new home - what dog?

cassiedoll

Im due to move in to my own house in October and will be living on my own and not close to any family or friends.

I grew up in a house with dogs. We always had them and all different breeds.

My first choice was to get a german shepherd, they are great dogs and great guard dogs and i know i would feel more secure in the house. My parents had one before i was born and they are at me not to get one because their dog had hip and back problems and died when it was still quite young.

I work full time and would be away from the dog for roughly 7 hours a day.

I walk 6k or 7k every evening when i come home from work and if i got a dog, i would take it out in the morning before i go to work.

My first concern would of course be the dog not coping being left at home. We had a wheaton terrior for 13 years and when everybody was out at work/school, there was never a bother on the dog..just chilled out all day and came alive when we came home.

Is the german shephard a suitable dog or does anybody have suggestion as to another dog that would be a good guard dog and could adapt to be on their own during the day??

Thanks

**Vai**

Depends more on the dog than the breed but you can always keep the dog in a crate when your out to stop any damage to the house in the beginning. The dog will adapt in time. Otherwise sounds like a GSD would be great for you. Although there are plenty of other breeds that would suit you of course. Just remember if you do go for a GSD, Im sure you will want a different outcome to your parents GSD so keep away from show line dogs and of course backyard breeders. The frog dog is not a good look or a good life.

These guys were suggested on here a while back, if I was ever to actually buy a dog it would be from somewhere like here..
http://www.alsaceroyalegermanshepherds.com/home.html

Whispered

I wouldn't think crating a dog for 7 hours a day is a good idea to be honest. It's not like night time when the dog would be sleeping.

OP would you consider an older dog? They are more likely to cope with being left alone for that long. You'll have some problems with a pup if you leave them too long. House training will take much longer and you might have to contend with destructive little teeth.

You could also look for a walker/minder in your area to call in once a day for a walk, or even just to let the dog out for the toilet and entertain it a bit.

cassiedoll

i would never intend crating a dog....and i dont believe in leaving dogs out the back all day long. Its fine in mild weather for an hour or two but not in winter and summer. I have looked in to pet services in the area and i found a person that will walk a dog for an hour at €10...(i don't know if this is good...my cousin leaves her dog in a doggy creche for €12 a day!!!! but that's nowhere near me)

I have kept 10 days annual leave and my intention was when i get the dog i would take the time off and try to do as much as i could to train the dog.

I did read a tip that to train a dog to cope with the owner being away from the house...you should leave it for 20 mins, go to the shops, come back give it a treat if it has done well. Try this every day, each time leaving it a bit longer.

I wouldn't rule out an older dog, but not too old though

Whispered

Ten euro sounds very good, and if you were to go on a walk in the morning and the evening then it sounds ideal!

maggiepip

Would you adopt an adult German Shepherd? It takes a while to toilet train a puppy and as you work the toilet training will prove very difficult.

Theres no guarantee an adult dog will be toilet trained from a rescue, but at least they can hold it longer and will make training easier. Or you could adopt directly from the owner.

Whatever dog you get, best of luck - you sound like a very caring future owner!


To **Vai** - Sorry I just had to add that its not right to crate a dog for 7 hours a day.

**Vai**

Dogs are in crates for 7-8 hours a night when the owners are asleep so why is it not right during the day? The OP said the dog will get a walk in the morning and evening so it doesnt sound that bad to me. Its not like dogs dont sleep in daylight. And I did say "in the beginning", not for the dogs whole life. I dont do it myself but thats because Im lucky enough to not need to do it. If it was a choice between crating during the day and having my house ripped up I know which I'd choose.

Indricotherium

**Vai** wrote: »

Dogs are in crates for 7-8 hours a night when the owners are asleep so why is it not right during the day? The OP said the dog will get a walk in the morning and evening so it doesnt sound that bad to me. Its not like dogs dont sleep in daylight. And I did say "in the beginning", not for the dogs whole life. I dont do it myself but thats because Im lucky enough to not need to do it. If it was a choice between crating during the day and having my house ripped up I know which I'd choose.

I know my dog sleeps all day. I've often looked out the window and thought he was after escaping from the garden, only to spot him asleep in a hape somewhere.

He seems to sleep for 1-2 hours, wake up hassle me to throw the ball / chase the cat / hens for a few minutes and then go back asleep.

cassiedoll

I'm going to go to Dogs Trust in the next few weeks but will have to bring somebody that has more restraint than me cos' i'll end up coming home with more than one dog

JustAThought

I have to agree. My dog was crate trained from the start but keeping a dog in a crate all day : 4,5,6,7 hours at a go during thR day, as well as at night, is , in my opinion cruel. Why Bother having a dog if you are going to cage it for your convenience night & day.

OP I was wondering if you had considered fostering? You might find that on your own having a dog might not be what you are used to in terms of the support from family & the time commitments demanded of you ; from work, commute, etc.

It's really not fair on a dog IMO to leave a pup or young dog by itself for the whole day every day; and you might find problems getting a place to take a young pup in every day; many kennels refuse pups under 7 months .

I know you're used to being around dogs but once your boss starts asking you to work late, you have to do the shopping on the way home, you re caught in traffic, out with friends after work etc you will really see how being just one with a doig relying on you us much more difficult than you are used to. Even having one person in the house helping out makes a huge difference. & most dog minders want you" home" by a particular time on a relatively regular basis; it's different to having family hanging out.

Maybe a foster for an older trained steady dog might be a thing to try while you see how fair it would be on you & the dog in your new place.

And lots of pics if your " old" dogs around : )

él statutorio

I'd suggest going to the pound or your local dog rescue center. Loads of cracking German Shepherds there and lots of them very young.

My sister got a fantastic GSD / Black Lab cross (he's mostly Shepherd) from a rescue center. He was about 9 months when she got him, already house broken and very well behaved. He's a fantastic guard dog, barks every someone comes to the door, looks tough but he's a big softy at heart.

As a side note while he doesn't particularly care for the cat at home, he's incredibly protective of my daughter (he refuses to leave her side when we're there, despite the cat taunting him).

JustAThought

Of course to answer your question, I love Great Danes & Irish Wolfhounds & didn't consider either because I assumed they would need a lot of walking. I got a slightly smaller lunatic breed instead. Turns out, neither GD nor IW take mire than 20 minutes exercise a day. So that might be a practical suggestion for your dilemma.

maggiepip

**Vai** wrote: »

Dogs are in crates for 7-8 hours a night when the owners are asleep so why is it not right during the day? The OP said the dog will get a walk in the morning and evening so it doesnt sound that bad to me. Its not like dogs dont sleep in daylight. And I did say "in the beginning", not for the dogs whole life. I dont do it myself but thats because Im lucky enough to not need to do it. If it was a choice between crating during the day and having my house ripped up I know which I'd choose.

Because dogs are supposed to be able to move around a little during the day (and night) they should not be kept like hamsters.

I cant believe anyone would find it acceptable to keep a dog in a cage day and night with a couple of walks in between!!!!!!

dricko_lim

Ive a border collie and is left 9 hours during the day outside. No issues at all, a few days my wife was there when the dog thought we were out and the dog just does a patrol around the house every so often and then just lies down in front of the garage watching the road. Doesnt even eat or drink until I get home. Funny really but any unknown coming up the drive and she lets you know. Amazing how you get to know the different reasons for different types of barking.

Great dog but would not leave her indoors unattended

**Vai**

maggiepip wrote: »

Because dogs are supposed to be able to move around a little during the day (and night) they should not be kept like hamsters.

I cant believe anyone would find it acceptable to keep a dog in a cage day and night with a couple of walks in between!!!!!!

I cant believe alot of thing I see on here either but hey, thats life.

sionnaic

cassiedoll wrote: »

I'm going to go to Dogs Trust in the next few weeks but will have to bring somebody that has more restraint than me cos' i'll end up coming home with more than one dog

Having gone the adoption route myself I can tell you that no decent rescue will let you adopt a pup if you're going to be out all day every day at work - for very good reasons. Leaving a dog that young all on his own for that long is cruel and has disasterous consequences behaviour wise. In fact leaving any dog on his own that long is cruel. And btw Dogs Trust won't give you adult dog, let alone a pup, if you work outside the home all day.

As both me and my OH both work, in the end we adopted two young dogs - it was rough at the beginning, but 2 years later we're all settled. You just shouldn't leave a single dog alone, it's so unfair on the dog - even having two it's far from ideal I know, but much better than alone. The rescues wouldn't even have considered us otherwise and I don't blame them.

And to be honest, they're such good company for each other, and seeing how they play together and everything, I'd never consider just having one dog again in the future, even if I was to be at home all the time. I think they dogs themselves are so SO much better off having each other.

And we commit to getting home on time after work and I try to work from home as much as possible to give them a break, especially in bad weather. We make special arrangements if it's really bad cold or wet weather and keep them inside.
But yeah, like the other poster said, no stopping to do the shopping, no working late, no going out after work.In many ways I feel like the other women running off on the dot to pick kids up from the creche - there's no leeway on time or routine - dogs are massively reliant on routine. They get stressed if they don't have a settled routine. You have to commit to this if you're going to have dogs and work.

And you're not going to be able to train a pup/dog in two weeks, you'll be lucky to get them used to you in that time. It'll take months for a rescue to settle properly and develop a routine.

And my 2 cents re. Vai's crating suggestion - imo crating a dog for 7/8 hours is cruel beyond belief. An animal should be given lots of space to move around and relieve itself away from its bedding / area, go for a walk, stretch etc. My dogs conk out during the day but only for 4 hours at a time, max. The idea of a crate for that long horrifies me quite frankly.

Meteoric

If you are at work all day there is no way that getting a pup is a good idea, they need a lot of time and attention to grow into well adjusted dogs. What I did when on my own is get a dog who was 11 months old (my first dog was 9 months old when I got him, I was at parents house then so other dog and more people around plus not working all the time). 9 to 11 months is a nice time in their development, they are older teenagers in human terms and tend to be adaptable and willing to set out on their own and take on new routines and really bond with new owners (well the many labs I know tend to be). So two weeks to bond when you get them would be perfect. Remember to lead into being gone for 9 hours or so a day, not go from there all the time to gone for ages.
I'm not a huge fan of totally outside dogs but most dogs I've met would prefer those 9 hours outside with a comfy kennel they curl up in while you are gone and then spend the evening with you inside, I'm taking big dogs here not dogs that are essentially inside dogs anyway. It means the dog does not have to worry about where it pees etc. gets to wander around the garden and amuse themselves and then is in the house sharing it with you for the evening, you do have to try make that time quality time with them but that's part of the joy of having the dog to come home to.
Mine is 7 years old now, it was easier when I shared a house and had someone else to do stuff when I was delayed or wanted to go out etc. but it just meant standing up for myself more when it came to working late and organising kennels or someone to mind him when I want to go out for a night.

Cherry Blossom

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