Is it possible to own a dog when you are out working daily?

irlforum

Hi there,
I'm just wondering if people manage this? Or more importantly is it ok for the dog?

I see the German Shepherd is an extremely popular dog worldwide but nowadays is it not most common that adults are out working during the day - both man and wife in families for example. How are they so popular given this fact?

I would like an intelligent dog, a guard dog with a sense of purpose and confidence. I'm single at the moment, in the future I would like to get married but always envisage the future as working and suspect that should I marry she will be out working also. Does this mean I can't own a dog with the characteristics of a German shepherd?

Any info appreciated - thanks.

Giggles1982

German shephards are fantastic dogs , we had our for 13 years & still miss her so much . My parents both worked full time , it wasnt ideal as she didnt get walked every day , which i feel they need . I'd love one myself but I work 12hr shifts , 4 days a week , so I dont feel that would be fair .

However i have colleagues who live alone but have better shifts and they can walk the dog every second day at least , marathon walks at weekends etc , this seems to work . They are fantastic guard dogs & so loyal , so if you feel you could commit to this , and have a home where you dont mind a big german sheperd lying on your feet while you watch tv ( ours constantly did!) then go for it.

morganafay

Some people don't think that you should have a dog if you work and nobody will be home, but I think it's ok. Because people have to work. If the dog gets walked before and after work, and then gets to spend the evening inside with its owner getting lots of attention, then I think that's ok. It's better than most dogs get.

The dog would prefer company during the day, but I think most dogs would be fine with just morning and evenings . . . unless they have seperation issues.

fishfoodie

I'm in exactly the same situation as the OP; even down to wanting to get a GSD

I think everyone who cares about dogs wants them to have the perfect environment. That's understandable, but not terribly realistic.

It's like how every parent wants their child to only have 15,20, however many kids in their class. It isn't going to happen, & it completely ignores the fact that the parents certainly didn't have that few kids in their class, & they turned out okay.

I think , especially in the case of rescues, those housing them need to trust their judgement when they are sizing up people & their situations & not be bound by rules that aren't achievable for the vast majority of people.

It's far better to be able to home one dog & then save another dog, than to send potentially good candidates away, because they don't have a 5 acre farm with a butler for the dog & a hot dog tree

CreedonsDogDayc

A mid day dog walker is the ideal solution to being out at work all day, but if your working all day you wouldn't be able to get a pup, and even with an adult dog you would need to take a couple of weeks off work to get the dog settled, adjusted, and then slowly introduce it to being alone for long periods of time.

Lucyx

i really feel that it depends on the dog and the owner being invested enough in the dog to walk him properly before work and immediately after work.

i've worked full time and it did kill me leaving my dog at home all day but i gave her a good walk in the morning and a good walk in the evenings and she seemed fine with this.

she got at least an hour and a half exercise a day and now with the bright evenings she'd get a good beach run each and every evening and shes grand and tired then.

if you're gonna be out working all day, the good long walks cannot be underestimated.

Shazanne

I have a little rescue terrier and both my husband and I work and I hate leaving her in the mornings. But the excitement when we get home and the fun we have in the evenings is great! When we got her over a year ago is was in pretty poor condition and rather nervous. Now she looks great and is very confident and happy - so things must be going ok.
I leave her inside if the weather is dodgy and she has a big soft doggie bed up on her couch to snooze on. If the weather is nice she's outside, where she has a large kennel with a bed inside.
I really hope she ok during the day - it would kill me to think she's not - and this thread has made me a bit concerned. Any ideas on anything else I could do to make her happier will be very welcome:)

morganafay

Shazanne wrote: »

I have a little rescue terrier and both my husband and I work and I hate leaving her in the mornings. But the excitement when we get home and the fun we have in the evenings is great! When we got her over a year ago is was in pretty poor condition and rather nervous. Now she looks great and is very confident and happy - so things must be going ok.
I leave her inside if the weather is dodgy and she has a big soft doggie bed up on her couch to snooze on. If the weather is nice she's outside, where she has a large kennel with a bed inside.
I really hope she ok during the day - it would kill me to think she's not - and this thread has made me a bit concerned. Any ideas on anything else I could do to make her happier will be very welcome:)

I'm sure she is happy, and I think most dogs probably get used to it. She probably sleeps all day, cos it's normal for a dog to sleep a lot.

You could leave her those toys wioth treats inside that she has to try to get the treats out. That might help a bit. Or leave a few treats in random places around the house that she can sniff out.

I think the best thing for a dog left alone is to have a second dog, or a cat, that they can spend the day with, but obviously that's not practical for everyone

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Of course you can have a dog and work during the day. I have always had dogs and we both work. The dog is walked every evening and gets lots of play time. I think talk of mid day walkers is rubbish. Left to their own devices most dogs will sleep through the day anyway. The dog will be fine if it's properly acclimatised to it's routine.

morganafay

Phoenix Ugly Matchmaker wrote: »

if it's properly acclimatised to it's routine.

I think that's exactly the key thing! Dogs like a routine and if they're used to being alone for the day, then most will cope fine. Dogs can sleep about 18 hours a day anyway right?

Narsil

I agree with Srameen there

I have a 13 week old GSD pup and work fulltime.

I took the first week off with him and took a day off a week and went home at lunchtimes to him. Anytime i have been off with him he sleeps from 9.30/10am to 2.30pm ish anyway!!

He gets a small walk in the morning and a longer one in the evening with fetch games, weekly dog training sessions in a group and trips out in the car to visit and play with other dogs and puppies to socialise him.

With all this he seems a very happy boy. He has a marrowbone/chew, teddies and toys during the day to keep him occupied and is with us all evening long

Once you are willing to put in the time before and after your work hours and at weekends to play and socialise with him/her you will have no problem getting a GSD and working full time.
Please be aware though if you are not willing to do all this it may be better to look for a less demanding breed

Best of luck:)

adser53

morganafay wrote: »

Some people don't think that you should have a dog if you work and nobody will be home, but I think it's ok. Because people have to work. If the dog gets walked before and after work, and then gets to spend the evening inside with its owner getting lots of attention, then I think that's ok. It's better than most dogs get.

The dog would prefer company during the day, but I think most dogs would be fine with just morning and evenings . . . unless they have seperation issues.

Couldn't agree more with this. We had 3 dogs and we were both working full time up until last November with no problems at all. Plenty of walks and attention for the furries in the evening time. My missus is at home now and we also have a 4th dog and to be honest the routine hasn't changed at all since she stopped working. They obviously see her a bit more but they still spend best part of the day outside in the dog run until the evening like they always did and they're perfectly happy.

Phoenix Ugly Matchmaker wrote: »

Of course you can have a dog and work during the day. I have always had dogs and we both work. The dog is walked every evening and gets lots of play time. I think talk of mid day walkers is rubbish. Left to their own devices most dogs will sleep through the day anyway. The dog will be fine if it's properly acclimatised to it's routine.

Again I couldn't agree more. This whole thing with mid-day dog walkers is unneccessary. What did people do before this became popular when they got a dog? :rolleyes:

lrushe

I agree with all above, it might not be ideal but it's definately it is ok to work full time and have a dog. I have 3, one being a 9 month old Rottie with alot of energy , depending on what shift I am on I will either bring them out for an hour first thing in the morning or in the afternoon, I will usually feed them just as I am going out the door to work to give them something to focus on as I'm leaving rather than on me leaving, it also makes me leaving into a positive thing. I also try to vary their walk as much as possbile to stop it from getting boring, even just doing there regular walk backwards (starting where I usually finish or finish where I usually start), just to tire out their minds as well as their legs

irlforum

I've been taking a look at <snip> there in the last while. If I was to get a GSD I would want full training so I'm thinking that maybe it would be best to buy a dog off these guys that's already trained?

Or would it be more economic to buy a pup myself and send it to them or similar for training?

Any idea how much one of their dogs would cost? I think I would like the personal protection training - maybe just level one would do.

moving on

It would really depend on the dog and whether or not you are prepared to walk it in the morning and evening. Its a big responsibility and shouldnt be taken lightly as most dogs will get very bored during the day. The dog would have to be housetrained do it dosnt go all over the house, unless you have a garden, also you would probably need to have toys for it as some dogs tend to tear things up if bored.

andreac

irlforum wrote: »

I've been taking a look at <snip> there in the last while. If I was to get a GSD I would want full training so I'm thinking that maybe it would be best to buy a dog off these guys that's already trained?

Or would it be more economic to buy a pup myself and send it to them or similar for training?

Any idea how much one of their dogs would cost? I think I would like the personal protection training - maybe just level one would do.

Please dont send your dog off for training. Training a dog is all about building up a bond with owner and dog and this cant be done when someone else is handling your dog. Plus, you dont know how your dog is being treated when away from you.

I would NEVER send my dog anywhere to be trained, i would always attend classes with my dog, its the best way and its great fun too learning how to train and handle your dog from a young age.

Graces7

andreac wrote: »

Please dont send your dog off for training. Training a dog is all about building up a bond with owner and dog and this cant be done when someone else is handling your dog. Plus, you dont know how your dog is being treated when away from you.

I would NEVER send my dog anywhere to be trained, i would always attend classes with my dog, its the best way and its great fun too learning how to train and handle your dog from a young age.

'Tis often said by those who know these things that it is the owner who needs training as much as if not more than the dog..