Looking for insight....

[Charlies Mamma]

Its been some time since I have really posted but I need some help. I am in a position where I am now on my own and CharlieBrown is alone all day by himself. I come home at lunch and let him out and play for a few minutes but for the most part he is alone from 7am-5pm I have been doing this for about a month and have seen no ill effects from it but am concerned.

Do I need to be concerned, will he be to lonely and get sad.
If I were to get him a buddy would I need to get a buddy the same age.
Would the buddy need to be male would they get along.
Would a buddy be a bad idea since he has been an only furbaby from day one

Thanks for your input

[Lovetodream88]

Some dogs are happy being only dogs some are not. Does he like other dogs?

[Charlies Mamma]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

Some dogs are happy being only dogs some are not. Does he like other dogs?

well that is hard to say, my son has a dog (Shorty) that when he comes over charlie goes nuts with excitement jumping on him and wrestling with him (Shorty could do without this ) and if I put him outside and a dog walks by the house he barks continuously until they are no longer in sight. but hes never lived with another dog since I have had him.

[theporkieyorkie]

I recently went through the same thing. My dogs went to being around someone virtually 24/7 to me being gone for sometimes 4 hours at a time.

When I got my first dog, he was 7 and he had bad separation anxiety. His prior owners had several yorkies, so I don't think he was used to being alone, ever!! He would poo in the house if I left him inside to go mow the lawn even!! He would also pee everywhere!!

At first, I let him have full access to the house and he peed everywhere, so then I got him a belly band. This stopped him from peeing on things but I didn't like the idea of him wearing a belly band because a.)once he peed, he had to sit in a wet diaper until I got home and b.)I was afraid he'd get catch in on something and hurt himself....SO, I put him in a kennel.

He seemed to do better in a kennel but he still wasn't happy...so I started looking for a female dog to keep him company. I'd always heard you put males and females together instead of dogs of the same sex.

I couldn't find a female dog that i wanted to adopt, but after a LONG search, I found the sweetest little male. I was hesitant, because they were the same sex, but I gave it a shot and now they are best of friends...oh yea, and my older dogs separation anixety is pretty much gone!!

I also have a nanny cam so I can watch the boys while I am gone...but that is obviously more for my separation anxiety than theirs

[Carmeow]

If you can afford a pet sitter to come once every other day or a few times a week to take him on a short walk or just play for a bit, that's what I would do, personally.

I wouldn't want to bring home a new dog and have it unsupervised with my first dog, not knowing how they would be together.

[sandy simpson]

It all depends on the dog. Some dogs are so laid back and easy to get along with other dogs. It may be a good idea to get Charlie a friend to be by and hang with. It would have to be a mellow dog that gets along well with him. I have two dogs and they seem to sit by each other and enjoy each others company.

[Charlies Mamma]

well its allot to think about. I just dont want him to be lonely. he hasnt had any bad effects so far i just worry about him being sad.

[Britster]

It really depends on the dog(s). I would assume if you got a puppy, it wouldn't be left loose with your current dog anyway, but in a pen or cage for it's own protection.... so it would probably be the same situation, only now you have 2 dogs to worry about. Also, with your current schedule, a young pup would be extremely difficult. You would definitely need to either get home more or hire some help. An adult dog is much more adjustable and capable of being home alone for longer periods.

Honestly? Our 3 (when I'm staying at my dads house with his 2, and mine) don't do anything when we're not home. They just sleep anyway. And to be honest, they don't really even play that much anymore. I think they all equally would be fine being an only dog. Jackson is when we're at our regular house. Sometimes I think he would like to have a sibling. I know he would, but I also think he's content to have just me as well.

My advice: don't get a dog for your current dog. It hardly works out that way. Get a dog because YOU want one.

Dogs are adaptable creatures. I think as long as Charlie is getting adequade exercise and attention when you are available, all is fine.

[kjc]

I wouldn't add another dog until you see if Charlie is actually being affected by your lack of presence, unless you really want another dog.

Peek a Boo got really sad after his buddies passed on... he stopped being interested in anything, including me!, went off his food, slept most of the time. I had to intervene to get him to eat and go potty.

Then I decided to get Tinkerbell. Well he doesn't like Tink, they keep vying to be head dog, even now after 4 years! He liked the Yorkie down the street... I could see him perk right up whenever he saw her, so I went to get another that was more similar to his own coloring (Tink is a Blondie).

We got Sapphire, who could be his twin. They love each other and are best buddies. He lets her get away with everything! So cute!

Then a Biewer became available (I've wanted one ever since I first saw one) and I thought she would be a better playmate for Tink. When she came home, poor Sapphire thought she was on her way out and really got sad, but I gave her so much more attention to get her to come around again and she did. So now we're all fine!

When Finny the Biewer first came home, Tink thought she was a big toy bc of her coloring.... I caught Tink dragging Finny across the carpet by her ear! I was able to stop this behavior quickly and Tink now knows Finny is a real dog and not a toy to add to her collection!

Just beware, another dog could be nice.... or not!

[impish]

My instinct is to say that he would be happier with a companion. But the truth is he probably just sleeps.

That being said, another option could be taking him into a doggy day care to play one or two days a week for variety, or hiring an older neighborhood kid that you trust for an afternoon walk every other day.

[Charlies Mamma]

Originally Posted by kjc

When Finny the Biewer first came home, Tink thought she was a big toy bc of her coloring.... I caught Tink dragging Finny across the carpet by her ear! I was able to stop this behavior quickly and Tink now knows Finny is a real dog and not a toy to add to her collection!

OMG this made me laugh ... thank you