Whats Your Set Up?

[whippetwise]

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In this day and age most people have to go out to work to earn a living I wondered if some people here could share how they work this while also owning a dog I do not own a dog but I am planning and making arrangements so that I can one day :huggles: . How many of you made the decision to get a dog knowing they would be away from home quite a bit? Perhaps some of you pay for a dog walker or have friends or relatives that help you out, some of you have two dogs that are happy with each others company, you may have a dog that is ok left on his own for certain amounts of time. I would love to hear how you all deal with this in different ways. With whippets feeling the cold and being house dogs, toilet breaks could be a problem while you are out :sweating: . What problems have you encountered and how did you deal with them. Thanks :thumbsup:

 

[Painted Lady]

Hiya well I work from home so can't really help :wacko: but someone on here will :thumbsup: :thumbsup: good luck for when you do get a dog :luck: :luck:

 

[maggie217]

When I had my greyhound...I got her as an adult dog....she was fine whist I was at work..and very clean. The trouble started when I left work, she then started getting very upset if I went out for an hour or two without her and became destructive, which she had not been before. All I can think is that she accepted the regular routine when I was working every day but didn't like the unpredictability [is that a proper word?] when I was usually at home with her. I had then to take her most places with me.

 

 

Pauline

 

[Janimal]

I only work seasonal and then only part time. From March through to September and a few days around Christmas time. I work about 3-4 hours per day, maybe 3 days per week, so Ive found leaving the dogs for those sort of hours works out really well.

When Ive first got the puppies they were crate trained and sometimes my OH works from home too...so for me Ive been lucky and I havnt had to worry too much.

To be honest I wouldnt have the dogs if I worked full time unless I had someone coming in each day to walk them or let them out for a while. :thumbsup:

I do the favours though for some of my friends that work, one has a collie and I usually take him out midday when shes doing a full day. :thumbsup:

 

[Mini Me]

I get 13 weeks holiday a year (w00t) . I know, but someone's gotta do it. That, and the fact that if I work my breaks and dinner hours, I can get home for 4.30/5.00 most weekdays, my three are fine. ALTHOUGH, we do not have a dinning table chair that Pepper did not eat when she was a puppy. Oh how I love that dog!

 

[hely]

Im a childminder, i have 7 kids to look after at different times of the day plus 3 of my own, so im around alot of the time, my o/h also works from home, so Gypsy is not on her own alot :thumbsup:

good luck with your dog when you get one :luck: :luck:

 

[pixieru]

Myself and my partner work full time, we go home at lunch time for an hour but the rest of the time the dogs are on there own, they have a dog flap so they have the run of the garden, we have never had a problem as it is something we have done since they were a pup.

My neibours got a pup and never left it on its own and took it everywhere, now its 2 years old and if they leave it dont we know about it! it howls and barks constantly, but as mine have always been left alone they dont know any different.

 

[saraquele]

well im very lucky , i work 4 / 5 mornings a week , 8.30am to 12.30 pm but as i work for my dad i can pick and choose my days

my eldest daughter works in a nursing home so we usually work off her rota so someone is at home most of the time .

plus ive got my parents who live next door so if im at a show etc they can come round and let them out .

it does help that i have 2 as they keep eavh other company if they are on there own for a while :thumbsup:

 

[Nicola]

I have two dogs, and both myself and OH work. I work 4 days a week and the OH works shifts (a recent development over the past year or so), so someone is generally around much of the time, albeit sleeping off the night shift in bed. -_-

If we are ever out at the same time all day, our dog carer pops in and takes them out at lunch times for a quick run in the park.

Start off as you mean to go on and leave the pups on their own for a specified period each day, gradually increasing the time every day. We started off confining the dogs to certain safe rooms of the house as pups, whilst they were settling into a routine and we were out. As soon as they were fully toilet trained and didn't chew or dig anymore they were allowed the run of most of the house. There is never a spot of damage if we do leave them, and they are both fine, but you do have to be prepared for damage when they are young. Crates are generally used these days to keep the pups safe, but i think it would be cruel to keep a dog confined in a crate all day whilst you're at work, even if they are given a break at lunch times. Having observed mine on a week day when I've been ill in bed (i.e. it was a day they were expecting to be on their own), they vary their sleeping positions according to the weather (seeking sunspots), look out the window from time to time, snuggle into our quilt if it's cold (although we leave the central heating on 18C for Fred in the winter during the day). They wouldn't be able to do this in a crate and it wouldn't be good for their mental wellbeing.

 

[FionaS]

I work full time and travel an hour to work and an hour back. My husband is a sales rep and is often away for two weeks at a time.When i got Dolly and Mojo they were both used to being left and were cage trained. I worried for years about working and then having dogs. When Jayse is away I am up at 05:30 walk them for 20 mins. I then have a dog walker come in mid morning to walk them for 45 mins and then again in the afteroon for 30 mins. I then get home at 5pm and take them for a walk off lead (1hr) or in the winter i take them out while im on my bike. This works really well for me and the dogs. In the summer the dog walker sometimes takes them along in his van with his other clients as my two are so chilled out. My neighbours also help out now and again but i dont like putting on other people. I would say that as long as you have sorted out getting them out and make sure they are socialised properly with other dogs people etc then it can work well. I think that the fact that my breeder had cage trained my two as pups and got them used to being left when they were small really helped. My two dont mind being left at all and get fed in their cages so think of them as home. I would say go for it, i put off getting dogs for years as i thought it wouldnt work but it does!!

 

[whippynit]

could i suggest this be moved to general whippet discussion? think it might get more reads and responses in there :thumbsup:

 

[madbella]

We both work full time and are very lucky that my mum doesn’t work and can look after our puppy. She has a whippet of her own so hopefully when the puppy is grown up (and not so full of energy!!) an extra dog won’t be that much hassle!!

I wouldn’t have had a puppy if it had to be left alone for most of the day. An older well trained dog would be easier to adapt I would think.

 

[nicky12]

when we got blue he came to work with me as i had a very dog friendly boss who also took her 4 dogs to work so blue was in heaven ,then by time we had ollie oh was working from home most of time ,now we have tia to and oh has just started new job so isnt home during the day ,but i now work from home so alls good for the doggys ,but my son is usually here to if need to go out as hes in 6th form :cheers:

 

[whippetwise]

Its interesting to see how everyone manages. I have wanted a dog for so many years but in the last three years I have really really really wanted a dog. I have a crate, clicker, toys, tons of books on dog training and whippets but no dog. I have been putting it off till the time is right for three years now :sweating:

 

[Janimal]

It sounds like you have really thought it out anyway Id say... :thumbsup:

Go for it... :thumbsup:

 

[wigglesworth]

I'd say go for it too. I've just taken the plunge and I'm loving it

We both work but we are lucky in that we built our house and we designed it so that we could have a lodger on the ground floor. We put in a kitchenette for them so they are living with us but we're not in each others' pockets. We set out to find someone who works nights or from home and we offered reduced rent in return for being there for the doggies in the day time. We ended up giving the room to a friend who works the night shift at Smithfield meat market and comes home from work just as we are leaving. I can tell he loves the whippets as he has already provided them with enough bones to last for months :lol: We were experimeting yesterday to see what they liked from the enormous bag of goodies he brought home and the poor dogs were so stuffed they hardly wanted any supper!

I also wanted to get two so they could be there for each other and not be too reliant on the humans.

Good luck with your quest for a dog. You won't regret it :luck: :wub:

 

[dagsquall]

Hi there

I think you make the right choice with a whippet. When I looked for a dog I searched all the breed characteristics as I knew I could not provide a good home to say a spaniel that needs exercise all day long.

I believe I am a bit of an extreme case as I leave home at 8 work from 9 til 6 and get home at 6.30/7.00. What I do is I take the dog with me in the car. When she was a puppy she was crated up, so I would be able to quickly go out of the office and let her out every 2 hours for a wee. I used a "wee wee" command so she knew exactly what I wanted. It has always been a very useful command word and I cannot recommend it enough. Now she is older she is holds til lunch. She spends time watching people coming and going.

At lunch I take her off the lead for a run in the adjacent woods whilst I have my sandwiches so she gets a good 30 minutes running. She spend the afternoon dosing in the car with her toys and a bone (we have sheltered car park so she is not in sun, she has water and I bought her a nice sheepskin coat to stay warm).

In the evening we go for an hour bike riding in the woods or on the moors so she gets plenty exercise running after rabbits. By nine in the evening she begs for her bed (she won't go of her own I need to put her in bed!!) It's the way it's always been since a puppy and she is well happy with it, she has developped into a brilliant no-nonsense dog. (At some point in her life I thought she was bored but I know now it was just her personality!).

I have to admit it was hard work when she was a puppy until 12 months old but once they are settled into a routine and they know what to do and when, and they get mental and physical stimulation then they are happy and very rewarding.

All the best and good luck.

 

[AnnSa]

I do help with my two luckily )

On the four days that i work my daughter takes the girls for an on lead

walk first thing in the morning. My sister takes them jogging with her at

dinner time. They are then left in the kitchen with access to the yard (garden

is out of bounds unless someone is with them). I then take them for a walk

on the beach when i get home at three.

When i just had the one she would be happy to lay in a crate while alone

in the house but once the second one came along she changed. Dont ask

me how she does it but she can get out of a double locked crate. So i just

leave it open and they go in and out as they like.

 

[hely]

thats very clever of her ann

 

[urchin]

I work full time, which includes some days working away (just got back from a 2 day stint up north)

My normal days see me out of the house from 9 to 4.30

The adjustments i have made are:

2 dogs not 1 ! and making sure that they are dogs who actively like each others company rather than just tolerate it. Dogs are sociable animals and I didn't think it fair for one to spend this amount of time regularly by himself

Have older dogs - neither of mine came to me as a young pup (one was 9 months, the other 18 months) . My working day is just too long for a puppy to cope with.

At the minute mine are in all day, and never have an accident but I'm aware this isn't ideal

so

the other minor adjustment I made was

Buy a house, with a big garden and start saving up for a big day run and heated kennel!

Simple really!