... like a bullet/rocket etc non stop, he just goes and goes.

If he can, dh takes him out for a 20 minute run after dinner.

Don't think he is typical though!

We have fostered dogs and they all got a 1 hour walk on a long lead (so no manic running!) That was just right

40 mins twice a day. He’s had periods of less though (when we had a non sleeping newborn as well as a non sleeping toddler and were too bloody exhausted) and he was fine and happy.

We both worked full time for the first 3 years of having him, I’m a SAHM now though.

I think your issue is not the walking, but leaving him all day every day. You would need to pop home at lunchtime, or get a dog walker

1 hour weekdays, longer at the weekends. Me and my partner work full time, go home at lunch and walk after work. This means it's dark in winter but she has a light up collar on and walk her with my sister's dog as it tires her out more (also doesn't like walking in the dark by herself).

I work full time but a mix of office and home. You don't just have to consider whether you have time to walk them but everything else (feed, groom, vets visits, training if young ish, etc).

My dog goes to daycare when I am in the office but even so the mornings are rushed with a 20min walk for toileting and then feeding etc. DH and I play a bit of a tag team where one of us does the sorting stuff for work or shower whilst the other looks after the dog. I don't walk him again in the evening as he will have had two long walks at daycare.

I work full time, but do the majority of the work of looking after my friend's dog. He works full time and frankly doesn't have time to look after his dog. I do what I can, but draw the line at paying for day care for someone else's dog.

You will have to accept that you need to be out of the office pronto every night; no staying late to finish those emails or go to drinks. You can't go to the gym, to an evening class, or even shopping after work because you need to get home for the dog. I don't have kids. Business trips and holidays become expensive if you need boarding (£30 per 24 hours here for home based boarding). I leave the office at 5, home for 6, rarely back home from walkies before 8 (small high energy terrier mix). The quality of my cooking has gone down substantially.

I manage because DDog came into my life at a point where a lot of other stuff had imploded and disappeared from my life, and he replaced much of that, but there are sacrifices to be made and only you know how much that would hurt you. Are you prepared to have your whole week revolve around your dog?

I'm perpetually surprised that the dog manages as well as he does being left for the day; he must have a bladder of steel and miraculously never destroys anything. Many dogs just wouldn't cope.

Ours generally get two walks a day. The first one is around 1 hour, the second one around 30 minutes.

Both dogs are now 7 and I have noticed that the second walk can be a bit much for them - particularly the beagle-, especially in the warmer months, so often I will just stroll around our property (acreage) with them, or I'll take them to the local lake so that they can have a dip and a bit of a walk there.

DH works full time. I work 3 days. 40 minute walk in morning, 1 hour (ish)walk at lunch time or dog walker will take her out for up to 3 hours then 40 minutes (ish) at night.

I work Mon-Fri and DP works shifts. If both me and DP are at work, Ddog either goes to daycare or is walked for 30/40 mins before work and then my parents walk him with their Ddog during the day for an hour or so and he is walked again when we are home.
DP can also nip home during the day to let Ddog out for a wee.

We have a 7 year old beagle who struggles in the heat too!

Daily walking time is anything between 1-2 hours in one, two or three session - but mine is just a youngster at the minute and I am not working so take time in the day to do training and play sessions.

Once back at work I expect to do 60-90 mins a day walking and hire a dog walker for an hour during the day.

Springer.

I work from home so that makes it easier.

Elfpup gets one 90 minute walk in the morning and maybe another 20-30 minutes in the afternoon if he's being a pest

Mine is out with me about 40 mins before work, 1.5 hours after work and then get an hour at lunchtime with the dog walker
I work from home a day a week and then he prob gets an hour in morning and a couple of hours in the evening.

Thank you so much for the replies. There’s no way I could magic up another 2 hours to my day every day. I don’t know how much day care is but i’m guessing I couldn’t afford it 5 days a week.

Depends on dog type. A shirts for example only needs about 30 mins.

I don’t think you can work full time and have a dog without using doggy day care, even a dog walker for an hour means the dog is alone for a lot of hours over the week! I work part time and ddog has company 6 days a week and a dog walker on the shorter working day. I don’t know how the PPs posters manage such long walks every day though... ddog is happy with a shorter walk on some days as long as he has company

DDog who is 10 comes out with me in the morning and plays ball with me whilst I muck out the horses for an hour. She then has breakfast and sleeps until about 3pm when we go to get them in. After that it's dinner and a nap on the sofa until a quick turn round the garden before bed! Right now she is snoring beside me

Thank you so much for the replies. There’s no way I could magic up another 2 hours to my day every day. I don’t know how much day care is but i’m guessing I couldn’t afford it 5 days a week.

Sounds like it's not really realistic for you at this point in your life. You've done the right thing by asking though - I wish more people did before they got a dog. Day care is pricey! Varies by region but you could easily be spending a hundred quid a week on it.

Daycare can be pricey as you need to probably budget around £20 per day for full day care. Worth every penny if you can afford it but need to factor that in before you commit to a young dog that may need lots of human company.

Yes - daycare is expensive, as are dog walkers and that's just while you're at work - the change to your lifestyle in thinking of how they'll be looked after all the time is hard to manage/adjust to.

Some dogs would be fine with 2 short walks a day - a couple of goes around the block, 15-20 minutes. My MIL has a toy breed who actually doesn't enjoy walking any further, and sits down/tries to turn home! But for me, that wouldn't be what having a dog is about - I want to be out and walking them - so I waited until it was feasible. Also, any breed like my MIL's that doesn't need much of a walk is probably a companion breed, and so would hate being left.

I'm just going back to work after maternity and looking to get a dog walker which looks to be cheaper than day care. Someone recommended mypetpeople.co.uk to help me find local ones and have been given tips on what to ask them.