Work/dog balance

Caroline_a

I have 2 dogs. They keep each other company during the day, although I do go home at lunchtimes and spend some time with them. I've never seen any signs of stress from them when I go to work - no destruction, barking (apart from the mad half hour time when they charge round the garden!) or being generally unhappy.

MallyGirl

I am having to think this sort of thing through myself. I work from home and have done for the last 12 years but a change in role means I need to go to an office maybe 1 day a week and may also have to do site visits occasionally.
I have 2 malamutes. The adult can be left for maybe 5/6 hours on her own and I have the option of someone popping in to let her out for a wee. The 10 month puppy has to be crated or he breaks though any barrier into the cat zone and causes chaos and destruction. The neighbours told us yesterday that although he is quiet when we leave this wears off and he howls quite a bit He has a frozen kong and a big meaty bone but that is not enough to keep him amused. If I leave him in with the adult they work each other up into a panic when we leave and throw themselves at the door so that is not an option at the moment - they have locked us out doing this more than once now.
The lady that would pop in for the adult can't deal with the 2 of them together. Any external dog walker would need to be confident with big dogs and I haven't found one yet.
At the moment my DH has to work from home every time I need to go to the office but it is not a viable long term solution. I am hoping the pup will settle as he grows up a bit more. He was supposed to be a companion for the adult but that is a way off yet as he is still very bouncy and can pester her quite a lot.

Lieja

Well after a bit of a c0ck-up today he ended up being left for about 7 hours. Plan was OH come home to walk him at lunch time and I'll finish early. OH couldn't leave the site thanks to fire brigade being called and I got stuck in a traffic jam that meant I spent an hour longer than usual coming home!

Malamonster was practically comatose when I got in, and not a thing in the room was out of place. I think he literally slept all day! It might have something to do with the long walk OH took him for at about 4am though when he couldn't sleep thanks to changing from days to nights messing up his body clock...

I walked him up the site where OH works after I got in and he met the boss man and two gorgeous Rottweiler pups, both of which were much braver than him! We've been offered one of the litter (blind in one eye so won't sell) and I'm dying to say yes! I definitely won't though, but it's very hard saying no when they're flopping around and wagging their little tails.

Pooch going to work with OH tomorrow, and I'm going to call a day care and have a chat with them about him. I'm worried now after talking to the dog handler guy that malamutes are too naughty with other dogs and won't be allowed in

Mallygirl - have you thought about day care and if you've ruled it out can I ask why?

elsien

Lieja wrote: »

. I'm worried now after talking to the dog handler guy that malamutes are too naughty with other dogs and won't be allowed in

That's why Gitdog's in kennels for the day and not "proper" doggy day care. He's not allowed to play with other dogs at the kennels either - not because he's naughty or aggressive but because they don't want to take the chance with a bull terrier - it's a commercial decision. But he can bounce around up and down the other side of the fence with them and play footsie through the gaps, and the owner takes time to play ball with him for exercise, so it's better than being home alone when there's no other options.

his_missus

I've always worried about this when we look after mum's dog whilst she's on holiday. Mum's retired and at home almost all day and takes him for 3 short walks morning, lunchtime, late afternoon; we both work and are out of the house 8.30am - 6pm.

We take him out for about half an hour run in the park before work. We take parallel paths and the dog runs madly between us. When we get home from work he goes for an hour walk. Allthough he's destructive with toys (he only had nylon toys) he's never caused any damage to the house and I think he just sleeps all day.

Mind you he has four cats to keep him company here

yorkshire_terrier_owner

I work full time and my 6 dogs are at home. My parents go in at lunchtime to let them out and spend a bit of time with them. If they're away, I have a dog walker who does the same thing. Mine have been used to this routine since pups, so happily snooze the day away. When I have time off work, by the end of it they are starting to get fed up because they don't get as much sleep in the day (and they do love their sleep!).

It can be done, but you need to establish a routine and stick to it.

MallyGirl

Lieja wrote: »

Mallygirl - have you thought about day care and if you've ruled it out can I ask why?

my adult girl is not great with some other dogs - she has fear aggression. We are working on it with a behaviourist but she is unsuitable for day care. The pup might be alright but most of his dog contact is with other malamutes and they do play rough. He is having some 121 sessions before joining a training group called Big Softies for large breed puppies so that will show us if he could be trusted in day care. That is if I could find one near me with spaces - not many around here.

maybe we will end up with adult at home with a walker visit and pup in daycare. complicated but needs must.

ladymarmalade1970

My partner and I both work full time. I work about 50% of the time away all week then the other 50% at home.

I also felt bad leaving the one dog hence we ended up with 3. They do have the full run of the house and have never been an issue however because i am going to be working away again a lot in the near future i got a cleaner, an old school mate, who loves my dogs, comes round every day just after lunchtime, lets them out, makes a fuss of them and does the cleaning too. This costs me £50 per week and is an ideal solution for all of us.

Could you consider getting another dog for company for him?

GonzoAston

Im just starting to have this problem now also.

I work nights and my OH works days. My dog is 11 and it has always been like this since we got him. Now I physically cannot do nights anymore, although I am still doing it until I get something sorted out.

My OH can work from home some days, but not all week and sometimes can be away all week with work. So I have been looking around for solutions, doggy day care, getting another dog so they keep each other company, a dog walker, trying to find a job where I could take him to work etc etc etc.

Its difficult and I hope you find a solution soon. Mines settled into a routine of sleeping all night. Then me coming home, taking him out, sleeping all day (albeit im not sleeping atm), going out again etc. So finding the right balance is going to be difficult.

I am interested to see what solution you come up with.

Lieja

I would love another dog to keep him company, but we don't really have the space and as we're in a rented house I don't think our landlords would agree. We've actually been asked to rehome a gorgeous 6 month old German Shepherd (trained to perfection I might add!) who I'd love to give a home to, but it's really not practical, our boy might not appreciate another big dog after being an only dog since he was a few months old, and our landlord would have a heart attack!

It's actually worked out great so far because OH has been taking the dog to work with him. It's not ideal because there are times when he can't be out so he has to wait in the car, but he's out for most of the day walking around the countryside and is coming home shattered! At the moment OH's boss is happy for him to go along so we'll probably stick with that while I'm working for as long as it lasts, then look at day care if he outstays his welcome or OH's contract ends.

It's actually very difficult to find a day care that looks good though, there's one about 20 miles away that specialises in malamutes but it's a bit too far! I'm worried the smaller local ones won't have enough experience with such big, boisterous, difficult dogs!