I need a dog

dern

I wouldn't leave our dog home all day. He's a lurcher so he'd probably be ok as he just goes to sleep when you stop paying him attention but it's a long time to ask him not to go to the toilet. They're also dependant on you and need the affection so to leave them all day is pretty unfair in my opinion. If I ever can't get home at lunch time I'll pay a dog sitter to go round and let him out and play with him for an hour.

Our dog is very relaxed and doesn't suffer from anxiety of being left alone but plenty of dogs do. If yours suffers anxiety then leaving in the house at all will be a struggle and leaving them for a whole day will be very unfair on it.

Would also echo the sentiments about getting a rescue dog and not from a breeder.

dern

quarky said:

When our dog was a puppy and my wife was working part-time, we used to leave the sliding door open. I remember coming home one to find the shit (he was an awesome dog really) had dragged plants inside, and there was even soil on the ceiling. If you are going to leave a dog alone, mental stimulation is possibly more important than physical stimulation, so something like a Kong with a biscuit inside gives them something to work on.

Ours found a can of draft guinness on the side in the kitchen one day. He dragged it on the the floor, chased it about a bit and then bit it. Wasn't there but I guess this is what happened as I had to spent that lunchtime cleaning guinness off every surface and wall in the kitchen and off of the dog.

fields5069

If you're pretty open regarding breed then I would also say get a rescue dog. We got a rescue, albeit a first generation Cavachon from a "Gumtree" litter. The rescue charity had applications coming in from all over the UK. He may well have heart problems in a few years so you never really know what you're going to get.

Evilmags

Live in  Spain. The dogs come to you. Finding an abandoned dog in the south takes ten minutes. 

Paul_C

Paul_C

dern said:

quarky said:

When our dog was a puppy and my wife was working part-time, we used to leave the sliding door open. I remember coming home one to find the shit (he was an awesome dog really) had dragged plants inside, and there was even soil on the ceiling. If you are going to leave a dog alone, mental stimulation is possibly more important than physical stimulation, so something like a Kong with a biscuit inside gives them something to work on.

Ours found a can of draft guinness on the side in the kitchen one day. He dragged it on the the floor, chased it about a bit and then bit it. Wasn't there but I guess this is what happened as I had to spent that lunchtime cleaning guinness off every surface and wall in the kitchen and off of the dog.

I shared a house with a mate for a while and he had a Doberman who was a completely daft sod - one Christmas he had a whole box of chocolate liqueurs that someone posted through the door and was decidedly unsteady for an hour or two.

speshul91

One of our ridgeback crosses got caught with his nose in my glass of jaegermeister. 

Neil

Paul_C said:

dern said:

quarky said:

When our dog was a puppy and my wife was working part-time, we used to leave the sliding door open. I remember coming home one to find the shit (he was an awesome dog really) had dragged plants inside, and there was even soil on the ceiling. If you are going to leave a dog alone, mental stimulation is possibly more important than physical stimulation, so something like a Kong with a biscuit inside gives them something to work on.

Ours found a can of draft guinness on the side in the kitchen one day. He dragged it on the the floor, chased it about a bit and then bit it. Wasn't there but I guess this is what happened as I had to spent that lunchtime cleaning guinness off every surface and wall in the kitchen and off of the dog.

I shared a house with a mate for a while and he had a Doberman who was a completely daft sod - one Christmas he had a whole box of chocolate liqueurs that someone posted through the door and was decidedly unsteady for an hour or two.

Not helped by the chocolate which is poison to dogs.