Getting a dog with a full time job?

[kim2116]

Myself and fiancé would like to get a dog one day. We both work full time and have no children (that part is unlikely to change).

I mostly work from home and work weekdays only. I attend the office 1-2 x weekly. When I do attend, these can be long days (leave at 5am, sometimes can return by 4, otherwise not till 6.30/7).

Fiancé works full time (teacher) and is always required to attend a place of work. They typically leave the house 7ish and return anywhere between 4-5.30. They often

We like golden retrievers, we have a smallish house and a reasonable garden. I can take flexible time off in emergencies.

How viable is this desire to have a dog? Whenever I get to thinking about it, it feels impossible, but then I see people who seem less responsible than us manage to have children and dogs and how many people do have dogs and wonder how they do it?

 

[michaeljason]

@kim2116 I got a dog with a full time job and I never saw him. Made more money than me though...

 

[kim2116]

@michaeljason Lol I was asking for that one wasn’t i

 

[michaeljason]

@kim2116

 

[niaa]

@kim2116 Most adult dog owners work full time. The dog will be fine as long as you’re meeting its needs (physical exercise, mental stimulation, training and structure) when you are home. An adult dog will have an easier time holding its bladder and bowels during the day, so I’d recommend an adult dog instead of a young puppy.

 

[yuli]

@kim2116 You can do it, though I suggest getting a dog walker so they can get out during the day. Definitely don’t get a puppy, they cannot be left for 8 hours a day

 

[kim2116]

@yuli See I am thinking.. school holidays are 6 weeks, fiancé would be off work for this period, I could take AL to extend the period of full time attention to 8 weeks.. after that I would need to start getting into the routine

 

[justapewfiller]

@kim2116 Never had a problem. All my dogs were able to stay alone for the day when they had to. Not all were happy but never destructive or any messes.

 

[nebulamoon]

@kim2116 Golden retrievers are a great choice! You're either going to get a super chill one or a crazy one but either way they are easy to train. If you're home most of the week there's no reason not to. They just need to be trained to be on their own sometimes. Do some puppy obedience classes and you'll be fine!

 

[kim2116]

@nebulamoon This is so uplifting to hear, Thankyou!

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@kim2116 Just chiming in here.. I would suggest taking a holiday when you get the dog to bond with them and get some basic training.
I fostered a dog in an emergency situation and ended up keeping him but I’m rarely home so we never had that time to bond and he only listens to my husband who’s home most days .

 

[kim2116]

@imagebeastmarkbeast Ah okay yes I hadn’t thought of it from a bonding perspective, Thankyou

 

[mastermulti]

@kim2116 The dog needs people 24/7 or another dog as a companion. If you can’t get two then don’t get one. Its not fair on the dog.

 

[kremlina]

@mastermulti Unreal. Dogs do not need 24/7 companionship. They can stay home alone for periods of time, and regularly at that.

 

[rodneys]

@mastermulti By never leaving an animal for even a short period of time, you are creating separation anxiety, and doing the animal a huge disservice.

There are times in life when you will have to leave an animal, whether you want to or not. You want your animal to be comfortable with that, and confident that you will return, not panic the instant you are out of sight. That is simply unfair to the animal, even cruel.

Saying this as a pet sitter who has witnessed the effects of separation anxiety first hand.

 

[%D0%9E%D1%80%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B0]

@rodneys So true. I adopted a bonded pair and they were never left alone. Half of the duo died last year, and now if I leave my dog alone, he just barks and screams. Luckily he’s extremely well behaved normally, so I can take him with me a lot and my mom lives closeby, so I also take him to her house.

 

[rodneys]

@kim2116 Most dogs have owners who work full time. Golden retrievers are an excellent breed for this dynamic, as they are easy to train and emotionally able to handle separation.

You do want to leave any animal periodically so they don't develop separation anxiety. Seriously. Separation anxiety is a beast to fix, and is easily prevented. It is a disservice to an animal to let it be so dependent on you that it panics the moment you get out of sight. It needs to be able to be independent.

Please do consider an adult dog. Puppies are basically like babies: they need constant physical and emotional care until they reach a certain age, so it is unfair to get one if you cannot provide this. Nor is it healthy to cage a puppy in a kennel for hours on end. They need to be puppies, and they can't do that when cooped up. And they are simply a lot of work!

 

[kim2116]

@rodneys Thankyou for your reply. I think we will definitely research more about the needs of a puppy and see if we can accommodate that appropriately, if not we can look at adult dogs.

Nice to have some reassurance that good dog owners who work can exist!

 

[psycrexprism]

@kim2116 When you can work from home from time to time, you are fine.
It would be great if you could go home for lunch as well or have somebody to check on the dig and take them out to do his business.

Dogs also are quite different, so read up on the breed you plan to have.

I got myself an iggy and it for sure is psychologically a lot harder for a velcro dog to be alone.

Most dog owners work full time, so try to find solutions but don't be discouraged.

 

[afhvacigg]

@kim2116 I’m in the same situation! When we got a puppy I was working from home and my husband was in the office. With a young puppy it is time consuming but we also crate trained. So I did potty time, and hour out of the crate and then an hour in the crate for the first couple weeks. Then we graduated to a fenced in area and finally she slowly got access to more and more of the house during her “crate” time. Obviously the time she wasn’t crated she had access everywhere because she was being watched.

We found if we did vigorous walks/play at morning lunch and after work she tended to sleep a lot while we were working. Then on the weekends we always do a long walk like 3 hours or so. This schedule has worked great for us!

Now my husband is working from home and I’m away, but our dog just turned 4 so she’s pretty low maintenance during the day now. We got a more chilled breed though so I don’t know if that would work with a retriever.