She only jumps up on the sofa when she is ready for snuggling. In her more loony days she would just jump all over the sofa but with no intention of settling. Now, despite having such comfy dog beds that my son has said he would be happy to sleep in them, she prefers to be on the sofa with me. I put a blanket on the sofa and I hope she will learn that, if the blanket isn't on, then neither is she. She jumps on, snuggles up and sleeps sleeps sleeps. She might wake up for a wee and 10 mins of stretching her legs and chewing a ball, then back up. I have, a couple times, lifted her on to her own bed when she's been sleepy, when I've wanted the sofa to myself, and she's stayed in her bed. She has also settled when I've been sitting on the sofa working. Dogs have never been allowed on sofas before so it's taking a while to accept this change of events, but I figure it makes up a bit for the times that I am out and encourages our bond. Plum is 22.5 weeks now and I've only been doing it probably the last two weeks tops.
I just don't know how it'd be possible, but I'm sure it is since people do it. I'm pretty fortunate in that I work minimally since I have my toddler - ironically, It's the best time for us since one of us is home at least 80% of the time. We can't go anywhere for very long w/ a toddler, either, so it's pretty good to have them together. We got her for companionship for me, since my husband works a lot and my 2.5 y/o is ... well, 2.5 . Seeing how much time and supervision it's taken me to work on a well-trained and mellow dog (we got very lucky and had a breeder who matched us well), I couldn't imagine spending a week off work with her then leaving her alone. It would just lead to behavioral issues and more stress all around. Perhaps a puppy isn't a great idea for people UNLESS they truly have the "stars aligned." Financially, strategically, and physically (meaning: energy); it all takes serious consideration. Dog walkers and daycare are a first-world privilege that adds to the cost of the dog and isn't a true solution UNLESS you've established a bond with the animal first. It just feels unnatural. Plus, if you're already paying for childcare, paying for animal care seems exorbitant. Older dogs with more confidence and independence might be better off but it still doesn't seem right. So does this exclude you from having a dog? Maybe. You can't always get what you want and even if you CAN, it doesn't mean you should. I CAN exchange my son's school costs and activity budget for my own wants. But should I? I can do lots of things, but sometimes doing them at the expense of common sense won't make sense. Get a cat if you need that companionship now! I have three, and had three until we were able to get Mindy. My husband loved dogs, but sucked it up and got his cat, Duke, because a dog just wouldn't be right at the time. So really, working owners need to realize it's not a right to have a dog. It's a privelage and comes with a lot of responsibility. Be realistic about your lifestyle. The time will be right, I promise . -Sunny
I say yes. I waited 45 years to get "my" dog. I felt it wouldn't have been fair. I was raised in a family that usually had 2 dogs but there was always someone at the home. I've watched many people, usually younger, get puppies only to give them up because they can't look after them properly and they deemed them problematic. I watched people get the wrong breeds and have to give them up because they weren't home and deemed them problematic. I currently live near a military town where the local SPCA is full of large breed dogs because soldiers got puppies while they were on training and gave them up before deployment, so I strongly believe that not everyone has a right to a puppy. I give credit to the forum members who graciously and politely help struggling owners even though they know that some of these owners aren't in the situation to own dogs because they love all animals. I give credit to those who work all day and find ways to ensure their pets are well looked after while they are not home. I am glad to have the opportunity to speak my mind here openly where I won't offend a member asking for advice, but I think that people who fit into snowbunnys criterion this should excluded you from having a dog.
Interesting point. My wife is from South Africa and when she moved to Canada she couldn't believe we co-habitated with our pets indoors. Most from her area had several dogs. Always outside in a fenced yard and usually their main purpose was security and deterrence. The fav would get to sleep in the kitchen or maybe in the hallway to alert of an intruder.
I think the biggest shock to us has been the financial aspect of owning a dog. We didn't think we would need daycare - we thought someone popping home would be enough, but of course it wasn't. So now on the days when we're not around Stanley goes to daycare. This started out at £10 a day and when his original day care shut it's now gone to £15. We're currently spending between £120-£150 a month on daycare which isn't a small amount of money. But there's the other aspects you just don't consider. Recently OH got offered a promotion at work, but it meant he would go from shift work to Monday-Friday. Even though it was a significant pay rise which would of helped us immensely but it would have meant day care pretty much 5 days a week. Not only is this not really financially viable but it would mean Stanley was away from his family more than he was with us which was something we didn't feel was fair, so he turned it down. I wouldn't swap my little boo for the world, but there's a lot more to owning a dog than people realise. And what irritates me *gets on slap box* is that people act as though they didn't have a choice. "Well we have to work", "there's no one around to help" etc. When a dog is a choice. It's not the same as when you accidentally fall pregnant and have to try your best - you made a conscious decision to bring that animal into your life and therefore you should make sure you're meeting their needs. Otherwise you shouldn't do it!
I had to wait for about 25 years until I was in a position to get a dog and look after it in a way I would be happy with. due to health problems I have had to cut my working hours and change my life. It was a bad time and still is but it did give me the opportunity to have dogs. If I'd not had my dogs I don't think I would be as happy and healthy as i am now. I do things in a certain way and my dogs are happy but I know my way isn't the only one.
I always end up saying this - but it's not about 'working or not' really. Someone who isn't really committed to a dog, and didn't work, could spend their days shopping, out with friends, doing stuff without the dog, going off on trips away and leaving a dog in kennels etc. and their dog could be much worse off than one owned by someone who works full time. For 20 years I'd said to OH 'I'm having SO many dogs when I retire....I can't wait to retire, so I can have a dog....I wonder how much more I'd have to save so I can retire early and get a dog....'. I'd say this once or twice a week. Every week. Probably more during the holidays. So after OH had heard this 2080 times (at twice a week for 20 years), one day he said: 'why don't you stop wishing your life away, and just get a dog now?'. And so I did. I worked full time, I lived in a city, I wasn't prepared. I had a 3 day business trip on the Monday after I brought Charlie home on the Saturday and I had no dog care in place. But I got my act together - rapidly, really, really rapidly - and I coped. My dog got a real mixed picture of care but he was always cared for by kind people and I spent pretty much every second of my life with him when I wasn't working and I still pretty much do, although sometimes I see friends without him it's not very often that any of my activities outside work don't involve my dogs. So for me the first question is about how committed a person is to the dog - whether that dog is going to be a complete part of someone's life outside work (or anything else that they do, including raising children which is massively time consuming) - and whether they can afford to provide care cover when they are not there. And that's pretty much it, I think.
My dogs also got a real mixed picture of care - but I didn't leave them home alone for more than two or three hours, even 'tho we both worked long hours. I was lucky to have parents who came at in the morning two days a week - they made cakes, cooked the evening meal and picked the kids up from school too. MIL came another two days and we had doggy day care on the other one. Bless them, I miss them every day xx
OH and I had dogs when we met 35 years ago, and have had dogs more or less continuously throughout our married life. It was a conscious decision that OH would be the dogsitter and I would be the breadwinner. There were periods when I could take the dog to work (bliss!), allowing OH to get part time work. At every stage in our lives we've put the interests of the dog first, and this meant that we went dogless for a couple of years while we relocated to a new area. Holidays were generally walking holidays with dogs. It suited us as we both love hillwalking and country walks. If we had to go away we would leave the dog with a dogsitter. We've been very lucky and have used the same sitter for nearly 20 years and our dogs have come to look on her as second family. We both believe that people must plan their lives around having a dog. It's a living creature that is dependent on you to satisfy its needs for food, shelter, company, entertainment and everything that gives it a fulfilling life. It's a long-term commitment, and we accept that we have to consider the welfare of the dog when changes occur in our lives. We've managed to get through the last 35 years without leaving our dogs for long periods. Sometimes this has been difficult and we've had to make sacrifices, for example living on one income or me getting a second job, but we would do it all again. Our dogs have brought fun, love and memories into our lives and this has put our occasional financial problems into perspective.
I was heavily involved at the beginning of this thread and a previous one when I first joined the forum and stated that DH and I both work full time and we have brought Harley into our lives. We are now about three months on and I content with how our lives are. Harley didn't come from a great home. Could she have landed with owners like us or better, maybe but the chances were high that she would have ended up in a home that either bred from her or treated her with less than she needed. Well cared for pets are a statement of luxury in this country. I highly suspect that 5 of Harley's litter mates were given away for free or surrendered to the animal welfare as the were already 10/11 week sold when we got her and the owners were unable to find paying homes. I have asked what happened to the rest of the pups and I was told that they have homes so I left it there. That said, Harley is also a VERY important part of our lives, as are our two cats. We have chosen to not have children and we spend a large amount of our free time with our pets. When we get home Harley is with us the entire time, except for when she needs or wants to go out. If we go out, she goes outside with her toys. But having said that, I have worked very long and hard to have a good career. And I love my career. I am also madly in love with my husband and our relationship is the most important thing to me. Does Harley improve our relationship? I absolutely know she adds to our life in a good way, but there is also time where we want to just chill minus the cats or a lab. Lucky for us, we have a pup that will happily sleep on the floor, next to the bed or on the carpet in the lounge. Harley has fitted into our lives beautifully. I like to think it is serendipity. I also like to think that we have a happy, healthy pup that is confident. We are definitely not taking the 'good enough' approach with her but especially for me, she is a part of our family and like all the parts she has a place too and balance of that is important. I have realised that my thinking is not the common one but it rarely is and I appreciate being able to be part of a community that is flexible enough to allow someone like me to be a part of it. I was really concerned about that in the beginning.
Although I must add that two days every two weeks and one day for the other weeks Harley has someone at home all day with her. We have a tenant that rents a cottage from us and she a dog lover so she also spends time with Harley most days and due to my type of work I tend to take days off spread out rather than one chunk of leave so Harley has never had a full week of being on her own every day. We found a day care for her but unfortunately, it was unstructured social time all day and we decided that it would not be the best for her.
Since retiring a few months ago I've become a stay-at-home dog dad. I'm loving it! Some days we go out for a walk after breakfast and come home for lunch.
Some dogs can cope with periods alone, others can't. Holly is one of the most chilled dogs I've ever met and is quite happy to be left, but seldom is. When I go out I set up a webcam so I can monitor her from my phone. She just potters around and snoozes. Two dogs ago, our Lab-X really did not like being alone. She would bark and howl. Fortunately I was able to take her to work with me which was great. There were 25 people and seven dogs in the office so it got a bit crazy some days.
I absolutely agree Phil. And I know how incredibly lucky we are to have a dog that is suited to our lifestyle, and if it had been different and she hadn't been able to stay on her own as well we would have made some very different arrangement.
