Dog v Job: how do you manage?

[Great Pretender]

I love dogs, always have and would give my right arm to have one. However, I am a single chap with a job which requires a 40 mile round trip commute. Therefore I am away from the home for approximately ten hours a day, five days a week.

How many of you dog owners are in a similar situation? And how do you look after your pooch? Getting home at lunchtime is not really an option for me sadly and of course I wouldn't ever leave a dog alone for that length of time.

I live in central London FWIW. Is a lunchtime dog-walker an option perhaps?

Any ideas greatly appreciated.

TIA.

[Great Pretender]

Food for thought folks, thank you.

GP Snr has a Chocolate Lab (which replaced me when I left for uni ha!), and he suffers with lonliness when Dad's out of the house. Kennels are a no-no too; seems poor doggy doesn't cope if he's separated from Dad for more than 24hrs. Bless.

Anyway, my point is that I wouldn't get a dog if there was any risk that it would suffer unecessarily by being alone.

A dog walker could well be an option, but there's an inherent trust issue there to get round also.

Without having looked into it at all really, are there any breeds which cope better with being alone than others?

[Great Pretender]

Oh and doggy under the desk isn't an option I'm afraid. I work for a big faceless/humorless corporation, where brwon shoes are regarded as flamboyant. Ergo, no dogs at work

[Great Pretender]

sleep envy said:

We'd love a field spaniel.

During the week we're out of the house by 7.30am and rarely home before 8pm, weekends are spend doing 'stuff' which means we're rarely home.

That's why we have a guard cat.

Hmmm, I don't do cats though.

[Great Pretender]

sleep envy said:

Had one of these when I was 9. It was st.

[Great Pretender]

sleep envy said:

you could leave this under your desk and they wouldn't know

Genius

[Great Pretender]

TimCrighton said:

Take it to the office! I have my two in the office 2-3 days a week. They are brilliant and everyone in the office loves them, no matter how terrible a day you are having the dogs love you!!

As I mentioned above, pets at the office would be totes inappropes. Which is a shame, as screaming fking babies still seem to sneak past reception every friday

[Great Pretender]

parakitaMol. said:

Me too - I share an office with a woman who has had a fan heater on all week so that everyone is choking and can't open their eyes because of the dusty dry heat (but she still comes to the office in cheesecloth shirts and open toed sandals, rather than a jumper and boots). On top of this we have to listen to nursery rhyme pop radio. Twits.

I need a new job.

Can't you just kick her in the face and then set your pooch upon her?

That's what I'd do, if I had a dog.