I will be working almost 16 hours so what dog should I get?

Question

As a pet that doesn't need attention all the time but proud to see me when I get home from a rough day of work and is it possible with a dog?

Answer 1

Get a cat. They'll cope with being alone, it's not fair to ask a dog to be alone for more than a few hours - they need people and company.

Answer 2

I strongly advise that you do NOT get a dog. Dogs require a LOT of attention, care, and exercise. If you are gone 16 hours a day, then you go home and go to sleep and don't want to spend the time necessary. You can't even make it up to a dog who's been alone 16+ hours. Get a dog when you'll be home a LOT more, and gone no more than 8 hours, a regular time-frame for people working full-time with dogs.... Many consider leaving your dog alone for that long is ABUSE. Then you'll come home to a house that has been torn apart from the anxiety and lonliness.... Don't get a dog. Don't get any pets. You are not home enough to give anything the care it will need, except maybe fish. I see other posts advising a cat, and that is also the wrong pet for you. People think cats are more independent and can handle it, but they want your attention and presence as well. I have a cat as well, and she expresses her anger when I go to the movies if I've been home most of the day. Your pets want you with them, and it's that simple. A fish is the only pet you should get if you're gone for so long.

Answer 3

Please dont get a dog if you are working that many hours. It is not fair for the dog. There is no such thing as a dog that "doesnt need attention all the time". If you buy a dog and work 16 hrs and the dog is all alone, you will come home to a depressed dog not a happy one. If you just have to have a dog, you need to get 2 of them so they can keep each other company. How are the dogs suppose to use the bathroom if no one is there???? Think about this so you dont make a mistake and have to get rid of the dog after you get it.

Answer 4

No it is not possible and is illegal in the UK.Dogs cannot be legally left for more than 6 hrs as adults or 3 as puppies.They need to go to the toilet that often.They are also very social and that long with no company will make them miserable.

Your lifestyle is unsuited to most pets actually. Cats,ferrets,rats and birds all need far more attention.

You could get a pair of rabbits or guinea pigs or gerbils or a single hamster but they would not get tame with so little human contact.

You could also consider a tarantula or stick insect.

Basically though your life sounds too busy for you to have time for a real pet.Get a cyber pet or a robot dog instead.

Answer 5

Unless you plan to hire a dog walker to take the pooch out 3 or 4 times over sixteen hours and also spend time in providing the dog with company, playing with it , feeding it, bonding with it, then No, any breed would suffer being left alone for that length of time. And if the dog walker does all these things, where does that leave you in the dog's eyes, probably not its friend and master, you would be heading for trouble for you and the dog, Think again !!!!.

Answer 6

A virtual one!!

Let me ask you this? Can YOU go sixteen hours a day without going to the bathroom? If not, then why should a dog be exected to? And if you think the answer is to leave it outside, I think it's cruel and irresponsible to leave a dog OUTSIDE most of the day, especailly alone.

You can't just leave a dog alone for 16 hours straight. Dogs are pack animals (all of them) and want to be with their pack most of the time.

Leaving dogs alone can make them anti-social, neurotic, timid, and likely agressive.

there is no such thing as a "pet that doesn't need attention all the time..."

If you go to a resuce organization or a reputable brreder, they won't even let you adopt a dog if you tell them you will be gone from the house 16 hours straight.

Answer 7

I am a dog trainer and I can tell you from experience that you need to spend time with your dog. A dog, any breed, that is not given attention and trained will find ways of getting attention whether that be negative or otherwise.

You will come home to find your house in shambles, your dog will have eaten furniture, shoes, even walls. The dog will develop behavior problems like biting or incessant barking.

I am telling all of this from experience in people's homes. A couple with full time jobs had two English Bulldogs. They were to "busy" to walk them, so they would put them in the bathroom while they went to work so that they would not destroy the house. They ate a hole through the wall to the bedroom and destroyed the mattress.

Besides that, it is cruel to do that to an animal. Would you like it if your parents would have been too busy to spend time with you? After a sixteen hour day you will not have the energy, nor the inclination to walk your dog, or play with him or her.

Answer 8

A stuffed animal!!! ;) Now, seriously...16 hours alone is too long for ANY breed of dog, so you might want to wait until your lifestyle changes or you change jobs, before you get a dog. You'll see a lot of bad behavior problems in your dog if you leave him alone for such a long time. Besides, only after he is 9 months old he will be able to hold his urine/BM for about 12 hours...but not for much longer than that - which means your poor dog will end up eliminating inside while you are away. Poor dog, he won't have much choice on the matter, will he? So I'd advise you to get fish until you can be away for a shorter period of time before getting a mammal pet. Good luck!

Answer 9

A cute stuffed animal... Gone for 16 hours a day, it would be unfair to the dog or any animal to be left for that long, not to mention the mess you would come home to everyday... Have you gone 16 hours without going to the bathroom? Or would this be a dog that is left in the backyard and forgotten about, then left to bark and annoy the neighbors.... Just not a good/fair situation for anyone.

Someone said a parrot-I have one, they need a lot of attn or you will be squawked out of the house-not a good idea AT ALL!! So I would stick with fish.... I still think a stuffed animal would be best.

Answer 10

It's not fair to the dog if you are out at work all day. Dogs are pack animals, they love company, and love being with their master. The dog will get bored, and probably bark a lot which will not endear you to the neighbours;

Unless there is other company in the house, I'd advise you to put the idea on hold for a while. We have a dog, and both of us are at work all day; my son comes in from school at 5pm; I'm in at six. We have a side entrance to the house which has a wrought irion gate that keeps the dog in, but also lets him see out, and all the kids on the road come over and chat to him during the day, so he is not too bad.

Maybe this might be an option for you

Answer 11

The only pet I can think of for someone who works 16 hours a day is a fish. Pets need attention that you don't have time to give.