Dog struggling to adjust to me working full time

[brownbear201]

Hi all,

I have a 10.5 year old Terrier cross. For pretty much his entire life I've been fortunate to not have to work full time so I've been around most of the time with the exception of the odd few hours. He's very bonded to me and will always choose to be with me if I'm home. I don't even get to go to the bathroom alone!

Since October, I've had to start working full time. I work 8:30-4pm Monday-Friday during term time. I don't leave him all day, he goes to my Mum's instead. She doesn't do too much with him tbh, she'll feed him and let him in the garden and she'll give him a little walk at lunch time. On my working days my dog routine is as follows:

7:30am- Walk in the woods, 30 minutes
8am- Drop him off at Mum's
c. 1:30pm- Mum takes him for a 15/20 minute walk
c. 4:30pm- I pick him up and take him for a 2 hour or so long walk
6:30pm- We go home
8:30pm- Sniffy walk around the block, 30 minutes
10:30pm- Bed time

On my non-working days it varies a lot but he'll generally get 2+ hours of walks and then my company for most of the day. But even if he only gets 1-1.5 hours of walks, as long as I'm with him, he's fine and will settle well.

On my working days, despite getting over 3 hours of exercise, he's a nightmare. Between us getting home at 6:30pm and our 8:30pm walk and then when we get back at 9pm until bed time he's really unsettled. He'll lie down for a minute or two and then get up and walk around for a bit and then repeat. He'll pace around the room and whine. He'll sit and stare at me. I've tried enrichment feeders but tbh he's not that interested.

As he's perfectly settled on non-working days, I know that the problem is me not being there during the day when I work. And I feel really, really guilty about it. But it's simply not realistic for me to cut down my hours or quit my job as I need the money to pay the bills.

I feel like I'm spending almost all of my time outside work entertaining him but it's still not enough for him to be content and happy. Does anyone have any suggestions for helping him adjust? I feel like a terrible dog owner atm!

Wow he's pretty lucky with that set up really. Do you think he might prefer a shorter walk when you pick him up and more sofa snuggles instead? You're definitely not a terrible dog owner though.

That’s a lot of walking. How big is he ?

Maybe it’s the day at your mums away from his home that’s unsettling him, might work better if your mum or a dog walker pops to yours in the middle of the day for an hour

I was wondering this - maybe it is doubly unsettling in the sense that firstly you are there and secondly he’s at your mum’s?
Could you try your mum coming to you one day to see if things are different?

Thanks all so far!

He's 11kg and yes it's a lot of walking lol, I don't have time for much else!

I never thought about that regarding my Mum's, I just assumed he'd be worse if he had no company during the day. I couldn't ask Mum to stay at mine all day, but I could definitely arrange for someone to come in at lunchtime and walk him.

That's a huge amount of walking for a senior dog - I wonder if he might be in a bit of pain and therefore unable to settle properly?

Are you walking him so much because you feel guilty that you're at work all day? He honestly doesn't need it.

Yes, that could be true. On my working days, yes I do walk him a lot because I feel guilty about working all day. I do enjoy walking though and will sometimes do similar on my non-working days and he has no problem settling then.

Three hours a day, five days in a row is a lot for a senior dog - I'd say half an hour, three times a day should be perfectly adequate at that age.

So for now, I would cut back on his exercise and see if it makes a difference. I'd also want to get him checked over by a vet in case he has the beginnings of arthritis and needs some supplements or painkillers.

If he's pain free and this doesn't help, I would see if he's happier at home with a dog walker coming in at lunchtime instead.

Thank you, I will give this a go and see if it helps. He's due to see the vet shortly anyway for his annual MOT so I'll mention it to the vet.

It's definitely worth asking - I think research has shown that most dogs benefit from joint supplements as they get older, even if they don't need medication yet.

YuMove is excellent for joints and so is green-lipped Mussel, but I'd want him checked for pain first as you don't want any symptoms to vanish before the vet appointment!