Even if you don’t have a professional dog walking service, it’s usually quite easy to find someone who can give your dog a walk mid day. However, you need to consider seriously your lifestyle. If you are at work all day this is not a big deal. If you come home and flop on the couch or make dinner and watch TV, go out, spend hours on the net,a dog will not fit too well in your schedule. A dog needs regular exersise. Now if you come home, go for a jog, spend time in the park playing softball, or geocaching, a dog might really enjoy beign your companion.

Shelter dogs are great, but they are not often “already trained” usually they are strays or dumped by irresonsible owners who did not or could not train them. All dogs really benefit from attending formal obedience training (more training for the owner too!) So you might want to factor that in as well.
Really there are several breeds of dogs out there, one of the best things is to consider your lifestyle needs prior to choosing a Cute dog. Personally, I have always wanted an irish Wolfhound, but they are so darn big, I am getting a Golden Ret instead. I am a big walker, and hiker, and spend a ton of time at home, which is why I felt OK getting this breed, which is very into their humans. Just really consider matching your lifestlye to the breed, looking on pet finder, and not buying from a pet shop, or backyard breeder who has no idea about genetics or lines of breeding. (Which is where purebreds get into trouble, not with responsbile breeders).

Thanks for all your great advice! It’s obvious that people on here love their pets.

I think most of you have confirmed my thoughts about this, in that I’m not really in the position to give a dog the attention it needs, much as I would like to.

I still want to get a dog, but I will wait until I have a work/home situation that means we will both get the most out of the arrangement.

Thanks for all your help.

Absolutely you should get a dog! Don’t worry about being at work all day, if you are worried about the dog getting lonely, get 2! My 2 dogs sleep when I am not home, as evidence shows from the blanket nests I find on the couch. Just make sure to make toys accessible, a comfy place to sleep, and set aside a place to potty just in case. If you let he/she out before you leave for work and first thing when you come home, you’ll be surprised that that there won’t be many “accidents.” I don’t crate my doggies, when they were puppies I kept them shut in the kitchen when I wasn’t home and found a doggie litter box that works quite well. I just couldn’t stand the idea of jailing them for 9 hours a day. Now that they are housebroken they have the run of the house when I am not home. The only damage that has been done when I wasn’t home was my chihuahua chewed the binding of a phone book and the cover came off. Both of my dogs are small so there is little damage they could do. Of course if you’re going to be gone for days at a time, get a sitter or find a good kennel.
You’d be surprised how much having a dog will change your household. When you come home from a rough day at work your dog will be there excited and happy to see you because his/her world literally revolves around you. It’s a huge responsibility, but every minute I have with my dogs makes the frustration of training worth it. Once you’ve had a dog for a while, you’ll wonder why you waited so long to get one or 2!).

I would reccommend doing a lot of research on dog breeds before you get one make sure the breed is right for you if you are gone a long time like someone said a more melow dog is probably what you want to look for. I wouldn’t reccommend crating for long periods if you can help it I have a chihuahua and when she was a very tiny Puppy I crated her just when I left to go to the store or anything to keep her safe after that I put her in the bathroom cause she was to little to be trusted alone wondering the house if you have an area like a Kitchen or a basement that you can fence off that would be better and a mature dog is probably best for a first time dog owner

so basically what I hear all of you saying is instead of rescuing a dog, let it sit in the shelter or rescue place and only adopt if you don’t have a job like the rest of the millions in America? Just trying to understand, maybe more people work from home or don’t work at all than what I thought and those of us who do have jobs cannot and should not have pets????

In an ideal world we would all be able to stay home with our pets. Unfortunately most people have to work. This does not automatically mean you should not have a pet.

Some have mentioned getting a cat which may be a good idea. Cats don’t seem to mind being alone for long periods of time and are independent animals.

I wouldn’t recommend a puppy for someone who works all day. However there are many older dogs in shelters across the country. I’m sure they would rather be alone during the day than be unecessarily euthanized.

if you have a patio you could turn that into a outdoor room for a small dog so you wouldnt have to crate it

I have always had dogs around me growing up and couldnt imagine not having a dog in my life.

I recently moved into a lovely home which I can only afford because of the job I do, which unfortunately involves being away from my house for 9 hours each day during the week.

After a few lonely months of being dogless I decided to get my tiny bichon frise puppy Sweetie who is now only 13 weeks old.

I feel guilty about leaving her home alone all day, and I try to make up for that by taking her everywhere with me in the evenings and weekends, and generally spoiling her rotten.

However I would NEVER CRATE HER ALL DAY. Being so young she needs to empty her bladder at regular intervals, and most pups dont like to soil inside their crates, so should never be crated for more than a few hours at a time. 9 hours is a long time in a dogs life im sure and Id hate to imagine her having to hold in a wee for that long !

So I let Sweetie have the run of my very large dining room which I`ve puppy proofed, she has her food and water in there, her posh, padded bed, her vast array of toys and chews, and her puppy training pads which she now uses semi-accurately :-) The dining room needs decorated anyway so Im not fussed if she fancies biting the walls or whatever. When shes older, through the teething stage and more trustworthy she`ll get the run of the entire house, as all dogs in my family growing up have always had.

I dont agree with the view that you should only own a dog if someone is at home all day as this is just unrealistic unless ur retired, unemployed, or work from home. What about all us tax paying hard working folk? Shouldnt we be rewarded with a wagging tail to greet us when we come home after a long hard days graft?

In conclusion, if you have to leave a dog alone all day I think either a very young pup is best, then it can grow up, used to the routine or an older dog thats already had that kinda lifestyle is best. I read somewhere that dogs sleep around 95% of the time theyre left alone. But I do agree that crating a dog, especially a puppy all day is a bit cruel, its a better option to dog proof a large room and train the dog to toilet on a puppy pad or newspaper, of course this will work better with the toy breeds. Its also handy if you want to take the dog to a friends house without a garden or something cos u can bring a puppy pad with you…erm just be sure your friends dont have any unread newspapers lying around they might wanna keep :-p Oh and Id choose a breed that doesnt need mega amounts of exercise, I dont know about you but after working all day the last thing i wanna do is go for a 1 hour trek up the hills with a collie or something.

Ok thats the end of my novel, i bid you adieu

p.s. cats are great too !

My two Shepherd/Boxer mix dogs are almost 5 years old. They are still not good at not getting into things, so we took our spare bedroom and converted it into their room. They have a couch, an old mattress, fresh water. When I leave for work I tell them to go to their room and they go right in. They love it, and sometimes go in there by themselves when I’m at home. That’s their space and they probably feel secure.

It’s so funny how people associate the their human phsyc to that of a dog, a puppy no less. Your picturing yourself being locked inside a cage and experiencing the human emotion of being in that inclosed space. As it has been said before, dogs are dormant creatures by nature and seek security through smaller spaces. My dog sleeps with me at night and often gets up and retreats to her crate to sleep if I’m restless. She also goes there if we have company over and it gets to be too much. I left her home alone to wander the house a few times and came back to her in her crate.
It’s such a cruel place that she, by her own will, goes in there when I’m at home. On that note, I find it more cruel to let a puppy or imature dog roam the house all day where it can get into many harmfull things that could endanger it’s life. My dog is the most spoiled dog I know, it’s crated while I’m at work, but when I get home she goes running, to the dog park, and fed treats and a dinner I’m envious of. Do research before making ignorant statements.