How much time do ppl spend with their dog?

[lovenotwar149]

Hi all,
I am genuinely interested.....
So I am a trainer fosterer for a guide dog who has now been withdrawn due to health concerns.
I am now his respite fosterer until is placed in his forever home as a pet for someone.
This now means he doesn't attend the guide dog centre for training but is with me 24/7.
He is an 18 month old Labrador. I really want to know how much time/attention others give to their dog throughout the day in fact.
Please share if you are willing to.
Many thanks!

24/7 unless I need to go to the chemist or pop to a shop when I hire a dog sitter once a month for an hour.

Not happy about it. She's an 8yr old rescue that I've had for six months. She was fine to be left the first few weeks, but now howls, barks, screams if I try and leave her.

Yes, I am working with a behaviourist.

Lab owner here. I have rarely left my dogs for more than 4 hours total in a day and that’s spread out over the day.

But I had that luxury, in that DH and I could WFH long before the pandemic.

On days I had to go into the office, I had a dog walker.

When I am at home, dogs have run of the house so if they want to be with me, they can, or they can snooze in the sunshine.

Currently the younger one has 3 walks a day - 20 mins first thing; 1.5 hours late morning and 40-60 mins late afternoon.

They are pretty chilled.

At 18 months btw, my older dog was very energetic and although he could be left alone, his preference was to be busy with mum.
My younger dog likes to be in the room where I am, but does not pester me for attention (she’s a rescue bitch)

I WFH and have set up in the dining room downstairs despite there being room upstairs so DDog has company. DH works upstairs and despite him popping down regularly DDog is always a bit clingy if I have been out all day.
I chat to him in between calls and if I go to the kitchen so he has company all day really.
If we are both going to be out a neighbour lets him out and/or takes him to his house as we don't leave him longer than 4 hours

My nearly 3 year old rescue Lab X (black one!) accompanies me almost everywhere. At work she roams around depending on who has snacks on the go and may drop crumbs, snoozing in any of the offices. She gets a 45 minutes off lead walk early morning, a half hour partially off lead walk lunchtime then an hour long off lead walk on the way home. At home is generally just her and me (although middle child is currently at home in between jobs) so she comes in the car if I go anywhere, happy to wait til I come back. She has been left, generally for a max of 1.5 hours but once for 4 hrs and nothing had been chewed or destroyed so I assume she just went to sleep and waited for me to come home. She does need to be left more but that will come over the summer as I start cycling again and do some yoga classes.

My 10 month Lab cross is never left alone for more than a few minutes. I have a sitter or he goes to daycare if I need to be gone longer. It very much depends on the dog.

As for attention, he can be very needy, but I find if he's demanding a lot of attention and being whiny he usually needs a nap, and is not at the moment very good at taking himself off for one.

If your foster pup has been in an intensive training programme it seems likely they will be very used to 24/7 company and a lot of attention, but will also have been taught to settle, and won't be as mad as my working lines lunatic.

It depends, mostly 24/7 apart from when I’m allowed a toilet break

When I’m in the office I’m out for 12 hours and my partner is being looked after by the dog at home.

When we go out without the dog, it’s maybe once a fortnight for between 1 and 3 hours.

I got my dog when he was just short of 8 years and he also had (unknown) separation issues. It drove me nuts not being able to leave him at all so I completely sympathise. To give you hope though, I also worked with a behaviouralist and although it took a several months of sustained effort (and occassionally us having to go back a few levels on the alone training), my dog is now perfectly happy being left during the day. He enjoys a nap on the sofa! He still isn't happy if I leave him after dinner but I rarely do that so use a dog sitter. Just to give you some hope things can get better, hang on in there!

Do you mean how much time do you spend with them? Or how much time doing things just with/for them?

Most days I am here all day, although she doesn't sleep in our room. She doesn't always choose to be in the same room with me though, especially on sunny days she's choose a room where she can lie by a window, and often when she is with me she is just sleeping. She gets 1 or 2 walks a day.

On days when I have to go out I try to make it a max of 4-5 hours, but she honestly isn't bothered.

Sometimes when I am WFH a lot I make sure I go out for a bit on my own (shopping or something) so she doesn't get too used to me being there all the time and doesn't develop any separation anxiety.

Our dog goes to daycare 3 days a week. Otherwise he is with one of us all the time. That is preference. We prefer to be with him. We could leave him for a couple of hours but don’t want to.

I wfh and my dog is with me 24/7. He comes with me everywhere (if he can't come, I'm not going). I'm not mad, he's just used to it and so am I! My parents have him if I can't be there for whatever reason (for example, I have a friends wedding to go to at the end of the month and he'll go to them along with dc). He's treated like a baby in our house!

@noctilucentcloud THANK YOU!!!

My previous rescues were happy to be left for an hour or two, but this one had my neighbour phoning me after I'd been out for 15mins because she was worried I'd had an accident because of the noise doggo suddenly started making.

Thank you for giving me hope that training and persistence will pay off (and the flipping cost!!) 🐕🐶

It 100% depends on the dog - which, given it’s my answer to 99% of questions posed in mumsnet, is beginning to sound like a cop out! But it is true.

My youngest bitch is incredibly independent - never happier than when she’s alone - and I could, and have, easily leave her in the house alone for 5+hrs.

My other three are like leeches - always attached in some way. The boy physically cannot have me out of his sight - he cries if I shut the toilet door, and he curls up around the toilet when I shower - unless he has another human present.

When I go into the office (twice a week), my mum comes and house-sits.

What I would say is retrievers are these days bred to please and be little shadows. Guide dogs even more so than others - it’ll want to be with you 24/7

We both WFH at my house a lot so one or other of us, or both, are pretty much 24/7 with my 4 rescues. If we go out at the same we can leave them for up to 4 hours but it’s pretty rare.

My dog Chalkie is with me most of the time as I'm fully WFH so ive plenty time for taking him on walks in mornings lunchtimes and evenings 😊

Mine is pretty much with someone 24/7 - not me necessarily, but a mixture of me, DH and FIL.

Ok thanks ppl, much appreciated.

tabulahrasa · Today 14:34

Do you mean how much time do you spend with them? Or how much time doing things just with/for them?

Mu question was about both , as in how much time do ppl spend literally with their dog i.e.playing/walking/stroking them and doing things for them etc

I have never owned a dog before and although I have had this guide dog living with me since Oct '24, I was used to him being at the guide dog centre in training Mon -Fri from 7 - 4pm. Now , he is at home with me in my care 24/7, it's quite different.

Today , this is what we have done.

6am - toileting/breakfast/ cuddles & chat
8.30am - 35/40 min lead walk
10.00 - out in the garden with me , approx 30 mins
12.30pm - lunch & cuddles
2.15pm - afternoon walk off lead , 1 hr +
4pm - snack
now - he's sleeping in his bed

He'll pretty much snooze til dinner time , which is about 7pm. If he appears lively before then , I'll prob play tug with him in the hallway etc

After dinner , he sleeps and is basically done for the night , other than his final wee about 9.30pm

I'm exhausted!!!! Loool! In between I have done a good hoover as he's a real shedder too! I love him immensely btw. Its full on isn't it!!!

Our dogs used to be left for c6 hours 3 days a week, with access to a kennel yard, but they got a decent walk at either end of that.

Now we both WFH, and they get anything between 1 and 3 hours exercise a day, usually about 1hr 20 mins, almost all off-lead, usually as two walks but sometimes as 3 in the summer. Most days they get 10-40 minutes training time included in their walking time, and maybe once a week on average I'll do a bit of training at home.

They can be left for 4+ hours, but that doesn't happen very often. They are currently asleep on the sofa next to me, which is the evening routine; if I'm out, DH takes over; if DD comes home, she demands the slot.

I work FT, so I don't spend as much time with my 3 dogs as I would like to.
I think for your foster pup, make sure you leave him for a little bit. Start off with 5-10 minutes and see how he copes.
The best time is probably after a walk, give him some food and he should naturally settle down and sleep.

Modern pet dogs should learn to be alone for a few hours... it's not feasible for them to have 24/7 company. Things in life can change really quickly and the dog needs to be able to adapt with us. That includes being left for a few hours.

It depends but generally my dog gets a half hour morning walk, he's then on his own for a few hours until dd gets in from work mid afternoon, dd will walk him again then.

In the evening we'll play with him or do a bit of training.

He gets another walk before bed.

I just wondered because they’re two different answers

Mine only have a few hours over the week where they’ve no humans with them - I’m in a lot, so a lot of the day I’m interacting with them, but it’s not purposeful, like, I talk to them, stroke them etc just because…why would I not?

But actual - I’m doing this with the dog time is a lot less, I’m currently not the main walker (health issues) so tbh, I probably do about an hour of actual purposeful stuff, training, playing or grooming

Mostly we just kind of hang out 😂

It really varies, some weeks I’m in the office more than others. Mine is eighteen months old and can be left for five and a half hours, but I aim for three to four. He has a dog walker or family visiting on an office day. I think he gets left alone at some point most days even if I just nip to the shops.

However when I am around the house, he’s next to me all the time, usually either sleeping or playing.

Edited to add he gets between 1.5-4 hours walking depending on the day.

I'm home pretty much 24/7 but my 9 year old Westie isnt needy or anxious if I do go out.
Westies aren't known to be lapdogs but obviously didn't get the memo
He's everything to me. Best friend, companion, entertainer, therapy dog
He's " kind and caring" in a canine way

Forgot to say He has a lovely dog walker who takes him for 2 hour run 5 days per week as I'm disabled.
He has a better social life than me

I work out of the house 3 days a week. On those days my dogs go out twice with the dog walker, mid morning and mid afternoon. They go with a couple of other dogs and run off lead having a fab time playing with their dog gang. They spend the rest of the day asleep and although are happy to see me when I get home from work, are quite content and tired in the evening. On my non-working days I do house work and take them out once off lead. Although I am home with them I'm busy getting on with things so they don't get much attention really. Evenings are busy driving my daughter to various activities, as are weekends. The dogs always get at least an hour off lead every day but no particular training or attention other than that.