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Hi I'm thinking of getting a labrador retriever, but I work 12 hour days ,4 on 4 off. I don't know if that's fair to the dog, just being by it's self, or would two be better.When I am at home I would certainly have time for two.
A dog wouldn't be happy alone. Dogs are pack animals, and, if you are at work that long, there is no pack.
What about a cat or a couple of cats (not kittens!!!!)--adult cats who already know each other? Your local animal shelter would be more than glad to introduce you to a few and give you their history plus give you help with health care and tips on how to make them feel at home.
Adult cats sleep on average 16 hrs a day, so they will learn to sleep when you are gone and be awake when you are at home. As long as you have a litter box or two and fresh water available and maybe a bowl of dry cat food to snack on, along with comfortable places to sleep, they will be just peachy-keen. Of course, add a couple of tall scratching posts and a few windows where the cats can sit and look out at the world.
Not one dog, not two dogs, I'm guessing. Labman and Ruby, our site dog people, will see this question and give you their educated opinion. I'm just a cat person.
If you have to leave it 12 hours at a time, a puppy is out. The only thing that might work would be doggy day care. Days you work, you could leave the dog at a day care if you could find one that would take the dog 12+ hours some days. This is some place that runs 24/7? Could you work out keeping each others dogs with somebody working the other 4 days? The dogs would love each others' company.
Location: Fort Worth; but my heart is in Cleveland!!
Posts: 238
labman is right again. One dog or two dogs or heck, even three dogs, it doesn't matter, could never be left alone for 12 hours, 4 days in a row. Unless you have adequate arrangements such as daycare. Which I'm going to assume will pose a problem due to conflicting schedules. A dog walking service simply wouldn't suffice in this particular situation. The 4 days off is great, but the 4 days on is just too much alone time for such a social animal as a dog (or two) to handle. I think the only solution would be a friend or family member to take the dog (s) for the time you're away.
cutter I know exactly what you are going through. For a number of years, I worked a job that required very long hours. 12 hours was very much the norm for me, usually the work days were longer than that. I wanted very badly to get a dog during that time. I had always had a dog in my life and I missed it. But, I recognized that I needed to wait until I could really give it the attention and time it deserved. Getting two puppies to keep each other company only creates a situation in which you will have two puppies that you have to train. Believe me, one puppy is a handful on it's own! Two puppies will guarantee that if you haven't trained one for a while, you will find yourself with two untrained dogs. As labman states, if there is a way to find someone who can take the puppy for 12 hours straight, 4 days in a row, and be consistent with the training, that might be a workable solution, but if it is a daycare operation that you will be relying on, it is going to cost you in the range of $60 to $100 a week.
Another option would be to adopt an older dog. There are a great many older dogs that need good homes. Sometimes, it is just a situation in which an elderly person has died or the person had to move into assisted housing that doesn't allow a dog. The dogs don't need training, they just need a loving place to live out their twilight years. All you would need to do is have a friend come in and spend some time walking and paying attention to the dog in the middle of the day. Sometimes, you can find a pair of "old timers" which the rescue doesn't want to split up because they have lived together for so long. It is so sad that these dogs wind up in shelter and rescue situations when they still have some good years left in them and a lot of love to give. Would you be willing to consider this and consider other breeds, besides labs? Usually, when there is an elderly owner involved, the dogs are small toy breeds. If you are willing to consider this, start searching Petfinder.com: Adopt a pet and help an animal shelter rescue a puppy or kitten. for all the rescues and shelters in your area. Talk to them and tell them your work situation and that you are willing to take in two older dogs that don't require the training and exercise that a puppy requires, but just need a good and stable home to live out whatever years they have remaining. Ask them to keep your name on a list so that if they do get in any older dogs, they will call you. You can also go around to all the vets in your area and do the same thing.
I would hate to see even an older dog left over 12 hours. There are some common arraignments I don't like, that you could consider. People do leave dogs in fenced yards with or without a pet door. An older dog would be less likely to escape or bark. When the alternative is being euthanized for lack of a home, being left alone for long hours at a time, doesn't sound so bad.
Just because there are more smaller dogs, doesn't mean there are labs. You might even find a retired dog guide or other service dog. My Aster is still going strong 4 years after retiring as a dog guide. The only problem is that such a dog might be used to constant companionship. You could contact schools in your area starting at International Association of Assistance Dog Partners
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