To get dog or not to get dog? That is the question.

[maskingtape]

I'd love a dog. I'd love the company, it would give me more fresh air and exercise and I think it would lift my mood. I love animals.

The problem is my working hours. I'm a teacher and I'm out of the house by 6.30am and not back until 5.30 ish. Obviously I'd get a dog walker for an hour at lunchtime but couldn't afford more than that on a regular basis. Occasionally I can work from home for 1 morning to do my planning time (but I'd have to be working). My parents could occasionally take them for the day too.

I could walk the dog for half an hour before work and nearly an hour after. Weekends and holidays I'd be there.

Would this work for a dog? I would trial it with a relative's dog first to see how it goes.

I work full time but a mixture of at home and in the office. My dog is on his own for a few hours and then he goes to daycare when I am in the office.

It can still be tiring as you need to devote your time to them before and after work. Even just the usual stuff of feeding them, cleaning up after them in the garden, grooming and training still needs to be done. DH and I operate as a tag team so one of us looks after the dog whilst the other does all the usual house chores before and after work. I wouldn't be without him but it does mean I have to devote all my spare time to him.

A definite NO to a puppy - have a look at some of the threads on here, some posters are in despair after just a few days

Possibly an older rescue dog would be ok with that regime, go and talk to a few and see if they have any suitable dogs - you might just fall in love with one

I would be wary of a retired greyhound. A lot of them have terrible separation anxiety as they bond so quickly to their new owners, many people find they can’t leave them alone at all at first without them barking excessively or being destructive. They’re don’t need as much exercise as people think but they really do hate being left alone especially initially.

I think that is far too long to leave a dog. Dogs like company and a dog left all those hours would be very lonely and likely to be destructive and/or bark/howl.

A puppy is a definite no. Puppies need training, not just toilet training but lead training, training not to chew things they are not meant to, plus they need lots of socialisation. I have a dog that was never socialised as a puppy and he has quite a lot of behavioural problems.

I know a few people who use borrowmydoggy. It's not just for walking dogs. My niece and one of my friends look after dogs in their own homes

The other consideration op, is when you have evening work related events, which as a teacher you must have from time to time, which would mean leaving your dog even longer.
I think if you really wanted a dog, it would work with an older dog who had two visits/walks a day, but you have indicated that is not possible. Dogs are lovely, but they are a real and continual tie on every aspect of your life.

i think if you have to ask, then answer is no

You would have to stretch to someone coming and letting the puppy out three times a day for a 30 minute session.
Here the dog sitters charge £6 for a 30 minute session, either a wee and a play or a 30 minute walk. More regular pet sitters would be better as a puppy as they would only be on their own for 2.5 ish hours at a time with 3 visits.
Although I still wouldn’t do it as I think 9 hours is too long to be left alone.
Also our puppy is fed 3 times a day so you’d been to factor that in.
I work 15 hours a week over 3 days and we do a mixture of dog sitter visiting, swapping dog day care with a friend (she sits ours for a day and we sit here), a dog walker and doggy daycare.
Our doggy day care is £8 for half a day.
I struggle enough with the puppy doing 15 hours a week as I don’t like her being left more than 1.5 hours at a time.
I think you’d struggle.
Our old dog however would have been ok with a 9 hour stint and an hour walk at lunch time.
But he was old and slept a lot.

838 ‘I love animals’
842 ‘I’m not a cat person’

A dog would meet your needs but you wouldn’t be able to meet theirs.

What would you do with a dog who developed higher needs say due to a health condition or old age.

Mine are 12 and 13 and need to be let out for toileting every hour or so. They just can’t hold like they did when they were younger. Girldog refuses to leave the house if the weather conditions are not right for her so if it’s raining (anything more than the lightest drizzle) or windy above a slight breeze and you cannot shift her. Do you fancy coming home to a house filled with the delicate aroma of dog poo/pee day after day.

Xmas pudding - I doubt there's many people who love all animals. For what it's worth I don't spiders, creepy crawlies, reptiles and cats.

I'm guessing the answer is no to a dog given these replies. Bang goes the one thing I was looking forward to. The only thing I was looking forward to.

Thousands of dogs must be left for more than 4 hours in a 24 hour period
There are. Which is just one reason why so many of them end up in rescue after they become destructive etc.

take your query to a rescue shelter, ask them to vet your suitability

It doesn't sound ideal, OP, and definitely not for a puppy. You need to be there round the clock with a new pup. We struggled with me working full time and DH part time (but different hours so someone was always at home) just because of the exhaustion and sleepless nights.

I agree with Gary above - go to a shelter and be honest about your situation; they will tell you if they have any dogs that would fit with your lifestyle - my feeling is that sadly, you just wouldn't be around enough, so a dog might be a pleasure you'll need to save for a time when your circumstances change - perhaps if you work fewer hours in the future, or even when you retire.

One of my cats is more dog like than cat like. Many people who’ve met her had no idea that quite a few cat breeds are quite dog like. I know you don’t like cats Op but here’s a pic of her just because she’s a superstar and fabulous

I'm a teacher and I wouldn't. I think I am at the more reasonable end of the scale of not thinking dogs should only be in A+++++ homes but that arrangement sounds very far from suitable I'm afraid. We went for a cat that is from a breed that is known to be over the top invested into you as a compromise despite wishing dearly we could have a dog.

Other teachers I know with dogs all put them in doggy daycare.

MaidenMotherCrone She's beautiful! Is she a Birman? I've heard oriental cats are very dog-like.

@MaidenMotherCrone beautiful! Ours is a Burmese cross and v dog-like!

@maskingtape any other pets you would enjoy other than dogs and cats?

She’s a Blue Oriental. I’m a long time Oriental/Siamese slave and they really are nothing like your average cat. I have a regular cat too (rescue) who is also gorgeous ( kisses me through the stairs everyday) but she’s a cat.

We have a dog. We got him as a puppy, I was at home with him 24/7 for 3 weeks and then went back to work. I did half days for about 2 months where he was left for 4 and a half hours a day alone.

At first we left him in 'his room', no soft furnishings, his crate and bed, lots of toys, pee pads, food and water. Then started testing him having access to the kitchen as well, gradually adding more rooms. Eventually we were able to leave him have free roam of the whole downstairs which he much preferred snoozing happily on sofa.

I then went back to work full time, he was alone for 4 hours, then had an hours walk (by dog walker) and was then alone for another 4 hours. At first he struggled with the extra 4 hours and we had chewed furniture, so we'd give him free roam of downstairs for the first half of the day, then the dog walker would return him to his room for the rest of the day. After a few weeks of him getting used to it, he was back having the whole of downstairs.

He was fine. He doesn't have seperation anxiety. He's a happy chap, and because we did it gradually he only seemingly had a few days of distress. We got lots of toys that interact with him throughout the day, e.g dispensing food every half hour etc. We leave the radio one and did have a puppy cam so we could make sure he wasn't distressed. We now never have to worry about popping out for a few hours.

I am only part time again now and will be off on maternity leave so he's got me back which is nice but he has turned out fine. So many people will say "you don't know that" etc and try and make you feel like your dog is distressed and mistreated and MN LOVES telling you to return the dog to breeder/rescue (I was told many a time at first)

The reality is many (if not most) dog owners work full time. Yes it is a large reason dogs end up in rescue, and yes some people take it too far, leave dogs too long, don't think about the dogs well-being etc. But a large amount of us also work full time and find a way to make it work so the dog IS happy. Its possible. It's not always easy and yes it's heartbreaking when you get home and see destruction caused by a bored or distressed puppy - but learn from that. We came home to it and instantly started trialling new things, new toys, new timings for the dog walker. Eventually we found something that worked.

MN is the worst place I've ever asked for dog advice as they seem to think unless you are at home 24/7 you are a terrible owner, your dog must be distressed and you must return them immediately. Bullshit!

Honestly, I think it would be very hard work for you, and expensive. Would any local dog walkers do longer than an hour? Mine doesn't do 'daycare' but she will have my dog for a whole morning or afternoon if I ask. It might be worth asking a few.

Our NDN's have a 5 year old labrador, that they walk for around 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes in the evening. It is left from 7.30am until around 6.30 pm and I've never seen anyone let it out. It howls in distress so much that many people including myself have contacted the RSPCA but always end up being told the dog is well cared for . I honestly feel like breaking their door down most days, and I can't even speak to them anymore.

Dogs will adapt to being left, but they are natural pack animals and will be miserable and lonely when you're not there. If you are that desperate to have one, could you go part time or find a different career that doesn't involve such long hours? What about working part time in a school then tutoring from home?

Catniss - there's a massive difference between that lab and most dogs from working owners.

I can't afford to go part time and it's not that simple in schools.

If you do decide to get a dog, perhaps the summer holidays would be a better time, assuming you get the six week school holiday? I know teachers have to spend a lot of that time on prepping and admin, but you would be at home for an extended period to settle the dog in.

He was fine. He doesn't have seperation anxiety. He's a happy chap, and because we did it gradually he only seemingly had a few days of distress

Lamoona - how do you know? It always amazes me when dog owners say their dog is 'fine' being left. How do you know he's fine and not just resigned to the fact that he will have no human company for most of the day and has learnt there's no point in complaining?
Just because a dog isn't chewing a house to bits and you're not getting reports from neighbours doesn't mean you know your dog is happy with the situation does it?

I was going to suggest a ‘dog like’ cat too but it sounds like you are really not interested in cats at all. Shame, it could have been the perfect solution.