Dog owners in here!

Blinkz

Blinkz

Blinkz

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
3,184
Location
Frimley, Surrey or 38,000ft
Hey guys and gals,
This has been praying on my mind for a bit. I've looked around google and not really found any particularly specific or useful information!

Basically I love dogs (before any of the immature people rush in here and make crap jokes I'm talking about the canine variety!) We used to have two of them in the family years ago but had to leave then when we moved house for a variety of reasons.

I really want to get a dog in the future, however the problem is that I will be working quite a bit. As a pilot I'll be generally working 5 days on 4 days off, and for the 5 days I'm working I'll be leaving the house for around 12 hours or so. Obviously this is too long to keep a dog in a house for alone.

So, you dog owners, how do you balance the needs of having a dog with work commitments? Any information and advice will be great!
 
Not everybody is suitable for owning a dog. Remember that they're animals that need companionship and activity. Personally, I think it would be a bit cruel to coop a dog up on its own all those times, especially the 12 hour stints. What would it do?

Have you considered owning a pet that isn't so needy on its owner. Such as a cat?
 
My dog is left alone for about 9hours a day. Big staffy, he get's walked every morning and evening and love's his fruit and tuna!. I really think it depends on the dog you get, staffs are VERY loyal and one of the best, if not the best family dog's and will only love you more when your home.
 
i wish i could get a dog, but i cant due to being at work all day.

i don't think its fair to get a dog and then leave it at home alone all day.
 
To be honest don't get one! our dog returned from cyprus last week and is living with my ex husband as our landlord said no to the dog. My ex works so I have do drive over at least 2 a day to walk it etc.. this is a pain. I really think that if you are going to be out of the house you should really re-think getting one unless you pay a dog walker to come in.
Also would you get a puppy? your house will end up distroyed through the dogs boredom. And it would just get used to you being around for a few days then you would be gone for ages. However I do love dogs and we have always had them and I have always had to dash home at lunch times etc.. to let them out. good luck.
 
It also depends on your environment too.

We've got a staffie cross and an english bull. We live pretty much in the middle of the country and we're fortunate where we've a large garden AND able to leave the back door open all day. There have been times when Soph and I have left early on a morning (about 7.30ish) and not returned until 18:00+. Doggie business has been done outside (they're house trained) so apart from a mad panic of slobbering and pestering, we can pretty much leave them alone for a long period of time.

But if you're keeping a dog locked in the house for 12 hours a day, I gotta say, I think it's a but cruel. Not only are you running the risk of them soiling everywhere (accidents do happen), but boredom is gonna set in and you mind find you'll come home to house full of bits.
 
It would be really bad for a dog to be left alone for so long, specially indoors. If you really want a pet with the hours you are away from home then a cat would be far more suitable.
 
As has been said, with the hours and way you work, it's unfair on a dog if you were to get one.

The unfortunate truth is simply that unless you have someone that is able to walk the dog etc. when you are no around you shouldn't get a dog. :(

InvG
 
Thanks for all the replies. I am well aware that obviously I need to do whats best for the dog, and I am in no way 100% getting one. I'm just looking at options and any way that I could do it which would be fair to the dog!

I also agree that leaving it alone for 12hrs isn't fair. But are there ways around this? letting it run around the garden? hiring a dog walker once a day? etc
 
Blinkz said:
I also agree that leaving it alone for 12hrs isn't fair. But are there ways around this? letting it run around the garden? hiring a dog walker once a day? etc
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If you can afford it (I'd guess so as you are a pilot, and you earn a fair wage -as far as I know), then yes a dog walker is a viable option.
Leaving it in the garden is not such a good idea, if it's cold and wet etc. the dog will get ill and distressed.

Something you could do is get/build a proper kennel (not like the ones on cartoons), ones like these which basically have a small house for the dog, and a run for it to be out in, and leave whenever it likes. These also mean it can get shelter from the weather, and not destroy your garden. :)

My girlfriend's mother and stepfather have kennels like the big ones (they built them themselves though) for their King Charles Cavaliers as they have about 11 of them, it means they aren't in the house destroying stuff at night, and during the day when they are at work and nobody is home, again they are safe, and dry, and warm enough, and can still get outside and widdle etc. :)

InvG
 
Giving it too much of a run is a bad idea unless you can guarantee it's not going to get out and run amok. Depends on the breed in that instance I would imagine. Still doesn't change the fact it has no interaction with you though. You also can't just leave it in the garden on its own due to its safety. It'll need warm shelter if it rains or drops cold etc.

Dog walker is fine, but if it's exclusive to just walking it, arranging pick up and drop offs could be awkward if you aren't around.

Have you thought about a pet sitter? You basically pay a reputable agency to send a sitter around your house. They spend a portion of the day sitting with your pet, feeding, playing with etc, taking it on a walk and also grooming it if you want. They're insured as well in the event of them breaking something in your house. :)
 
Blinkz said:
I also agree that leaving it alone for 12hrs isn't fair. But are there ways around this? letting it run around the garden? hiring a dog walker once a day? etc
Click to expand...

Like I said, we have done in the past left hours for a considerable time and are 100% confident that they are safe, especially how they have the freedom to go outside when they want where their toys are (as well as sights, sounds of the day).

We also leave a radio on in the kitchen so at least there's noise throughout the house, again it does help them think that they aren't alone.

If you can be 100% that you'd feel confident leaving your door open while you are out, as opposed to locking the dog out and letting it run around in the garden with no shelter, then personally I think that's an option, BUT, everyday is a bit much.

Dog walkers I've mixed feelings with. Yeah I appreciate 99.9% of them are honest, but you're letting someone into your house where if anything goes wrong (break in, door not locked, anything broken, dog hurt) you're gonna blame them first, and of course will your dog let someone into the house while you're not there? It is, afterall, gonna be guardian yours and its propery!
 
Blinkz said:
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Do you not have any family living nearby that could help out with feeding and walking him while your at work?

We're getting our puppy on the 17th and fortunatly both the gf/ and I work close enough to be able to go home for our dinner hours. Also judging by how excited my parents are getting they'll be wanting to take him out a lot.(they've already got day trips planned for him while we're at work:p)
 
At the moment I'm just trying to understand options. I don't know exactly where I'll be living/based. Like I said I'll be working 5 days on 4 off, so I'll be able to spend 4 days with them after working.....which hopefully counts for something. Like I said I'm just looking at options, the last thing I am going to do is get one just because I want one and to hell with the consquences. I just thought that there must be people who manage to juggle work and dogs so would be interesting to see how they do it.
 
My dogs at the most are left for 12 hours and they dont mess or destroy the house.

Its probably 2-3 times a week this happens at most but as there are 2 of them im sure they dont get bored as much as if I only had 1.

The dog will let you know if the longer hours are not what it likes imo.
 
Longest we used to leave the dogs would be around 10 hours a day. However we did several things to help that...

We had 3 dogs so they kept each other company and exercised. :)
We used to leave the utility room door open all day so they had access to a room as well as the garden but the door to the kitchen was locked so the house was still secure.
They had dry biscuits and clean water available all day and they got feed once at the same day each day.
Finally they were also older dogs by this time as we'd gradually got them to this stage. None of it would have been possible with a puppy. Same goes if we'd been in a flat, had a small garden or had them properly trained.
 
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