Owning a dog when working fulltime?

[SaraE]

Anyone here work full time and own a Dog?

I luckily work from home but i wondered how people who work full time make it work?

A friend of mine is a nurse and does 12hr shifts 3x a week and she has a greyhound.

I know hers goes to doggy daycare unless she does a nightshift then she goes to a stay over doggy daycare.

Im interested to know how you make it work while working full time?

 

[JoanneF]

I know people who do it - but we have only had dogs when one of us worked shifts.

It is possible but takes a lot of planning with dog walkers or day care, and of course the ability to put plans in place for when the dog walker can't come etc. And, it depends on the dog too.

 

[excuseme]

Unfortunately there are many dogs that are put into one of the modern convenient cages as a safe place while the owners are out at full time work and then again over night

I am very surprised that the rspca have not banned these cages.
I realise that they can and do have their uses when used responsibly but not for full time sessions of up to 10 hours or sometimes more

When working, my dogs always came to work with me, if not they had freedom in the kitchen. Were retired now but If we have to go out for any length of time , we have a dog flap in our back door where the girls can get in and out into our secure small back yard and have freedom of movement and use the outside newspaper for toileting on, if they wish.
.

 

[Zula77]

My parents both used to work full time and I remember my dad built a dog flap into the back door so the dogs always had access to outside. When I worked nights a few years ago my dog would just sleep then I'd take them out as soon as I got back and have a neighbour keep an ear out. But definitely depends on the dog!

 

[SaraE]

Thanks everyone.

My friend i know mainly uses doggy daycare but she said harley ( her greyhound) prefers being at home as all he does is sleep , hes a retired racing greyhound she rescued and the rescue said there the perfect breed for full time workers.

Somtimes she said her shifts dont match with the picking up times from daycare so on those days hes on his own but she walks him before and after work

 

[JudyN]

Some greyhounds can cope with being left for a long time - it may be what a retired greyhound was used to in the past, and they do like their sleep. But they are also very sensitive, so I can't imagine taking the risk of getting a dog knowing I'd leave it all day.

I'd also worry that although the dog looked calm, didn't bark, etc., they were in fact shut down, with conditioned helplessness. And that though the owner fully intended to give them loads of stimulation when they were together, they'd find it hard to do after a full working day and having to cook/eat, etc., and it would gradually slip.

 

[Rinkydinkydo]

I've worked full-time all my life and had multiple dogs. I've had no problems and neither have the dogs. I've never left pups on their own,I used to change shifts and work nights so I could take the pups to work with me until they were ready to join the others. They all had the total run of were I was living as they always do.

Exercise, they'd get a hours free running before I went to work. When I came home,out for about 2 hours free running. Then back out at night for a hours free running. On average they got 4 hours a day or more regardless of the weather or what time of year it was. For me dogs aren't just pets, they are a way of life to me. I did work out once that I was spending £600 a year on Costa coffees. I'd come out of work and grab a Costa from the garage so I could have a brew on the way home which ment I could get straight out with my dogs when I got home. Madness I know,but its what I used to do .

 

[paperweight]

i don't have a dog myself, but when i was involved in rescue, i saw a number of different arrangements.

in addition to the folks who worked from home or brought their dogs to work, lots of families had multiple working adults who were on different schedules so the dogs weren't alone for very long. still others were able to go home during the day or had friends/family/hired dog walkers who would check on the dogs. a couple dogs spent the day with family or neighbors.

many people used a mix of strategies and there are surely other approaches that work. i think it's doable, but it depends on the dog, the person, and the circumstances.

 

[Jodie Rangers]

I don't think it's fair on a puppy to leave him/her alone for hours and hours every day. Puppies are essentially like babies and need constant attention and looking after.

It depends when it comes to an older dog. If the dog is used to being alone and doesn't suffer from separation anxiety then it's okay.

Ideally it's better to have someone in the house most of the time because dogs are sociable animals.

 

[Ari_RR]

My 2 cents - I have a feeling that in general folks underestimate the time commitment having a dog really means.
There may well be ways - arranging day care, etc.... And to some extend different dogs have different needs. But if life is such that you are away from home for most of the day every workday, I would think twice whether this is the right time.
In our case, when we worked full time in the office (pre-pandemic), other family members would come over to our place during the day. But that aside - this means 5 am wake up every day to take the dog out for a meaningful walk, and the same every evening when I get home...
It's workable, I am sure, but for this to make sense you would need to really, really, really need to have a dog. Then the sacrifices will be worthwhile.

 

[Dibbythedog]

Its upsetting when you read of dogs being left in crates for 10 hours every day. It seems to happen a lot on other countries but I expect it happens here in the Uk too. Ive walked dogs for people who work all day in the past. They seemed fine and happy to go back to sleep after their walk.