PETS. I need one, I work a lot.

Oh man, politics and pets.

So up until the last few years I lived alone, worked 50 hours a week and had a dog. She is an amazing dog and has lived a very happy life. At 13 our vet is amazed at how healthy and good natured she is. We made it work – but these are things that were hard:

1. Every new place or schedule change took time to get used to. And this was a dog I had since she was a puppy and I was a teenager. It would take even more time for a brand new dog to get used to your routine.
2. Accidents in the house SUCK! And once they have a spot, they will repeat their dirty, dirty actions.
3. If the dog sees a squirrel and barks their idiot head off while you are gone, you will become instantly unpopular with your neighbors.
4. She would get bored during the day and picked up some bad habits like chewing things.
5. There is no such thing as a drink after work without a pit stop home first. And with a long commute that would be especially annoying.
6. When you are single sudden expenses are a bigger deal because it is all on you find the money. My dog tripped getting of the bed and when it was all said and done I had a $3,000 vet bill to figure out

These are things that I found made it easier
1. Find a responsible neighborhood kid. They are always looking for ways to earn money, and generally are available for short notice. For mine I have a $10 bill and an extra key at the ready for them and I’ve never once heard no when I asked them to stop by.
2. Have as many contingency plans as possible. Have a friend who will watch your dog, a neighborhood kid, a dog walker, and a daycare all lined up. Nothing like missing your flight and having nothing in place past your expected return day.
3. Kongs stuffed with peanut butter, frozen. It will keep them busy for hours
4. I basically took maternity leave when I moved. We got used to the new house, the new potty schedule, and I was able to identify what was going to be a problem. Example – day 2 she pushed a screen out of the sunroom and jumped out of the house like it was nothing. Glad I was there for that!

Hope that gave you some things to think about! Good luck whatever you decide!

I'm chiming in with my POV. I love animals too, they're better than people 99.9% of the time.

I grew up in a house with a fenced yard and we had our share of dogs. When I moved out after college, it was to a tiny apt in NYC. I'm a nurse and work 12 hour shifts three times a week (did days, currently do the night shift). I wanted a dog, but realized it wouldn't be good for an animal because my apt was tiny and I was gone so often. My brother bought a cockatiel for his girlfriend and I realized that would be a great pet for my living situation. I got one (he's 23 and still with me) and even with him, I feel guilty leaving for work and he's in a cage with 3 food dishes and the lights and tv stay on for company. (also, at least with birds, the lack of stimulation can lead to psychological issues like feather plucking, they need a lot of interactions, hence my slightly higher electric bill) I moved with him to California into another apt, bigger but not suitable for a dog with my hours and even now, I live in a townhome without a fenced yard. My neighbors walk their dogs several times a day, which would not work for me with my hours. Here with the commute, I'm gone almost 14 hours at a time. I still feel guilty leaving the bird because he prefers it outside the cage (he's out when I'm not at work or sleeping - I can leave him out for several hours during the day when I'm doing errands).

I get wanting an animal to share your life with, but none of us "need" one. I don't know if it's in the best interest of the animal with your current schedule. It's a hard decision. Good luck.

OP, what is awkward is using language/ideas that veteran shelter workers hear constantly from people who aren't the best candidates to adopt. They NEED a dog. The dog is CUTE. Taking about adopting a breed that isn't ideal for your living situation but expecting people to know that YOU aren't like THAT.

I wish you well in your endeavors.

QFT.

I don't think anyone has stressed this particular point enough.

If I lived in an apartment with a neighbor who had a basset hound, I would probably want him dead.

There was one basset in my neighborhood over a block from me, and that little b**** HOWLED ALL FREAKING NIGHT. I actually walked around the neighborhood a couple of times trying to see if I could find her yard and comfort her or at least just get her to be quiet for 5 minutes, but it turns out that the her mournful baying echoed across multiple city blocks even when she was indoors.

Hounds are crazy loud. I love animals. I love dogs. I never want to live within 2 miles of a hound again if I can help it.

I was not a cat person until I got the handsome guy you see in my profile pic. I really wanted a dog, but was in medical school and knew that my lifestyle would be beyond unfair to the dog. I still want a dog (badly), but am waiting until I have a yard and a more reasonable work schedule. Sometimes being responsible isn't fun.

Seven years ago I was in similar boat you are in now. I had to opportunity to adopt a stray 6 month old that had wandered onto a co-workers property that the shelter didn't have room for. Unlike you, however, I didn't do any research on what dogs need or how much it takes to care for them. I was working part time and going to college full time, living in a studio apartment by myself, with minimal funds. I took him anyway, because he was cute. Our first couple of years together were not smooth. He developed separation anxiety that led to many things being destroyed along with his need to bark anytime someone walked by the door. We were nearly evicted because of his barking but thankfully the property managers were very understanding and let a lot of it slide, I'm sure the neighbors loved me. I was able to walk him every day along with the dog park several times a week, but this didn't make up for me being gone for a LONG time every day. He is seven years old now, and still has issues that could have been corrected if I had more time when he was a puppy. Luckily for both of us my life is drastically different from what it was and I like to think that he is happy *now* but I can't help but wonder if he wouldn't have been happier with someone that had the time to train him properly. Plus, house training is no joke, I got lucky that he was a clever boy and almost trained when I got him.

Hounds are by nature hunting dogs, therefore they need a "job" to be emotionally and physically well. Keeping a hound in an apartment for 10 hrs a day is a recipe for disaster. They need to be able to explore, track, sniff and run in order to be perfectly happy and healthy. None of these things are really available in an apartment. I should also mention that bassets are really prone to weight gain and it puts a tremendous strain on their joints as they have very short legs and a longer body.

Please, in the interest of the animals welfare. please don't... I know she's adorable and you would love her to bits, but it's really not fair to her. I'm not trying to be mean, but speaking as a Veterinary Assistant, it's not a good situation for her.

Good gosh people! Do you all think people who work full time jobs don't have dogs? Can you imagine how many MORE dogs would be killed in shelters if they were so picky that they wouldn't adopt to someone because that person thought a picture of a basset hound was cute, so that somehow makes them unfit to adopt? I could understand a bit of wariness if she wanted to adopt a 6 week old puppy, but she appears to be looking at an adult dog, who has likely come from a much worse home than the one the OP is offering.

I have been involved in dog rescue for 11 years. I have seen unfit owners who dump their "beloved" pets because they had a baby, moved to another state or the dog didn't match their new carpets. We have taken in a dog whose owners ran over his tail with the lawn mower, didn't bother to get vet care and who didn't look for the dog at the shelter for 2 weeks, long after our rescue brought the dog in, treated him for such an infestation of internal parasites that he was terribly anemic, gave him heartworm treatment, neutered him and healed up his maggot filled tail. And that's just one story of MANY I could tell. And many of you are suggesting that the OP is unfit for a dog???

OP, I suggest you do your research on different breeds. Almost any dog can do just fine in an apartment if you are committed to having someone come in and walk the dog once a day (not all dogs like or need doggie daycare) and you are willing to take it for a walk in the mornings and a long walk in the afternoon. Dogs are fabulous companions and are amazingly adaptable. I would stay away from the hounds and the herding breeds, personally. Hounds can be noisy, as has been mentioned before, and herding breeds are extremely high energy and intelligent, which can turn into destructive behavior without the proper amount of exercise. Sign up for training classes and bond with your new dog. Good luck!

Most dogs do perfectly well in houses all day. Hounds do not. Especially bassets who are prone to weight gain due to over eating, so free feeding is not an option, and leaving them all day without food is not fair.

Not sure about a dog--some need more attention than others too--but I work full time and go to school, and I have four cats, 2 gerbils, and a hamster. I love all my pets, and they get lots of love and attention. I think I would be super lonely without them.

Good gosh people! Do you all think people who work full time jobs don't have dogs? Can you imagine how many MORE dogs would be killed in shelters if they were so picky that they wouldn't adopt to someone because that person thought a picture of a basset hound was cute, so that somehow makes them unfit to adopt? I could understand a bit of wariness if she wanted to adopt a 6 week old puppy, but she appears to be looking at an adult dog, who has likely come from a much worse home than the one the OP is offering.

I have been involved in dog rescue for 11 years. I have seen unfit owners who dump their "beloved" pets because they had a baby, moved to another state or the dog didn't match their new carpets. We have taken in a dog whose owners ran over his tail with the lawn mower, didn't bother to get vet care and who didn't look for the dog at the shelter for 2 weeks, long after our rescue brought the dog in, treated him for such an infestation of internal parasites that he was terribly anemic, gave him heartworm treatment, neutered him and healed up his maggot filled tail. And that's just one story of MANY I could tell. And many of you are suggesting that the OP is unfit for a dog???

OP, I suggest you do your research on different breeds. Almost any dog can do just fine in an apartment if you are committed to having someone come in and walk the dog once a day (not all dogs like or need doggie daycare) and you are willing to take it for a walk in the mornings and a long walk in the afternoon. Dogs are fabulous companions and are amazingly adaptable. I would stay away from the hounds and the herding breeds, personally. Hounds can be noisy, as has been mentioned before, and herding breeds are extremely high energy and intelligent, which can turn into destructive behavior without the proper amount of exercise. Sign up for training classes and bond with your new dog. Good luck!

Most dogs do perfectly well in houses all day. Hounds do not. Especially bassets who are prone to weight gain due to over eating, so free feeding is not an option, and leaving them all day without food is not fair.

I did suggest in my comments above that she stay away from hounds in general if she's in an apartment. I am not sure what you mean about leaving a dog without food all day is not fair. Free feeding can cause dogs to become overweight. Feeding twice a day is much better (and my vet believes in feeding once a day, though I don't like that idea). If you have multiple dogs, how do you keep track of who is eating and who isn't? Dogs aren't built to graze. A dog who doesn't finish his meal isn't hungry, which means he's being fed too much.

I don't practice free-feeding with any pet but since I am gone 8-10 hours a day during the week I have an automated feeder. No matter what pet OP decides to get, find a reliable automated feeder so that if something happens that prevents you from heading straight home, they will still have that schedule kept. Schedule and routine is very important to our furry friends.

When I first set it up it kinda freaked my cat out, but I started going to it with him every time it went off so it was just like me feeding him and he got used to it quickly. Now when he hears it at 5 he jumps up like an excited dog, it's so cute :laugh: