How long do you leave your cocker for?

[hanandhen]

I don't know if this is an option for you or not, but I used to leave Henry in my car while I was at work. However, there were some special circumstances that made this possible:

I work in the country, so there was no passing people that might steal. As a result the car windows could be left open. Also our receptionist has a clear view of the car park so could keep an eye on the place.

There are plenty of tress, bushes, hedgerows etc around our car park and as a result the car could be parked in guaranteed shade all day.

There are plenty of places for walking so I could walk him before work, at lunchtime and after work, all off-lead.

It was not ideal but it did work for us until I could start taking Henry into the office with me.

[sharonmansfield]

Hi, I hope you can find a solution, its horrible when circumstances change I have had it happen myself and all your best plans go out of the window.
Give things a try with your neighbour and see how it goes I hope that she and your pup get along well.

[Lily Freya]

Hope things work out for you with the neighbour.  You never know.....if and when she does move, she might know someone interesting in taking over the job.

Good luck with it all.   

[sueneal5]

There have been some great ideas already, and I hope you get something sorted.  I can't imagine how you must feel knowing things have changed beyond your control, and you need to find a way to make this work. 
We both work but made arrangements with my hubbys niece and our neighbours for the first 2-3 months when we first got Dylan.  Lots of toilet breaks and fuss, but only for 15-30 mins at a time.  He genuinely never seemed stressed, although we couldn't get home from work quick enough. 
The thing is he adapted really quickly.  He's a show type, and I appreciate workers are different, but given time I assume he would also settle into the routine.  Some company from your neighbour, no matter how brief, would be a welcome break in his day, and then lots of attention when you both get home again. 
They aren't puppies for long, so as he gets older the issue may reduce.  It has for us anyway. 

Good luck and I really hope you find an answer that fits all of you. 

[Evadee]

Tia is left for 3 - 3.5 hours in the morning and then 4 hours in the afternoon on weekdays.  We are up early between 5.30am-6am and she doesn't get left til  8.30-9am.  She gets a walk first thing (in the dark!), a good play in the garden at lunchtime when I come home, then she gets her 2nd walk when I come in at 5 ish.

She gets left kongs etc and radio 2 (and the cats  ) but I suspect she sleeps most of the time.  We have a rule that one of us is always at home with her on a weekday evening, she seems to doze a lot then too!  She's 5 months old.

She's barely left at the weekends, just a couple of hours on Saturday morning. 

[Chris_J]

The lady who has been walking Cassie has been enjoying every minute of it. She takes for out for a 30 minute run at about mid-day during the week and Cassie seems to love it.

As I mentioned, however, my neighbour will soon be moving away. She told me yesterday that it could be as soon as two weeks! 

However, on Friday, work announced to me and two other people that our positions are under consideration for redundancy and I've decided this weekend that I'm going to take voluntary. Of course, this is mainly due to other reasons, but it will certainly benefit Cassie in the short-term and it means I can look for new work with more suitable hours/arrangements.

Funny how things just 'work out' sometimes!

[Poppypuppy09]

Sorry to hear about the redundancy situation,not a nice thing at all ....but as you say at least Cassie will benefit  ... due to illness my OH has been unable to work since Nov 09 and its not looking like things will change anytime soon so the only good thing about our situation is that the girls aren't home alone 

Hope you can find a job that suits when you are ready 

[Eve]

Sat and read all the posts, some interesting thoughts and remarks.

It you have the will I feel you can make anything work. Maybe not to your total satisfaction but enough to make it worth while.

At the moment my OH is reluctant to commit to another dog (we had 3 up until just over a year ago) because of the restrictions they put on you (his words).  However I am working on a solution that will be acceptable so I will be able to get my special person again.

[jarchie]

This thread on the forum has been really helpful. My two boys used to go to work with my OH but unfortuantly we broke up and I managed to keep the boys. This is great but I work very long hours and although have a great dog walker who takes them out every day felt really guilty about leaving them. I've managed to find a new job which will allow me to work shorter hours so I can be home earlier and leave later but will still have to rely on a dog walker. I have felt really guilty about leaving them but there has been no damage and I try to entertain them with games when I get home at night. They do go to agility as well twice a week. In the summer I'm hoping to walk them before and after work as well as their trip with the dog walker but in the winter it's hard to find somewhere light enough that I feel safe to walk them on my own.
I felt like the only person who left their dog in the day so this thread has made me feel a little better. It's hard when circumstances change but I couldn't be without the two of them

[Black Red + Yellow]

This thread on the forum has been really helpful. My two boys used to go to work with my OH but unfortuantly we broke up and I managed to keep the boys. This is great but I work very long hours and although have a great dog walker who takes them out every day felt really guilty about leaving them. I've managed to find a new job which will allow me to work shorter hours so I can be home earlier and leave later but will still have to rely on a dog walker. I have felt really guilty about leaving them but there has been no damage and I try to entertain them with games when I get home at night. They do go to agility as well twice a week. In the summer I'm hoping to walk them before and after work as well as their trip with the dog walker but in the winter it's hard to find somewhere light enough that I feel safe to walk them on my own.
I felt like the only person who left their dog in the day so this thread has made me feel a little better. It's hard when circumstances change but I couldn't be without the two of them

It sounds like you do plenty to keep your boys happy........I think we all suffer from guilt at one time or another

[ollie nathan's mum]

Ollie is a lucky boy, he is rarely left, If he is it is for a couple of hours max. We didn't get him whilst we where working full time. This isn't meant as a  criticism,

[Sheepscheeks]

I felt like the only person who left their dog in the day so this thread has made me feel a little better. It's hard when circumstances change but I couldn't be without the two of them

As with ANY discussion there will always be a range of views. This particular topic, I feel, can produce extremes of opinion ranging from A dog under a certain age should not be left longer than... A dog of any age should not be left longer than... to Dogs can be left for long periods without any trouble as long as they get plenty of stimulation before and after. As this thread has shown, there are a range of views in between as well and it will depend on the individual dog too. Yes, cockers are people loving dogs but I know at least one who doesn't sit with the family in the evening, preferring to be on her own most of the time. We all do the best we can.

[JackieD]

Have just read all through the posts, blimey what a lot of suggestions etc.
My dogs must have had a charmed life, used to have a pub so dogs were always "hanging around" either in the bar (no doggy bans then) getting as much fuss as they could from anybody and everybody, or running about in the very secure yard/garden area.
When I moved on to be a sheltered housing warden I could pop back every hour to Choccy my chocolate lab or he would be in his run outside and I could hear from all parts of my patch if he was barking etc.
We didn't have Maddy until I retired so she is used to us being under her feet all day, though she will quite happily stay sleeping on Mummy's chair whilst we go out shopping etc. the max we have ever had to leave her in an emergency was about 5 hours I was worried sick after the first 3 but she was fine when we got back, wouldn't go out for a pee till she had been suitably cuddled  Neighbours said they never heard a squeak from her
I doubt I would have had the heart to leave them for long periods but as said it works for some families.

[RoxyRed]

I have read this post with interest as we leave Roxy for 8 hours a day, mon-fri, and i also thought i was the only one that did this and felt rather guilty. We have done this ever since she was a puppy, though to start with i did have all my family coming in to let her out. At about 4 months old, we had one of the outbuildings turned into a kennel and run and she is in there during the day, with space to go outside. Roxy has never known any different and i dont think it affects her. She doesnt chew and is very good. She is her own dog and is very independant, doesnt sit on our knee and will lie on the back of the seatee instead of on us. She is never left on an evening, i do obedience and agility on a saturday, and sunday is our dog walking day. If we go out on a weekend, she goes to MIL with her springer 

xx

[jarchie]

I guess we would all like to be the perfect dog owners but sometimes it's just not possible. I'd like to think my boys look forward to the weekend just as much as me, knowing it means long walks in the country and lots of fun