I feel awful i have just started a job lately and have to leave my dog?

Question

she seems fine when i get home and she has'nt destroyed anything , she very happy to see me and i take her straight out for a good walk.Plus i always walk her in the morning, but i feel very guilty.!

Answer 1

then i think you have just answered your own question and doing a great job!!
you cant expect not to work just because you have a dog, how else are you meant to pay for your dogs keep??
its not like your leaving him for ten hours or more are ya??
with my dog, he have a good long run in the morning, time to settle, i put his breakfast down while i have mine, make sure he has fresh water, is warm, and has some toys and a rawhide bone, and turn the radio or sometimes the tv so he has some sort of "company" and go to work!!
he is always ok when i get back.
and like you, i take him out for another good run and play so he can stretch his legs.
your doing a pretty good job as you are.
chill hon you'll be fine and so will your dog.

Answer 2

Try leaving the radio on for her, a station with lots of talking at a normal volume. Like others have suggested, try a buster food cube or a rubber Kong. You could also try a DAP diffuser, they are a plug in that gives off a natural dog appeasing pheremone that calms the dog down. I take it you can't take her to work with you? If you wourk in an office, some offices would consider it if asked, especially if she is well behaved. They can really add to the productivity of an office and make you work much better and not mind overtime, as you aren't always coming in late as you didn't want to leave your dog, or dashing home early to get back to her. I am sure you have already considered this, and would if you could take her with you. It is worth considering getting another dog for company, but to be honest, this coudl lead to you feeling even more guilty, and teh new dog may not accept being left alone like your current dog. It could be a whole new headache!

All in all, I know its not ideal to leave a dog all day, but we don't live in a perfect world, and with house prices as they are, usually both man and wife, etc, have to work to pay the bills and mortgage. Sometimes I think rescue centres can be a little over-finniky about not rehoming dogs to working families. Lets face it, looking at a lot of rescue centres and the horrible noisy kennels the majority of dogs are kept in, do you honestly think that if dogs could talk they would turn down a loving cosy home and family of their own, just because they will be on their own for a while most days? I believe as long as they get a lot of love and attention, and get tired out with walks and training/tricks, etc, when you are home, there shouldn't be a problem. It is quality, not quantity that counts! My dogs are with me every second when I am home, they have their own beds in every room of the house and move with me wherever I go. I don't close doors! They are part of the family and are allowed to make their own decisions about where they want to be in the house at any time.

Answer 3

Don't feel guilty, your dog is still happy to see you each evening when you get home, she isn't been destructive either and like you say you take her for a good walk in the morning and when you get home from work, what would she be doing all day if you were at home, OK maybe one extra walk but snoozing the rest of the time, you love her, she loves you, your both happy so stop beating yourself up over it, good luck.

Answer 4

Perhaps you can arrange for someone for pop in during the day? If not make sure that you leave some nice interesting toys around to keep her amused.
Dogs tend to sleep all day while you are out so as long as she isn't showing any anxiety signs don't worry too much.
Keep up her regular routine of nice walks and she'll be fine.
Maybe in the future you'll be able to change your work arrangements so that you can be around more.
Many dog owners battle with the same problem so you are not alone!

Answer 5

Hi, Dont feel guilty. It shows you love her very much and want whats best for her.
I used to run a rescue kennels and now I work in a kennels and cattery. I have a suggestion for you if you had not thought about it.

We have a number of owners who bring there beloved pets to us on a day boarding shcheme. They come in in the morning and stay with us all day. They have acsess to water at all times and the use of large wood chipped areas to run and play in. (Mainly dig holes i have found) :-) we dont feed them as the owner does that when they get them home. So you dont miss out on any of the nice things. We brush them though and keep an eye on any health problems like weeping eyes or long claws and sort them for you so you dont have to take them to the vets. The main thing I find is that they all like coming and run up and down with the other dogs at the fence. I guess its like play school for dogs. They get to do fun things when ther owners are away and look forward to spending time with them at night. It is a quite inexpensive thing as we dont feed them or board them over night and if they come in regular which some of ours do each day mon to fir they get a good rate discount too. About £25 a week. SOME A BIT LESS. Its a great idea to check out your local kennels to see if you like them and if your dog might too.
You sound like a great owner who really cares so hats off to you!!!
Hope this helps. Michelle :-)

Answer 6

I feel the same. I have a little staffy who i have to leave at home for the best part of the day. To stop her feeling lonely i asked my neighbour very nicely if they could pop in and check on her. Also the breeder suggested leaving the radio or tv on so she can hear some voices rather than nothing all day. Hearing a voice is relaxing to them

Answer 7

Just keep up with the walking as much as possible. I walk my dog twice a day like you do for at least 2 hrs total. It kind of sucked in the begining but after a while I looked forward to it. We take different routes around my neighborhood and alternate between brisk walking, jogging, and a normal pace. I work 40 hrs a week so he's left at home a lot, so I make it up to him in walks and he seems to love it! Don't feel bad! Normal people have to work....it's a fact of life like death and taxes.

Answer 8

It's tough..ya gotta have a job!!! I felt this way, too...and it does bother me...One solution I used when I was working full time, was to come home at lunchtime, and let her out and play for a bit. ( I only worked 5 min from home, tho) and another thing I did was have a friend or neighbor, be friends with my dog, Then they would pop in and take her out and visit for a few minutes; it broke up the day for her.

Answer 9

My vet told me when I was stressing about this that as long as they have they're exercise then they' ll be fine! He told me that all my dog will do is loaf about and wait for me to get home to be fed and have a walk. He told me that dogs are very adaptable and that as long as he wasn't left for anymore than 7.30hrs per day I wasn't to worry. We've been doing this for twelve months now and he's none the worse for it and if anything I find myself making more of an effort to make sure that I do stuff with him at the weekend, so everyones a winner.

Answer 10

I sometimes have to leave our dog for a few hours, and I was worried about it I have found the following things help.

Leave the radio on at medium voilume on a talk station,

Place some of your clothing that you have worn maybe an old sock that has your smell on it , wrap it around a toy or something, it reminds them of you.

Leave plenty of toys to play with

Leave plenty of water.

If it is dark leave a lamp on.