I'm sorry but I'd have to disagree with that!

I have 2 cats and a dog and my cats combined dont need half the time my dog does.

My cats are perfectly content at home by themselves. They want fuss when they want it. and If I try and give it at any other time they stalk of in disgust becasue I interrupted their sleep

I think provided they were a genuine cat lover, anyone could have a cat regardless of te hours they work
but they shouldnt just get one as an alternative to a dog they are completley different animals

Much as I like cats, Kathy, there's no way most of them are comparable to dogs when it comes to how demanding they are! Cats do not, as a rule, live in tight-knit groups with a hierarchical system, and although they enjoy the company of their owner, it is always on their own terms! That is why many cats have more than one household. The majority seem to be far less dependent on individual people. Cats will often move out and change home if something doesn't suit them.
:)
PS - if dogs and cats need about the same amount of time spent on them, I'm interested to know for how long you exercise your cats when you take them for their morning and evening walks?

What I mean is that a rescue animal of any kind (dog, cat, blinking hamster for heavens sake) needs a huge level of commitment. And you cant say that someone who hasnt got time for a dog should get a cat. Having owned rescue animals of different kinds, I would say the most time and effort had to be put in with my cat Dodgem, as he was excruciatingly nervous, and needed lots of one on one. I'm not saying the same kind of level of physical exercise is needed, just the same amount of commitment, and quite often with rescues, a comparable amount of time when it comes to care and quality time.

And I never mentionned anything about working families, as I believe with the right amount of dedication this can be done with dogs as well. Especially when that person has said they have family and friends around to help :S So I'm not sure where you got that from.

Not everyone has the luck to work at home.

Committment and time are two entirely different things, Kathy!

Any animals (not only rescue ones) need total committment - to their needs. A hamster has different requirements to a cat, which has different requirements to a dog, which has different requirements to a horse. Not all of these are suitable for someone who is away from home all day, no matter how 'committed' they are.
:)

Nor how many friends and family offer to help with the lovely cute puppy - but change their minds when it grows big and pulls on the lead, or has a fight with another dog.

But they have said theyre not away from home all day - they come home at lunchtime AND have family and friends that can help. I'm sure they will look into dogwalkers from the positive advice given by others on here.

There are people who are at home all day that dont give 1 minutes time to their pets - we cant judge who is suited to owning one from their work situation.

Perfectly put JG. You should be committed to whatever animal, but a dog needs more of your time than a cat.

Kathy - this thread is about someone asking whether its a good idea to get a dog when they can only devote 30 mins out of 9 hours a day to it. In my opinion that is not enough time for a dog. If you were talking about cats needs versus dogs needs then perhaps you should start another thread :)

Sorry Chloe, I only answered to a particular part of your message which I found irresponsible. ;)

I'm irresponsible for suggesting I would get a cat myself in those circumstances? :rolleyes: Read the post again Kathy.

I have read the post again, and yes you're right you said if you were in their shoes. Sorry. However anyone who thinks that owning a cat (not meaning you) is easier than owning a dog shouldnt have either IMO.

"The plan would be for 30 min walk in the morning then be left from 8.30am - 1pm then I could be home for 30 mins to let out/feed at lunchtime, then home for 5pm/5.30pm when we would take it for a long walk/train/play - then with the dog at the weekends. As a back up, we have a good friend who lives closeby and only works mornings/evenings who would be able to help out, and other family members who also live v close and are dog lovers and I know would help. We have a house with big kitchen and secure back yard/garden for a dog to play in."

Just wanted to point out the original poster didn't say it would only be half an hour. I cant say whether I agree or not as I've not been in that position, as I am at home all day. But I think an adult dog might be more suitable.

I'm completely confused now, Lisa! Surely the poster does say it will only be half an hour? Isn't 30 minutes half an hour? As a break in the middle of a 9-hour stretch that really doesn't seem adequate, and certainly not for a puppy.

i nearly posted that but got so confused that I gave up

She says thirty minutes before work, thirty minutes at lunch and then unspecified afterwards. That to me is not only thirty minutes in 9 hours!

Lisa, the 30 minutes at lunch is the only break in a 9-hour stretch, from 8.30 till 5.30. I accept there are 15 hours either side of that period, but a lot of that is night-time. 9 hours (even with a short break) is a long time alone.
:)

I know it's a long time, as I said I cant comment on whether I would do that or not as I'm not working and I stay home full time with my kids.
I would think that even an adult dog might find that amount of time alone stressful. I saw mentionned before greyhounds, and I agree - they are couch potatoes and great house pets, and many are fine to be left for a few hours, but in the beginning some need settling into home life, and this can take hours, days or months. Even adult dogs can be destructive, or howl, or wee on the floor ;)
I think it's hard to generalise, not all pups can be left at all, not all cant be, but I do agree it's a long time for a little one.
Lisa
xxxx
Ps. I didn't mean to sound as if I was advocating leaving a puppy alone all day, just misunderstood.

Lisa she says 30 minutes *rofl*

It is a well known fact that cats are more independent than dogs they like their time on their own. Most cats have cat flaps where they can wonder in and out whenever they please, but a dog cant do this (only in the garden). Yes cats like a good cuddle but they do not need someone to be there like a dog does.
I really do think an older dog would be better for you atleast untill you have some more time on your hands :)

Hi Zoe
My cats are indoor cats, as are many nowadays, and I'm sorry but I disagree with your point that cats dont need us around. Cats need interaction and human company too, as well as grooming, cuddling, playing etc.
I do however agree that an older dog might be the answer, as having owned two "oldies" myself, they were much less demanding than a pup, and there are so many looking for homes :)
KathyM

I didnt say cats dont need us around atall I said they dont need us around like a dog (or I should say puppy) does. Yes of course cats love cuddles but I have had 6 cats and every single one of them spends most of the day and night out of the house and comes home if and when they please. If they really needed me as much as you say they do then surely they would not want to leave my side, and I am at home all day.
A kitten matures alot quicker than a puppy does which also makes it alot easier to have one. They dont chew things or wreck your house. If you have a litter tray it doesnt take them long to figure out that thats where they go. :)

Just because a puppy might not fit in does not mean there are not hundreds of dogs who would fit right in and who desperately need homes.

There are lots of dogs out there, older dogs (which does not mean on death's door) who have lived in a situation where they have been left in. There are actually dogs who have been left in for far longer than the time you talk about. Speak to a bunch of rescues and talk to them about your requirements and be honest, tell them you are looking for a dog who is experienced with staying alone during the day. Most will be happy to help.

With so many dogs being destroyed in this country every year I think it is damned irresponsible to say point blank "You can't work these hours and have a dog". There ARE many dogs who have coped with this life and who may be facing death, being put to sleep, if someone doesn't offer them a home. A working life is better than a kennel life or no life at all.

The point is that they were asking our advice about a PUPPY not a full grown DOG. A Puppy CANNOT be left alone for that long. Im sorry but that is a fact. You cant just ignore all the facts on every single dog book/website/rescue place and come up with your own mind. It is a FACT. Please if you want a dog get an older one. :)

IT IS BY NO MEANS A FACT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I work full time and raised my puppy from 6 weeks old

There are always exceptions and it can be done

ITs hard bl@@Dy hard work but my lab is a happy go lucky bundle of joy and has had no ille ffects from it whatsoever

Very little in life is so black and white

<Very little in life is so black and white>

Except dalmatians, Rachel! :D

yeah okay I'll give you that one :D

no hang on I wont
arent some liver and white, so not so balck and white :D

I was gonna post that but got beaten to it R!!

;) Rachael.
Yeah, I've got both,.... but I thought it lost a little of its (admittedly poor) humour!
:D

yeah you're right

was just trying to be clever
and failing :D

I'm just surprised no one has pointed them in the right direction. Everyone has been so busy saying "You can't! You can't!" that they've failed to say "There is a better way..." . When you're just saying point blank "no no no" the person isn't going to listen. Giving them a better idea is more likely to make them think sensibly about the situation and make things better for everyone.

Just my 2 cents.

I thought everyone was objecting to the amount of time alone - not a no no no. I suggested a rescue Greyhound at the beginning :)

From an exercise needs point of view I'd agree completely. From a housetraining/chewing point I'm not sure *lol*, but they did say they'd be at home for the first 4 weeks, which would give that a good start. Having fostered greys I would have to say they make the most wonderful pets.

hmm I wanted to put here here ( as in I agree)

or is it hear hear!

or is it something completely different

will someone with a better grasp of the english language please sort me out

Korrok, the point of the original question was that the poster was thinking of getting a puppy. Not an older dog.
:)

Then the point of my post was SUGGEST an older dog, duh!!!

Have you read the earlier posts, Korrok? They do suggest getting an older dog!!
:)

Could have passed me by. I would have expected everyone with any real concern to be making that suggestion rather than just saying "you're wrong", also no one really said more than "get an older dog" - they didn't explain that there were dogs in rescues who could go to these homes and whatnot. People were too busy acting superior.

I think perhaps going back to the start of the thread and reading all through would help, Korrok. I can't find anyone saying "you're wrong" to Vicsam - perhaps you could highlight it for me.
:)
PS: The accusation of "acting superior" is rich coming from an email ID like that!!
:D

Yes, I've read through all the thread. The words "you're wrong" were not actually used in any posts, no, but were not intended as that kind of quote rather as a statement of the tone of the postings. You see?

Also if you don't get my email address then you've never read HP Lovecraft. It says Great Lord Cthulhu. As in Call of Cthulhu? Never mind......

No I haven't heard of that author (it is an author?). Is your dog called Cthulhu then? (I like to try to make sense of my world)
:)

More accurately : Great Cthulhu: The octopoid lord of R'lyeh who sleeps below the Pacific Ocean :)

Cthulhu is a monstrous entity who lies "dead but dreaming" in the city of R'lyeh, a place of non-Euclidean madness presently (and mercifully) sunken below the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Cthulhu appears in various monstrous and demonic forms in early myths of the human race. Racial memory preserves Him as humanity's most basic nightmare. Cthulhu is the high priest of the Great Old Ones, unnatural alien beings who ruled the Earth before humanity formed, worshipped as gods by some misguided people. It is said that They will return, causing worldwide insanity and mindless violence before finally displacing humanity forever

A tentacled being , much loved by RPGers

PS everyone ...its make believe ;)

I like the Lord in there personally :)

And I'm an avid CoC keeper (none of this d20 nonsense mind). Now I'm going offtopic :)

RPGers = Role Play Gamers? Or something completely different?