How are you doing it?

I really want a dog, have done for ages but the simple fact is we both work 9 – 5 jobs so its either leave the mutt at home or pay for doggy day care, which would take the fun out of having a dog seeing as it would cost a packet and the dog would have all the fun all day when I want to be the one making its fun…

I’m getting the point where I have to make it happen but hit the same obstacle… Any secrets?

i work shifts and the mrs takes the dog to work for either the morning or the afternoon 🙂

Is the parents dog if I’m entirely honest. Is work from home an option? My brother law runs an fishing and game shop in Edinburgh, so his goes to work with him. Annoyingly, that you think about it how do, means your the sort of person who should have a dog, as you would put it first in such ways.

We both work here too, full time.
I get up early and walk them before work, and again in the evening.

Having said that,, I’ve been at home on the sick for the last few weeks, & all they seem to do is sleep all day, so I’m kinda guessing that’s the same if I wasn’t here?

So any worry we had of them suffering all day of boredom seems to have gone out of the window..

They seem more than happy.

He comes to work with me and we both have walkies at lunch time

As Teetosugars does, get two. At least they’ve got one another for company. 🙂

We both worked all day 20 miles away from work so popping home at lunch time wasn’t an option. So we got 2 kittens!
Then a year ago, my partner moved jobs to 5 minutes away from the house so we got a dog!

She gets a walk on a morning, the mrs pops home at lunch time to see her then I take her out when I get in.

It helps that she is a very well behaved dog. My mam even pops round and ‘steals’ her for the day.

I realise all of this Is not much help to you, short of moving jobs, or paying for a dog walker but I understand how you feel.
If you can afford the dog walker and you have trust in that person then I would consider that option. It’s only an hour a day and you get the benefit of the dog at all other times. Surely that’s worth it.

There will be some who say you can leave them. they are all different, if you go to the dogs trust they may have older dogs that are used to being left? Obviously a puppy wouldn’t be suitable if you cant get home during the day but their may be options

WAH one day a week, and out for 9 hours the other four. 9 hours no different from the time I spend asleep. When I’m working at home the dog sleeps all day anyway. She gets a good walk in the morning and also in the evening plus some game time. Means that I cant go out in the evenings unless I can take the dog but a small price to pay. She is an older dog – couldn’t do it with a younger dog. Intend to have dog flap fitted next year as well. She is a rescue dog and all in I think she does alright.

Edit; she is a Staffie so more tolerent of idleness. I beleive some breeds cant be left

We get up early, what ever the weather, no matter how cold and dark, and take him for a walk. Then leave for work, get home and he gets walked again. We also, don’t go out on a school night because he’s been on his own all day. It’s not so much about the amount of time you spend with a dog but the quality of it. He just sleeps on our bed all day. When the wife first got him, she’d come home to check on him at lunch time. He wasn’t fussed. Current jobs aren’t compatible with that though.

He’s just about the most contented mutt I know. We are lucky with him though. Not all dogs are so good at being left alone.

As Teetosugars does, get two. At least they’ve got one another for company

is the best solution I could think of. All round win!

I also don’t live with a decent walking place near by *must move house*.

Oh and get it/them used to spending time away from you as youngsters (if you’re going down the puppy route).

Have you thought about contacting rescue centres to see if they have two that come together, eg owner has died or can’t look after them anymore?

Yup… Two is the way forward..

They tend to be like this all day 🙂

Another full time working couple here – got a second dog to keep the first one company. They get walked before we leave for work and get walked again as soon as we get home. They have access to a conservatory, decent sized totally enclosed garden and a garage during the day. Both seem pretty content with this setup and while they are obviously pleased to see us when we get home haven’t seen any real signs of seperation anxiety.

slainte ➡ rob

Pretty much what has been said above. Older dogs and grey hounds in particular lke their snoozing.

We have a secure garden so dog flaps were the order of the day. BIG bowls of water in garden in shade and in house and the mutts were fine. Lost both to old age over the last few years and just waiting for sprog 2 to grow a bit before we get some more.

All of our dogs have been rescues.

Noone has said it yet above but there’s one really tough commitment you must understand before you take the plunge, which is that one day you are almost certainly going to have to take the dog to the vet knowing it isn’t coming home. This is an extremely hard decision for a beloved pet with as much personality and loyalty as a good dog gives. I hate making that call but its worth it for the pleadure you can.bring them and them you.

Sorry I sound a right misery. Go for it. It really is great.

Get an ex racer greyhound. They are kept in pens for hours at a time during race day and can sleep for England. Believe me what you can offer them is heaven compared to what they are used to. Did I mention they are the most bone idle dogs at times. Great dogs though.

He comes to the office with me

LEGAL DOG by fantasticmrmatt, on Flickr

Lucky enough to be able to take him to work, which usually involves the run of 14 acres of woodland or nearly 1000 acres of disused quarry/woods etc…
I only own a dog because it wirks with my lifestyle, when I worked for ‘the man’, meaaning 4-6 hour periods when my wfie and I wouldn’t be around we had goldfish instead…

He comes to the office with me

Does he post for you too? 🙂

He answers any of the legal questions on the forum, he’s not qualified but he is practicing 😀

😀

Noone has said it yet above but there’s one really tough commitment you must understand before you take the plunge, which is that one day you are almost certainly going to have to take the dog to the vet knowing it isn’t coming home

Yup, god knows I’m dreading this.. 😥

To be fair, the same could be said for the wife..

Granted, not the Vets, but you know what I mean…

Jimmy – you also need to be aware that a pup won’t be able to accompany you on your longer walks/cycles, so unless you’re handing over dog-sitting duties every time you are off somewhere, that’ll be leisure time it’s at home alone too. You should have a word with B-Rad. He’s commented on how much commitment it takes and how much of a tie it can be – and that’s with the likes of you as a willing dog-sitter.

My westie comes to work with me, does 7 till 5 and loves it……

As above, really. I worked local, so used to pop home at lunchtime to take Dewey for a quick walk. We now have a dog walker 3 days a week who takes him out for an hour at some point during the day (usually lunchtime). The other 2 days we have a couple of neighbours (stay at home mums) who take him out for a walk. It’s not a cheap option as our dog walker charges £12 an hour, though we have a new neighbour who offers the same service, but she charges £17 an hour!

Work full time (ish) comes with me to work but stays in the car in a very shaded area if sunny. Walk before work then at lunchtime then after. Teacher so long holidays and “summer” not the biggest of problems. If I’m staying in town this is ok if travelling in the we leave at 6.15 and he still gets his 30 minutes before work. Biggest commitment but worth it. OH loves him to bits.

I know that everyone has their favourite dog breeds. But although mine isn’t a greyhound, I’d certainly get one if I was getting another dog. They are a worthy rescue dog, and trained to walk at heel on a slack lead.

I’d been looking to link walking the dog with some cross country riding. But I don’t think it’s feasible … he is great with the bike, and stays well in front of it, so him causing an accident isn’t too much of a concern. However for him to keep up with the bike he needs to jog or run.

I shall stick to taking him for a walk, and then heading out for a ride separately!

We’re never out of the house for more than three hours. Mainly because while I work full time and long hours, my wife works part time and my son is at college (i.e., he’s only out of the house for 47 minutes a day)

If we go out on a weekend, we’re back within three hours. Guaranteed. We get the piss taken by our family, but hey, **** you.

I’m lucky enough that my wife works from home and thus our pup always has someone here,
I work shifts and walk him either in the mornings when on lates or vice versa on earlies. A walk generally takes 1.5-2hours on a week day and a bit longer on weekends when we have a bit more free time (on top of the time he spends running around with my two boys). We try and take him with us where possible, although he has been left for 4-5hours before and been no problem (not something we do regularly).

Other thing to remember is you can over exercise a puppy and do permenant hip damage.

We walk Benny in the morning before work, go back at lunch to see him, and then give him a longer walk in the evening (apart from on Wednesdays when he has a shorter walk then training). At the weekends we take it in turns – one looks after the dog whilst the other bikes one day, and we swap the next day.

I would love to have a job where I could take him to work though. Office dogs are ace.

Dogs adjust to routines very quickly, a walk in the morning and evening they’ll be fine. We’ve had dogs all my life and both my parents worked. Had them all the time I’ve lived here with my wife and when we’re both at work it can be at least 10 hours they’ve been on their own. They sleep pretty much most of the time, even when I’m off they’ve all slept loads but will love to play every now and then.

*is confused*

Is this the same forum I was on a few months back where everyone was saying NO! You can’t have a dog if you work full time! ??

Anyway, as others have said, a rescue dog would probably be best, can’t imagine leaving a new puppy alone all day.
My wife works part-time, still it took a good few months for our dog to settle when we got her at just under a year old. Pooh/wee in the house, complaints from neighbours about barking (well, not complaints, but it was mentioned), stuff wrecked etc.
Wife’s away at the mo so I was up at 6am, out for a ride with dog. Weird riding when you’re so tired!

Depends who answers Dez, last one I remember there was good support and a few nay sayings but seen other threads were you can’t leave the house for more than 30 seconds if you have a dog.

Similarly confused here – I dread telling people that I have a dog when both MrsH and I work full time. Some people look at you like you’ve just confessed to mass murder. I even get stick from my father-in-law about it.

Like others up there: we never go out on a school night; work from home as often as possible; are strict about getting home from work on time; and have a dog walker twice a day to look in on our pup. I can also work some flexible hours so that I can spend longer with him. MrsH can just about fit the 20 min drive home, 20 mins of fuss, and 20 min drive back to work in her lunchtime is she has to as well.

When I work from home, he sleeps for the majority of it. We also started out very early (the 1st week we got him) leaving for little periods at a time, and built it up so that he got used to be left longer – thus far he has never shown any signs of seperation anxiety.

Holidays will be in the UK or Europe on pet passport for the foreseeable future, I never want to have to put him in kennels if I can help it. After MrsH he is the most important thing in my life and I want to spend as much time with him as I possibly can.

Biggest sacrifice I’ve made so far: changing our local because the one we used to drink in doesn’t allow dogs…

I work full time and have a dog too.

It takes a while to get into a routine, especially with a young dog, but it is possible. Ours gets an hour out in the morning and the same at night. The MIL is at our house two days a week, and if I am travelling (usually a day or two) I will take her with me. On the days that she is left at home she has a kennel and run of the garden. We leave dog toys containing food that she has to work out, sticks for her to strip / chew and other toys. To try and keep it interesting we switch the toys left daily and take them away when we are home. When she was younger I would drive the 15 miles home at lunchtime just to check her for 10 mins, but now tend to leave her.

We ensure that she has good long runs at the weekend, often with the MTB.

As above… if I have left her for a day I won’t go out again and leave her in the evening. Depends on your lifestyle, but it stops the occasional cinema trip / meal out. Luckily the local pub allows dogs and she loves the attention there! Tend to work the opposite way at the weekend – she gets our day time, then we will happily leave her to snooze for a few hours while we go out in the evening.

I’m in the same boat as you OP, i have wanted a dog since being a little kid, but i refuse to get one as we both work full time and i think it is wrong to leave a dog at home all day alone.

you can do all you want to entertain them when your not there but the dog is still ALONE.

(unless you have neighbours/dog walkers etc which we wont have)

and as said above it is a massive commitment and we’ll have to wait until the daughter is a bit older.

i dont mean to rub anyone up the wrong way 🙂