Teach me a bit about dog ownership

[HiTempguy1]

So I'm moving to a place with a lot more space next month, and I've been thinking about a dog.

I've known lots of people with dogs, and have watched them for friends before. But my main concern is time.

My day job is 7.5 hours, with a 45 minute commute each way. Is it even remotely reasonable to have a dog by itself that long?

I'd be able to setup a HUGE dog run while gone with easy access in and out of the house/shop. I'm not really set on any type of particular dog, but it needs to be big enough to not get eaten by an eagle or hawk. Would also prefer for it to be able to handle living outside/in a heated shop. Not looking for a house dog. My sister's little retards (two shitzus) are adorable in their derpy ways, but not what I'm after.

And if the time is completely unreasonable, definitely tell me. No need to make a commitment that won't work, would suck for the dog.

[firebane]

Everything about owning a dog ultimately comes down to the dog itself.

Our dog is left alone from 7am till 5:30pm most days sometimes longer. Once a week she is in daycare and the weekends is a lot of time spent with her.

We setup a couple of cameras to keep and eye on her and 90% of the time she is sleeping or looking out the front window.

Our dog is also very routine orientated and that helps immensely.

[dirtsniffer]

maybe adopt an older dog. give a guy a second chance and you can figure out if it is really for you.

[dj_rice]

My dog is home alone from 6:30am till about 5:30pm now, but when I first got him as a puppy, there was always someone at home to take care of him.

Hes usually fine being home alone, I imagine he just sleeps all day. I leave a tiny bit of food and water when I leave. I leave 2 puppy pads for him to do his business but as hes getting older, some days I don't get home in time and theres shit to be picked up. He pees on the pad always, its his pooping thats hit and miss.

So it all depends, are you planning on getting a brand new puppy? That would be a little hard on the dog, or are you getting a older dog, then it would be easier and he would be used to it.


My word of advice is to research and make sure your it fits into your lifestyle and you really want the dog cause once you get it, and you figure you can't deal with him/her, your a dickbag for giving it up if you do. Dogs are a commitment, just like a child so be prepared for a life long thing. You can't just do whatever you want at the flick of a dime, I always have to go home first, let my dog out, take him for a walk, do his business, feed him and all that before I can do my own things. Especially hard when my co-workers wanna go for wings or such right after work and I have to head home first but its a inconvience that is worth it in the end. Nothing beats a loyal dog companion. I always wanted a dog growing up buying a puppy and growing up with it but my parents never allowed it which is strange as my dad had a dog when he lived in Nam as a child.

[max_boost]

I'm interested in getting a medium size dog but I'm hesitant because I spend a lot of time at work. Would an older dog be better so I can skip all the puppy training etc? Or I should just forget about this?

[dj_rice]

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I'm interested in getting a medium size dog but I'm hesitant because I spend a lot of time at work. Would an older dog be better so I can skip all the puppy training etc? Or I should just forget about this?

Do you have alot of free time for a dog? My cousin and her husband, both are working professionals. Ones a chiropracter, the others a dentist. They are barely home, always working. To get a dog, and barely be home is irresponsible and not fair to the dog. They ended up getting 2 cats. Fits their lifestyle. They are loaded so I'm sure they can just hire a dog nanny to take care of the dog when they are away but then its like whats the point.

[Disoblige]

OP, it's great that you are considering a dog particularly after you know you're moving to a place with much more space.

I have 2 dogs, both owned in puppy stages (7-8 weeks old) at different times. For at least the first 6 months, I came home for lunch and they never been more than 3-4 hours alone during that time. They're clean dogs in general (Shibas) so they rarely have accidents (handful of times at most in their entire life and it was my fault). Now that they're older, they're alone for 8 hours usually during weekdays. The most important thing is a good consistent schedule, and the time to give them adequate exercise and mental stimulation. Space obviously helps with that a lot.

I can't tell you how many shitty dog owners I see who live in apartments and barely walk their dog (active breeds, not tiny house dogs). They literally just let their dog out, pee/poo, and immediately go back inside. It's especially worse in winter, but it happens plenty in summer too. In general, if you don't have a large backyard or whatever to let your dog get good exercise (OP sounds like you'll have plenty of space), or if you live in an apartment and don't walk your dog enough (summer and winter), you probably shouldn't get a dog. I just happen to live in a house with a huge backyard, so it was excellent and very convenient for me to raise 2 dogs. When I'm in back in town and in apartment life for a couple weeks or so, I walk the dogs 3-4 times a day minimum (for both exercise and washroom). As you can tell, not very convenient but still needs to be done especially if you have an active breed.

[flipstah]

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OP, it's great that you are considering a dog particularly after you know you're moving to a place with much more space.

I have 2 dogs, both owned in puppy stages (7-8 weeks old) at different times. For at least the first 6 months, I came home for lunch and they never been more than 3-4 hours alone during that time. They're clean dogs in general (Shibas) so they rarely have accidents (handful of times at most in their entire life and it was my fault). Now that they're older, they're alone for 8 hours usually during weekdays. The most important thing is a good consistent schedule, and the time to give them adequate exercise and mental stimulation. Space obviously helps with that a lot.

I can't tell you how many shitty dog owners I see who live in apartments and barely walk their dog (active breeds, not tiny house dogs). They literally just let their dog out, pee/poo, and immediately go back inside. It's especially worse in winter, but it happens plenty in summer too. In general, if you don't have a large backyard or whatever to let your dog get good exercise (OP sounds like you'll have plenty of space), or if you live in an apartment and don't walk your dog enough (summer and winter), you probably shouldn't get a dog. I just happen to live in a house with a huge backyard, so it was excellent and very convenient for me to raise 2 dogs. When I'm in back in town and in apartment life for a couple weeks or so, I walk the dogs 3-4 times a day minimum (for both exercise and washroom). As you can tell, not very convenient but still needs to be done especially if you have an active breed.

I agree. I've always wanted to get a dog but my condo board is strict and the spacing would be unfair to the dog. He or she will be a trusty companion for many years. Only fair they get treated as such.

[rx7boi]

7.5 hours / 45 minute commute isn't anything special. Alot of folks have dogs with those schedules.

Our Shiba is 8 years old. He is alone for most of the day. Fiancee works 7 to 3 and I work 8 to 4. No accidents as they tend to be pretty clean dogs and can hold it in.

We don't stay out as long as now though, and typically go home first to let him out and play with him before going for any evening activities.

Our doggo has been alone for up to 14 hours before, but only as a one-off. We never leave him alone over night (20+ hours) unless we have a dog sitter.

Things change when you get a dog. There's more planning involved but as far as time allocation, I enjoy spending time with him.

[Kloubek]

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maybe adopt an older dog. give a guy a second chance and you can figure out if it is really for you.

This.
1) Give a dog a second chance
2) It's far cheaper than buying from a breeder
3) You avoid any chance of perpetuating puppy mills (more common than you'd think)
4) A puppy cannot go as long as you suggest. In fact, young puppies need to go every 1-2 hours.

Don't worry about leaving a dog home alone. Unless they have separation anxiety, they tend to handle this well... especially once it becomes the routine.

The one biggest piece of advice I can give: Get a breed that matches your lifestyle. If you are a highly active person you might be able to get all sorts of dogs - but if you tend to be a bit of a couch potato (like me), then many breeds will develop behavioral issues if they don't get the work/exercise they need.

[lasimmon]

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Don't worry about leaving a dog home alone. Unless they have separation anxiety, they tend to handle this well... especially once it becomes the routine.

Yup dogs generally can handle it. My parents dog you can leave for up to 10 hours and he has no issues bathroom wise. But if you go get the mail and come back he thinks you left him forever! If you are gone 10 minutes or 10 hours it doesn't matter. What a weird dog.

[Brent.ff]

Suspect a lot of dogs dont really have a sense of time once they fall asleep. I know my dog is left in a crate all day when we're at work, and shes super happy when we get home. If we go out long enough that she falls asleep, and come back, its virtually the same reaction for a half hour or a half day

[boarderfatty]

I would say do your research and select a breed that fits your life style. The first 2 to 3 months are instrumental in the development and training of your dog, behaviour, bathroom, etc, they need a lot of attention. Many people suggest that you introduce your puppy to 100 people and 100 dogs before they are 5 months old ( introduce them to different age, sexes and races, its surprising that you can develop a racist dog lol) With bathroom requirements, understand that a dod can hold it about as many hours as they are months old, so if you get a puppy at two months old, they will need to go to the bathroom approximately every 2 hours. If you cant commit to this, possibly look at a more mature adoption? Unfortunately there are a lot of dogs that come up for adoption in the 1 to 3 year old range that people can no longer commit to, and this may fit you well.

For our dog my wife took two weeks off work as soon as we got her to help her familiarize with her new surroundings. We registered her for puppy socialization classes starting at 9 weeks old followed by foundation skills classes. When the wife went to work we hired a dog walking service that would come twice a day for 30 minutes at a time for puppy visits (ie company and bathroom breaks). at 6 months old we started her in groups walks once a day for 1 hour, and when she was 1 year old we started sending her to puppy day care for 8 hours a day twice a week, in addition to her daily walks, when we have other commitments beyond work that don't allow us to give her the attention she deserves.

One thing I would also suggest is depending on the breed, look into pet insurance. We have Trupanion (by far the best coverage and fewest limitations) Our English Bulldog coverage is about $100/ month, but in under 2.5 years it has covered about $40,000 of just over $50,000 in vet bills that range from multiple genetic birth defects to other injuries.

[Tej.S]

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Do you have alot of free time for a dog? My cousin and her husband, both are working professionals. Ones a chiropracter, the others a dentist. They are barely home, always working. To get a dog, and barely be home is irresponsible and not fair to the dog. They ended up getting 2 cats. Fits their lifestyle. They are loaded so I'm sure they can just hire a dog nanny to take care of the dog when they are away but then its like whats the point.

A little off topic, but do they work in the NW (won't name the office) by any chance?

[roopi]

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I'm interested in getting a medium size dog but I'm hesitant because I spend a lot of time at work. Would an older dog be better so I can skip all the puppy training etc? Or I should just forget about this?

Take your dog to work? What's the worst that could happen?

[klumsy_tumbler]

There's a ton of great advice in this thread so far. I don't think your work day should be too much of a concern (unless you're gone for 12+ hours at a time) - a lot of the more vocal people tend to say that you should never get a dog unless you can be home with it 100% of the time, but that's just not realistic. A) Dogs are expensive - good luck paying for food/vet/etc without a job, and B) Dogs sleep most of the day anyways (I have a camera set up to watch mine, and he's on the couch for 95% of the day).

If you're still on the fence about it, have you considered fostering? It'll give you an idea as to what the commitment levels are while helping out an animal at the same time

[dirtsniffer]

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Take your dog to work? What's the worst that could happen?

it might not last very long.

new to the menu, chow chow mein.

[R-Audi]

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One thing I would also suggest is depending on the breed, look into pet insurance. We have Trupanion (by far the best coverage and fewest limitations) Our English Bulldog coverage is about $100/ month, but in under 2.5 years it has covered about $40,000 of just over $50,000 in vet bills that range from multiple genetic birth defects to other injuries.

Holy crap... 50k in 2.5 years? I would be taking a closer look at where you got your dog from. I currently pay ~$50 a month for insurance with our Bulldog with Pet Secure. I think we are around $18k in claims in 8 years, mainly from one knee surgery and pneumonia.

[Mitsu3000gt]

This is definitely not the rule, and for sure depends on many factors, but everyone I know personally who owns dogs:

- Almost never goes out
- Almost never travels (maybe once every 5 years aside from stay-cations). Even weekend trips are an enormous hassle, and nothing can be done on short notice.
- Feels bad getting others to look after the dogs (or they are too big to expect people to babysit) which contributes to them never going anywhere
- Leaves them alone most of the time (work long hours + long commute + busy schedule or young kids)
- Has to own a specific vehicle suitable for carrying them (applies more to the larger dogs)
- Spends thousands every year on vet bills (one friend spends $10k/yr on the dog's teeth)
- Very rarely actually does anything with the dog, because they are so busy and/or have kids which take priority (hence why they are left alone so long)
- Has a completely destroyed back yard and generally dirty/well worn interior on their house
- Pet insurance is expensive and can end up not covering a lot of things

BUT they love their dogs and keep getting more of them haha. Most people I know with dogs, I have no idea why they have them - all they do is talk about how much of a burden it is and never do anything with them, but they would never give them up.

I get the feeling that a lot of people get dogs and don't consider how much of a time/money commitment it is. If you can handle it, great, but I see so many people whose quality of life seems to be completely tied to their dogs and not at all in a positive way.

[Disoblige]

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This is definitely not the rule, and for sure depends on many factors, but everyone I know personally who owns dogs:

- Almost never goes out
- Almost never travels (maybe once every 5 years aside from stay-cations). Even weekend trips are an enormous hassle, and nothing can be done on short notice.
- Feels bad getting others to look after the dogs (or they are too big to expect people to babysit) which contributes to them never going anywhere
- Leaves them alone most of the time (work long hours + long commute + busy schedule or young kids)
- Has to own a specific vehicle suitable for carrying them (applies more to the larger dogs)
- Spends thousands every year on vet bills (one friend spends $10k/yr on the dog's teeth)
- Very rarely actually does anything with the dog, because they are so busy and/or have kids which take priority (hence why they are left alone so long)
- Has a completely destroyed back yard and generally dirty/well worn interior on their house
- Pet insurance is expensive and can end up not covering a lot of things

BUT they love their dogs and keep getting more of them haha. Most people I know with dogs, I have no idea why they have them - all they do is talk about how much of a burden it is and never do anything with them, but they would never give them up.

I get the feeling that a lot of people get dogs and don't consider how much of a time/money commitment it is. If you can handle it, great, but I see so many people whose quality of life seems to be completely tied to their dogs and not at all in a positive way.

Lol, insert kid into your summary and it's essentially the same thing, but worse!