Single and work full time - how to manage the puppy stage?

[wannabedogmama]

Hi all

I've been desperate for a dog for years and finally in as good a position as I think I'm ever going to be to get one

I am looking at small low exercise breeds, I will be able to walk them in the morning and evening and have budgeted for a daily dog walker or doggy day care during the day once they are 6 months old.

My problem now is the puppy months, how do people manage this if they work full time? I can book the first couple of weeks off and also come home at lunch time but at what age can puppies be left for 4 or so hours at a time? The dog walker I have looked into also offers 30 minute puppy visits so would that work?

I'm looking at Shih Tzus, King Charles' & Pugs - does anyone think any of those would be more or less suitable for me than the others?

Before everyone says I shouldn't be getting a puppy, i've looked into rescues for older dogs but all of the local ones have policies against homing to people working full time. I have a lot of time to give it evenings and weekends.

Totally agree with pigsDOfly, dogs can survive or will thrive. Your choice!

How about doing having a part-time dog whilst helping a disabled or ill person to keep theirs? The Cinnamon Trust is a charity which matches volunteer dog walkers / sitters with those who need help to keep their dogs. Alternatively you could ask local vets if they know anyone who needs help with a dog. There is also a commercial website called Borrow My Doggy which matches dog-sharers, though I don't know how good it is.

If you are determined to have your own dog, you could contact breeders or breed rescues and ask if they have any older dogs which need a home. No reputable breeder would sell you a puppy when you work full time, but perhaps - just perhaps - it would suit an elderly dog. Not ideal for any dog, though.

I know you have worked out a plan, but there are too many weak links in that chain. The dog would be lonely. You may well find you can't afford so many walker visits. The walker might let you down. We went through several and were let down lots before finding a good dog walking team. The dog may turn out to have health problems (very very likely with pugs, and fairly likely with Cavaliers). The dog may turn out to be hard to train. This is just a recipe for an unhappy animal. People who work full time may have two dogs so they have company - that can work well and is very different from having just one poor pup alone all day - but buying two puppies when you're out all day would be madness as they'd be unlikely to be properly socialised and it's very hard to train two pups together - often you end up with two problem dogs, if you're not careful.

@ Lazy puppy

Dog camera or not dogs sleep as a default so if they are bored they will sleep. Depressed dogs sleep more. Sleeping all day while you watch him on camera from work doesn’t mean he is happy.

Sarsparella
One of mine was very much like your grey (he was a lovely dog )
Two we’ve had have been at the very opposite end of that spectrum and were loons without a couple of hours offlead a day. One of them would just bark repeatedly and tear around until she was taken out!

One of my current ones has appalling separation anxiety and is only now (1yr post adoption) starting to be ok when left.

Not all greyhounds are easy.

but perhaps - just perhaps - it would suit an elderly dog

I don’t think so, we wouldn’t dream of leaving our 13 year old dog, who is very fit and well, for the length of time the OP is on about.

Hasn’t happened yet because we don’t do it but I am not sure I would want to be testing my old girl’s bladder for that long.

An old dog deserves to be cosseted and cared for just as much as anything else.

Clearly the OP doesn’t understand what a dog needs to make it happy, survive or thrive.

In case you are still reading, we are 4 weeks in to our puppy and am expecting judgements but we both work full time. We did get a rescue puppy, and were up front in our curcunstances. While its not ideal, not sure being stuck in a rescue would have been any better, as most of his litter are still there. The rescue do really struggle to find adopters who want large breeds.

Ours is a bit of a mix, defo some ridgeback and some mastiff. We both work full time, but did take time off and work from home to build up but our routine is:

5am - i get up with puppy, play, exercise till 6, jump in shower, dp gets up and looks after him. 6.30 kids get up, i leave for work and dp and kids in charge till 8.30.

11ish we have a sitter come in for 1.5 to 2 hours. At 3.10 the boys get home from school. We are in australia and it does seem much more common to have dogs and work full time.

We dont crate, he has full range of open plan kitchen, will get a doggy door sorted soon. He also sleeps in dog bed at side of my bed.

Depemding on whether he is more ridgeback or mastiff he will potentially need long runs, so have built in routine where i can get up and run a good few kms before work if need be. He does get a good 3 hours of attention and play, generally ether asleep or on his way to sleep by time dp leaves in morning. Have checked with neigbour who works at home and hes not heard any barking or crying. We have also been lucky in that he has been really trainable, so was going through night with no accidents after a couple of weeks, and last week there were maybe 2 or 3 during day.

It is hard work and i hadnt expected to love and worry about him quite as much as i do.

Hi Everyone

Thought I would be brave and come back and thank those posters who left constructive advice.

I did not flounce, I have read all of the posts and taken everyone’s comments on board. I do feel that some posters were un-necessarily harsh - at no point did I say that I would definitely be getting a puppy no matter what or that I would be leaving it alone for 8 or even 4 hours, I was asking for advice on steps I needed to take to make it fair on the dog.

Based on comments here and lots of other research I have done i’ve worked out a plan on how I can look after the puppy for the first 4 months (combination of working from home and help from family) then when it is old enough it will go to doggy day care when I am work.

It will never be left alone for more than 3-4 hours

Sounds like a good solution. Make sure you definitely get your name down at doggy day care as soon as you have your puppy as they can be very busy and often have a limit of max number of dogs they take.

I am so glad I sent mine to daycare as he got and still gets lots of experiences I would never have been able to give him and it's great knowing they are safe and having fun when you are at work.

Top tip, when you are at home for the first 4 months make sure you work on the leaving him/her alone for a few minutes and gradually build up that time.

Sounds like you've got it all covered OP, which is great and all that's needed.

Posters on here can sound harsh sometimes but it's because they know dogs - some of them are incredibly well informed - and how important it is to treat a dog properly.

Anyone can get a dog, and neglect it, many do, or rehome it when they realize that that cute fluffy bundle of fur, is a living breathing creature that has needs of its own and they can't cope.

Dogs need a great deal of input and care to be well rounded, happy and properly trained. There are so many out there that have been treated badly and a lot of the posters on here have rescued dogs from those kind of situations.

Hope you get the dog you want and it works well for you and the dog.

Nice update - well done, OP and good luck!

I agree with you MyGirlDaisy. I really dislike how people trot out "get a greyhound" as though they are all the same and don't have the same needs as other dogs.

Great stuff

I opted to avoid a puppy as didn't feel it was fair, they need such a lot of input & its also difficult to provide consistency in training/socialising if handing majority of care per week over to others www.thepuppyplan.com

Instead i adopted a pair of greyhounds, I worked full-time locally & could pop home in my lunch hour. It can work with a single greyhound as I know lots of owners who've taken that route but I knew it was likely we'd end up with 2 dogs eventually & felt better with them having company in the day. I had a DP to help out though I did majority of care/walks.

I'm now single with 3 dogs & use a dog walker to visit on the full days I'm out. They wouldn't suit day care environment, much prefer a quiet life. Its often when they get sick its difficult with work, previous dog got an eye ulcer (brain tumour stopped his eyelid closing fully) and needed eye drops frequently during the day. Other had to be on crate rest for a month due to spinal disc.
Lots of rescues will home out of there local area or work using a network of foster homes rather than kennels so you aren't limited to few nearby. Not all will consider full-time workers due to the higher risks of it not working out for the dog, but there are plenty that will especially if you can show you've a care plan while out.
There's breed specific along with general rescues about and some that come under umbrella organizations like greyhound trust & RSPCA are independently run so homing criteria (and quality of rescue) can vary by branch.

I would avoid pug & cavalier both highly likely to cause heartache with health & expensive vet fees/ insurance, bare in mind Shi tzu can also be quite noisy.

To house train any puppy you need to be there, taking him outside at least every hour, after sleeping, after eating. He needs nearly constant attention to socialise and train him. He needs company all the time he’s awake. He needs four meals a day, gradually reducing. When he’s a teenager he’ll be difficult.
Leaving any puppy for three or four hours will make him lonely, destructive and crazy with boredom.
If you like dogs you won’t inflict this on one just so you can see him in the evenings.