Post Your Pets

What do all of you people with dogs do during the day? Do you all work at home most of the time? This is the thing that puts me off having a dog. I'd love one but don't think it's fair to have it locked up for 10hr a day every day.

Piper stays at home all day. She's only ever known that and we've found she is well suited for it. She doesn't pee everywhere or tear everything up. The hard part is not feeling guilty or overcompensating. If you act to a dog that "leaving is normal, nothing is weird, I'll be back in a bit" then they chill out and wait. If you leave/come home anxious then they'll freak out along with you.

Piper gets annoyed when we're home during the day now. She sleeps during the day and will go off by herself in the bathroom or garden if we're home.

One theory is that dominant dogs make decisions and lead the pack. If your dog is dominant (i.e. you do everything it wants whenever it wants) then it will become confused when you leave without it. It will try and compensate for this by becoming anxious and acting out. Whereas if you're the dominant one then it doesn't think it is strange when you leave without it.

Not sure how much I buy into the above theory, but it seems to work in practice. One thing I will say about Piper is that I do feel bad leaving her. I try not to do it every day during the week (5 days in a row). And I do stay up late and play with her a lot when I get home (midnight is bedtime). She is well adjusted and socialized, but I can't help feeling like she'd be happier if she was with me all the time. I know I'd be happier!

One thing to remember, there's no more after work pints that last 8 hours. My wife and I can't meet impromptu for a meal at a nice restaurant without thinking about the dog and making arrangements. She stays home during the day, but we make it a priority to take care of her at night. Which is a major lifestyle change if you live in central London-town!