Would we be suitable dog / puppy owners?

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Plek Trum

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Hi all,
my partner and I are considering adopting a young dog from a shelter or else getting a puppy from a registered breeder. We are both animal lovers and come from homes with pets but this will be our first dog together in our own home. There are no children and no other pets.

Our main concern is the following:
My partner leaves for work at 8am, returns at 6:15pm. I leave at 8:45 and can be home by 5:30. We have a large house in the country and more than two thirds of an acre on both front and back, which we could fence somewhat to make a suitable run, with a beach at the end of our road for walks etc.

Do you think the time we are away from the house Monday to Friday would be unfair on a young pup or a dog rescued from a shelter? I would be interested in your opinions. We would aim to be responsible dog owners certainly don't want to make any decisions if the dog wouldn't be happy or may be stressed.

We also enjoy our breaks - what are your opinions on getting a dog / puppy, knowing we would be leaving it at the kennels for a few 1 - 2 weeks over the year?

Any advice or opinions welcome.. thanks.
 
Leaving a dog alone for 8 hours or more doesn't sound ideal to me. I think they need company and stimulation otherwise may suffer from stress or psychological problems.
 
Hi there,
We have 2 dogs - we like yourselves are gone most of the day - we deliberatly got 2 as they keep each other company. If you were getting a dog - I would advise given your hours to get 2 as it would get very loney.

We go away too and we leave the dogs in a kennel - no hassle... I would highly recomend getting dogs - great fun:)
P:)
 
Thats what we are thinking too Clubman - it wouldnt be the fairest thing to do really. We do have relatives a few yards up the road who could come and check / spend time with them during the day but I'm of the thought 'if you can;t do it properly yourself, ..' then maybe we should postpone the idea, at least for the time being. Any other opinions?
 
1 dog home alone all day does not sound great - 2 might well be the asnwer.

no problem to use kennels for holidays.
 
bacchus said:
May be consider getting 2 dogs, so they keep each other company.
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double the work but twice the fun eh?! I guess it is a solution, although not ideal at all if it doesnt work out. We would like to do the best we can. Do people think 2 dogs together alone for 8 hours during the week is a better idea than none at all? We have a lot to offer a dog(s), especially with where we live and our amenities. Obviuosly its something we want to consider properly and carefully..
 
well i think a dog sitting in a shelter for 24 hours a day 7 days a week is much worse then sitting at home for 8 hours and then getting lots of love when his owners come home. you could get 2 dogs with the large gardens you have and fence it off really well so they have lots of places to run but no fear of getting out to get hurt and as truth seeker said kennels are great if you need to go on holiday.
 
There really is no more work in having 2 dogs over 1. The best combination is a b1tch and a dog. No problems with competition...
Do people think 2 dogs together alone for 8 hours during the week is a better idea than none at all?
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Absolutly - if we have to take one of our dogs to the vet (both of ours are male) The other dog cries!!!!!! They ahve never been seperated as they are step brothers....!
 
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As an additional note, we were thinking of a labrador / labradoodle or golden retriver from a registered breeder and maybe a rescue dog from a shelter.
I think their tempraments would suit our locality (there are sheep nearby, we wouldnt want a dog that would be very excitable or hard to train!) Good choice of breeds?
 
Plek Trum said:
As an additional note, we were thinking of a labrador / labradoodle or golden retriver from a registered breeder and maybe a rescue dog from a shelter.
I think their tempraments would suit our locality (there are sheep nearby, we wouldnt want a dog that would be very excitable or hard to train!) Good choice of breeds?
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Theyd a great piece on TV3 last week about Labradoodles and how intelligent they are - they are being used as Guide Dogs now and love working, great with kids, hypo allergenic coats (yes weird i thought!), but need a lot of mental stimulation or will get bored very easily.

Soldier - dogs in shelters get lots of attention from staff and there is always something going on so the dog is not bored with just his own company - they get walked regularly and staff are always about checking on them. Its the mental stimulation is the key - a dog can survive without cuddles but boredon can induce stress, psychological problems and even make them anti social.
 
I agree but I volunteer at the dog shelter. they only get walked for a few minutes a day if even that and sometimes all of them cant get walked because there just isnt enough time in the day to walk them all. There is over 80 dogs in this one shelter and there struggling to cope. i just think a nice home with a big field to play in is much nicer than sitting in a cage listening to other dogs barking constantly. And if there is 2 dogs together they have each other for company but yes boredom would drive anyone insane.
 
Plek Trum

I am in the same situation as yourself, would absolutely love a dog but have decided not to get one for exactly the reasons you have stated above - we are simply out of the house for too long each day. After having dogs for years growing up they def need interaction during the day. I have seen friends get dogs and leave them alone all day while they are out at work and the dogs are miserable, despite having access to large amounts of space to run and the company of other dogs. So for me I am going to leave it until either of us can sort out our hours and be at home more.
 
helan72 said:
Plek Trum

I am in the same situation as yourself, would absolutely love a dog but have decided not to get one for exactly the reasons you have stated above - we are simply out of the house for too long each day. After having dogs for years growing up they def need interaction during the day. I have seen friends get dogs and leave them alone all day while they are out at work and the dogs are miserable, despite having access to large amounts of space to run and the company of other dogs. So for me I am going to leave it until either of us can sort out our hours and be at home more.
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This is the exact dilemma we have, I appreciate your posting. We don't want to get dogs for selfish reasons. Its a hard one to decide on and for the past 2 years we have said 'no'. We are beginning to change our mind recently but as our situations with work and travel haven't changed we are finding it hard to firmly believe it is the right thing to do..
 
not fair on the dog if the run isn't secured and sheltered. Some dogs home will check this and also won't give out a dog if people are out all day.

We were in the same position and in the end got a small terrier from a home. Although my wife is now at home full time, she wasn't at the start, but the doggie settled in fine, although she was always very glad to see us home
 
Yeh I have two friends who both have dogs at home all day alone and they are fine. They live in normal terraced houses and so wouldnt even have all the room you can provide them with. Go for it!!!!! Much better for a dog to have a home than to be put down without one!
 
i have 2 dogs they keep each other company, its great fun seeing them go mad together, alsation and lab, and good exercise walking them

dogs are great stress relievers and i would definitely recommend them
 
Plek Trum said:
As an additional note, we were thinking of a labrador / labradoodle or golden retriver from a registered breeder and maybe a rescue dog from a shelter.
I think their tempraments would suit our locality (there are sheep nearby, we wouldnt want a dog that would be very excitable or hard to train!) Good choice of breeds?
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I believe greyhounds make fantastic pets and are very docile/loving animals. Strangely, given their reputation, they don't need much exercise and are passive around other animals.
 
Sherman said:
I believe greyhounds make fantastic pets and are very docile/loving animals. Strangely, given their reputation, they don't need much exercise and are passive around other animals.
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I've heard that too Sherman - there is always a significant number of them looking for homes over on www.irishanimals.ie , may be worth considering...
 
Plek Trum said:
I've heard that too Sherman - there is always a significant number of them looking for homes over on www.irishanimals.ie , may be worth considering...
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Ireland AM do a spot every thursday morning around 8.10am (ish) where they look to rehome animals - they often show greyhounds - the dog guy calls them 'couch rockets' and says they like to run mad for 10 minutes a day and spend the rest of the time curled up in a comfy spot.
 
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