Working and getting a Yorkie?

[gemy]

Excellent question. On a regular basis I don't leave any of my three dogs at home without me for more than six hours. How-ever sometimes life happens and eight or even 10 hours go by, but I get very very antsy with that.

Mostly though I am blessed with being able to take a dog into work with me. So I vary which dog, they each get to come in twice a week. I walk the dogs in the morning and my husband at night. In the afternoon at work the dog which is with me gets a long run in the park, or I take them to swimming, or underwater treadmill. Also some grooming :-)

Our lives revolve around our dogs, vacations, weekends etc. They are trained in obedience, and doing agility as well as being show dogs.

It is the lifestyle we love.

But, having said that I believe that more regular folks can and do leave a dog for eight hours or more at a time. Puppies need more time and attention, and having a dogwalker is a good compromise, or doggy day care.

[Rachael1983]

I work full time. Troy stays in an ex pen all day. He's 8 months now and is reliably puppy pad trained. When I first brung him home I did take longer lunches to come home and check on him. I think iyou can own any dog and work full time. When we can Troy goes with us. I take him to my friends house for socialization with their dogs and he goes to doggy daycare once a month.

[viviansnickers]

When we got Snickers, my hubby and I were both working and we still do. I am a teacher so I have summers off which is incredible time to spend with Snick. My husband can walk to work if need be so he comes home every day to let Snick out and to have lunch with Snick. We probably would not have gotten a dog if my husband could not come home daily. Snickers is never home alone for more than 4 hours. I don't think it's terrible to leave dogs more than 4 hours, but it's just not what I prefer. In my opinion, if you get a dog, give it the best life you can, which includes companionship, not solitude. If you plan to be at work for long hours, maybe getting 2 is not a bad idea. The 1st 5 month with the 2 of them (or 1) is very time consuming with potty training, feed and potty schedules, etc. Good luck!!

Smiles-
Snick & Viv

[Jellybears]

Thanks to everyone. I read every post thoroughly. I only work May to October, and leave around 8am and back by 3-4pm, but I know Mr. Darcy would like a companion as he loves playing with my friend's Yorkie, and my son's cat! He has full run of the house and deck. I leave his kibble down with his water, and he 'grazes'! I used to have a Toy Poodle and Great Dane at the same time. Then 2 chow chows at the same time (plus cats always!) so I am used to more than one dog together.....of course Yorkie are small, so this is 'a good thing'!! I will need to travel to Florida in the winter with 2 puppies on the plane, but that's OK, as my husband can look after one, and me the other!! Going to start looking now for a little girl, so I can spend some time with her and Mr. Darcy together before I am off to work!!

[NewYorker10]

It's great to hear everyone's responses and good to hear that is CAN be done. I wish we were able to do 2 right now but I really think it's too much at this time- might be a possibility down the road!

[noisinka]

Sandy is home alone for 8hrs a day. My man and I both have a 9-5 job. We wake up early, feed him and play with him for an hour before we go to work. He is running free at the hallway where he has his crate (where he sleeps at night) and a bed. Sandy's pee pad trained so when he wants to do his #1 and #2, he knows where to go.

When we come back, we'll play with him and take him out when it's not too cold outside. He gets our full attention when we're home. We plan to get another Yorkie when he's a bit bigger so he can have someone to play with when we're not around