dog but work full time

mikeandrach_2

thanks again for all the replies, some very constructive and valid points raised, keep them coming!

to be clear, the dog would only be alone 2 days a week, even then 1 week in every 4 on average it would never be alone, as rach who is a teacher would be home. my idea for shelter is that in the garage there is a standard kitchen style worktop. under that there is plenty of room for a wooden kennel/shelter, so it wouldnt eat into the usable garage space, and would be a secure position. directly next to the bench is a breeze block pillar, canrt honestly see what it does structually but it is there! my plan would be to wall mount one of the flat panel electric heaters there, at approx 6ft height.

the garage door is on a sheltered side of the garage, where the house and garage meet to form an l shape. the door is right in the corner of the l shape if that makes sense! there is also a step of approx 12" into the garage, so no chance of it flooding etc etc.

i am stressing the point about the dog being alone some of the time, but the relaity is that it will be so i cant deny it, but over the courseof a year (excluding night time where it would always be inside), i would estimate 70-80% of its time in the house with company, just when it wasnt it could be for 9 hours or so at a time. i genuinely am not even going to consider a dog if i feel it wouldnt be right, but i havent seen that lightbulb comment that makes me think, no, its definitely not right. i would not go into this blind. i also act as an 'overspill' for a a rescue centre, takingin chinchillas. i currently have 5 of theirs as well as 4 of my own, and i do rehoming for them so i know how hard it can be to pick a good owner. the likelihood is we wouldnt take resuce chinchillas in future, purely due to the room they are in getting far too hot in the summer, we took these on short term inthewinter to help in a crisis.

still lots of talking and debating to do, as well as info to digest

Mojisola

As you don't mind an older dog, have a talk with these people - https://www.cinnamon.org.uk/cinnamon_trust.html - and - https://www.oldies.org.uk/

I do think that you need to have someone come in to see the dog during the days when you're away for hours. They wouldn't even need to walk them, just check that they're okay, play with them and give them some companionship.

rising_from_the_ashes

I think you'd both provide an excellent home - only one thing worries me - the heater in the garage. Please, please don't do this as I just don't think it's safe (I know I may seem a bit paranoid but I have visions of something or the dog getting too close to it and causing a fire).

The dog won't need a heater inside a garage if it's well insulated and you provide a nice warm bed. Keep an eye out for a suitable "container" (I use an old plastic bread box that the supermarkets use with the metal rod at the front removed) if this was placed on an old bit of carpet (for insulation) and a nice thick king size duvet in it, the dog would be more than warm enough.

As has been suggested, keep an eye on Gumtree, the notice board in local shops etc and you could let the local vets know you'd be interested in rehoming an older dog. Good luck

mikeandrach_2

ill take a look there, thanks.

themull1

kitten wrote: »

You have thought this out reasonably well, but I would offer a couple of suggestions as your circumstances are similar to mine and we have a very succesful dog/owner relationship.

Through flexible and part-time working, we minimise the time the dog is left alone, but there are two days per week when she is alone from 8 am until 4.30 pm. On these days, we pay a retired neighbour to call in every three hours to walk her, toilet her, feed her, talk to her and give her half an hours companionship. We also leave the radio on and have a cat who passes through from time to time! When alone, she is in the kitchen in a comfortable crate. You should really look into the benefits of crating. Far from being a cage, their crate is a warm, comfortable den where they are safe and happy - the ideal environment to snooze away the hours until you're home. And they are ideal for toilet-training as a dog won't soil its own bed unless you leave it until it has no option (which I know you won't do). I think this is far more suitable than using the garage.

To further add her to our 'pack' and minimise time alone, at night she sleeps in our bedroom, but on her own bed on the floor.

You need to be certain you can commit to lots of exercise in the early morning (tired dogs sleep the day away) as well as evening - not just walks but ball-play, training spells etc.

My dog is a GSD which I know you like. As someone else has said, they are people-dogs and like to be with you most of the time. But they can most certainly cope with periods alone PROVIDED you pick the right one! You need to look for show lines, NOT working lines!! A working line GSD could not cope with your life-style - a laid back show line GSD, I think, can. I would actually recommend getting a puppy as although they are hard work initially, they can 'grown into' your routine. Make sure you have a few weeks when it arrives where it isn't left alone for more than an hour or so to allow it to settle in, then gradually increase the amount of time it is left crated (with a safe toy or chew) until it is happy to be left alone for a couple of hours - this will take some time, but will pay dividends. Be prepared to put your hand in your pocket though! A good dog with health-checked parents of proven excellent temperament will cost!!
I look forward to hearing your decision x

Theres no point in getting a dog to keep in a crate all day, if you want a caged animal, get a guinea pig. I hate all this new fangled crating of dogs, in my opinion its cruel and unnecessary.

gemmalouanna

You sound like you could offer a nice home to a dog - go for it glad to see you don't have to have a puppy either as that would be unfair.

Very similar to ourselves really - both work full time/I am teacher. We found Manchester dogs home to be fantastic, 3 dogs in each cage when we went so definitely think they would prefer life at your home!

My dog much prefers being outside - now that the weather is warmer we leave back door open all the time and she rarely comes in, when I leave for work in the morning she runs to the back door ready to be left out - I don't like the idea of them being in all day. She has a kennel which she chooses not to use as she likes to sit at the back gates attracting the attention/strokes of neighbours.

My inlaws come round and take her to their house 3 days a week, on the 2 days she is left I have a dig walker who comes round mid way through the day - she is fantastic. Costs £10 per hour but in reality she is out for much longer!

mikeandrach_2

thanks again everyone, still got some thoughts going through my mind but i hope we come to a deicision soon,thanks again

andthethreebears

The only people who say 'dogs can be left for long periods' are people who leave their dogs for long periods.
I'm sure there will be NO dog owners who are retired / work from home / stay at home would say 'oh I'm sure my dog would be happier left alone for the majority of the day'

*doodle*_2

I want a dog as well but I can't for similar reasons. I can't have one now anyway as I have a couple of cats. Now, I'm not suggesting that you adopt a few cats but, when I was doing my dog research I found a woman who lives in the next town to me who is a CRB'd dog walker. In a nutshell, she walks your dog whilst you are at work. Also, since I adopted my cats a fantastic doggy daycare centre opened in town. Basically, it's a bit like a nursery for children whereby you drop them off in the morning and pick them up at after work. The dogs are well cared for and get to play with other canines in the day. Maybe there is a similar centre near your house.

merlin68

Puppies are hard work and so is a baby, you will be exhausted from having a baby up all night and my puppy wakes up at 6.30 for walkies. I would be too worried having a young dog and a baby together. As all puppies go through a bitey stage. My friends a breeder and won't let her dogs go to anyone with kids under 12 for that reason.