A few things to mention about the dogs left alone in the house for 8 hours a day.
1) They were trained incrementally to like being alone. You cannot hope to bring home your dog on one of your "off days" stay home with it all day, and then hope that he/she will be alright and "quiet" the next day.
2) Most (not all) of the people that go in to work all day, come home during lunch to check on the dog and take him/her out for a walk...AND that is with...
3) Waking up two hours before you have to leave for the entire day to give him a LONG walk and then PLAY time.
4) When you get home, that is another two hours devoted to playing/walking your dog.
5) Also, all of your examples of dogs being left alone are probably adult dogs, not puppies. As I mentioned earlier, they didn't just miraculously one
You stated that you would be the only person taking care of your dog, no sitters, etc and that is another mistake. I am a graduate student on a small stipend and because I haven't trained my dog to feel comfortable (by comfortable, I mean that it is very apparent that whenever he is left alone and I come back he is OVERLY EXCITED by it. This is a clear indication that the dog does not like being left alone and is simply sitting around waiting for you to come home) being left for several hours at a time--I take him to daycare 3 times a week. It's expensive for me, especially since I have such a low pay grade, but I'd rather have a happy, healthy yorkie since he will be in my life for a long time. |