Pets
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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I would love to get a dog, but...
both me and my husband are out of the house working for 9 hrs each day. I'm sure we are not the only ones to work full time jobs and have a dog. I don't think it's fair to the dog to be left alone for that long and making them hold it and we not really keen on getting a dog walker. Are we just not an ideal dog family? Just curious, How do you do it?
Re: I would love to get a dog, but...
Husbands should be like Kleenex: Soft, strong, and disposable.
We aren't too comfortable with someone in our house while we are not home.
People who work FT jobs and get a dog usually offset their time out of the house by either hiring a dog walker to come by, getting incredibly generous family/friends to come by (we were very lucky to be able to use this option for days when H worked longer/couldn't get home for our pup), or using doggie daycare (but I don't think they accept very young puppies, especially not without all their initial vaccinations).
We make it work, but like I said, we have the help of family and friends who have been available and willing to come over during the day to let out our pup and play with her a bit. Others on the board do have dog walkers come by every day, and others use doggie daycare a few days a week.
If none of these are options for you, then you're probably right that you're simply not a good doggie household right now. In the future, work schedules might change or become more flexible, at which point you could revisit the possibility. Otherwise, I'd say go for a smaller, caged animal (like a bunny, guinea pig, or rat) or a cat or two.
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Darwin is alone 8 or 9 hours some days. Those days when DH works from home he sleeps ALL DAY. As in, does not move from his spot on the sofa. So I have no doubt that is what he does when we aren't there.
We adopted an adult dog b.c. of our schedules, you could adopt a dog from a foster home where the family works and the dog is used to being alone during the day. If you properly exercise them the rest of the time, its NBD.
If you want to get a dog, I would look at getting an adult dog. We are frequently gone for 9 hours a day, and our youngest dog is 16 months. As long as you are willing to commit to walking, training, and exercising the dog before or after work, I don't see a reason why you shouldn't look at getting a dog.
We don't have a dog walker, but on days that we are gone longer than 9 hours, we have a family friend or my mom, come over and let them out to potty.
I think that if you get a dog that is not a puppy and that has had experience being home all day while it's owners worked that this would not be an issue.
Our dogs (Cosmo-black lab, 6yo and Doby-kelpie,2yo) do not have a problem staying home alone from 6:45am-4:30pm and that's almost 10 hours. When they were little puppies, we had a different situation and someone could let them out mid day, but that is no longer the case, and they NEVER EVER have accidents.
Crate training is also a wonderful tool for house breaking, and i'm sure that with a dog who is older and possibly already house broken and crate trained you would not have a problem.
But if there are other underlying reasons why you don't think a dog would work for you, please listen to your gut.
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My dogs (ages 3 and 6-ish) are fine on their own for nine to ten hours.
Also, if you are really that concerned about the dog, look for a walker (either an individual, or a service with several walkers) who are bonded and insured.
My H and I are out of the house for 9 hours each weekday. And when he's traveling (which is a lot), I'm gone for 12.5 hours. We have a trusted neighbor whom we pay $5 a day to come let the dogs out to pee at lunch time. I can't hold it for 9 hours, and while I know the dogs just sleep while we're gone, I still think 9 hours is a really long time for my dogs.
In addition, when we get home on weeknights, and the dogs have been alone all day, it's dog time. We walk, we run, we play ball, we feed them, we snuggle on the couch...we don't go out. We feel guilty about doing anything on weeknights since it means that the dogs will be alone even more time. Silly, maybe. But it happens...it happens to most of us here on the Pets board!
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Thanks for judging! I guess I'm a terrible dog owner because my dog is alone for 10 hours 5 days a week.
Way to take that personally. Relax...breathe...educate...
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We have two dogs and both work full time. They're both older (Jasper is the youngest, about 2 or 3). We make sure they get lots of play time before or after work (we both work around 2pm until 10pm ish most days. Other days it's 6am to 2pm).
Usually, we play so much all they want to do is sleep. Not gonna lie, we've gotten the "Mom, can we PLEASE stop playing now and go inside" looks. And then I throw the ball again anyway.
We don't have a dog walker or anyone who stops in. If you do get a dog, you will need to dedicate a lot of your home time to the dog. As others recommended, I would get an adult dog.
In regards to "making them wait" Dakota, our older dog, often needs to be "told" to potty. She'll go in the morning and she really has no desire to go until much later. Each dog is different, like people - some pee more than others! Also, the frequency of which your dog will poo also depends on the food you feed.
DH and I both work FT and on long days, we are gone for 12 hours (usually we are gone about 9-10 hours). We have a dog walker who comes each afternoon and talks them out. Our walker works for a company that is bonded and insured and runs the "hotel" where our pups stay when we go OOT. I have never, ever had any issue with any of the walkers from that company (we have used 3-4 walkers as we moved between neighborhoods). Do you live in NYC or elsewhere in NY State? I only ask because I'm sure you could a find a reliable, bonded & insured dog walker/walking company in NYC (I lived there for 3 years).
I agree with others that an adult dog would be the best option if you wanted to adopt a dog. A puppy needs to go out very often, and housebreaking would be a nightmare if you force the puppy to have accidents by leaving it alone longer than it can physically hold its bladder.
However, I think it's important to think about whether there are other reasons why you would or would not be a good match for a dog (either a particular dog or any dog at all). What it really comes down to for me is whether I am willing and able to meet my dogs' needs. I chose a breed with relatively low exercise needs (pugs) that was bred for companionship (rather than herding, hunting, pulling, etc.). My pups get 1-1.5 hours of exercise per weekday (split between the walker and us) and anywhere from 1-3 hours on the weekends. They sleep pretty much the whole day and are totally satisfied cuddling on our laps. Plenty of ladies on here have very high-energy dogs and work FT. They commit to fulfilling their dogs' needs, even if that means sacrificing other things (going straight home after work, getting up early, going outside in bad weather, whatever). If you can make that commitment, go for it! If you're unsure, hold off. I can't imagine my life without my dogs, so it makes any sacrifices seem very minor, but that's not the case for everyone.
GL with your decision!
ETA: I realized I should probably add that my dogs are 4.5 and 5.5 years old. We got T as a 13-week-old when I was in law school and could come home multiple times a day. We adopted S when he was almost 4 because we were both working FT. They have graduated to having their own room where they are baby-gated during the day, but they were crated until a few months ago. Again, they wouldn't be in the crate for more than 5-6 hours at a time since we have a walker.
Our dog is in the house 9-10 hours 5 days a week most weeks. We do not have a dog walker because we know that she is fine for that length of time (10 hours is our limit). We did adopt her at 3 years old, knowing that an adult dog would be best for this situation. Also take breed into consideration - I wouldn't adopt a known energetic breed (like a border collie) with that situation. (our dog is the ultimate mutt... possibly Rotti/German Shepherd/Lab/?)
We also make sure she gets a walk or a run every morning before work (lasting 20-30 min). This level of exercise is fine for her.
We have lucked out by recently meeting neighbors that love to have her over for playdates with their 2 Rottis about once every other week.
Side note: She is not crated. I personally would not leave a dog crated for that long without a break. When she was crated we lived in a location where my DH could come home from work every day to let her out. We since moved and that is not possible so luckily we were able to "graduate" her to staying in a bedroom during the day.
Do not let your work schedules get in the way if you are committed to meeting your dogs needs outside of your work time. Know that going places immediately after work won't happen anymore because you have to let your dog out. I think that is one of the biggest changes a lot of people might not think about. I recommend looking at an adult dog in a foster home where they can tell you how the dog is when left alone for long hours at a time. And good luck!
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You didn't come across as judgmental at all! Very good question - I think. It's good you wanted to be sure this was a-ok and get some opinions before adopting a dog and then finding out you didn't have time for him/her.
Also - I really hope you get an adult doggie (if you get a dog!) Or even an older adult dog! Everyone seems to adopt puppies, and there are so may adult dogs in the shelters!
Good luck! (and if you do adopt - we want pictures!
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