Working Mums

[Cob-Web]

In answer to the original question, yes! Retire at 30! Then get more dogs. What could be better? No work, no creche cost, and lots of fun walking dogs in the day, and napping with them on the sofa in the afternoon. Solved.

...napping on park bench with the vagrants more like.....     Retire at 30? If only.........

[moll]

Well, it was put out there as an option...
If it didn't work out, the dog hair would keep you warm on the park bench..
you could train them to forage for food...

[PennyB]

I love my dog, but he doesn't rule my life. 

I would say this but also sometimes you have to change some of your life when you get a dog --- how is up to you. I know many round here who don't and the dog always suffers --- on example are those that just leave the dog outside all day either in their garden or just wandering the streets. I know when my mum became on her own (after my father had died and my sister and I didn't live at home anymore) and she was just getting herself a social life but she knew while her mates were off somewhere straight after work she had to at least come home straight after work to feed our dog at least as there was no one else to do it. While I work from home I have been at things where I would be out all day and may be the evening but I've made a special trip home to make sure my dogs are OK. I don't think its too much to ask if you work that someone/you should come round to let your dog(s) out etc.

We won't rehome to people who are out all day and haven't made arrangements for someone to see to the dog during the day. Lets face it some of the dogs we get in are because they are being left too long.

[flyingspaniel]

Gosh, I'm going to have to print this off and read it a bit at a time.
I think this proves that there is no single answer and of course we're dealing with live animals whose needs change. We also have our own consicences to contend with.
I do wonder if there is a certain amount of 'brainwashing' out there and am curious (as an ex-scientist) to know what research backs up the '4 hour rule'.
I do however have my eye on a retired couple over the road who used to have spaniels but can't walk very far now, I've often debated a partnership with an elderly person, they can provide the company and I can do the exercise, training, picking up poo... I wonder, could I offer an alternative service - I'll collect your dog in the evening, look after him/her at night, walk it, train it and return it to you at 8am, sounds ideal to me.
As to the retiring & living on a park bench, it just wouldn't work, no rescue will let me have a dog as my garden won't be secure!!! 
On a serious note, I'm still curious as to what dogs who go to work do all day, oh and what their owners do for a living?
I had a friend who worked with horses, took her puppy to work and it got killed as a man dropped a fence rail on it -so, as I say there is no right answer ...

[*sammy*]

I think there is a lot of generalising (in both directions) going on in this thread though; not all dogs will be OK left for even 1/2 an hour on their own, and not all dogs will develop problems if they are left for 4+ hours a day    I'm not sure where the magic 4-hour-rule comes from, but I read it a lot; has there been any research or studies published?

The issue is that you don't know until an individual dog comes and lives with you what their needs will be; there are very, very few people like Robbie who are able to offer their dog 24-hour-a-day attention, (most of us have to shop, go to the Drs' etc etc), so if a dog turns out to be of the stressed after half an hour type, then even the most single-minded owner may find themselves challenged to give the dog "what it needs".   In these cases, owners are advised to modify the dogs behaviour......why is it OK to teach a sensitive dog to be left for 4 hours, but not teach a more robust dog to be left for 5 hours? 

I completely agree

me too. sam after coming home spent 7 months with me. i worked the odd da supply but there was always someone to come and see him. i had always planned to work full time and that came in jan. i have always left sam alone for short periods to get him used to this. he is doing fine now. he is usually left for 3/4 hours in the morning and 2/3 in the afternoon.

he gets regualer walks on and off lead and i'm 99.9% sure is a happy dog. when i am here in the days he does sleep the whole time.

in my opinion sam leads a fab life. unfortunaley there are bills to pay and working is part of life.

[sabrino]

 
I always wonder what kind of jobs allow people to take their dogs to work. When I first got Milo I used to take him along in my car (I'm a community support worker) but gradually my client list got bigger, things changed and there were issues surrounding liability if there were any troubles and I just couldn't carry on doing this. (we have a dog walker now who i think he loves more than me hee hee and I get home to say hello when I can). Milo seems to have adjusted well. Saying that, as soon as a daycare facility opens near me (HINT HINT someone in rotherham-get one open!) he will go there as I feel our situation isn't ideal.

[harveysmum]

I think there is a lot of generalising (in both directions) going on in this thread though; not all dogs will be OK left for even 1/2 an hour on their own, and not all dogs will develop problems if they are left for 4+ hours a day    I'm not sure where the magic 4-hour-rule comes from, but I read it a lot; has there been any research or studies published?

The issue is that you don't know until an individual dog comes and lives with you what their needs will be; there are very, very few people like Robbie who are able to offer their dog 24-hour-a-day attention, (most of us have to shop, go to the Drs' etc etc), so if a dog turns out to be of the stressed after half an hour type, then even the most single-minded owner may find themselves challenged to give the dog "what it needs".   In these cases, owners are advised to modify the dogs behaviour......why is it OK to teach a sensitive dog to be left for 4 hours, but not teach a more robust dog to be left for 5 hours? 

totally agree - I also wondered who decided that 4 hours was the golden number at the end of the day we all love our dogs and want the best for them but we also have lives which sometimes means having to leave our dogs for longer than 4 hours. I don't see a problem as long as the dog seems happy and content with whatever routine it has.

[Cazzie]

I do wonder if there is a certain amount of 'brainwashing' out there and am curious (as an ex-scientist) to know what research backs up the '4 hour rule'.

Its not brainwashing its called experience and certainly know that my dogs can survive no longer than 4-5 hours without needing out just even for a wee. Even old camel bladder Belle would be stressed needing out. 

But if people are happy with having dogs and keeping them this way then that fine 

Getting back as others have said to the original question, you seem to be happy and so does your dog so go ahead and get another 

[Coco]

My OH is a farmer and Wherry goes to work with him. She sometimes spends a couple of hours sitting in a lorry cab while the forklifts load it, sometimes spends time with him in the office for a few hrs with him and/or the secretaries but mostly rides about the farm in his truck, walking fields, sitting in the tractor or following it. She goes in at around 6am and gets back around 7pm, He goes to bed at around 9.30 and then, if I can't sleep as is often the case, she'll be with me until the early hrs. There is a ridgeback who has the same routine and yesterday Jimmy the lorry driver told me about his Lar-zar  who spends the day in his cab with him on runs (it turned out it was a Lar-zar rap-zo  ) OH is the part owner, Jimmy is a part-time employee, they have the policy that 'If I do it, you can too' so all theMen on the farm from top to bottom are welcome to bring their dogs if it doesn't detract from their work and do.
I don't work, when I did I did 3 days 10-5 as a PA and If it weren't for my boss's dog Wherry would have been more than welcome, she has been to work with Mum a few times, to the £4.5M Kensington penthouse no less as Mum's property buyer boss who can be such a picky begger just lurves dogs, his own went everywhere until it passed away, He used to take the train from London to Somerset and send the Chauffeur with the dog!!
The point of that is, all sorts from all over take their dogs in but mostly when it's a small company.

I went to an interview when Wherry was about 11 weeks and took her in the car, the whole way there I was afraid she'd escape from the 1inch ajar window and the whole interview I was terrified she was too hot, needed a wee etc. I got the job but as she wasn't going with OH at the time I didn't take it   

IMO 4 hrs is the time I'd expect a dog to comfortably 'hold it'. Night time to me is different in the same way as it is for a human.

[JaspersMum]

I do however have my eye on a retired couple over the road who used to have spaniels but can't walk very far now, I've often debated a partnership with an elderly person, they can provide the company and I can do the exercise, training, picking up poo... I wonder, could I offer an alternative service - I'll collect your dog in the evening, look after him/her at night, walk it, train it and return it to you at 8am, sounds ideal to me.

I was walking in the woods a couple of months ago and bumped into an elderley couple who'd had dogs but felt they were too old to start again with a pup so they dog sit for a neighbour, they loved it and it was obviously the perfect situation for both parties, Go and knock on their door, you could be just what they want/need 

[Helen]

Jarv has 2 jobs - one with me at home, and the other 1/2 of the week he's with OH who's an agricultural engineer.  Today he's gone to work with OH, and is currently mooching around a farm with a large briard prior to a long walk in Bentley Woods...he is a lucky little dog.

he does spend 3-4 hours on his own either here or with OH which he's fine with....I think the magic 4 hours is enough though.  If you look at that 4 hours is the natural break in a working day so that is probably why it has become the standard that people go by.

[emilyjw]

he does spend 3-4 hours on his own either here or with OH which he's fine with....I think the magic 4 hours is enough though.  If you look at that 4 hours is the natural break in a working day so that is probably why it has become the standard that people go by.

That's why I thought the 4 hour level had come at. So it's probably based on when we can generally pop back (lunch hours) then necessarrily because it's what suits the dogs...

Bracken will happily spend more than 4 hours asleep upstairs without needing to go out to pee etc, whereas Jasmine is happy curled up downstairs sitting next to me.

When I'm ill in bed, often both dogs will snuggle in for the day with me 

[mrsjenwood]

Wow some of these jobs sound fantastic and its great you can take your dogs to work with you.  Both my husband and I work in a large office so we can't take our dog in with us, although sometimes I think it would be good to reduce the stress of the staff and I think I dog would do that.  I have wanted to change my job for a while, so I am retraining.  It hopefully, fingers crossed will allow me to take my dog to work with me. 

I do like the sounds of elderly next door neighbours providing some company for the dog and I suppose in return company for them.  We have loads in our street.  I might spend some time out in the front garden I see if I can entice