Dog v Job: how do you manage?
Discussion
sleep envy said:
parakitaMol. said:
You'd be surprised how many people are suddenly 'allergic' to dogs when you mention this.
I'm totally allergic to cretins but I have to share my working day with them.I need a new job.
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?I need a new job.
That's what I'd do, if I had a dog.
I (courtesy of the OH's previous relationship) have a staff/pitbull cross. I've known a lot of dogs, and by anyone's standards, this fella is a handful. I seriously think he has the doggy equivalent of ADHD 
We work 12 hour shifts, so we're out of the house for 13 hours, 2 days then 2 nights. When we're on days he gets walked quickly at 6am before we leave then again when we get back. When we're on nights or days off he gets the legs walked off him and he's so f*cked he's more than happy to sleep all night.
It's far from ideal, I know - and there's no way I'd have a dog through choice given the long shifts we work - but it seems to be ok.
Before anyone starts, the OH won't rehome him, believe me I've tried. We had someone in to walk him during the day but that just made him worse - presumably being left alone twice was worse than once, and he behaved really badly.
To the OP though, don't do it. If your job requires you to be out of the house for that long, getting a dog is a terrible idea. Really. If you want company, get a cat - they're self sufficient.
We work 12 hour shifts, so we're out of the house for 13 hours, 2 days then 2 nights. When we're on days he gets walked quickly at 6am before we leave then again when we get back. When we're on nights or days off he gets the legs walked off him and he's so f*cked he's more than happy to sleep all night.
It's far from ideal, I know - and there's no way I'd have a dog through choice given the long shifts we work - but it seems to be ok.
Before anyone starts, the OH won't rehome him, believe me I've tried. We had someone in to walk him during the day but that just made him worse - presumably being left alone twice was worse than once, and he behaved really badly.
To the OP though, don't do it. If your job requires you to be out of the house for that long, getting a dog is a terrible idea. Really. If you want company, get a cat - they're self sufficient.
Sorry Paul, I did a little 
at your "think he has doggy ADHD"... I said exactly the same thing about our belligerent little doggy madam only last night!
OP, long hours at work and dogs just don't mix. Even if you lucked out and found a dog that didn't mind too much, being left alone for so long, it's still hard work on you, too. There's no "I'm shattered, I just need to sit down and have some tea" after a 12 hour shift; you can add another hour minimum after your day in looking after the dog after work, spending time with it and walking it! (That's discounting the hour you spent with it before you left in the morning...)
at your "think he has doggy ADHD"... I said exactly the same thing about our belligerent little doggy madam only last night!OP, long hours at work and dogs just don't mix. Even if you lucked out and found a dog that didn't mind too much, being left alone for so long, it's still hard work on you, too. There's no "I'm shattered, I just need to sit down and have some tea" after a 12 hour shift; you can add another hour minimum after your day in looking after the dog after work, spending time with it and walking it! (That's discounting the hour you spent with it before you left in the morning...)
Karyn said:
Sorry Paul, I did a little at your "think he has doggy ADHD"... I said exactly the same thing about our belligerent little doggy madam only last night!
at your "think he has doggy ADHD"... I said exactly the same thing about our belligerent little doggy madam only last night!
I really think he has! He is absolutely unable to sit still. If he chooses to sit, he quivers with nervous energy. He doesn't sit much though, every single time someone in the house moves, he's under their feet within seconds. Shifting position on the sofa while watching TV is (to him) an open invitation to run over, whine, and expect to be played with. Cooking is a nightmare. Every single f
king person who walks down the road past the house is a threat and must be barked at incesantly until they're out of sight. Attempting to kiss or cuddle the OH results in howling until we separate again. When he's walked though, he's a dream. He'll happily amble along on the lead for as long as I can take him, and only pull to sniff another dog. We can go for hours on a hot day, and when we come back he'll have maybe 5 minutes flaked out on the cool kitchen floor, then he's back into HyperactiveDoggy mode, up and about and generally being a s
tbag.If he was someone else's responsibility I'd pity them.
It's a hard one but unless it's a dog you already know is happy in that situation it's not fair, I understand how hard it can be though.
I have wanted lRge dogs for years and I can only get them when we have kids as my other half will stop working. So she gets excited about kids and I can't wait to get an Akita, Rotweiler and then hunt for a rescue.
I wasn't originally a cat person but she wanted one and now we have 2 and I couldn't imagine a home without them, fantastic creatures.
Dave!
I have wanted lRge dogs for years and I can only get them when we have kids as my other half will stop working. So she gets excited about kids and I can't wait to get an Akita, Rotweiler and then hunt for a rescue.
I wasn't originally a cat person but she wanted one and now we have 2 and I couldn't imagine a home without them, fantastic creatures.
Dave!
I have two dogs and work a regular Mon-Fri job. This isn't out of choice. The dogs originally came when my wife was working shifts so that only a max of 2 days a week did we need to have daycare for them.
When we separated just under a year ago I took on sole responsibility for them. At the time I was working in London with a one hour door to door commute. The routine involved getting up at 6, feeding, walking, leaving at 7, dog walker at noon, get home at 5, feed, walk, play etc. The dog walking costs me £64 a week, and that's only four days as my mum does it on Fridays.
It worked, mainly because there are two of them, they do not suffer from separation anxiety and appear to be happy. The key I think is routine. As long as they know what is going to happen they are cool. If things change all the time then it can go wrong. This means no ducking out of walks etc.
It also means no staying late at the office, after work drinks, sport etc unless other arrangements can be made. I cannot leave them alone all day, pop in for 30 minutes after work then shoot out again - I'd just feel too guilty. Thankfully my folks live only 20 minutes away so for special events something can be sorted.
I've recently moved jobs to work only ten minutes away from home. One reason being that I hated being at least an hour away from them if anything happened. For instance one of them has had a little bit of the squits in the last day or so (otherwise he is perfectly fine) so yesterday I worked from home just to make sure he could get out as he pleases. Today I am in the office, but with a webcam view of the kitchen where he would go if he needed to. I can be there in ten minutes if the dog walker thinks he isn't ok or if I see anything happen.
In short, the three of us are making do as best we can with the situation and I feel that they still have a fulfilling life (three walks a day, lots of attention when I am around, socialising with other dogs when being walked etc.) but I certainly would not choose to be in this situation.
When we separated just under a year ago I took on sole responsibility for them. At the time I was working in London with a one hour door to door commute. The routine involved getting up at 6, feeding, walking, leaving at 7, dog walker at noon, get home at 5, feed, walk, play etc. The dog walking costs me £64 a week, and that's only four days as my mum does it on Fridays.
It worked, mainly because there are two of them, they do not suffer from separation anxiety and appear to be happy. The key I think is routine. As long as they know what is going to happen they are cool. If things change all the time then it can go wrong. This means no ducking out of walks etc.
It also means no staying late at the office, after work drinks, sport etc unless other arrangements can be made. I cannot leave them alone all day, pop in for 30 minutes after work then shoot out again - I'd just feel too guilty. Thankfully my folks live only 20 minutes away so for special events something can be sorted.
I've recently moved jobs to work only ten minutes away from home. One reason being that I hated being at least an hour away from them if anything happened. For instance one of them has had a little bit of the squits in the last day or so (otherwise he is perfectly fine) so yesterday I worked from home just to make sure he could get out as he pleases. Today I am in the office, but with a webcam view of the kitchen where he would go if he needed to. I can be there in ten minutes if the dog walker thinks he isn't ok or if I see anything happen.
In short, the three of us are making do as best we can with the situation and I feel that they still have a fulfilling life (three walks a day, lots of attention when I am around, socialising with other dogs when being walked etc.) but I certainly would not choose to be in this situation.
I'm lucky, or a least the dog is, that he comes to work four days a week, and goes to the dog-minder one day.
He sleeps most of the day under my desk, and has a good walk at lunchtime. I usually meat at least two dog walkers at lunchtime too.
He now has a new friend at work so they play most of the day, and his bestest friend (Scooby GR) in the whole world is moving down the road from work so we'll probably take him out at lunchtime too.
Lucky boy!
He sleeps most of the day under my desk, and has a good walk at lunchtime. I usually meat at least two dog walkers at lunchtime too.
He now has a new friend at work so they play most of the day, and his bestest friend (Scooby GR) in the whole world is moving down the road from work so we'll probably take him out at lunchtime too.
Lucky boy!
I'm certainly no dog expert but I grew up in a household that always had dogs, greyhounds to be precise. They were always left to their own devides during the day.
They lived in a big hut at the bottom of the garden and had a fairly sizeable run in which to exercise if they could be bothered (approx 50 sq m). Parents both worked 9-5 and there was never a problem with the dogs being left alone all day. In fact, they always seemed very happy and were good natured dogs - they lived like this from pups.
They would be walked once in the morning and once at night and occassionally come in the house if it was very cold outside.
Maybe they were happy because they had a decent amount of space to run around in but as a result of growing up with this arrangement I wouldn't think twice about leaving dogs alone all day.
They lived in a big hut at the bottom of the garden and had a fairly sizeable run in which to exercise if they could be bothered (approx 50 sq m). Parents both worked 9-5 and there was never a problem with the dogs being left alone all day. In fact, they always seemed very happy and were good natured dogs - they lived like this from pups.
They would be walked once in the morning and once at night and occassionally come in the house if it was very cold outside.
Maybe they were happy because they had a decent amount of space to run around in but as a result of growing up with this arrangement I wouldn't think twice about leaving dogs alone all day.
mcbook said:
I wouldn't think twice about leaving dogs alone all day.
Unless, of course, you mean you wouldn't think twice about if you specifically had more than one dog, and they had an adequate, permanent outside enclosure with appropriate heating and protection and they'd known nothing else since being pups?
If not the above, then please don't get a dog.
Even with the above, my personal opinion is that it's still no life for a domestic pet, although I appreciate that working dogs are treated somewhat differently to domesticated pets. Not sure greyhounds (unless racing) count as "working dogs" though?
Karyn said:
Unless, of course, you mean you wouldn't think twice about if you specifically had more than one dog, and they had an adequate, permanent outside enclosure with appropriate heating and protection and they'd known nothing else since being pups?
If not the above, then please don't get a dog.
Even with the above, my personal opinion is that it's still no life for a domestic pet, although I appreciate that working dogs are treated somewhat differently to domesticated pets. Not sure greyhounds (unless racing) count as "working dogs" though?
Memories of playing with those dogs throughout my childhood are still vivid. They were very happy animals, no doubt about it.
aspender said:
It also means no staying late at the office, after work drinks, sport etc unless other arrangements can be made. I cannot leave them alone all day, pop in for 30 minutes after work then shoot out again - I'd just feel too guilty.
Everything he said, but especially this. I work shifts and I'm very lucky to have a combination of a helpful ex, friendly neighbours and willing friends who all pitch in to walk the dog when needed. If I'm only a short shift, I'll walk her before and after but it does add so much time to your 'working' day. In addition, things like popping to the supermarket on the way home become more difficult, you just can't justify that extra hour before the next walk. If I'm meeting friends after work, they know it either has to be late drinks, or somewhere I can take the dog. And I usually just take her along, it doubles up as an extra walk. A dog needs to become part of your life, not fit in around it.jenpot said:
A dog needs to become part of your life, not fit in around it.
I agree wholeheartedly with this.
We're currently trying to decide how/where/when to go on holiday, first time since getting our youngest.
OH wants to leave them in a kennel somewhere.
My (probably slightly irrational) fears about trusting other people with our dogs aside, I just don't want to go off and enjoy myself and leave them in a kennel somewhere... I don't see why they can't come on holiday with us!
"It's not a bleedin' holiday if we take the dogs, is it."
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