Why are people so judgmental?

[Batwomanandrobin]

I left an abusive relationship some months ago, he was an alcoholic and also displayed extreme mood swings which made it unsafe for my dog and I to remain, so when I left I took her with me for her safety, I'll be working full time so she'll be on her own during the day, however I've arranged for a dog walker whilst I'm out and will be walking her myself before and after going and coming back from work, I can't believe how much criticism I'm getting for doing this, the negative comments are really upsetting me, I know the situation isn't ideal but she's far safer now than she ever was before...It's as if people think she'd be better off where she was before, even though my ex partner had no consideration for her safety and put her at risk on a number of occasions...I wish people would take the whole picture into account before they passed judgement...sorry for the rant just feel really bad about it all.

No judgement from me, I also had a period where DDog was being left 10 hours a day. He coped.

Life isn't always smooth and plain sailing, sometimes dogs come into our lives at that point, and I think sometimes people think you should only get a dog when life is 100% perfect and is guaranteed to stay that way (if only it worked like that!)

The people who judge you would also judge you for staying with your ex, or for rehoming your dog. You can't win with these people. Ignore them, and keep doing the best you can for yourself and DDog.

I don't know anyone who would judge in that situation.

Honestly - I'm a dog walker. The VAST majority of my clients do exactly what you do. Walk the dog in the morning, go to work all day and have me pop in and do another walk at lunchtime. They then walk the dog again in the evening. The dogs are all absolutely fine.

Unless your dog has separation anxiety or barks the whole time, it's fine. Honestly. She is safe, loved, exercised, fed and happy. Please don't let peoples' narrow-mindedness get to you.

You've done such a brave thing - you should be so proud of yourself

Don't let others make you feel bad, you worked hard to get safe and I'm sure your dog has a very happy life with you as you clearly care deeply about her welfare. They are all individuals so what suits one dog, may not another.

I used to pre-WFH and the rescue we adopted from were fine with it (walk+ 4hr alone + walk/ garden play + 4hr alone + walk) although this only works if your dog is comfortable with being left that long and isn't displaying signs of anxiety or boredom, such as noise, toileting or destructive behaviours. Luckily are more dogwalkers, daycares/home boarders these days to help cater for those that may struggle.

My dogs were happy with 6hr in one go but they tend to drink less when home alone so would be bad for their health regularly. I use a security camera so could check on them while out and they mainly slept, only getting up to get a drink or change snooze spot and occasionally they'd have a mad play for 5mins before sleeping it off. I noticed with the US owners of my breed it appears more normal to leave dogs home alone full working day so sometimes 10-12hrs which personally I think sounds too long regularly but just shows it can be more of a culture of what's deemed acceptable rather than a black & white answer.