How much time do you spend with your dog?

[Yoshi]

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Hi there,

me, my fiance and 10 year old daughter have been looking for the "right" for almost 18 months. Trying to find one that can be left for 2-3 hours, insurance isn't through the roof (we want to insure the dog for 8-10k annual cover really) but can come on 2-3 hour walks with us at the weekend and 1-2 hours during the days/evenings.

We have 3 guinea pigs and a lot rescues are not too happy with that. We really wanted to give a dog a happy home that hasn't had a perfect start.

Rescues and other people have advised we get a puppy as we can train it. I work a lot from home but 2-3 days a week I would have to leave the house for on-site repairs/work for 2-3 hours. I get the impression a lot of people with puppies are with them 24/7 but I am probably wrong?

 

[JudyN]

It's best if you can aim for someone to be with your puppy 24/7 at first, whether it be you, a family member, dog sitter or whatever. The best way to avoid separation anxiety in the long run is to start off with them feeling secure all of the time - a timid pup might become upset if you simply leave the room, so training would start at this level. More on separation anxiety here: Separation anxiety

Certainly in the long term it's best if all dogs can cope with 'home alone' time as even if this seems doable, circumstances change.

Do the guinea pigs live inside or outside? Would the dog ever have access to them, or be able to get right up close? It's true that you can train a puppy, but youngsters, of course, take time to train and will be unreliable because EVERYTHING, and particularly these funny squeaky things, are AMAZING!!! Just think how famous dogs are for their love of fluffy slippers... the main difference between guinea pigs and slippers is that guinea pigs squeak and play chase.........

Whether you could find an older, calmer dog that would be calm and reliable around guinea pigs is another matter, of course. At the end of the day, although it's good to be able to help a dog who has had a poor start in life, it's more important that you get a dog that fits in with your circumstances, because if it doesn't work out, someone (human, canine or guinea pig) will end up having a less than perfect life. Good luck!

 

[Yoshi]

Whether you could find an older, calmer dog that would be calm and reliable around guinea pigs is another matter, of course. At the end of the day, although it's good to be able to help a dog who has had a poor start in life, it's more important that you get a dog that fits in with your circumstances, because if it doesn't work out, someone (human, canine or guinea pig) will end up having a less than perfect life. Good luck!

Thanks Judy.

The guinea pigs do live inside in a cage. We very nearly went to view a 9 year old lovely black labrador but we found out basic insurance was £60/month at that age. We want to make sure we have a decent insurance policy as this obviously will result in better health care (hopefully) for the dog we adopt/purchase.

If/when nobody is home for a few hours the guinea pigs would be in a completely different room.

I see people just getting puppies and don't seem to think anything of it.

 

[JoanneF]

I’d add that for the first few weeks, you would want to be taking a puppy outside to toilet every 45 minutes or so. If you can, arrange for your fiancé to be working from home or on leave on the days when you need to go into work.

Yes, people do get puppies and don’t think anything of it, but that doesn’t make it a good thing!

 

[JudyN]

Some puppies are very easygoing, and fit into their owners' lives without any problems - those are the owners who wonder why you're 'worrying'/planning ahead. Those who have had troublesome pups can see the possible pitfalls ahead. Prewarned is prearmed!

 

[Tinytom]

Do your research if you are getting a pup ...health issues etc ...I wouldn't leave a pup more than 2 hours ....
Yes people get pups and leave them for long periods and have trouble and pup ends up an adolescent in rescue
We have a deerhound pup and he is such an easy boy but he has routine and 2 other dogs here .....
Good luck with your search ....have you looked on rescue remedies rescue or many years..the later always have lots of rescue pups ....

 

[RGC]

I’m assuming you have several guinea pigs which are company for eachother. However if you’re taking in a rescue the question needs to be asked - how fair/moral is it to take in a waif which has suffered a trauma to ‘desert’ it in its new home? I’m not taking the higher ground, I’m merely thinking of the dog. Many people took on dogs during lockdown because they wanted a pet but now the rescue centres are receiving animals that have had to be surrendered as the owners are no longer able to give them the time. One needs to be brave enough to consider the spiritual and physical welfare of the adoptee. If you can guarantee that go for it.