To get a dog if we work FT

[DogLover20]

DH and I work full time. I work from home 2 days a week, DH almost always works in the office.
Is it cruel to get a dog if he’d be on his own during the day 3 days a week? We’d be out from 8ish in the morning to 5-6pm.
It’s be a small dog that could use a cat flap to go in the garden.
I want DD to grow up with a pet and I am a dog lover. Don’t think I could have a cat as am terrified they’d bring mice in and cannot deal with that.
Wouls it be selfish to get a dog?

Mine is £42 😱 £37 when she is no longer a "puppy"

Dogs are damn expensive in comparison to cats.

Don't do it.

We've adopted a small dog, she's a PomChi, but she came with separation anxiety so cannot be left alone - or she'll wail the house down. We both work FT BUT he's only in the office Tuesdays/Wednesdays, I'm in the office on Thursdays, and the rest of the time we're working from home, the dog is never alone. Doggy daycare is oversubscribed so we would use my mother in law or friends if she needed to be left without us for any amount of time.

No. Don't be so selfish!

They do.

But what happens if the dog isn't okay alone and OP can't afford to spend hundreds of pounds on daycare?

@DogLover20

I do think 3 days a week at home alone all day is too much. When DH and I were both working FT we did not get a dog until one of us had given up work.

Yes a dog walker could work but consider the cost of that 3 days a week & finding decent dog walkers / carers can be hard. I hate seeing dog walkers taking too many dogs out all at once. Also considering holidays etc is a thing. FIL used to look after our dogs & then lovely woman I know who loves dogs ( has her own ) would look after them but then for reasons couldn't - so now we pretty much go on holiday in the UK to dog friendly places and take them with us.

Also as others have said depends on breed / age of dog , some will be more amenable than others , but still 3 days alone I think is too much. Puppies can be hard work and need (IMHO ) someone around all the time.

It doesn't sound feasible to me at the moment - whether that is the answer you want - it is my honest response. 💐

Don't get a dog to stick it in daycare, smh, what is wrong with people!

As pretty much everyone else has said, this is a truly terrible idea. You’d need an awful lot of things to line up (a dog that’s ok to be left, that actually would enjoy day care, old enough not to need constant supervision/ toilet training). But I commend you for asking the question - a lot of people would have just forged ahead.

You can do it but it takes thought and not a puppy. You’d also need to go for more independent breed. I have terriers for that reason!

Our last dog was left 4 hours in the morning then 1-2 in the afternoon with a hour break in the middle when I came home for lunch. That was term time only (school worker) . Outside these times our lives revolved around her. No children. She did agility, competed, long walks and holidays with us. She was about 2 when we started that and she had no problems with the routine. She died after a long and happy life.

We’ve now got a pup and OH WFH. No way can you do it with a puppy unless you employ a sitter or day care. At 7 months ours is nowhere near being able to cope with that and she’s an independent breed. But still very much a baby. We’re booking a sitter for the odd day he’s in the office even though I work a few minutes walk away.

An adult dog SHOULD cope ok with that with training as long as their needs were being met elsewhere. But not a pup until 18 months - 2 years.

OP you asked if it would be selfish to get a dog given your lifestyle, remember?

People said yes it would.

They are not saying you are selfish for asking the question, they are answering your question.

You cannot leave a dog alone for 10 hours. We have 2 dogs therefore they have company when we are out and the longest we will leave them alone is 4 hours, and it's very rare they are alone for that long. My 2 adult DD's live at home, DH and both DD's work shifts and I would from home 2/3 days a week so during the week there is usually always someone at home. I can choose which days I work from home.

You could still get a dog but you will need to consider the following.

1. Age of the dog, the puppy stage will be a nightmare with you being out of the house so often so would recommend an older dog.
2. Look into options for the days you are out, including cost. Day care works for some dogs but not all, so you might need a good dog sitter / walker.
3. Go to a rescue, be honest about your situation and let them match you with a suitable dog. A rescue is unlikely to accept you without having a solution in place for when you are at work but some dogs are okay with being left for short periods so if you had a reliable dog sitter then it could work with the right dog.
4. Be flexible around breeds, retired greyhounds only need a short walk and are generally quite lazy so might be an option.

Shitadoodles 😂

Imagine peoples reaction if you said that about children and childcare!

I agree with pp suggestion of retired greyhound- pre covid 2 colleagues of mine worked full time in an office and had rehomed a retired greyhounds, apparently they have short 10 minute burst of energy whilst having their daily walks then sleep all day! They were adored and pampered dogs- Im as sure as I can be that they werent neglected or unhappy. Its down to temperament of dog really, my labrador follows me around but my springer/ weimaraner cross barely looks up as I walk into the room (he does need long walks but afterwards hes happy relaxing for hours) 2 dogs would keep each other company.

To even ask the question means you are too irresponsible to have a dog!

@flutterbyebaby Ah - be honest I don't think asking the question means too irresponsible to have a dog it might just mean that after questions and advice , @DogLover20 doesn't get a dog right now. That is fine . It does sound like a retired grey hound may suit but it relies on the potential owner being scrupulously honest about the conditions and environment in which the dog will be kept.

I wouldn't leave a puppy for very long as they need to be taken out to do their business and get used to people, sounds of everyday life, traffic etc. We work from home though upstairs and our 4 year old dog just prefers to stay downstairs and sleep pretty much all day so I think around 6 hours alone is probably okay for some dogs. He goes for 2 walks a day before and after work.

Yes you are right, I got a tad emotional and reactive when I posted my comment. My apologies to the OP.

Yes sure, then your dog can join the hundreds of other neighbourhood dogs, barking and howling for hours on end. Like my dickhead neighbour, whose dog barks, howls and smashes his head against the wall for ten hours a day 👍

I know lots of people who work full time, or near to it whose dogs are happy, well adjusted stable dogs. I equally know people who are at home all the time whose dogs get nowhere what they need and suffer as a result. I’m talking about you retired lady down the road with a young working breed that barks all day because all she gets are round the block lead walks. No training, mental stimulation or off lead runs.

The key to any dog is time. They are a member of the family. They have to be included or provisions made.

It’s not irresponsible to ask. If you’ve not had a dog before then why would you realise? Our last dog was a rescue who was mostly past the puppy stage when we adopted her. Our current puppy was a MASSIVE shock as neither of us had had one. We adapted to it because we could and it’s been very limiting at times but I can see how people can’t or won’t. Nobody talks about how hard it is. You can apply that to dogs in general to a point.

Be careful with recommending retired greyhounds. They are all different but my sister has one. Hates going out with them but equally hates being alone. She’s not an exception. Honest, gentle gorgeous soul. But not a dog in the strictest sense. My elderly cat has more spark. They are outdoorsy people and I know would not have another.

If you've not had a dog before you need to think really carefully about how much of your life you can commit.

We both work full time, and we have three dogs. I work from home 3 of my 4 days a week, DH works out of the home. The one day we are both out, my DM comes round for most of the day to spend it with the dogs. She can't do that this week and I'm stressing about if 8-6 is too long if someone is here for only three hours in the middle eg. 11-2. The dogs in themselves will be fine but I feel like it's a rubbish day for them.

Despite having a 2YO toddler we don't go for long days out unless DM can come see to the dogs. Usually we go somewhere for a morning so the dogs are left 3-4 hours. They'd cope for 5-6 quite happily I think but I'd feel too guilty so they're never left that long. If we go on holiday we get someone to house sit or DM stays. I'd say the dogs are a bit like our other children the amount of looking after them and thought that goes into planning our lives!

I adopted pair of greyhounds when I worked full time M-F, I worked locally so could take them for short toilet walk in my lunch hour. The retired greyhound trust were fine with 8hr if taken out every 4hrs, some of their branches were bit stricter to only 4hrs left.You have to consider how long incl commute your away & if your really going to want to fit the dog post work when tired especially in winter when it's dark & miserable out.

When I started working from home the greys would only get up to change sleeping position or grab a drink till I took them out. They're a bit like dog shaped rugs tbh, but while similar looking lurchers, whippets, saluki's etc are also cat-like snoozers indoors they tend to have more stamina so can need more physical and mental stimulation than the greyhounds bred to race round track in minutes and then need 23hrs on recharge. They do like longer walks and while they will take whatevers on offer the 2x 20 mins often quoted is probably taken from daily exercise in race training but they are in trot pace not walk.

It's more of a bind with a dog if want to go out for an evening, work late or visiting friends. Always on a timer as need to get back for dog and no spontaneous plans. It's not easy to find walkers working outside of school hours M-F to cover for you I've found. Dogs are also very expensive to keep these days, with decent pet insurance, dog walker/boarders/kennels, vet bills, training fees, grooming, food.

@flutterbyebaby 🐾💐

Leaving a dog with access to outside comes with risks they may eat/drink something they shouldn't, overheat as they can lack common sense, be stolen or escape but probably most common is barking and pissing off all your neighbours.

On the fence.
If it’s an older dog, a rescue dog, with a large chunk of time taken off work to settle the dog into its new routine, with training and house training refresher, plus a dog walker then possibly.
You’ll need to walk the dog before work and accept you can’t go out on the days you work unless you take the dog with you.

It will be expensive and a tie. Are you able to get up early to walk the dog, in the cold, dark and rain.
The dog will likely bark, hope neighbours are ok with that…. or you’ll be looking at having to keep the dog inside the house. Dogs can be destructive when left alone.

It’s a huge, life changing commitment. Dogs will also occasionally eat stuff they shouldn’t and vomit… / be ill are you able to take time off work in the event if this and not resent the dog.

They can be expensive. Food and insurance alone.

First up, don't get a dog if you're going to leave it home alone. It's not fair. And secondly, stop dissing poos/doodles. They're not all neurotic balls of anxiety. My cockapoo is a wee chilled out superstar, so there!

Older dogs in my experience are fine being left (as long as no separation anxiety etc) but younger dogs won't be ok for that long. We managed alright with a dog walker and we were home about 4pm so dog wasn't left long. So sure it can be fine but with extra expense and extra planning.