https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 09 May 2026 07:43:02 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-291171 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 15:57:02 +0000 daniellemybelle 291171@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm another big proponent of crate training. We got a 3 month old puppy and at first he didn't really like his crate. We were worried that we were torturing him, but after a few weeks, he started to love it. Even if he is in there a long time, he won't potty. It's his "room" and he doesn't want to mess it up! He also gets excited to go in because we give him special treats and toys only at crate time.</p> <p>I honestly would not get a dog and NOT crate train them if you work full time, unless you have it on good authority from prior caretakers that they will be an angel. Our dog is really good, but he still chews on things, gets into the garbage, etc. When dogs are left alone, they get bored or anxious and can really do damage and possibly endanger themselves.</p> <p>As for your work schedule, a puppy really shouldn't be in a crate longer than their age in months plus 1. So if you got a 3 month old puppy, 4 hours is the longest they can go. Obviously an older dog could do 8 hours, but even then I would not have any dog in a crate longer than 8 hours a day with any regularity.</p> <p>My husband and I work long hours, and so we send our dog to doggy daycare at least once a week. On days that he has to go longer than 8 hours in the crate, we take him to the dog park to get his pent up energy out. It's important for a crate trained dog to get a lot of exercise anyway, because they are sleeping in a confined area all day. It really is a commitment, I won't kid you about that, but it is doable and it's been so worth it for us. We love our little one! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-291144 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 15:28:17 +0000 MrsBrewer 291144@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@ladyfingers: Thank you!! This gives me encouragement that it can work! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-291127 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 15:12:09 +0000 ladyfingers 291127@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We adopted our dog 2 years ago and both work full time, but DH works more flexible, "odd" hours so he's often home during the day with the dog. That being said, there have been many times, including early on when we first got her, where she's been home alone for something like 12 hours, because he had to leave early and cover a football game all night and I wouldn't be home until late. She was already potty-trained so she has always been fine as long as she goes out to pee or whatever before anybody leaves her. Adult dogs can hold their bladders for a very long time, and I'm pretty sure all she does is sleep the whole time we're gone anyway. She's only gone in the house one time, and it was because she had a stomach bug and had diarrhea and absolutely could not hold it.</p> <p>We did crate her in the beginning, and like others have said, it's not actually cruel even though it can be difficult to do. We crated her because when we were leaving her home alone, she was chewing everything to high heaven. The last straw was when she completely destroyed our bedroom pillows. She managed to stay in the crate for maybe 2 weeks or so and then something must have spooked her -- or else she just put her foot down -- because she would NOT get in the crate anymore! She was shaking and looking ashamed and wouldn't go in. We didn't want to drag her in there if she was scared, so we just started putting all shoes, hats, etc. into our bedroom and closing the door. She would then only chew random things like DH's checkbook, or a pen, or a book, if they were left out. We soon realized it was separation anxiety, because she was doing it almost as soon as we left. Over time, it eased up and she rarely ever chews anything -- we can even leave our bedroom door open now (though we try to remember to close it) and she won't chew shoes or anything. I think it might have just been PTSD from being abandoned and then taken to the shelter. It took her time to realize we were coming back!</p> <p>Other than that, it's been fine having her though we work a lot. We make sure to pay plenty of attention to her when we are there, take her on daily walks, and let her run around the back yard. As for the cat's room -- and poo -- she knows not to go in there. She's so smart! She will go right up to the door, if we're in there, and just peek her head in, but not come in the room. Then again... not everybody can put their litter box in another room. As far as cat food is concerned, we put it up high so only the cat can reach it. He will also eat the dog's food, but he's a stubborn asshole. Cat food can be very harmful to dogs, but dog food isn't that bad for cats, so we let it slide.</p> <p>Sorry that was so long, I hope it helped at least a little! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-291089 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 14:18:49 +0000 blackbird 291089@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't mean leave the main garage door open. I just mean the door to the garage. You could lock/secure the internal door between the garage and the house. That's what my MIL does. She has nothing worth stealing in her garage, anyways. Some gardening tools, maybe.... And most people won't go into your backyard if you have a dog there, anyways! They bark and alert the neighbors that there's an intruder. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-291083 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 14:14:33 +0000 mrsjyw 291083@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think this is definitely doable if you adopt an adult dog. We adopted both of our furbabies when they were puppies, but I was able to come home during lunch and also work from home a lot until they were potty-trained and crate-trained.</p> <p>Now I work from home 1-2 days a week and they do well for 8-10 hour stretches on my office days (I no longer live close enough to come home at lunch). But they are 5 and 4 years old and can "hold it," they usually just sleep in their crates which are left open in our laundry room. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-291080 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 14:09:09 +0000 StrawberryBee 291080@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have three dogs and two cats. I've only just started leaving the dogs out in the living room (instead of crated) with a baby gate across the entrance. They're left alone for the same amount of time you're out of the house.</p> <p>Really think about where you have the litter box, because my dogs will eat from it like it's candy all day long if given the opportunity. Apparently it tastes the same out as in. I have mine in the laundry/utility room which is the same level as the living room, which is why they don't have freedom of the whole first floor. My cats need a way to escape the dogs, so they get to roam around half of the first floor and the hallway of the second while we're out.</p> <p>My dogs looooove their crates. My sheltie used to run excitedly barking her head off into hers any time she thought we were leaving the house. I fed them in their crates though, so crates always meant good things :). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290850 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 11:27:33 +0000 Lozza 290850@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our former dog had a bladder of steel, and could hold it forever. 10 hours was nothing. He once refused to go out for 24 hours because it was storming, and then he just peed for like twenty minutes straight when he finally deigned to leave the house.<br /> Our current dog is the same way- he can go a ten hours workday, and then will refuse to go outside after we get home because he wants to hang out inside with us instead (we have a fenced in backyard, so we typically just let him out there when we get home, and wait till after dinner to walk him).<br /> I might suggest looking into local rescue organizations that put dogs in foster homes as well as the human society- good rescues may have more information on things like how a dog can handle cats, whether the dog has separation anxiety, and whether the dog has any issues that would make it hard to leave him for 10 hours (small bladder, etc.) or require crating (destructive behaviors, etc.).<br /> An organization that fosters dogs with families may also have more information on how that dog does with kids, which is really nice. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290846 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 11:24:03 +0000 pl0508 290846@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>we adopted a 3 year old lab mix from a shelter and left her out in the bedroom for the first month. After she did about 400.00 worth of damage we invested in a huge crate and she LOVED it. she was obviously crate trained by whoever had her before and it was her "safe" spot. when my husband started working full time we left her out for stretches of time and gradually extended as we gained trust in her ! she now sleeps on our couch all day while we are at work (about 8 hrs). She's such a sweet girl! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290824 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 11:08:37 +0000 LuLu Mom 290824@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have a small dog and we crate her during the day (almost 2 years old.) We both work from 7:45- 5:15. We have tried to leave her out now that she is potty trained, but she had too many accidents that way. She loves her kennel though, she knows when I grab my purse in the mornings to go in there. We do leave her out if we are only gone for 3-4 hours. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290809 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:56:29 +0000 ShootingStar 290809@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have a 4 year old 18 pound mix, and she does fine all day in our house. DH walks her in the morning at 7, I leave at 9, and we get home and walk her again around 5 or 5:30. Twice a week we have a dog walker, but that's for our convenience, not because she needs it.</p> <p>We started out with having her gated in our tile entry way. When she was alone around carpet (at ~2 year old) she would scratch it. A couple months ago we started leaving her alone in the main part of the house and haven't had hardly any problems. The only time we had an issue was when she got stuck in our bedroom and got bored and destroyed some paper things she found. </p> <p>I'm going to go against the grain and say yes you should crate train, but I would *not* leave the dog in there all day. At least not if you're going to crate them at night too. You can pick one or the other. Personally, we like to crate at night so that she doesn't jump on our bed and wake us up.</p> <p>Also, be very careful to pick a dog that has an appropriate energy level. My small dog is fine sleeping all day and playing sometimes in the evening for exercise. But some breeds will need much more activity and will go a little stir crazy being home all day. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290805 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:53:27 +0000 DillonLion 290805@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsBrewer: We keep it in our bedroom </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290799 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:49:12 +0000 MrsBrewer 290799@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So where do you generally put the crates? In the kitchen? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290779 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:41:37 +0000 Foodnerd81 290779@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We got our dog as a rescue when he was just about 1 and he was actually fine going a whole work day from the start, though we didn't know if he would be. We did crate him during the day-- he was already crate trained when we got him, so it was more comforting to him to remain in the crate like he was used to, than to be let out in the unfamiliar apartment with unfamiliar noises. Like everyone else is saying, it really isn't cruel and he would sleep in there even when the door was open. We only eventually got rid of it because it was ugly! Definitely read up about it. Plus, I think since you have cats, it is really important that you separate them from the dog while you aren't at home until you are really sure how they get along. As for the food-- my BIL has cats and when he watches my dog, the dog is always trying to eat their food. So I'd go with putting it out of his reach over trying to train that! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290776 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:37:36 +0000 BSB 290776@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsBrewer: For us, it was around $25 a day. We didn't put her in there everyday. Just on days when we both had to work.</p> <p>They should have some monthly plans, too. It might be cheaper that way. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290772 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:34:06 +0000 MrsBrewer 290772@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@bluestriped bee: Yea I know we do have a couple of doggie day cares, but that just sounds expensive!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290769 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:33:17 +0000 MrsBrewer 290769@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@blackbird: Our garage does open up to the back yard (we have a detached garage and it goes out into an alley). Not sure if I would leave our garage door open though, I'm a little too paranoid for that I think in our neighborhood. </p> <p>@Ali: The pee pads are a great idea! If you crate them do you still have a pee pad? Or what do you do then? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290767 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:33:07 +0000 BSB 290767@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We crate trained our dog for about a year. I wasn't comfortable with leaving her unattended in a new home she wasn't familiar with. Its also for her safety, too. I didn't want her getting into something that could make her sick.</p> <p>My dog had some anxiety issues so we took her to doggie day care while we were at work. She was there for a couple weeks. Also, it gave us some time to crate and house train her. </p> <p>Could you take your dog to doggie day care?</p> <p>Oh, stick with a medium to large size dog since they have larger bladders. Tiny dogs have smaller bladders so they need to be taken out more frequently. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290757 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:27:06 +0000 blackbird 290757@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Does your garage open up to the outside? You could leave the dog out there, open the back door to the garage, and your dogs could go into the garage to keep warm. Depending on the breed you get, the weather may be a total non-issue. Even on snowy days, my MIL's rottweiler was just fine outside and would go curl up on his blankies in the garage. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290752 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:24:01 +0000 Cherrybee 290752@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We've got two dogs and they're fine all day. When we lived in our old house, we crated them with no problems. Now, in our new house, we have a utility room so they stay in there all day, with a puppy pad in case they can't hold their pee all day - and they're fine! I'd say, as long as they get enough exercise - walks morning and night - dogs will just relax all day while home alone. </p> <p>i also second what @April_showers said about putting the cat bowls up on a bookcase or worktop. Our dogs will eat anything and, whilst we've trained them not to do certain things in front of us, once we're gone they'll do as they please! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290751 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:23:43 +0000 PurplePumps 290751@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have a large 100lb dog and we crate trained him as a puppy, and continue to crate him when we're away for 11 hrs a day. He could probably be fine left out, but I'm just too paranoid that at that size, he could do a lot of damage. We leave him out when we're out for a few hours, and just come home to him sleeping. He doesn't mind his crate at all and sometimes goes in himself. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290748 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:22:21 +0000 Shutterbug 290748@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsBrewer: It does seem cruel if you think about it from a human's point of view (being locked in a tiny cage!), but as many other PPs have said, if it's done right, dogs love the security of it </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290746 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:20:28 +0000 DillonLion 290746@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Rachel: Glad to hear! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290743 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:19:17 +0000 MrsBrewer 290743@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Looove the ideas about putting the food up more. Our cats are very good at getting up in high spaces. That can definitely work. </p> <p>You all have me starting to consider crating now. For some reason though it just seems cruel to me!! I'm not judging anyone, but I've never grown up with dogs (but DH has and supports crating) So maybe I will just read up on it a little more. I just don't want the dog to be unhappy </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290741 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:18:50 +0000 Shutterbug 290741@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@highwire: We had a very similar experience with giving our dog more freedom. He used to be penned in a 4ftx4ft section of the kitchen, and then when I was unemployed I started experimenting with leaving him alone while I ran an errand or two. He was about 2 years old at the time. Once I went back to work I trusted him to not pee all over everything or tear the house apart, and it's worked out perfectly for the last two and a half years. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290739 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:17:41 +0000 DillonLion 290739@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsBrewer: I meant out in the house, not outside. We have nice weather, but I wouldn't trust him to not dig out under the fence or something. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290738 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:17:20 +0000 Mrs Green Grass 290738@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I crated for the first 6 months and it was great. We got a pet walker to come halfway through the day and take her for a walk (and feed her when she was really little). </p> <p>Now we leave her basically outside and we're gone for about that long.</p> <p>No matter what you decide, I would ease the transition by trying to have someone come in mid-day. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290735 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:16:50 +0000 MrsBrewer 290735@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@highwire: We do have a fenced in back yard, but weather in WI is tricky, especially with winter coming. I don't think we could leave the dog out during the day.</p> <p>Hmm I'm not sure if there are any dog walkers around our neighborhood. I don't know if they are common around here, I could definitely look into that though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290730 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:15:16 +0000 Shutterbug 290730@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsBrewer: he's a pug, and he weighs about 16 pounds. Pugs are generally easy dogs (other than some smoosh face related health issues) so that might have something to do with it </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290729 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:13:21 +0000 charliewhiskey 290729@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I second the crating while away...dogs are denning animals and actually like the crate. Our newest dog (had her for about 5 years now) was a rescue and LOVED her little den (crate). She would hang out in it even while we were home. You never know what could happen with cats, even if the dog has been labeled as "safe with cats" by the rescue. </p> <p>Good luck with the new addition! I'd take them all home if I could! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-a-dog-but-working-full-time#post-290727 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:13:00 +0000 April_Showers 290727@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We were both working full time when we brought home our furbaby. But we were working opposite shifts so she wasn't in the kennel more than 4-5 hours at a time. She loves her kennel, we have had her for 5 years and she still goes in when we leave. We trust her to not tear up our house now...but we didn't at first. Mostly because she was chewing everything up. I would still plan on limiting their area at first until you know for sure. </p> <p>@MrsBrewer: We just moved the cats food up on top of a low bookcase. Our puppy couldn't get to it, but the cat could. </p>