Leaving a dog alone all day !

lightening

all snipped!

off topic....

beth-lou

peasant wrote: »

You're simplyfying things a bit there ...

1)"may not be ideal"
ideal for whom?
Dogs weren't made to be left alone for extended periods every day. Full stop.
Yet we are forcing them to do so because life has changed and we need to go away to work.
So we rationalise this to ourselves by stating that the dog is better off alone than dead. The dog can't make that rationalisation ...all it does is feel abandoned.
Your "humanising" the dog by expecting it to understand your reasoning ...it doesn't.

You're misinterpreting me. Where in my post did I say that I expect a dog to understand my reasoning? I said get a buddy of you're not going to be there. Dogs are social animals, and another dog being there is company. That is what I said. I am not recommending leaving them on their own, mine aren't, but not all situations are the same.

peasant wrote: »

2) humanising the dog causes problems
Yes, it does ...see above for example.
Many undesirable behaviours a dog may display can be man-made because of wrong/bad training or "humanising" as you call it.
Typical boredom/separation anxiety behavior (like excessive barking, destructiveness, escaping, soiling the place, etc) however is caused by abandonment ...nothing else.

I am well aware of that and did not imply otherwise. However, some people over indulge their dogs and treat them like humans, leading to all types of neurotic behaviour and that comment was made in relation to the Good Dog, Bad Dog programme and the people who didn't know how to handle their dogs.

peasant

beth-lou wrote: »

Dogs are social animals, and another dog being there is company. That is what I said. I am not recommending leaving them on their own, mine aren't, but not all situations are the same.

Getting a second dog may or may not work.

They may get along and keep each other company ...or you may just have two (or more) noisy, distressed and destructive dogs on your hands.

It's fifty-fifty really and therefore can't rightly be advocated as THE solution to having to leave your dog alone.

Glad it worked for you and yours, but there are plenty examples out there where it didn't.

lightening

peasant wrote: »

Glad it worked for you and yours, but there are plenty examples out there where it didn't.

Yeah, worked for me and mine too, I have been lucky with the dogs I got, we don't work every day of the week, we live beside a beach and a park, we are out every morning and evening.

But realistically, the dog would be more balanced and happier with someone at home all day. I would think long and hard about getting another dog as much as I love having one around.

votejohn

Glowing wrote: »

Wow! I hope it works out for you

Perhaps you should start a new thread on this? Are you only going to take neutered/spayed animals? And will you be taking on all breeds?

Hiya, yes, I will only be taking neutered dogs with up to date vaccinations.

Unfortunately my insurance will not allow me to take restricted breeds, but I am trying to find a way to work around that, as we will be putting each dog through a strict evaluation process before they can become a fully fledged member of The Dog House.

The Sweeper

Can I just point out, people with more than one dog, who work all day - you're not leaving your dogs alone all day, because there's more than one of them. Two or more dogs, well established as kennel-mates, will entertain each other when you're not there. They'll play together, sleep together and have each other for company. (That's not to say I believe anyone with one dog should rush out and get a second - they make good companion animals for each other once they're USED to each other.)

Your dog having company during the day does not necessarily mean your dog having YOU. A a social animal, they just need another living thing to break up the monotony of a day in an enclosed space. So all the people ranting on this thread about how their dogs are happy and well-adjusted, and their dogs don't suffer because they're at work all day - yes, you're right, because you have MORE THAN ONE DOG.

I don't understand why anybody would get one dog and then leave it on its own in the back garden from 8 in the morning to 7 in the evening. What's the point? You get out of your animals what you put into them - if you're lucky enough to have a breed that still responds well when you get home in the evenings, imagine what a fabulous dog that would be if it HAD some interaction with another creature during the day.

As for this "I work all day and I take my dog for an hour's walk every evening" - why would anyone bother getting an animal so they can interact with it for seven hours a week?

My parent's neighbour back in Ireland has three dogs. They've never been taken for a walk. They live in the back garden all day. The interaction they get with the family involves a few minutes of greeting as each member walks through the back garden to get to their cars. They are phenomenally bored. And I just don't understand why their owners bothered getting them in the first place. Maybe they were cute puppies? The only good thing about those dogs is they have a glimmer of hope in that there are three of them, so perhaps if they ever get rehomed to someone who actually gives a toss about their animals, they will have a chance of responding to training to walk on a lead, or fetch a ball.

If you don't HAVE a lot of time to spend with an animal, or you don't WANT to spend a lot of time with it, or you'd just like one because it'll make you walk for an hour every day - then I recommend you offer your dog-walking services to a neighbour, volunteer to walk THEIR dog. Don't bother getting your own dog, because it won't be a rewarding experience for you.

boomerang

whitser wrote: »

ok i except that. maybe "nonsense" was a bit strong. but from my experience once a day is and always will be best. like i always say on this site we all have our own way of doing things.

It may be your own experience Whitser that your dogs do fine fed once a day - but it is just that - your own personal experience, with your dogs. I get a very strong feeling from your postings that you feel you know better than anyone else here because you have lived with gundogs/terriers/hounds for a long time, and how you care for them in terms of feeding etc. works for them.

Feeding once a day is not going to suit say for example, a rescue dog who was starved and is now so possessive of its grub that it practically hoovers it down, only for it all to come back up minutes later because it ate too fast.

It also doesn't necessarily suit one of the deep-chested or large dog breeds with a higher than average incidence of gastric torsion.

Toy breeds can have difficulty maintaing their blood sugar levels and are susceptible to hypoglycemia. They therefore may benefit from free feeding throughout the day or two meals daily rather than a single large meal each day. I have seen this with my aunt's Papillon. If he goes too long without a meal, he becomes sluggish and sleepy. Hence he's fed twice daily.

Still think what I said was nonsense?

whitser

like i said in my post at the top of the page,"nonsense" was a bit strong. and like i also said,we all have our own way of looking after our dogs. and everyones methods has its pro's and con's. dont get too upset at my opinions....any thing i say on this forum is just my opinion,nothing else, im no expert. and im certainly open to debate, even though i'll win:D

Lenni

Hi All,

I have just read this thread from start to finish and have to say it is very heated! Does anyone actually no if OP took the dog?

Votejohn,

I think what you are doing is brill, really good idea. Its like a creche for dogs. Do you think you will ever open one up in Dublin?

Thanks
Lenni