Is it fair to have a dog?

S

Shann

Joined
Sep 2, 2004
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I love dogs. My wife loves dogs. But we both work full-time at least a half hour from home (in different directions).

My 15 year old German Shepard labors to his feet in the morning and he goes out and does his business. Then I feed him, pat him and I'm gone until 10 hours later. He lays on his futon all day and I feel bad leaving him all alone. We did have another dog that I had to put down, but she was crated and that made me feel even worse to leave her crated all day (I will say that she loved her crate and often went in there to lay down even with the door open).

We want to always have dogs, but it is tough. I think that we are good "parents" and treat our dogs well but feel guilty about leaving them alone for such periods of time. If we do get another dog after Bear is gone I was going to take him\her to a doggy day care a couple of days a week.

I think my dogs are all better off for being part of my family. They were fed, groomed, cared for and loved. I may be just justifying it in my mind, but otherwise these beautiful animals would have been left at the humane society and maybe not had a chance.
 
Why can't you fence in your yard and provide them with a nice shelter then let them stay outside weather permitting?
 
Any love and affection you show your dog is what they live for.Just make sure you spend lots of time on the weekends.
Lost my springer who I took to work with me every day. He would stay in the back of my pick up all day.(he would jump out of the back to do his business and jump back in the truck when finished)God I loved that dog.
Any quality time we spent together was heaven for him.(hunting or just in the woods)Miss him every day.
I know God put them on the earth for us.And Us for them.I am sure of it.
Randy
 
Dogs aren't clock-watchers. Gone an hour, gone 10 hours, it's pretty much the same to them.
 
Sounds to me like you're a good canine parent. Big dogs need exercise, but at the age of 15, your German Shepherd is probably perfectly happy to lay in a futon all day. When they're young, they'll jump up at the chance for any adventure, but as they get older they get lazy like the rest of us.

It sounds like your plan for your next dog is a good one.
 
Well to me it seems you know the answer. If you both are away from home so much, what's the point really? And what life is that for the dog?
If you had more than one they would be company to each other. That might alleviate the guilt somewhat... ;) But don't lock 'm up for life, they'll sugger for it sooner or later.
 
IMO, 10 hours alone sounds a bit rough for a non-aged dog to be alone daily. It sounds like your plan to get help during the day is a good one. Good Luck.
 
I'm kinda in the same boat with an older 100lb.+ Lab. I used to take him to work with me some but the job changed and he cant get in the back of the pickup any more without help. He's outside weather permitting but I'm thinking about getting a small [pit bullish] pup for company for him and to take to work with me when he's gone. When you make that commitment you have to follow through. You cant divorce your dog!!:D--KV
 
my dogs are at home by themselves for about 6-7 hours a day during the week. one day i happened to stay home and i noticed that my dogs just sleep and bark at the mailman. but when other family members got home our dogs always flip out with excitement. i wouldnt worry about your dog as long as he has food, water, and a nice place to lay down.
 
Leaving dogs at home during the day isn't anything to get bent out of shape about. We have a couple of Chihuahuas and it is something to see them out of bed before noon on any given day. It's like gundude said, they don't do anything but lounge and bark at the mailman whether I am there or not. They have gotten into the groove and come 4 or so, they are ready to go out for a walk/romp in the yard, then, an hour of fetch in the house. They follow us around while we get dinner and pick up around the house for a couple of hours, then, sit on someone's lap for a couple more hours while we veg. Come bed time... they usually beat me there and the cycle starts all over.

Dogs are resiliant and are perfectly capable of making their own fun. If you are doing something wrong with your dogs, they will be the first to let you know in one of those subtle, doggie ways.... like destroying expensive things and crapping in your bed.;)

Finally, crates suck. Train you dogs to treat your den like their den (beacuse it is) and all will be well :thumbup:
 
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get a second dog - they like the company.
otherwise, sounds like you've got a good handle on it.
 
Leaving your dog home alone is no big deal. As long as he has access to water and a comfy place to lay down, he is good!

"I think my dogs are all better off for being part of my family."

You are so right!

My wife volunteers at our local shelter. They are overloaded with animals because so many people are loosing both their jobs and their homes in this economy.

Unfortunately, since the shelter is run by the city, it is a kill shelter.

That means that once they are full, they only have two ways to make room for new animals: adopt them out, or put them down.

At one point they were destroying 80 dogs and cats a week.

I used to go with my wife on my days off and help her, but I ended up bringing too many dogs home!

We now have six Chihuahua's/Chihuahua mixes.

I sometimes feel guilty too, but in a different way. With just my wife and I, its hard to give equal attention to six dogs. I feel like I don't spend enough time with our first dog, Logan. He was our only dog for over a year before we started bringing the others home. You can tell he gets jealous because we play with the others!!

Like Esav says, dogs aren't clock watchers. They are just greatful for the time we do spend with them.


John
 
Depends on the dog breed and individual of course, but I would say no, it's not fair to have a dog. If you get a young energetic dog with that schedule, they will probably go crazy and be destructive.

Actually though there are a ton of people that do doggy daycare, can be expensive, We send one of our dogs 2 days a week to daycare, that's two days a week peace and quiet for me. :).
 
We had to put down my 12 year old Shetland Sheepdog a few months ago. He had cancer that was going to take him soon. In the prior two years or so, he would have been content with 10 hours by himself. The average dog sleeps something like 20 hours a day, anyway, if I recall correctly. As long as you get him 30-45 minutes a day of walking, I'd think he'd be okay.

If it was a younger dog, I'd be a little concerned about it, but at 15, I guessing your Shepherd is pretty sedentary and probably doesn't have a lot of time left. Good luck.
 
When I was house shopping about 20 years ago the first place I would go even before entering the house was the back yard to see if it would be suitable for dogs. If not, I would not even waste time looking inside the house. Drove my real-estate agent a little nuts. I would look out back and if it was not good had no interest in the house.

I ended up with a postage stamp sized front yard and a little over an acre in the back that I fenced in. It is all woods back there. Tall hardwoods with huge canopies. Not bad for a home inside 285 in Bastidville and perfect for dogs.

I think that having 2 of them is really not any more of a task than one and they do get a lot of play time together with less boring times when I am at work. It is a riot watching their antics. I also became involved a few years ago in organizing groups that were interested in getting off leash parks established in the Bastidville (Atlanta) area. They enjoy their back yard, but really have a blast at the off-leash parks they frequent almost daily (up until this achilles tendon episode :D). If you can make the time to spend at least 45 minutes to an hour each day in a social setting with them, I have found that all that socialization with other dogs and people is a great thing in many ways.

I am a pretty devoted dog fan. Both of mine are rescues. I screw up a lot but try to live a life worthy of the unconditional love they have for me. When we are open to them, we can learn a lot from our dogs. As long as I can provide a good and caring life for them, I hope to have dogs in my life.
 
Dogs are tough animals, there's really nothing to worry about leaving them alone for most of the day(once they're house broken), as long as they have fresh food and water, they'll find ways to pass the time. If you're going to be away at work and no ones going to be around most days, I would suggest some type of care/training program for a puppy, or else you'll come home and your furniture will be ruined.
 
silenthunterstudios said:
Definitely. I've gone out the door to warm the truck up in the morning, and they act like I've been gone all day when I come back in.
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I go through that everyday. Its a ritual. He knows when I'm puttin my work boots on, I'm going to be going out to start the truck .

Bastid said:
I am a pretty devoted dog fan. Both of mine are rescues. I screw up a lot but try to live a life worthy of the unconditional love they have for me. When we are open to them, we can learn a lot from our dogs. As long as I can provide a good and caring life for them, I hope to have dogs in my life.
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Well said Gus...
 
338375 said:
I go through that everyday. Its a ritual. He knows when I'm puttin my work boots on, I'm going to be going out to start the truck .
Well said Gus...
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Oh yeah. This past year, I had to put down my 13-year-old Black Lab/Springer. Heart breaking, she was a great friend, but she was falling apart and dying.

When she was young, she loved to ride shotgun with me in the pick up. Yup, dogs love trucks. She would watch me like a hawk and when I put on a particular shoe, she knew the game was afoot and we were going on a truck riding adventure. Smiling and excited. Ya gotta love 'em :D
 
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