Dog ownership and working full-time
Discussion
As a kid, I grew up with several dogs in my family house, as did my wife and we would love to have one of our own.
Been with my wife for around 15 years, but we've always resisted the temptation as we both work long hours, leaving the house at 7 and not getting back till 6 or later. We share the opinion that you shouldn't have a pet in those circumstances, much less a dog as it's no life for them.
I work Mon-Fri, but in her new role my wife does 5 days/week which have to include Sat & Sun. This means one of us will be at home for 4 days out of 7. Also, I could work from home 1 day a week which would take it to 5 out of 7.
Starting to think that it might actually be possible to get a dog of our own based on the above. We would be prepared to hire a walker for the days we are not at home.
Another consideration was getting 2 dogs so during any alone time in the house they would have company.
Thoughts/opinions welcome.
Been with my wife for around 15 years, but we've always resisted the temptation as we both work long hours, leaving the house at 7 and not getting back till 6 or later. We share the opinion that you shouldn't have a pet in those circumstances, much less a dog as it's no life for them.
I work Mon-Fri, but in her new role my wife does 5 days/week which have to include Sat & Sun. This means one of us will be at home for 4 days out of 7. Also, I could work from home 1 day a week which would take it to 5 out of 7.
Starting to think that it might actually be possible to get a dog of our own based on the above. We would be prepared to hire a walker for the days we are not at home.
Another consideration was getting 2 dogs so during any alone time in the house they would have company.
Thoughts/opinions welcome.
2 dogs would definitely be the ideal situation if you are to leave them but even with a Walker I think the time you'll be out of the house is a lot.
Yes people will come on here who are out the house 5 days a week for hours on end and say their dogs are happy but of course they would say that.
The way to look at it is you leave at 07:00 dog Walker comes at 12:00 for an hour you are back at 18:00 earliest.
That's 5 hours in the morning and 5 hours in the afternoon and that's the ideal situation. I think 10 hours is excessive I know some breeds can tolerate more but as a must I wouldn't leave my dog for more than 4 and a half hours in a day.
Yes people will come on here who are out the house 5 days a week for hours on end and say their dogs are happy but of course they would say that.
The way to look at it is you leave at 07:00 dog Walker comes at 12:00 for an hour you are back at 18:00 earliest.
That's 5 hours in the morning and 5 hours in the afternoon and that's the ideal situation. I think 10 hours is excessive I know some breeds can tolerate more but as a must I wouldn't leave my dog for more than 4 and a half hours in a day.
I would agree that dogs shouldn't be left for more than about 4 hours a stretch. I have always worked full time and have always had dogs, but I had arrangements in place for someone to call in twice a day. I have always had more than one dog at a time, too, and was careful in selecting breeds/types/ages of dogs that would suit this lifestyle. This mainly consisted of sighthounds and sighthound crosses (greyhounds and lurchers). Now that my OH is at home, our choice of dogs has widened. All my dogs have been rescues, but most rescue centres won't rehome to you if the dog will be left longer than 4 hours without a break. Some won't rehome to full time workers at all. I found that the independent rescues tended to be more flexible than the nationals. If a dog will be left, the rescue will generally expect you to provide information about what arrangements you have in place. Something else you could consider for the days you will not be home is dog day care.
What I will say is that when I was single and working full time, I very rarely went out at evenings or weekends without the dogs, and didn't take holidays without them. My social life mainly revolved around dogs, as my friends and family all have dogs. I don't think it's fair to take on a dog if you're going to be out at work all day, then go out and leave them in the evening and/or at weekends too.
So it is possible, but you need to be realistic and be honest about whether your whole lifestyle (not just working hours) are suitable for a dog.
Good luck and keep us updated.
What I will say is that when I was single and working full time, I very rarely went out at evenings or weekends without the dogs, and didn't take holidays without them. My social life mainly revolved around dogs, as my friends and family all have dogs. I don't think it's fair to take on a dog if you're going to be out at work all day, then go out and leave them in the evening and/or at weekends too.
So it is possible, but you need to be realistic and be honest about whether your whole lifestyle (not just working hours) are suitable for a dog.
Good luck and keep us updated.
Cheers all, some food for thought there.
As I said in my initial post, we have rejected the idea of getting a dog for several years - solely down to the fact that we would not be able to spend the time that any dog deserves.
As one of us will be home 5 out of 7 days now, thought it might be a good opportunity.
Will consider it further,
As I said in my initial post, we have rejected the idea of getting a dog for several years - solely down to the fact that we would not be able to spend the time that any dog deserves.
As one of us will be home 5 out of 7 days now, thought it might be a good opportunity.
Will consider it further,
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