Going back to work - dog concerns

Magus`

We were told with very little warning that we will be returning to the office full time.

I have a sheltie who just turned 1 year old. During the pandemic we switched to 4 10 hour days. My job is a good 35-40 minutes from my home.

I don't see how I could leave my dog alone for over 11 hours without getting to pee. He will be crated since he still chews up everything.

My wife is generally home sooner than 7, but sometimes she has to work really late.

I do have a fence (gate?) and a large washable pad I could put down. I don't care if he pees on that, obviously.

What would you suggest I do?

Phoenix-D

A dog going from wandering the house all the time to crated 11 hours is going to be really rough for them. Most indoor pens aren't suited for long term either as the dog can eventually shove them out of the way. Maybe consider doggie day care or hiring a pet sitter until he can be trusted to wander the house and not ruin things, peeing in a designated spot?

zepherin

If not a pet sitter, dog walkers can be quite affordable to come to the house take the dog for a walk and do their business.

Maybe ask for a telework day on Monday. And then try to offset your schedule with your wife’s as much as practical on days when you aren’t home. If she can get a telework day, then you can offset your telework days so she teleworks Monday you telework Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday a dog walker takes the dog out midday and you are off Friday?

Magus`

Yeah, she cleans apartments so telework isn't a thing.

We wouldn't trust anyone to walk the dog and we can't really afford doggy daycare, unfortunately.

SatanIsMyMotor

My city, which is not big, has a number of doggie daycares. Is that option? It obviously costs money but nothing near the amount of childcare.

Didgeridoo

Magus` wrote: »

Yeah, she cleans apartments so telework isn't a thing.

We wouldn't trust anyone to walk the dog and we can't really afford doggy daycare, unfortunately.

What? Why not?

Regardless, crating a dog for 11 hours would be pretty cruel. So realistically you either need to get a dog walker, scrape together the cash for doggie daycare, or sequester the dog in an area of your house where he can't mess things up too badly.

Do you have any outdoor access at all? A doggie door could let him relieve himself at least.

Magus`

I'm thinking about just keeping him in the kitchen. Nothing to ruin there and it's like 10x15' so he can move around easily.

Also if he went potty it would be easy to clean.

Phoenix-D

Magus` wrote: »

I'm thinking about just keeping him in the kitchen. Nothing to ruin there and it's like 10x15' so he can move around easily.

Also if he went potty it would be easy to clean.

I would suggest either removing things that might hurt him from low cabinets or locking them.

Also you'll want to try and acclimate him as soon as you can. Lock him in briefly, then come back. Repeat for longer durations each day.

Magus`

I'll see what I can do. I've never seen him even try to open anything, but doesn't hurt to be prepared.

Heffling

Do you work an office job? Would they let you bring the dog into work?

Magic Pink

I would very much suggest a dog walker as well. They are very cheap and you can look up if they have good eviews. Lots of my friends are dog walkers and they do it because they love dogs

Magus`

They won't allow a dog into work. I can look at a walker but I'm not sure how well they'd respond to strangers.

CelestialBadger

Dog walkers are nothing to be scared of. I see them in my neighborhood all the time and the dogs always look delighted.

Apogee

While a walker would be much better, you should probably invest in some pee-pads or one of those little 'pee here' indoor turf things that are meant to be hosed off and re-used. Far from ideal having a dog learn to do their business indoors, though.

zepherin

If you need to put the dog in a room for a day. Put the dog in the bathroom or kitchen, with a peed pad, food water and dog bed.

That way the worst trouble they can get into is chewing the door. If they aren't going to destroy your furniture, the bedroom is a nicer accommodation. My dog mostly stays in the bedroom when we aren't home.

You may want to gate off the door. Sometimes dogs will chew on the door or door frame when they are mad.

spool32

another one for the walker here. If you're that worried about the dog handling strangers you also need to deal with the behavioral issue because that's dangerous.

Take steps to not be afraid of your dog, pronto. Socialization was hard during the pandemic but now's the time to get it sorted it out.

Cello

When you do put them in the kitchen start off with half an hour, then extend to an hour, etc etc, until it's closer to the full time. Don't make it an event when you return, basically let the dog out but don't be excited about it or pet them for a few minutes, because you risk adding to the anxiety of being locked up or separated. You can also get some toys that they'll only be given during the lockup time and that can help dull the pain a bit

Can either of you come home at lunch to let them out or do a brief walk? Otherwise, yeah, find a trusted and well-reviewed dog walker, and if they're not socialized to a stranger taking them out then that's something to work on with a trainer as well

I've had dogs make it through a 7-8 hour work day at home alone fine, but 11 hours is a huge ask for them to go without contact, being able to go out, food, or attention, especially if the dog is alone and not with other dogs/a pack, so you'd be best off finding a way to break that time up with a walker or daycare or friend coming by to help out

Orca

The other thing is the dog is just 1 year old. That's like...not quite a puppy and getting to be adolescent. They've still got a bunch of energy that needs to be bled off or they'll take it out in destructive ways. Doggie day care is vastly preferable if possible since that way the dog will get socialization and be able to play a bunch of energy out. A dog walker at minimum. Shelties are working dogs, which means they've got lots of energy and enough intelligence to get into major trouble if their physical need to let off steam and intellectual need for stimulation are not met.

11 hours is a very long time for a 1 year old near-puppy to be alone in the house. For a 3 or 4 year old dog it's still a long time (they need pee breaks and walks) but it's not quite as cruel.

If you're in an apartment and your dog is alone, chances are they'll start barking up a storm at some point, and that may mean noise complaints from the neighbors if you don't have very good soundproofing. Less of a concern if you're in a house of course, but it's still a very long time to neglect your pet.

You can get away with that with less social cat breeds; you can't really get away with that with a puppy unless you want to risk behavioral problems that will be much more difficult to train out after a few months for them to cement the habit.

Doing some reading, shelties are prone to neurotic barking, and leaving one alone in a confined place for 11 hours is a recipe for that to develop post-haste.

Are there other alternatives here? Friends, family? The more I read about the breed, the less sound leaving one alone for 11 hours a day seems.

Do either of you have any flexibility in your work schedules? Can you stagger days off or times away so it's more like 4-6 hours at a stretch?

I don't know how reputable this site is, but this is a very strong warning against what you're hoping to do:

Alone Time

Shetland Sheepdogs do not tolerate long periods left alone. Welcome your Sheltie into your home and family, or choose another breed if your lifestyle will not allow it. He will develop undesirable behavior stemming from his separation anxiety if you leave him in isolation, including neurotic barking and destructive chewing. If you must leave him alone, make an effort to give him your undivided attention when you return home.

Source: https://www.orvis.com/shetland-sheepdog.html

Smurph

If you know anyone in your area who also have dogs, I would ask what they do. Chances are you can get a referral to a good dog walker or day care that way. There is also an app called Wag! that is like Uber for dog walkers. If you find someone through the app who does a good job, you can generally start working directly with them and cut the app out and get a price break. My wife and I actually walked dogs on Wag! for a bit before we got ours, it was a fun way to go for walks and meet cool dogs.

Especially with dog day care, not all of them are created equal and some can be real shit shows. We ended up finding a lady who used to run a dog day care but shut it down and now just watches dogs out of her home and is very selective on what dogs she'll take in. A bunch of our friends now go to her too after they found her through us.

The Zombie Penguin

I actually do dog-walking for my neighbor's puppy. It's a good deal for me, a good deal for her, and a good deal for the pupper. IN my case my neighbor knew me for years before the puppy needed walking, and i was involved with looking after the puppy since she was a wee ball of excited toothy fluff (Golden Retriver), but even with that i've had no complaints from her and a lot of thanks.

As long as you get someone reputable, i dont think there's anything to fear - someone who likes dogs and knows what they're doing is going to take care with your pupper, and your dog WILL benefit immensly from getting out and about and being socialized. I take the pupper i walk down to the local dog park to play, or play with her in the back yard when she's not allowed out for whatever reason (She's currently in heat and getting spayed after that, so no public walks for the seven-month-old maniac).

mts

zepherin wrote: »

If you need to put the dog in a room for a day. Put the dog in the bathroom or kitchen, with a peed pad, food water and dog bed.

That way the worst trouble they can get into is chewing the door. If they aren't going to destroy your furniture, the bedroom is a nicer accommodation. My dog mostly stays in the bedroom when we aren't home.

You may want to gate off the door. Sometimes dogs will chew on the door or door frame when they are mad.

or the linoleum floor. speaking from experience

Fuzzy Cumulonimbus Cloud

11 hours for a young dog is extreme. Illegal here in Germany. It happens from time to time if we get busy but never every day.

I really would suggest a dog walker or a dog daycare. It's not sustainable or ethical to leave a dog unattended five days a week for 11 hours.

Iruka

My experience with shelties (two in the family) is that they are already a bit prone to nervousness and poor behavior when they have environments that dont engage them. They originate from working animals and have herding instincts, and are generally relatively sharp, mentally. I'm not super into guilting people about not providing absolute ideal conditions for their dogs, like food brand choices, a ranch sized yard and expensive treats, but unfortunately I think time spent is just bare minimum.

Speaking as someone who had to give up my childhood dog when I went to college cause my parents were just keeping him in the basement for most of the day, 11 hours is too much. It tore me up to rehome my best bud, but coming home to him and seeing him depressed, I knew it was the right thing to do. Even my parents, who disliked dogs in general, got a dog walker for their work days. I had my dog for 8 years and a full school semester of isolation was still enough to cause a noticeable shift in his happiness and behavior after I left. The dog doesn't have the mental capacity to know why the shift has happened, or why its confined.

So yeah. With the amount of insane infrastructure we've made around dogs in the last 10 years, You can probably find someone who will walk, train, and socialize your pup while making it an Instagram star or whatever. Also, many pandemic puppies have been going back to shelters because 1 year old dogs aren't really sure what to do with this sudden transition. If you have to make a hard choice for your pet, you're not alone in that.

Burtletoy

Iruka wrote: »

Also, many pandemic puppies have been going back to shelters because 1 year old dogs aren't really sure what to do with this sudden transition. If you have to make a hard choice for your pet, you're not alone in that.

According to new York City animal care centers, this is not true, and the return rate is about half of what it was pre-covid

https://twitter.com/NYCACC/status/1394654879860277253?s=19

Iruka

That's good! I'm glad its not an overall trend, but I dont think that entirely invalidates my statement. If they have to make a hard choice for this particular pup, they aren't alone. And I dont think most shelters would try and convince someone to keep a dog confined for over 10 hours, especially so young.