Would anyone share with me their dog care routine when they work?

[Ruizy]

I have a 2 year old dog and I haven’t worked for
many years when kids were little (now 10 and 12). I would
really like to go back to work but I am feeling overwhelmed with the responsibilities of looking after both dc and dog too. Do you walk before you go to work? I would need to get up a bit earlier to do this but is doable. Then get dog Walker in sometime to take dog out and then walk again when I get home? I am hoping to find something school hours so hopefully make it more manageable.

I allocate an hour of my getting ready for work routine to the dogs each morning. They get a 45 minute walk and the remaining 15 minutes is taken up by me and them getting ready for the walk, then sorting them out when we get back, a quick shower occasionally if they get really muddy, feeding them etc. It also gives me a few minutes buffer if I bump into one of my chatty neighbours on the way back from walking.

I get out of bed and walk them first thing and then shower on my return and get dressed for work and make sure the teens are ready for school.

I'm out of the house from 9am - 2pm and will walk the dogs again when I return from work. In the summer we will walk as a family in the evening, but with the shorter winter daylight hours I walk them in the afternoon by myself as soon as I get back from work.

My top tip is to leave them with a couple of stuffed Kongs each to keep them busy. I have a pet-cam so I can see what the dogs are up to during the day. I find if they are in their routine of walk, breakfast, kongs, they then sleep peacefully until I return.

That sounds good. They obviously manage ok with 5 hours away? Just need to find a job that fits those hours

It depends on the dog - how long can yours be left alone now? Are they good with other dogs or would they need to be walked solo?

I only ask because dog walkers are full to bursting in most places and solo walks probably won't be at midday and will be much pricier than groups.

If your dog can't be left, there's the option of daycare but again most of them are full with waiting lists.

If you're planning to go back to work, get your dog care arranged beforehand - as a dog walker, I can't tell you how many people I've turned away because they've left arrangements until the last minute and I'm totally full up!

She is ok with other dogs not aggressive or anything. A bit timid. She is a border collie so I know they get a bad rep with others as being not good with other dogs so am I am vigilant to be careful about any interactions to make sure she doesn’t have a bas experience. Which may be the difficult thing about dog walkers as they would obviously have other priorities with other dogs also.

i wondered if I could pop back and walk her at lunchtime maybe if I worked close but maybe that’s not really practical long term.

She is fine being left on her own. We have done 4 hours no problems. Although it tends to be in the afternoon rather than the morning but I think it would be easy enough to change that routine

I would speak to your local dog walkers and see what availability they have. Also make sure they've worked with border collies before and know about herding instinct etc.

I walk several border collies and while they're lovely dogs, none of them would cope in big groups so you may find that an issue if you're going to be wanting lunchtime walks.

Another option is get the dog walker to come earlier/later and then come back again for a pop-in for the toilet.

Yes she would cope in a group as long as the other dogs are very placid which is a lot to ask I guess. She loves to chase any little spaniels who charge around in circles which I think is a herding instinct probably so I always have to watch her so she doesn’t practice that. I know a local dog Walker who rents a field and lets all the dogs play together there which would be very stressful for her!

When we worked in the office, DH would walk the dog before he left so before 8, the dog walker would take him out at lunchtime- around 11.30-12.30/1 and DS would be home from school around 4.

Mind we haven't done that for a couple of years now because DH mostly WFH. I would trial your dog with a dog walker and see how they get on - unfortunately lunchtime spots are the most popular for obvious reasons.

Yes, definitely not ideal for most collies! Not really ideal for most dogs either IMO but that's a whole other thread

I think the main issue you'll have is finding space with a suitable walker so I would honestly start asking around now. If you can be flexible with times that helps a lot too. I personally work on a slots basis - morning, lunch or afternoon. Each slot is two hours and your dog can be picked up at any time within that two hour period which allows me to be flexible depending on who's booked in that day.

I always try and honour an owners' preferred time but it's just not always possible - roadworks, a flat tyre, traffic - any one of those things throws off my entire day, lol.

Thanks that’s helpful to know. I was hoping for a job for instance in a school so I can be home around 3, so maybe a morning slot would work ok

We always walked our dog before work/school and managed without outside help as between my PT hours, DC college and DH shifts,
Ddog wasn't left for too long.

In your position it sounds as if a morning slot with a dog Walker may be helpful as this would save you time in the morning. But if you've always been at home this is two different changes to introduce your dog to. It's positive that she is OK with being left though .

We have a Border Collie and we both work full time, but DH does shifts so he’s worked all weekend for example but will be off Monday and Tuesday. We manage it by having two fixed days a week at a dog daycare place which specialises in high energy breeds - they have agility equipment for example, and it’s run from a stable. The people who run it are proper farmers/countryside people and they are amazing with her. She ADORES them. It’s expensive tho-£60 a week for two days. Then the other days if DH is on an early we try to book a dog walker or occasionally the in-laws have her for the day. They have a batshit crazy working cocker spaniel themselves though, so we don’t want to impose too much 🤣 if he’s on a late then he takes her for a big walk in the morning and then she’s fine from 12.30-4.30 when I get home. Our dog walkers she’s known since she was a tiny puppy and they manage her really well. She’s a bit grumpy with dogs she doesn’t know when she’s with us, but in a group walking dynamic she copes much better. I think it’s a security thing, she feels safe as part of a pack with lots of other dogs. She can cope for 4/5 hours on her own perfectly happily and just sleeps. It can be a bit chaotic and we’ve had to throw money at the situation but she’s happy enough ❤️

Yes - if she's okay for four hours then a walk first thing, plus a dog walker coming in mid morning could work perfectly.

I have a lot of shift workers on my books and they book mid-morning walks and then come home mid-afternoon to take them again - the dogs are all fine.

We use a doggy day care, we both work full time and it's not really any dearer than a dog walker.

Can I ask whereabouts you live?

Most dog walkers are about half to a third of the price of daycare.

@thelobsterquadrille We live in the north west, it costs us £15 per day for daycare and local walkers charge around £10 for a 30 min solo walk/ longer group walk or £15 for an hour solo walk.

Is that daycare in someone's home or in a kennel/commercial type setting?

@thelobsterquadrille It's a fully registered commercial type setting.

Ah okay, I was more thinking of home daycares, thanks!

We have 2 dogs, one who is old and one younger. We both work full time and recently I have had to go back to working in the office but do some home visits so try to be flexible and get home in time to walk them before it gets dark. DH walks them in the morning before work for a good half hour at least off lead walk. Then they get another short walk ( road walk ) in the evening. Teenage kids are often around in the day for a few hours so they are not on their own for hours on end. I do feel guilty leaving them though. When in a previous job working four days I had a dog walker a few days a week. Not sure finances would stretch to that right now though.

6.30am Wake up, dogs out for a pee to the garden, feed me, feed dogs, get dressed and out for 6.45/7am for 1 hour walk .

I work 8.30 to 4.30 so away from 8 till 5, I get a dog walker 2 days per week and the other 3 days the dogs spend all day in their outdoor kennel and run

They are honestly more chilled after a day at home themselves than they are if they've had a walk mid day 😂

I walk them after work the days I don't have a dog walker and I am always conscious of planning things in the evenings as I feel they are at the upper limit of time they spend themselves.