dog but work full time

mikeandrach_2

ok, im looking for constructive thoughts rather than emotional knee-jerk reactions.

both of us have had dogs in our families since birth, until 2 years ago when we moved in together. we would love a dog but have always ruled it out due to work. one of us is a teacher, so is home every weekend, evening and 1 in 4 working days through the year. the other has at least 1 week day off completely, and 1 or 2 where home by 3-4pm. this does mean on some days the hose is empty between 715am and 5pm.

one possible idea we had though was using our garage to provide shelter. with the right dog, and i mean the right dog ie one used ot being outside, would this be an option?

we have a reasonable sized detatched house with a large garden. we are willing to leave the rear door to the garage open and free 24/7. in theory, if i was to put a dog house with appropriate bedding etc in the garage, as well as permanently leave the door open to the garden, would this be acceptible for some dogs? for those very cold winter days i would be happy to wall mount a flat panel heater to the garage wall. after work and on days off i am very keen on long walks/days outand this would of course provide plenty of exercise. whenever one of us is home the dog would have access to the house. i realsie this isnt perfect dog keeping conditions, but we would provide a secure, loving caring home, and although part of me thinks its not good enough, part of me thinks well if i was a rescue or exworking dog what would i prefer, the home we could offer, or a kennel, and i think i would prefer our home. also, in experience of ex family pets when they were alone during the day they just tended to sleep.

i am looking for any constructive views, as well as suggestions as to breeds. we do have small animals in the house (chinchillas) which are caged, and ideally a breed that wouldnt be too fussed by these and also comfortable with small children as we have a baby on the way.

Mojisola

The thing that would be missing is company. Dogs are pack animals and most don't like being alone, especially for 12 hours.

Could you consider having two so that they would have company when the humans are away from home?

mikeandrach_2

hi, yes 2 would be a possibility. i could also do small things like having a radio on in the garage so it always heard voices, some people say this helps. i am also considering asking a neighbour if they would walk our dog if we got one, they walk their own dog in the middle of the day and are dog lovers so i think they would do it. the likelihood is that i will reduce to working 3 days, 1 of which may be saturdays when rach is always home so in theory there will only be 2 days when there would be long absences from home per week, would this make a big difference?

On_My_Lonesome

Sounds like you have a great home environment for a lucky doggy. I work full time and although work from home mostly now I have worked full time in an office whilst having a dog. Couple of points you migfht want to consider.

You mention you have a baby on the way it could be a good or a bad thing to get a dog when you are presumably going to be home on maternity leave for a while.

Good side - around to train dog, give it time to get to know you settle in etc
Down side - When you go back to work and dog is left alone during the day it might be more stressed having got used to having you around and then suddenly being out all day. I notice my dog is more stressed when I have been home for a few days/weeks and then have to go out to work all day.

Is there anyone that you could get to walk the dog in the day or just spend a bit of time with it? A neighbours teenager or something that would be happy to get a bit of spending money for a bit of time after school? I know you mention you are more than happy to walk the dog as much as needed but this would be more about giving it a bit of company while you are out all day.

rising_from_the_ashes

Hi I have to agree with Mojisola in that 2 may be a better idea, especially if being left outside.

You'd probably struggle with some rescue places as many of them won't let you have a dog if they're going to be left for 4 hours (I can see the point but when anyone can buy a pup and leave it at home all day from a few weeks old it does seem harsh if a good home is on offer).

I rehomed Mr B (through a friend of a friend of a friend) and he'd always been left all day and is fine with that - I tried coming home at lunchtimes when I first got him but he got destructive in the afternoons. It's like his brain works that - you can go out & stay out as long as you like, but once you come home..... you stay! I guess that's the routine he always had so I've stuck to it.

As you say it's not ideal but the dogs will be fine as long as they have a secure area, shelter, water etc. (Someone down the street from me has 2 dogs that live out ALL year long, I don't agree with this, but they're well looked after so ..). The only thing I'd worry about is if people go past your garden etc a lot - this may upset them and I know that Mr B wouldn't cope with this at all (they may also bark a lot which may upset neighbours).

Re the baby coming along soon - just wondering if one of you will be off on maternity/paternity leave for a while - although it may seem a good time to get a dog(s), if they get into a routine of someone being home all the time & then you go back to work & they're suddenly left for long periods, you may run into problems once the routine is disturbed (dogs are like kids in that routine is good for them).

Good luck

mikeandrach_2

hi, and thanks for the replies. i hear your points about the routine, as yes rach will be on maternity until next easter. realistically i would prefer 1 dog, and think an older rescue that just wants a peaceful 'retirement' with lots of relaxing may be best. the likelihood of me being part time imminently is 20%, but by next easter when rach returned to work i thnk it is 90% certain i will be part time. the down side is i have a 140 mile round trip, so i cannot just pop home at lunch. my neighbours are a definite possibility as a midday dog walker though.

there shouldnt be any problems with people passing by, the road is a private cul de sac with no through traffic ever. if you think of a typical row of culde sac houses, where htere should be a house there is 20 yards of road and 3 houses on that, ours is one of those. our 2 neighbours that pass our gate rarely use cars, and never get within 30 feet of the gate. the gate is 6ft+ high and solid wood so i doubt the dog would ever notice.

at the back end of the garden there is 6ft panel fencing, and about 15 ft behind that avery popular dog walking route, so the dog would hear the odd dog/human but not see them.

i am desperate to get a dog, but i am also desperate to do the right thing. i cant bear the thought of a dog being unhappy all day, but equally i think a relaxed older dog would love the relative peace followed by freedom to cuddle on the sofa etc etc, so i am really struggling to know what to do

Mojisola

mikeandrach wrote: »

hi, and thanks for the replies. i hear your points about the routine, as yes rach will be on maternity until next easter. realistically i would prefer 1 dog, and think an older rescue that just wants a peaceful 'retirement' with lots of relaxing may be best.

Have you considered a greyhound? They are quite content to lie around for much of the day.

mikeandrach_2

i did give a greyhoud a thought, but i am not sure it is what either of us would ideally like. i guess the perfect dog would be a german shepherd, bigger collie, springer spaniel, somehting of a fair size and ideally fur, neither of us are keen on the appearance of short fur on dogs. i must stress though if we met a dog like this and there was a 'click' it would definitley come down to personality of the dog. also, i guess most rescues like dogs trust probably wouldnt rehome to us due to work, which although i understand their position is frustrating

On_My_Lonesome

If you are planning on the dog having the run of outside during the day and don't want to wait till maternity is over maybe you could get it into the routine while you partner is on maternity by making sure it spends a fair bit of time outside from day 1 so doesn't get used to being inside with company all day every day only to then find itself outside/garage a year down the line.

mikeandrach_2

brilliant point lonesome. matenrity leave doesnt stary until oct/nov, although clearly rach will be home all summer as teachers go on a yearly general strike for 6.5 weeks!

in that time i would imagine a lot of dogs would be happy to sit out on the patio etc anyway. they would have free run of the the whole garden, decent size, a very large patio attatched to the house and garage area, and a smaller patio at the far end of the garden with plenty of tree coverage so it could choose between sun/shade/indoors at all times. just dont want it to 'go mad' due to lack of a human presence, but cant hel thinking that an older dog of the right remperament would be happy with this, or am i dreaming?

On_My_Lonesome

I think it all comes down to the dog itself and where it has come from and the routine you establish. If it has come from a home where it is indoors with company 24/7 it will take a lot longer to adjust than a dog that has spent a fair bit of time in kennels or with another household where it spent time at home alone.
I think you would be great owners you are obviously thinking about all the angles and what is best for the dog its just a shame that so many homing centres will not let you adopt because you are going to be out even though you will probably be much better owners than a lot of people that are home all day every day.
Have you though any more about where you will be getting it from?