What would you do? Me and my family are looking for a dog and we thought about getting a cocker spaniel then realised that they were very 'people' dogs. We would be able to spend 2months with him then be at work from 8am until 12pm then 1pm until 4pm. We would spend all the time we had with him and give him lots of love and care.
Please reply!
Thanks
Rachel xx

Hi Rachel
Although being left most of the day is not ideal it does sound IMO that you are willing to take the responsibity for a pup very seriously and are going about things as best you can. The only thing I would say is that in those first 2 months you must make sure the pup gets used to spending time on his own or when the time comes for you to go back to work it will be very hard on him
Archer

Hi Rachel

If you could find a willing member of your family or a kind neighbour who would come in to let your dog out a couple of times through the day (more often if it's a pup you're looking for) it could work for you.  I have two cockers who are left from 9am til 12.30pm and 1.30pm til 3.00pm - they are visited once in the morning and once in the afternoon by a friend of mine - she doesn't walk them, just lets them out to toilet and to play in the garden for a little while.  They get a short walk in the morning and a good long walk when I get home from work.  I rarely go out in the evening or weekends, so they get plenty of love and attention from me and OH then.  They are used to the routine and are both happy well behaved (normally ;-)  ) dogs. 

In an ideal world nobody with a dog would have to work (I'd love to stay at home with my dogs all day :-)  ) - but we live in the really world and as long as you are willing to make sacrafices in other areas of your life, there is no reason why the fact that you have to work should stop you from having a dog.  

If you want any more info on how we make it work feel free to e-mail me - shirley.clinton@btinternet.com.  Good luck with your decision :-).

Shirley

Hi Rachel

I'm sorry, I'm sure you are responsible and are putting a lot of thought into having a puppy, but there is NO WAY a young puppy should be left for 8 hours a day.  IMO coming home mid-day would make it even worse because the pup would then have to go through the act of being left twice each day.  I know you say you can be home for the first two months, but in that case the pup will get used to having company.  Even if you take things slowly, gradually increasing the separation time, a 4 month old pup will still find it difficult to cope with the ultimate 8 hours on its own.  You will probably end up with neighbours complaining about its crying and it chewing the house through boredom, not to mention a very unhappy little puppy.

I would never sell a puppy to anyone who worked more than a couple of hours a day.  I know we all have to work, but could you not get an older dog who will not be so needy for company, and will hopefully just sleep while you are out. 

I wouldn't let a puppy go to this sort of arrangement either and neither would any of the Cocker breeders I know.  I'm sure some would but I would hazzard a guess that there would be quite a limited opportunity to buy from a decent breeder.
I think the big question to ask yourself is what if it doesn't work out? And the answer is clearly great upset to puppy and owner alike.

hi,i work full time,but pop home a few times throughout the day,if you could do this or have a neighbour look in i dont think its a huge problem. OR how would your work think about you taking the dog to work? i have all three here with me today

Hi Rachel, I think a lot of people have to work nowadays and dogs DO get used to being on their own, they have to :) You are taking time off in order to properly housetrain your pup and to socialise him before going back to work which is a Good Thing :) You will have to make sure he is left in a safe environment with plenty to occupy him but you sound perfectly aware of that :)

Why don't you Register with us and let us know more? It is free to join and we are generally a friendly lot ;)

:)

Our dogs are left 8:25 til 1:30 then 1:50 till 3:30/45

They cope very well, a puppy will have the first couple of months of someone at home.  When we first got dogs my mum didn't have to work but things change and now both my parents have to work full time.  I sacrifice spending time with my friends during lunch time at school to come home to see the dogs.  Any free lessons I hae, I come home and see my dogs, my home study periods are spent walking the dogs and me and my brother arrange our social times when we go out after school so that one of us is straight home. The dogs have adapted well to this and are 4 happy, healthy dogs.  If they didn't like it then we would soon know.  I am at home at the moment and the dogs are asleep as its not normal for me to be home at this time.

I'm sure all of us would want to be at home 24/7 with our dogs but it's not possible.  So anyone with a household where both adults work a dog shouldn't go, well lets go and get 95% of dogs and put them in rescue so maybe someone who doesn't work can adopt them!

I also want to disagree about getting an older dog if you are going to leave it.  It is harder for an older dogs to get used to a routin, you will have to find an older dog who is used to being left on his/her own.  but if they were happy being left then why were they returned?  (Yes I know could be medical of owners or something but more likly they made to much noise when they where on their own.)

Sorry to go on, I know it may sound nasty but we don't all have money to keep us and dogs, some families have to earn it!

I have cocker spaniels and to be honest I don't think they would be happy left alone this amount of time per day.  Cockers are very social creatures they love human company, not wishing to sound nasty but I wouldn't let one of my pups go to a home where they were on their own for the majority of the day.  A 4 month old pups still has a lot to learn and being left alone all day he won't learn, he will get bored very easily and start causing destruction.

If you really want one, why not go to cocker rescue where they may have an older dog looking for a home that has been used to staying at home on his own during the day??

Good luck

good post Rox! i agree!

You think 95% of dogs are owned by full time workers?  I would not say anything like 95% of my puppy enquiries were from full time workers I doubt it was 10% as most people, I believe, recognise it is very hard to pull off successfully.  In my small close of 18 houses 8 houses have dogs only one of those has only full time workers in it, they have 3 dogs living together and they do seem to manage very well, but I would go back to my question what happens when it doesn't work out?

ok i just pulled a random number, I don't know the exact figures but I do know that many people with dogs do work full time, No-matter what the percentage it is ALOT of dogs.

Theres always a possibility that it will not work out, and there is also a possiility it will work out and the OP will have a healthy, happy dog for a long time!  At least the pup will be in a routine from the start rather then when its 3 years old having to be on its own in 4 hour slots because for reasons the owners have now had to work full time.  It hapends!

its the Quality of time spent before work & after work surely that counts????? if the dog is sufficently exercised & mentally stimulated before being left ,most settle down & sleep whilst their owners are away. you could have a owner in all day that does nothing with the dog at all.

Thats very true Michelle!  next door have a dog that if left outside 24/7, and only in the house in the summer when they are outside!  They are home all the time, I have never seen it out for a walk and it's thin.  In the summer last year in the heat it was left outside when they went out somewhere, no water or anything (may I add this is a boxer)we managed to put a bowl of water in for it and when we told the oners there were "oh ok"

But they are home all the time!  so are they better owners?

I think we both agree it can work out but that still doesn't answer my question what happens when it doesn't?

The dog goes back to the breeder who finds it a new home or goes to rescue. :)

What happends if you sell a puppy to owners where one of them the doesn't work and is at home all day and one does but then there is a marriage breakup and the one who didn't work also has to start working to look after him/herself, what happends then to a 5 year old dog?

>The dog goes back to the breeder who finds it a new home or goes to rescue.

Exactly but believe me there is no :) about it, its an awful experience for both owner and pup.  So perhaps it is fair to say give it a go it might work but I do not believe it is fair to say give it a go you have nothing to lose.
Its all about probabilities and breeders have learned over the years which arrangements are likely to succeed and which are not in particular in relation to their own breed and in my view the odds on this one are poor indeed.

hi Isabel. its only natural that you should be protective of your own breed!
howver i feel its situations like this that may encourage people to buy a less well bred pup,that the breeder WONT take back,then ends up in rescue.

i dont know much about cockers but have friends with them both show & working type,& they seem to cope ok with working owners.

Personally,i WORK to keep & compete with my dogs. id love not to work but then couldnt afford to keep them (To the standards that i want to) or to compete with them either.

my job can be quite flexible if needs be,im not a bad dog owner just because i work though!

>howver i feel its situations like this that may encourage people to buy a less well bred pup

I think I made that point earlier :) but as I'm sure you recognise that is not an incentive for good breeders to let them go to working homes it justs raises the need to fully inform purchasers as to the likely needs of their pup together with a warning to beware those who do not do the same.
I do know a bit about cockers ;) and I can assure you that very few would cope well in this situation.

Well looks like I had best not get another dog, no-responsible breeder will obviously sell me one because in our family its 2 X full time working adults and 2X full time education student!

Looks like no puppy for me...EVER

Thats what you are saying Isabel

But like Michelle my parents work to keep the dogs and compete at the shows and to keep a house.

If it's any consolation, now that I'm working part-time, and hubby full-time, we won't be getting another puppy till one of us retires (or we win the lottery!) because we know it wouldn't be fair, on us, our adult dogs, or the puppy. I wouldn't sell me a puppy! If one of us could take the puppy in to work, howevr, that might be different.

No I'm not saying you could never have a puppy ever, when you have a home of your own you could do what I did and make a few sacrifices ;)  From the age of 16 to 23 I lived on my own working full time, no dog, then I married bought a house and found 2 could live cheaply enough if they were prepared to give up other things.  In 23 years I have only ever owned 3 second hand cars, my husband cycles to work :) in the early days of our marrage I would catch the free bus to the supermarket along with all the pensioners and because I was swifter on my feet I got to the bargain counter before them :D  I'm not particularly poor now 'cos I spent my non doggy hours studying the financial papers and starting with a small amount I have invested in shares and property over the years and now own a property in the Lake District outright so you see there are ways and means if you use your initiative, maybe someone wanting a pup could start their own business others have been able to find ways of working at home or taking their dogs with them to work.

Marriage breakup is the most common reason for dogs coming into my breed's welfare service, I'm afraid. The owners realise that leaving their dogs for long hours is not an option. :(

In thi case, a four-month old puppy is unlikely to be fully housetrained, and that also will cause it (and the owners) a lot of stress.

well like anything else that can go wrong,i guess the poster will seek help.
the OP said theyd take two months off of work to help the dog settle in,throughout this time id suggest they gradually get the pup used to spending sometime on its own,so it dosent come as such a huge shock.
i think that anybody that would think as much as the OP has,& be interested enough to ask advice is going to make a very dedicated & caring owner.

I have two cavaliers and both myself and partner work full time.  We leave at 8.00 am and my partner comes home between 12.00 and 1.00 and then he is home again at 4.00.  Although it is said that cavaliers shouldn't be left on their own for too long our two have no problems whatsoever.  We have had both of them from puppies. One is now 2 and the other 1 year old. They are used to the routine and actually can't wait to get in their bed in the morning with a stuffed kong. We find it helps if you leave a radio on for them as well.  They never destruct the house in way.  We do, however, spend all the time in the evenings and weekends with them and they have a walk every day.  They are both very well behaved and trained dogs. 

to OP.
this has been a good thread with two different points of view put across, i guess it all depends on how dedicated you feel you would be, & if you feel that you could give the puppy/dog a GOOD quality of life.
good luck

When I got my first pup I was not working full time - I am a teacher and was working as supply - maybe 2-3 days here and there through the week.  I had been on the supply list for 4 years but no suitable permanent jobs had come up in my area.  About 4 months after I got him I was given a permanent contract and when we got into a routine Morgan was much happier about my leaving him in the morning than he had ever been when I was going out on random days even though it wasn't often.  My working full time did not stop me getting another pup 20 months later from a very reputable breeder, as I was given a glowing reference from the breeder of my first cocker.  My dogs are my life and if someone else is willing and prepared for the responsibility that a pup brings and the time and commitment that they demand, then I think they should be given the chance to prove it.  I know that with all reputable breeders their pups come first but anyone who knows me or my dogs will tell you that even though they have two full time workers as owners, they really do live the life of lords :-)  I really wanted a cocker and knew that I could give it a great life and thankfully Morgan's breeder saw this.  If people have proper arrangements in place so that the pup is visited often I think it can work.  People are being turned away from reputable breeders and are then fuelling the trade of puppy farmers :-(  Just giving my own personal experience of what it's like, as I said before I'd love to be able to stay at home all day with my dogs but if I did I wouldn't actually have a home to stay in  ;-)

I've found it really interesting reading all the different views :-)

Shirley

i do think that it is unrealistic to expect most households to have someone at home full time these days - we have owned Belgians for 20 years ( not the easiest of breeds and very prone to separation anxiety/boredom/destructive behaviour etc) we have always both worked full time and our dogs get used to their routine. We now have 6 - they are left from 8 - 12 then from 1.30 -4 every day, the youngsters are in our kennel/dog yard through the day and the oldies have their own 'dog room' with sofa's to lounge around on. Everyone come into the house in the evenings and weekends. They are all run off lead twice a day ( when it's light enough to see!) - we have our own 11/2 acre dog field to excercise them in and go training with them three times a week. I guess what I am saying is that as long as you are prepared to make the HUGE commitment that comes with owning a dog and accept that you will have moments when you will face mayhem and mess then it is perfectly possible to work and own dogs.

We too work fulltime and have had dogs from before redundancy and two growing children forced me to return to work after twenty years at home. The dogs I had at that time had had me around all the time and went everywhere with me. I was really worried how they would react to being left but both just accepted it.

I have added two pups to the household since( at different times). Both were carefully planned for and arrived when one my children was on the long break between school and uni so were around during the day but not constantly.
By the time the pups were left they were six months old. My husband walks them before leaving for work at 9am, he comes home at lunch time to let them out.
Neither pup had any problems with this but they did have the company of an older dog.
My husband finds that often the dogs wont go out at lunchtime.

Evenings and weekends are dog time.  All have been trained to some level in competitive obedience and went training two or three times a week, with shows at the weekends.

My next door neighbour was at home all day but the GSD they had was never out of the garden. It never had a collar on. It was shut out for hours on end, nobody trained or played with it.One day  wh it  escaped , bit a child and was pts.

A few months later another gsd puppy arrived. After six months the dog was never taken out and  was shut in the garden or house for hours on end. It barked at everything/anything for hours on end but they just ignored it. They actually told me when I complained about it barking for three hours one morning that they didn't leave her alone and worked their shifts so someone at home all the time.

Eventually the police were called at nine o'clock one night when the other neighbours- some of whom had dogs- had had enough. I was out thank goodness.
A few weeks later the dog disappeared.

Now mum and dad have moved out and grown up son and partner moved in. Guess what? They have a sharpei which is never walked.......

I know which house I would rather live at!