Working?

[Willo]

No not the dog, me!

I work, and have no choice about that until my numbers come up on the lottery! My hours of work will be 8:30am to 5pm with an hour at lunch time. I will be 10 minutes away from my home when at the office, however will also be out and about so will more than likely be able to pop in at lest twice a day (one of those being lunch - i.e. 30 minute walk is feasible).

Whenever I've looked after other people's dogs (including GSD's) I set a routine of an hour long walk in the morning, pop in for a short walk at lunch time or at least to let the dog out in the garden, an hour walk straight after work and then up to an hour at bed time. I've looked after other people's dogs both in my own home and in their own home and never had any boredom issues - presumably because I've walked their legs off (or rather they've walked mine off) and I am able to give them a lot of attention (there's just me at home so no other competing demands). There's a GSD club about 20 miles away from me so I would hopefully be getting the dog used to travelling in the car, and then there's the added bonus of socialising/training too which would be continued at home too.

Someone on here asked me whether I was going to get a pup or a rescue and my initial response was that I'd like a pup. However, I've only ever rescued animals before and for as much as it would be lovely to have a pup, I'd quite like to continue rescuing. Rescuing sits more comfortably with me than buying a pup.

One of the rescues I've looked at says they're unlikely to rehome where the dog is going to be left for any more than 3-4 hours at a time because it's unfair on the dog. I can appreciate this to a certain extent, and in all honesty if I knew in advance the dog was going to be left for longer than 3-4 hours without me being able to get home for whatever reason, I'd probably employ either my Dad to come visit/dog sit during the day or a dog walker to ensure the dog's needs were seen to appropriately. Even if I didn't know in advance I wasn't going to make it home in time to see to the dog, my Dad lives five minutes away from me and is retired so would have no issues in popping in for me.

Does anyone else work full time in a similar situation to me? Does it work? Am I deluding myself? Will it be unfair to a GSD?

[Tedsmum]

I have in the past had to work full time and I had dogs.
It was unavoidable and I had to, like you, make arrangements to keep the dogs happy all day while I was away.
I employed a friend to come in at lunch time when I worked too far from home and then when I worked closer, I came home myself.
However, I did have more than one dog and I think that was very helpful.
I was a lot younger then and found that even though I walked my dogs as you describe to make up for me being at work, it made me reluctant to go out with my friends in the evening because I had to leave the dogs again.
I certainly would not say you should not do it but if I had to make the choice again, I would go for an older dog as opposed to a puppy.
I just feel a puppy needs you around for those first few months as much as is possible whereas an older dog may be more confident in their own company and possibly even accustomed to being left alone.
I now only work 4 hours a day so it is not a problem.
Good luck whatever you decide. x

[zetstaff]

I work full time + have 2 dogs. I don't think the breed is the issue when you're talking about for how long they should/shouldn't be left.

Occasionally, not very often, they have to be left from 8.15 am to 1 pm then 1.45 pm to 5.15 pm. It's unavoidable as we have to pay the mortgage etc.

They are absolutely fine, pleased to see me at lunch time then over the moon at 5.15 as they get to go for a walk. Don't have time at lunchtime but they do go for a walk in the morning before I leave them.

It works for us, my dogs are fine, + they have to fit in with what you're doing as otherwise it becomes stressful whereas it should be sheer pleasure

My take on it... Certain breeds do cope better at being left alone. GSDs aren't one of them, IMO. They love being part of your life, whatever that is - out hiking for the day or sat reading a book - they have that dual personality... but they like to be with you, whatever you're doing. Other breeds aren't as needy.

My friends have labs, terriers, retrievers, greyhounds and they are happy to be left for long periods of 5+ hrs. My dogs wouldn't be though!

A friend of mine has 2 GSDs, they're walked first thing for an hour then left 5 hours as they both work. Walked again by owner at lunchtime. Then again in evening. The dogs are happy, lovely dogs and want for nothing. Owners are devoted to them.

Mine are left 4 hrs max if I'm working away + kennelled if working at home. The times vary, which might be why they're ok with it.. No fixed daily routine. They get 2.5-3hrs exercise a day and are happy.

Sounds like you've got it all worked out Rescues can be a bit strict about timings, but that's because so many dogs up for adoption will have been left ALL day in a crate by idiots or left outside 24/7 to 'guard'. If you explain your situation I'm sure they'll understand. Any assessor should take this into account.

[LOVEGSD]

Personally I think if you can get someone to go in at lunchtime I don't see why you can't work and have dogs.....xx

[Willo]

Thanks folks :-)

Once I get into my new job I'm going to give the rescue peoples a ring and see what they say :-)

[zetstaff]

Originally Posted by Anni

My take on it... Certain breeds do cope better at being left alone. GSDs aren't one of them, IMO. They love being part of your life, whatever that is - out hiking for the day or sat reading a book - they have that dual personality... but they like to be with you, whatever you're doing. Other breeds aren't as needy.

My friends have labs, terriers, retrievers, greyhounds and they are happy to be left for long periods of 5+ hrs. My dogs wouldn't be though!

A friend of mine has 2 GSDs, they're walked first thing for an hour then left 5 hours as they both work. Walked again by owner at lunchtime. Then again in evening. The dogs are happy, lovely dogs and want for nothing. Owners are devoted to them.

Mine are left 4 hrs max if I'm working away + kennelled if working at home. The times vary, which might be why they're ok with it.. No fixed daily routine. They get 2.5-3hrs exercise a day and are happy.

Sounds like you've got it all worked out Rescues can be a bit strict about timings, but that's because so many dogs up for adoption will have been left ALL day in a crate by idiots or left outside 24/7 to 'guard'. If you explain your situation I'm sure they'll understand. Any assessor should take this into account.

SBTs are nenowned for being 'people dogs', they prefer the company of people more than dogs

That's what I meant Anni when I said the breed isn't really the issue. They seriously crave human company, so what I meant was if they are ok being left then other doggies should be.

Can't legislate for the state of the house when you get home though

[Chrystie22]

Originally Posted by Willo

No not the dog, me!

I work, and have no choice about that until my numbers come up on the lottery! My hours of work will be 8:30am to 5pm with an hour at lunch time. I will be 10 minutes away from my home when at the office, however will also be out and about so will more than likely be able to pop in at lest twice a day (one of those being lunch - i.e. 30 minute walk is feasible).

Does anyone else work full time in a similar situation to me? Does it work? Am I deluding myself? Will it be unfair to a GSD?

Hi, both my partner and I work full-time, I walk Diva in the morning before I leave for work, my partner comes back at lunchtime and spends 1.30hr with her and then we walk her together in the evening; she is left on her own a max of 4hrs each time and seems to be coping well. We make sure we dedicate our weekends or days off work to her but still keep to some sort of routine as we dont want to destabilize her too much! We collected her from the breeder's when she was 8 weeks old and took the whole first month off (2 weeks each) so she could get used to us and her new routine. I would dearly like to stay at home and spend more time with her but as you said, someone needs to earn the money and until my numbers come up too, no chance of that unfortunately