NEW Puppy

[Sully Monster]

Originally Posted by super D

Oh Tam, I remember taking to you when Sully turned the gas on, Little tinker, You had such a bad headache....

xx

You know I had forgotten about that headache but yeah it bugged me for ages. Not a incident I long to repeat

[ArchandEbs]

Originally Posted by pt_as

Hi,

Me and my girlfriend would like to get a German Shepherd, but there's so much to thinkk about. It would be great if people could help us. I've already done a lot of research. I grew up with a German Shepherd, so I know a little.

But the main things that concern me is that I don't understand the hip & elbow score, in the sense whats good and whats bad?

And my girlfriend and I both leave the house at 8am & return at 5pm, would the dog be ok left on his/her own for this length of time during the week?

Hi

I think you're doing the right thing in asking for people's opinions. If everyone did this rather than rushing into getting a puppy/dog there would be a lot less in rescue centres.

I suppose the question I would ask is could you go every day from 8am until 5pm without going to the toilet? I know I couldn't. I've always worked full-time and when I was on my own my parents used to come down every day for an hour or two and let the dogs out, fuss them and play with them.

From memory in the UK there are lots of pet sitting services - people who come to your house and let your dog out or walk them. Here we have doggy day care too.

It's not just leaving your dog alone when you're at work - you have to think about weekends. If you leave your dog for long periods of time during the week it's not fair to leave them at weekends too - so you may have to make adjustments to your life. Our lives revolve around the dogs - we can't go out for the day at weekends unless we can get a friend around to let them out if we're going to be missing for more than four hours.

I think if you can make adjustments it is possible to work full time and have a dog. Changing working hours, looking at pet sitting services and realising what a big committment it is - you'll see from other posts how much time and effort has to be put in to have a well balanced, happy dog.

Good luck with your decision.

[GSD-Jay]

Originally Posted by ArchandEbs

Hi

I think you're doing the right thing in asking for people's opinions. If everyone did this rather than rushing into getting a puppy/dog there would be a lot less in rescue centres.

I suppose the question I would ask is could you go every day from 8am until 5pm without going to the toilet? I know I couldn't. I've always worked full-time and when I was on my own my parents used to come down every day for an hour or two and let the dogs out, fuss them and play with them.

From memory in the UK there are lots of pet sitting services - people who come to your house and let your dog out or walk them. Here we have doggy day care too.

It's not just leaving your dog alone when you're at work - you have to think about weekends. If you leave your dog for long periods of time during the week it's not fair to leave them at weekends too - so you may have to make adjustments to your life. Our lives revolve around the dogs - we can't go out for the day at weekends unless we can get a friend around to let them out if we're going to be missing for more than four hours.

I think if you can make adjustments it is possible to work full time and have a dog. Changing working hours, looking at pet sitting services and realising what a big committment it is - you'll see from other posts how much time and effort has to be put in to have a well balanced, happy dog.

Good luck with your decision.

Very good post.... a much calmer version of what I was trying to say.

[maxandskye]

Personally, & this is my very personal opinion. I strongly believe that no Puppy should be left alone throughout the day for no longer than 4 hours, especially in the crucial period of up to 6 months of age.

From when my two were 8 weeks old, & up until they were about 5 months old they needed my attention every other hour throughout the day. A normal day at that age for Harvey & Heidi was sleep an hour, play for half an hour, sleep some more then they wanted feeding, & "yes" I was working full time, but was lucky enough that I could take them with me as I was the boss which enabled me to be flexable.

Taking on a puppy is almost like a human new born, its very exhausting & they crave a lot of attention.

Without prejudice !