I work 9am-5pm can I still own a dog?

Question

I'm thinking of getting a little miniture schnauzer girl puppy in June. One of my concerns is that I work 9 am-5 pm and she will be left in the house while I'm out. I would take her for a good long walk in the morning and then hope she sleeps for abit when I leave. My dad will call in at lunch time and take her out, I'm still concerned that she'll be lonely.

The breeder says that his daughter has a pup and she's fine when her daughter works all day. What does anyone else think? Do you guys leave your dogs unattended when your at work?

Answer 1

This is a LONG time for a little one to be left alone.
Puppies especially are extremely active and needy.
You may be setting her up for behavior issues (separation anxiety, chewing and destroying,etc)
A better alternative might be doggie daycare. If you could not afford to take her every day, then she could go Tuesdays and Thursdays.
I say this because if you play with her hard all weekend, then Monday she's going to be willing to rest - off to Daycare Tues where they wear her out - Wed rest - Thurs daycare again - Fri rest and that brings you back to the weekend.
Most of the schnauzers I know are high energy dogs and are not going to want to lay in a crate all day waiting for someone to come let them out. If that is all she will do, it's not fair to her.

Answer 2

It sounds like you have a good plan to keep her ... as long as you don't work overtime often and your dad is serious and committed to dropping in while you are at work (at least for a few months until she is house trained).

The pup probably won't get lonely, so long as she gets a lot of attention when you are around. She will get used to the routine and learn to trust that you will be coming back. She might whine for a week or two, or even bark, but that is normal .. it is kind of like dropping a child at day care for the first time. Until they KNOW you are coming back, they get a little anxious.

There are different schools of thought on kennel training, but I swear by it. I have never seen a properly kennel trained dog that feared being in a confined space or kenneled for the night - most sleep in their kennels by choice. It is like giving the dog its own room.

This will also help with potty training issues, since you will be at work and the puppy will undoubtedly "go" on the floor if not confined. In time she will learn to hold it rather than soil her living quarters.

I have always had dogs and they have always had to be home alone at some time - either for work, school or other reasons. Really noone can be home entertaining their pup 24 hours a day, so don't feel guilty about leaving her alone. Buy and make her toys and figure out what she likes and leave a TV or radio on at low volume. Leave out plenty of water and maybe ask your dad to give her a serving of food at lunch (otherwise 2 times a day is fine too). They really do find ways to entertain themselves while you are gone - especially puppys. Most older dogs are just so happy to be left alone so they can sleep!

My current dog stays home alone up to 9 hrs at a time, unkenneled, and does just fine. She has cats to entertain her, though I think she might prefer if they disappeared!

Good luck with your new puppy!

Answer 3

I don't have any pets right now, but if your concern is that the dog will be lonely you do have options.
You could get someone to stay at your house with the dog while you work.
You could have someone stop by every hour or 2 to take the dog for a walk.
You could ask a friend, relative or neighbor if they would mind watching the dog at there house while you work.
You could also just go home on your breaks from work to check on the dog.
If you think none of that will work and don't want to leave the dog alone for that long then maybe it would be best for you to wait. good luck with your decision.I can tell you are responsible because you are trying to figure things out before actually getting the dog.

Answer 4

Well.. if your dad is going to come and let her out etc.. It's not so bad.. But M-F 8 hours a day is a long time. It depends too on what you do after work.. Are you always home at 5:15... and are you up for another long walk, and play time and stay home most nights to be with a dog and spend the time training etc..

The thing is, when your trying to housetrain a puppy, leaving them every day for 8 hours, makes it longer and harder to get them trained. House training works best if you are home and there to be able to get them out many many times a day, giving you many opportunities to tell them how wonderful they are for peeing outside.. If you are depending on 1ce a day by your dad to let her out, and then the crate forcing her to hold it the rest of the day til you get home.. There aren't many opportunities for you to get her out and praise her..

She would be getting less water than a growing puppy needs, and increasing her liklihood of developing diabetes.. Not only that, I am convinced that dogs that are crated for long periods of time and forced to learn to hold it for hours, are more likely to develope incontinence..
Pee is a toxin.. And in people we know that when we have to pee, we should do it, as our body is holding onto a toxin. If you don't go when you need to, the urine becomes more concentrated, and can cause problems. Not only that, but the excess water that would normally be there is reabsorbed by the body...
That's why it becomes concentrated..

I would have to say that I wouldn't think it's a great idea. If you had someone that was coming over and spending a few hours each afternoon with her, I would be more happy about the idea.. But 8 hours every single day monday to friday.. That's a whole lot of alone time for a puppy.

Answer 5

No definately not! Your reasons for having a dog under these conditions would be totally selfish and of no benefit to the dog whatsoever. How could you expect a puppy to entertain itself all day it will end up with all sorts of anxiety problems which you will have no time to deal with either. Why would you want to buy a dog just to condem it to a lonely life. Dont kid yourself you can spend all your time on it when you are not at work either because no doubt like everyone else you have other things that need doing when you are not at work some evenings and weekends etc. Any breeder happy to sell a pup to be left all day is in it purely for a sale. Popping in to let her out at lunchtime is not good enough the dog deserves more and a pup should still be getting feeds in the day, she will want to hold herself and to please you but wont be able too. A crate is fine for nights and short periods in the day but she may as well be in rescue kennels she would get more attention and stimulation.

Please dont do it leave that dog and give it a chance to get a home where the owner can devote it the time it deserves and wait until you are in a position to do the same before you consider owning a dog. In the meantime get a cat for company and befriend someone who is unable to excercise there dog and borrow that in your spare time. Put card in the vets explaining you are happy to walk dogs for people who are unable to through maybe long term or temporary ill health. You may even establish a friendship with someone home all day who will dogsit for you when you are in a better position to have a dog of your own.

I hope this is some help - please I urge you to put the dogs needs before your own. I cannot believe anyone who claims to love dogs would deliberately isolate a dog like this and getting two is not the solution they are like babies for goodness sake. There is a new RSPCA law preventing people leaving dogs for long periods.

In your heart I think you already know it is wrong or you wouldnt be asking.

Answer 6

We have recently bought our 1st dog, although i grew up with dogs. I have still been amazed at the engery our collie has got - when they are really young they get tired and sleep lots but by 6 months they need a lot of attention. My boyfr is a farmer so the dog is out alot however i feel really guilty when the pup is not having an active day. I would really suggest you dont get a dog - they have so much energy. You wouldnt leave a child alone for the majority of the day so why would you leave a dog? If you do get one, research into which breed has the lowest activity level.

Answer 7

Hi there,
I did the same with my puppy for two years, but I've now moved away from where I work so we got another dog to keep her company - we also installed a dog flap. Having two is harder than one, but we were thinking of the dogs' best interest, they are now great companions ands snuggle up together to sleep, play together - and now Gemma has someone to play tug of war with her, also, if you were to put them in kennels, they'd have eachother. I also took time off work to get my dog use to the house and to house train her, a long walk a lunchtime will help the afternoon go by, try not to leave her at night as well though for a while - you may find she howls! If you have problems with separation anxiety, let me know as we managed to break this with our second dog.

Answer 8

I'm Sure Your Puppy Will Be Fine. As Long As She Has Plenty Of Things To Occupy Her During The Day She Will Be Fine, If She Gets Bored Then She May Begin To Become Destructive

Answer 9

Well I worked from 8-5 mon-fri and I have 3 dogs now. As long as she gets let out every few hours she should be fine. Just be sure she has toys in her crate and puppy pads laid down. Puppies cannot hold it for long at all so it's best to be prepared for accidents daily in the crate. They don't like going where they sleep, but sometimes they cannot hold it anymore. My youngest is a 3 mo. old Boston Terrier pup and I put pads in his crate every night because when I get up there's always a mess....luckily he doesn;t tear them up like my older puppy does though!! Well hope that helps and good luck !!

Answer 10

Some dogs just can't tolerate being left, so the person who says its ok for their dog is talking about their dog not yours!
It will help if someone can go in midday but you are going to find housetraining a pup very difficult as you won't be there when she needs to go to the loo - young pups go frequently!
There are lots of tricks like crate training, leaving a radio on quietly, leaving some of your worn clothing in the dogs bed to act as a security blanket; but even so thats a long time to leave a young active pup.
Have you considered re-homing an older dog who perhaps wants to snooze all day? There will be a rescue society for the breed you want, you could contact them.