@Dollygirl2008
I am literally desperate for a dog. I grew up with dogs and have wanted one since I left home but have never been able to due to work commitments. I've now got a new job very local and would only be going into the office once or twice a week.
I'm just being honest here as I need someone to tell whether they think it's possible. My mum made it look so easy. I know it's not. I know they're a tie - a big one. It's just my DD and I. How could I make this work? I would only want a small dog - what breeds would you recommend? I'm hoping to either take the dog with me to work or to have a dog Walker once a week.
I know everyone has to begin somewhere, but where do I begin?!
Imagine your work circumstances change and you are back to being out of the house and in the office full time Mon-Fri.
Could you reasonably or realistically afford a regular walker every day or for something like doggy day care each day?
You'd be hard pressed but lucky if you can find a job that will allow you to take the dog to work because not everyone is dog friendly, not many employers and workplaces want the aggro and possible issues that can come with it and very, very few people would be on board mostly because the rule would have to be for all and then you had a nightmare of an office full of dogs, everyone falling out cos of everyone's else's dogs and the grief and headache that it would bring just isn't worth it not even for lifelong dog lovers.
You need to plan for the worst case scenario, imagine if you have to return to full time work or manage on just one salary in case of short-term, temporary changes and make sure every nightmare doom, gloom and possible bad side to figure out for sure if you still have the realistic means, money and resources to ensure any dog isn't going to suffer in the fallout and be left at home alone all day.
I get where you're coming from and how hard it is when you've always had dogs, desperately miss them and wish like mad you had one but fair play to you for being open to it not being the best idea and asking for impartial thoughts from others.
One option you could look into is being a boarder / holiday home for dogs whose owners are away and need a temporary dog friendly home for their pets to stay with whilst they're gone. It gives you the chance to get your dog fix but without the full time long term commitments. That said it can come with risk and there are some dog holiday boarding people that don't do things how they should but you could still look at offering privately in local sites and ads.
You can offer up your home to dogs and choose who, when and what dog comes to stay based around what works for you, tie it in with things like annual leave you have booked off and it gives you the freedom and choice. Would still need to arrange for things like insurance or do a bit of paperwork to cover the basics and make sure everyone is on the same page and understands the basics of what you can and can't do etc but once that's set up and established you have the freedom to enjoy having a dog come to stay and earn some extra pennies as well.
Dogs are even harder than kids in many respects. You can get people to look after young kids, take them to shops, restaurants and go more or less anywhere with kids but you're limited with dogs.
We have border collies, foster short-term temporary placements for a rescue to help gets dogs trained, boost confidence and get them prepped and ready for when they move into their permanent new home and I love it despite it being a full time job. That's a luxury and a privilege cos I'm at home all day ever day, our kids are both adults (living at home whilst they finish uni but at home in case I need to be somewhere or we want to go away) and we have the time, space, spends and experience to do it.
House is a constant shit tip between toys, muddy paw prints, shake splatters, dog hair tumble-weed and them going straight in head first at the river and the smallest tiniest puddle they can find. It would not do for someone that keeps an immaculate house and if my husband were one that liked to come home to a nice tidy home and not fall over daft giddy dogs greeting him at the door and if we weren't on exactly the same page – it would be hard to manage and we wouldn't have mental ass border collies in the first place.
I'd suggest breeds and dogs that might be suitable in terms of not needing as much time, effort and exercise but honestly, you still need to have daily provision in the form of a walker or day care every day regardless.
First thing that's worth looking at is the home holiday boarding places you could register interest with or see if there are any local dog owners looking for local trusted homes.
Can't vouch for any of these but including links to a few.
www.holidays4dogs.co.uk
www.barkingmad.uk.com
www.borrowmydoggy.com
I do get where you're coming from. My daughter (now 23 and moved out) desperately misses not having our dogs around but says when she's feeling a bit down and sorry for herself, she watches clips or her favourite border collie videos on YouTube, gets teary for a moment then remembers it is a full time job with no day off.