Dog owners, am i being selfish?

I have a long-hair chilhuahua who is 11 months old ... she stays at home for 9 hours during the day while we work. She stays in a puppy playpen (six sided wire portable cage) with a puppy pad. She has plenty of toys to keep her entertained and we also have two cats in the house. Once she stops chewing we will allow her to run loose in the house with the cats while we work.

.i walk my dog in the morning, then go to work for 8 hours. i get someone to let him out in the garden at lunch time for a wee. then my daughter is home from school by 3.15pm and he can go out in the garden whenever he wants. then i walk him in the evening. so he gets a wee roughly every 3 hours in the day, lol! And he’s only a small dog.

i wouldn’t want to leave him all day, I don’t think it would be fair on him. he does have 4 cats to play with though and yes at the weekend, i notice he just sleeps a lot in the hours he is used to being alone.

My friends dog goes for a wee in the garden in the morning and is then left inside all day till she gets home in the evening and is then walked. she said her dog never has a problem waiting. So I presume it depends on the dog.

Most people I know hire a dog walker to take their dogs out for a walk in the day when they are at work. I think if you are not going to be around, this is a good plan. Or a dog proof garden and a dog door?

:flowerforyou:

Im really toying with the idea of getting a furry buddy.

I live alone and work at least 8 hours a day, when im not in work i am always itching for an excuse to stomp around the local countryside.

I know i can give a dog a good, relaxed and stable home with plenty of care and exercise but the poor thing would have to be alone while im working.

Thoughts please.

I grew up on a farm and dogs are ment to be free and have companionship all the time, the most humane thing you could do is NOT get a dog living in the city. it really upsets me to see animals in cages and left alone for most of the day, its wrong and it is not fair to the dog, your doing it for your own selfish reasons. don't do it, we have 2 cats that have cat doors that come and go as they please, i have never cleaned cat litter because we have 17 acres for them to do there business, plus it cuts down on food, they tend to hunt for themselves. we want a dog but know the huge maintenance they are, and the thought of leaving it alone for more than 8 hours just breaks my heart. they are more demanding than kids, the difference is you can ignore your dog which is the worst. i urge you, do not get a dog, for the dogs sake.

I've had my beagle for 5 years, since he was a puppy. I work 8 hour days and I work about 45 minutes away from my house. I leave the house at 545 am for work and I don't get back til around 345 pm. My fiance works from 7 am to 8-9pm everyday. The dog is there alone for about 8-9 hours a day, and he's perfectly fine. I make sure he has water and food everyday and plenty of toys and I turn the TV on in the living room for him and the radio on in the kitchen. Just be sure, when you are home to pay attention to the dog and take him outside to play, etc. More than likely the dog will sleep most of the time you are gone.

I have a beagle as well, her name is Pickles and it's almost the same situation. She sleeps all day and doesn't even notice that I;m at work but I am sure to take her out DAILY for a walk as soon as I get home She has to go check her "pee-mail" you know!

while puppies are cute, a rescue is better as they are already housebroken.

and yes, dogs sleep a lot... yep, even those high energy ones. I have a Weimaraner and a JRT. I take my JRT out for runs with me, she loves it and really calms her down. The Weim is difficult to manage on the leash and I'd be toast if he sees another dog while I'm running. He gets a good long walk with me each day and the run of the yard after squirrels.

Can you install a doggie door?

Our first dog was a rescue dog - a cocker spaniel who was around 1 when we got her. Incredibly nervy little thing when we got her (didn't come out from behind the sofa for 2 weeks, only to eat and pee and poop) but she was adorable and lived with us for a very happy 13 years or so.

Current dog is Ruby, a springer spaniel who is gorgeous. Amazing personality and so so vibrant - she loves long walks and is cheeky! We had Ruby from a puppy and got her when I was on uni break, so I basically trained her, so it worked well. She copes fine now, being 3, whilst my mum is at work all day - although my sister has funny shift patterns so there is usually someone about. As said before, they generally sleep if nobody is around to stimulate them! Crate training is great though... Ruby LOVES her bed... she goes there for quiet time of her own accord and sleeps there at night. She also knows she's not allowed upstairs.

I'd definitely look at breeds and what you want out of a dog... I love spaniels, for me they have the perfect mix of personality, energy and cheekiness haha. Then again I'm biased! Happy dog hunting

Get a couple of pound puppies. They can keep each other company and they are great workout buddies. We have 4 dogs. I work about 45 minutes from our place. Only one of our dogs is really good for working out (standard poodle, who was a rescue) The others are little and prefer short walks.

PS........if you own your home a dog door is an option.

^^^This...we have a doggy door and a fenced in yard. Our Lilly can come and go as she pleases and we don't have to go out when it's raining to walk her. She loves the freedom. We still go on walks, but if you can do a doggy door, it makes life soooo much easier!

My parents have a Maltese they have trained to a litter box, so if you get a small dog, that is a viable option as well!

Im really toying with the idea of getting a furry buddy.

I live alone and work at least 8 hours a day, when im not in work i am always itching for an excuse to stomp around the local countryside.

I know i can give a dog a good, relaxed and stable home with plenty of care and exercise but the poor thing would have to be alone while im working.

Thoughts please.

I grew up on a farm and dogs are ment to be free and have companionship all the time, the most humane thing you could do is NOT get a dog living in the city. it really upsets me to see animals in cages and left alone for most of the day, its wrong and it is not fair to the dog, your doing it for your own selfish reasons. don't do it, we have 2 cats that have cat doors that come and go as they please, i have never cleaned cat litter because we have 17 acres for them to do there business, plus it cuts down on food, they tend to hunt for themselves. we want a dog but know the huge maintenance they are, and the thought of leaving it alone for more than 8 hours just breaks my heart. they are more demanding than kids, the difference is you can ignore your dog which is the worst. i urge you, do not get a dog, for the dogs sake.

Wow, so dogs are better off being euthanized because no one wants them then they are being left alone for 8 hours? I think the dogs would beg to differ.

I grew up on a farm and dogs are ment to be free and have companionship all the time, the most humane thing you could do is NOT get a dog living in the city. it really upsets me to see animals in cages and left alone for most of the day, its wrong and it is not fair to the dog, your doing it for your own selfish reasons. don't do it, we have 2 cats that have cat doors that come and go as they please, i have never cleaned cat litter because we have 17 acres for them to do there business, plus it cuts down on food, they tend to hunt for themselves. we want a dog but know the huge maintenance they are, and the thought of leaving it alone for more than 8 hours just breaks my heart. they are more demanding than kids, the difference is you can ignore your dog which is the worst. i urge you, do not get a dog, for the dogs sake.

Ummm... no. Maybe big, country-style, farm dogs are meant to run free. I wouldn't know... I've never had the opportunity to live on more than 2 acres of land. Regardless, I assure you... my pugs are NOT meant to run free. I am 99.9% sure they would die if they did.

And as far as companionship - my dogs have one another. I'm pretty sure packs of dogs are a natural thing.

And there is nothing I dislike more than free-roaming cats. I live in the mountains and almost all of my neighbors have multiple free-roaming cats. They crap on my deck, the kill the native birds, pick up ticks and diseases, they leave foot prints on my car, they get picked off by coyotes, get stuck in drainage pipes and basically are a huge, unhealthy, annoying menace. If people care about their cats' health and safety - they should be kept indoors and treated like pets.

I grew up on a farm and dogs are ment to be free and have companionship all the time, the most humane thing you could do is NOT get a dog living in the city. it really upsets me to see animals in cages and left alone for most of the day, its wrong and it is not fair to the dog, your doing it for your own selfish reasons. don't do it, we have 2 cats that have cat doors that come and go as they please, i have never cleaned cat litter because we have 17 acres for them to do there business, plus it cuts down on food, they tend to hunt for themselves. we want a dog but know the huge maintenance they are, and the thought of leaving it alone for more than 8 hours just breaks my heart. they are more demanding than kids, the difference is you can ignore your dog which is the worst. i urge you, do not get a dog, for the dogs sake.

Seriously? Are you trying to say people, like myself, aren't good 'parents' to their animal babies because we have to work during the day? This makes me SO angry. How about you not judge other people like that?

The fact you aren't worried about the cats getting HIT by a car outside, or stolen, or killed is shocking. I have had my BLACK cat hurt because its a 'black cat' outside. Someone shot it with a be-be gun. I also have to be SO careful near Halloween. Three years ago, I had to pick our hit by a car almost dead but still crying cat out of the street. She was my little sisters cat.

Talk about cruel...As my mother has told me ALL my life, "People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."