• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

Pit Pet Thread

I work about 60 hrs a week and have a 7 month old puppy that I've had since she was 10 weeks old. There are a few ways to get around the "feeling bad" part and they require getting the dog out of the house and doing other stuff with other people: 1) take your dog to doggy day care, it is an amazing thing and they have the time of their life the entire day, 2) have a friend / neighbor / dog walker take your dog out during lunch for walks etc, 3) have people over to play with the dog instead of going over to their place etc. Also, I've found I have a lot of friends love dogs but don't want the responsbility of owning one. They LOVE to take care of my dog over weekends and stuff when I leave... it gives them the dog experience without the permanent responsibility. This helps her to get more experience with more people while not solely relying on me for all affection/activity.

Obviously doggy day care and a dog walker require money (~15-$20 per day) so if you don't have any to spare then I wouldn't recommend getting a dog. Just like a child, a dog is your responsibility to take care of the *right* way and if you don't have the money, network, motivation, and time to provide for the dog's quality of life then you shouldn't be adopting.

Finally, the breed should determine whether an apartment with a small yard is appropriate. You shouldn't have a big lab or retreiver or any other very active dog in an apartment, but a small dog/bulldog/greyhound (all couch potatoes) tend to do well in apartments.
 
DEACisGO said:
I work about 60 hrs a week and have a 7 month old puppy that I've had since she was 10 weeks old. There are a few ways to get around the "feeling bad" part and they require getting the dog out of the house and doing other stuff with other people: 1) take your dog to doggy day care, it is an amazing thing and they have the time of their life the entire day, 2) have a friend / neighbor / dog walker take your dog out during lunch for walks etc, 3) have people over to play with the dog instead of going over to their place etc. Also, I've found I have a lot of friends love dogs but don't want the responsbility of owning one. They LOVE to take care of my dog over weekends and stuff when I leave... it gives them the dog experience without the permanent responsibility. This helps her to get more experience with more people while not solely relying on me for all affection/activity.

Obviously doggy day care and a dog walker require money (~15-$20 per day) so if you don't have any to spare then I wouldn't recommend getting a dog. Just like a child, a dog is your responsibility to take care of the *right* way and if you don't have the money, network, motivation, and time to provide for the dog's quality of life then you shouldn't be adopting.

Finally, the breed should determine whether an apartment with a small yard is appropriate. You shouldn't have a big lab or retreiver or any other very active dog in an apartment, but a small dog/bulldog/greyhound (all couch potatoes) tend to do well in apartments.
Click to expand...

This post is awesome and great advice.

I would only disagree with the bolded. Many small dogs require a lot of exercise and become the yappy "typical" small dog because they don't get the requisite attention and exercise needed. We have a Westie who is a year and half old and were starting to notice some of those tendencies. We met with a dog trainer and his number one piece of advice was that our dog was under exercised. He now gets a 30-45 minute walk ever day before work, an hour after work and often (if my dad is home (same neighborhood) early) another mid-day walk. He is awesome low key dog now, but calling him a couch potato is entirely inaccurate.
 
bojanglefunk said:
This post is awesome and great advice.

I would only disagree with the bolded. Many small dogs require a lot of exercise and become the yappy "typical" small dog because they don't get the requisite attention and exercise needed. We have a Westie who is a year and half old and were starting to notice some of those tendencies. We met with a dog trainer and his number one piece of advice was that our dog was under exercised. He now gets a 30-45 minute walk ever day before work, an hour after work and often (if my dad is home (same neighborhood) early) another mid-day walk. He is awesome low key dog now, but calling him a couch potato is entirely inaccurate.
Click to expand...

Agree with all of the above. We have smaller dogs that have quite a bit of energy. When the weather is nice, they post up together in the backyard and play/explore all day. They are much happier beasts then.
 
Deacfreak07 said:
You have to make that decision for you. Sounds like you would be a good dog owner, even if it would complicate your life. Ultimately, you have to decide if the pros outweigh the cons. If this is an older dog, it should be a lot easier than if it were a puppy. It's not like the dog's two options are your situation which may not be ideal and living in the backyard of the Cleavers, though. Most people are in your situation, so it's not like you would be damaging the potential quality of life for the dog.
Click to expand...
I agree with this whole heartedly. Having dogs means its more complicated to go and hang out with friends as much, or take random weekend vacations, but its well worth it in my opinion. I work 30 minutes from home, so I choose not to do a lot of things after work just to spend time with the dogs.
 
DEACisGO said:
I work about 60 hrs a week and have a 7 month old puppy that I've had since she was 10 weeks old. There are a few ways to get around the "feeling bad" part and they require getting the dog out of the house and doing other stuff with other people: 1) take your dog to doggy day care, it is an amazing thing and they have the time of their life the entire day, 2) have a friend / neighbor / dog walker take your dog out during lunch for walks etc, 3) have people over to play with the dog instead of going over to their place etc. Also, I've found I have a lot of friends love dogs but don't want the responsbility of owning one. They LOVE to take care of my dog over weekends and stuff when I leave... it gives them the dog experience without the permanent responsibility. This helps her to get more experience with more people while not solely relying on me for all affection/activity.

Obviously doggy day care and a dog walker require money (~15-$20 per day) so if you don't have any to spare then I wouldn't recommend getting a dog. Just like a child, a dog is your responsibility to take care of the *right* way and if you don't have the money, network, motivation, and time to provide for the dog's quality of life then you shouldn't be adopting.

Finally, the breed should determine whether an apartment with a small yard is appropriate. You shouldn't have a big lab or retreiver or any other very active dog in an apartment, but a small dog/bulldog/greyhound (all couch potatoes) tend to do well in apartments.
Click to expand...

I don't disagree at all, but my 90 pound lab is currently snoring next to me so this statement made me laugh.
 
I've had a bull terrier, flat coat retriever (called the peter pan of dogs for a reason), and greyhound in my condo (thankfully only two at a time). I had no issues with any of them. It comes down to the individual dog and its tolerance. The bull terrier and flat coat are generally active breeds but they get long walks in the morning and then I have someone come over in the early afternoon to take them out for a short walk/bathroom. I definitely think having the two dogs together keeps them company while no humans are around. I also take them to daycare occasionally which breaks up the week for them. Doing daycare one or two days a week is a good way to give your dog something to look forward to without spending the money for a full week.

Basically, if you want a specific breed, you can get it and make it work. Some will be harder than others. The biggest consideration I'd suggest using is the breed's propensity to bark. Actively level, exercise, etc can be managed with varying difficultly but if your beagle or sheltie is going to bark all the time it will annoy your neighbors and possibly violate the lease/HOA. And it's more prone to bark when you're not there.
 
Also, I'm in consideration for a job where the office is pet friendly as long as they're behaved. It'd be great to be able to bring my flat coat along with me sometimes.
 
IslandDeac said:
Also, I'm in consideration for a job where the office is pet friendly as long as they're behaved. It'd be great to be able to bring my flat coat along with me sometimes.
Click to expand...

THAT'S AMAZING. What is that line of work and how do I get dat?
 
It's with a division of Pedigree in economic forecasting in Nashville. They're obviously pretty big on animals but I didn't know about the perk until the HR guy sent me info on it.
 
i'm actually surprised it's allowed, if nothing else for the sake of people who may have a bad allergy.


that's awesome, though. my favorite days are when the narc guys bring their dogs down here to hang out. german shepherds are both amazing and scary; especially this one that we've got who has titanium caps on his teeth. he looks like robo-dog.
 
Thanks for all the responses so far guys! DeacisGo, I'm surprised you've made it work having a puppy on your own when you're working 60 hrs a week! Especially such a young one...

Good suggestion on Doggie Daycare and one that I've considered for the same thing you and Island said, just one or two days a week. Maybe you're right about people actually enjoying helping out... I didn't want to end up being a pain in the ass asking for help too much, but then again I'm sure my family would enjoy having a dog for a weekend if I went away since I know they miss our dog. Still so torn...

ETA: I have also considered just fostering her. That way I could get a feel for how manageable it would be, and maybe adopt her from there. If she ended up getting adopted by someone else then at the very least she would have been out of the shelter environment while living with me.
 
Last edited:
DrummerDeac said:
Thanks for all the responses so far guys! DeacisGo, I'm surprised you've made it work having a puppy on your own when you're working 60 hrs a week! Especially such a young one...

Good suggestion on Doggie Daycare and one that I've considered for the same thing you and Island said, just one or two days a week. Maybe you're right about people actually enjoying helping out... I didn't want to end up being a pain in the ass asking for help too much, but then again I'm sure my family would enjoy having a dog for a weekend if I went away since I know they miss our dog. Still so torn...
Click to expand...

big bro and his wife have a dog walker that comes every day and do doggy daycare every so often; it works well for them. having a support network you know and trust is also great for leaving town for a weekend. it sounds like you could probably make it work with some sacrifice to your current ease of schedule... good luck in whatever you decide to do! obviously, post pics if you get him :)
 
I'll add that my quality of life since I've had a dog is far superior to before when I didn't have a dog. It's a lot more work and responsibility but so worth it!
 
DeacHoops said:
seriously. this. i want to work for this company.
Click to expand...

Some departments at Wake are fairly lax about it. I don't know what the official policy is, but Patch Lockhart is basically an employee of the Religion Department, and Dr. Ford brings his new puppy in all the time.
 
lbE08 said:
big bro and his wife have a dog walker that comes every day and do doggy daycare every so often; it works well for them. having a support network you know and trust is also great for leaving town for a weekend. it sounds like you could probably make it work with some sacrifice to your current ease of schedule... good luck in whatever you decide to do! obviously, post pics if you get him :)
Click to expand...

DEACisGO said:
I'll add that my quality of life since I've had a dog is far superior to before when I didn't have a dog. It's a lot more work and responsibility but so worth it!
Click to expand...

Thanks guys!

On the bolded part... that's what I'm thinking would happen. Dogs are so awesome and I really miss even just having one hop in the car when I'm going somewhere. And I really really miss weekend/after work walks in the woods; it's just not the same with a shelter dog because you don't have as much of a connection.

I'll also add my edit from above in case anyone missed it: I have also considered just fostering her. That way I could get a feel for how manageable it would be, and maybe adopt her from there. If she ended up getting adopted by someone else then at the very least she would have been out of the shelter environment while living with me.
 
If you foster with the intent of adopting her if things go well, are you prepared with the disappointment if somebody else adopts her? I don't know how fostering works exactly. But could they adopt her before you had made a decision? I think that would crush me.
 
DeacHoops said:
If you foster with the intent of adopting her if things go well, are you prepared with the disappointment if somebody else adopts her? I don't know how fostering works exactly. But could they adopt her before you had made a decision? I think that would crush me.
Click to expand...

That is definitely a tough call. I like to think that if it's meant to be, it will work out, and if someone else adopted her then it wasn't meant to be...

That's the same reasoning I used when I almost adopted her a few weeks ago (actually, just looked at my texts and it was on March 24 - whoa) and I needed to think about it, haha. There was a risk that she'd be adopted because they weren't going to hold her or anything, and I just figured, if someone takes her that would suck but if it's meant to be then it will happen. And here we are over a month later... I am really shocked she's still there because she's such a sweet dog.

But yeah, if I were fostering her and someone else adopted her, I'm sure it would be A LOT harder to take...
 
RE: Bringing your pets to work.

It's not uncommon in IT/software. My sister-in-law works at Google and was able to bring her dog with her every day. Her dog isn't terribly dog friendly though, so she was asked not to bring him back, womp womp.

There are a couple of places here in Charleston that allow you bring your dog on Friday's.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top