October 2009 Weddings
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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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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Attention Dog owners...
Sooooo my DH and I have been wanting to get a dog for some time. He grew up with one. I never had one, but always wanted one.
There's a greyhound track in the area that's shutting down and apparently hundreds of dogs are now up for adoption. We're considering the possibility.
For those of you who own dogs, I'm hoping you can give me some information. If we were to get a dog, that dog would be alone from 8am - 5pm unless I went home over my lunch break. I don't have a problem going home on my lunch break, it's just that there are going to be days when that's a problem.
Can a dog be left alone for that long?
Re: Attention Dog owners...
Thanks for reminding me, I meant to post the info for this earlier! I'll start a new thread as to not hi-jack yours.
They can, but it's no fun for them. If you're going to do it, crate train and/or hire a walker.
Depends on the dog - I used to have one and she stayed home with her dad (my ex) during the day. When we were away from the house, she was crated.
Crate training is best done from an early age where it's second nature to them and once they're on a schedule, it's best to stick to it. I never had an accident outside of the first night or two with my dog and yet my parents dog still pees all over the house.
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If you were to have a dog that would be left alone for that amount of time, you'd want to get a breed that would be able to tolerate it pretty well. I would research different breeds before you decide on which breed would be a good match for your lifestyle. If you're planning on adopting a greyhound be prepared to give him/her a lot of exercise. I took this info from dogbreedinfo dot com:
" Normal 0 The Greyhound will do okay in an apartment if they get enough exercise. They are relatively inactive indoors and a small yard will do. Greyhounds are sensitive to the cold but do well in cold climates as long as they wear a coat outside. Do not let this dog off the leash unless in a safe area. They have a strong chase instinct and if they spot an animal such as a rabbit they just might take off. They are so fast you will not be able to catch them. Greyhounds that are kept as pets should have regular opportunities to run free on open ground in a safe area, as well as daily long, brisk walks, where the dog is made to heel beside or behind the person holding the lead. In a dog's mind the leader leads the way and that leader needs to be the human. Greyhounds love a regular routine."
Millie,
That's what I hear. They're amazingly docile, and are, from what I understand "inside dogs." We would let the dog have the run of the place while we were gone. No crates, but no yard either.
JLK -
I've been doing research and have read that exact thing you posted.
I have bulldogs and they r the laziest things ever. Literally they play fight with each other for like 15 minutes and then sleep for 4 hrs cause it makes them tired lol
I think that leaving them alone for that long is kinda unfair to them. I would definitely get someone to maybe keep them a couple times a week (maybe a parent or friend who likes your dog who might want company during the day). I am having a hard time realizing I will have to leave my dogs from 8-2 4 times a week. I think I am going to take them to my dh's parents once a week because they have lots of other dogs to play with. They definitely need some interaction during the day, because they will have pent up energy and might start behaving badly, taking it out on your furniture, etc. because they are so bored!
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We have two dogs, a doberman and a mini goldendoodle. The goldendoodle is VERY mellow and would sleep all day no matter if we were here or not. The doberman is high energy and high nerves. We keep both of them crated during the work day, but we let them play in the morning in the yard and then take them for a walk in the evenings.
I like crate training because:
1. it keeps your dog safe. They won't be chewing on anything that could hurt them. Or getting into anything that they could get hurt. Nothing against people who leave their dogs in the yard, but I know many a dog that has gotten out during the work day and it didn't end well. JMO.
2. It keeps your stuff safe. No chewing on furniture if they can't get to it.
3. It's gives them a place of their own. Our goldendoodle will go in the crate whenever he is tired, just to get away from whatever else is going on in the house. It's all he's ever known, so it's his "bed" to him lol.
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We used to have a dog (we had to put him down last year due to cancer and old age) and he would be alone from 730 to 4 each day. When he was a puppy he would get destructive and chew things but as he grew he lost those habits and was fine with being alone. Just make sure to walk him when you get home so he gets his excersize.
My MIL has a greyhound and he's a very good dog. He was also rescued from a track. He never barks or jumps and is good in the house as well as outside. They live on an acherage so he has lots of room to run and he gets along very well with their cat and their other dog which is a black lab-blue healer cross.
As far as crate training, I tried to crate train my dog Harley but when he started becoming paralyzed I realized that it was really uncomfortable for him and he would slip on the plastic bottom of the crate, so I let him out. My dog Rocky that I just got a few months ago was crate trained, but I found that he would go to the bathroom in his crate at night sometimes, and would cry to get out. So, I started leaving Rocky and Harley out together in the den. They have their beds under the Christmas tree and I leave a gate up. When I go to bed, they go get in their beds and stay there all night. When I come downstairs in the morning they are usually snuggled up together. During the day I usually put them on the 2nd main floor (since Harley can't climb stairs). This usually works out well because they can play together on the 2nd floor, but if Rocky wants to get away he has access to 1st and 3rd floor.
So...to make a long story short... it just depends on the dog for crate training. I think if you have two dogs, they tend to just lay and sleep together and don't need a crate. During the day, it allows them to play together (if you know that they will be safe, and you put those extra special toys that cause fights AWAY!)
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