# any of you work full-time and leave the chis?



## rudy's gal

Hey all - I have been very fortunate. I got Rudy as a 10 week old at the end of December and he has always had a dog walker or friend come to let him out in the middle of the day, M-F, while I am at work. Circumstances changed and the friend is not available, so I hired the dog walkers for everyday. With student debt and now trying to live within my means, I have come to the conclusion I really can't afford it. 

I can afford 2-3 times a week after July's package is over.

So two things:

a) Do you think he will have difficulty adjusting? Do you think dogs have a concept of time?

b) any of you work full-time and leave your furkid at home? Do you think mine will be okay? I feel guilty. 

Thanks xo


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## CHITheresa

i used to leave my pom's while I worked, with a puppy pad down. Worked great.


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## Tanna

I work all day and Paco and the cat Spazy are home all day. I don't crate Paco he has the run of the house. He is pee pad trained so he can potty when needed. He does fine, when I get home I play ball with him and we go for a walk. All that said, Paco is a really good dog, he dosen't chew up anything, he dosen't get into the trash, so you need to take that all into consideration.


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## jesuschick

I do and we did, for years, with our sweet boy, Mick. 
I figure my girls have the reverse life of other babies. They do not go to crates or a pen during the night. They are in "their room" during the day and then once we are home and nearly all weekend long they are freely roaming around with us or going places with us. 

We do have a service who comes and stays in our home the 1-2 times per year that we are gone 1-2 nights overnight. They also offer daily drop ins where they could feed, walk or play with the girls. Once they are better at walking on leads, we will may have them come in to take them for walks or play.

I am off today because my son, d-i-l and sweet granddaughter are flying in for the long weekend. I have been sitting around (and playing here) watching them sleep. Truly, they have absolutely slept from 8 this morning through this very typing. My guess is that if I had them nanny-cammed that this is what would see most of the time we are gone. 

I promise you that my girls are beyond wonderfully cared for.

I know others will not agree with my choices and that is okay. My husband and I have had our careers for 25+ years. We work in a corporate setting and without getting into details, it not something either of us can just leave or quit because we chose to have the girls. 

Same I suppose with people who have children and work. I would NEVER tell someone that if they are going to put their baby in day care they should not have had children. 

You have to make choices FOR YOU based on your priorities, lifestyle and your family.


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## Deerboy's Momma

I work 8-5, Monday through Thursday and will soon be taking a second job where I'll work weekends. Chip is crated while I am gone (I don't live on my own, and Chip still marks.), and then is out for the rest of the night while I'm home. He's trained to stay in the yard, so he gets full run of the yard. If I'm not super busy, we'll go on a walk. Twice a week we go visit his best friend, and she has a fenced-in yard that they get to play in. 

Chip typically sleeps until about 12 or 1 p.m., and I get to come home for lunch from 1 to 2, so he gets to come out for about 40 minutes and play, drink, potty, etc. Then he goes back in until 5. 

I sincerely hope that people aren't bothering to judge other people because they crate them during the day...not everyone is retired, or has a SO that makes money. I'm an absolutely EXCELLENT dog owner and am one of the few people I know that has a legitimately trained dog...any free time I have is spent with Chip and Mrowmrow. My dog is in great health, great spirits, and great hands, so I would LOVE for someone to tell me otherwise, LOL. 

Don't feel guilty at all.


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## Angel1210

I think Rudy will be fine home alone. Keep him safe, in a crate or otherwise, leave him a potty pad and lots of things to chew on. I am lucky enough to take mine to work with us. But, I have had dogs in the past that had to be home alone. I wouldn't trade that for anything!! I am sure the love he gets when you get home is well worth the wait!


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## 20887

I am a student and I work 30 hours per week, so I usually have to leave my dogs for up to 6 hours a few times a week. I let Lion have free roam of the house, and Penny is gated in the bathroom because she is not potty trained yet. I am pretty sure they sleep all day.. When I am home, the food and treats are untouched and there is nothing on the potty pad. I always take them on a walk before I have to leave them. As long as you exercise your dog and leave them with plenty of things to chew, there is nothing wrong with leaving them. I personally wouldn't put my dogs in a crate, but that is just my decision.


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## Mijo

both my wife and I work full time. My wife walks the chis in the morning before work and I walk them again once I get home. All of my chis are pad trained and when we're at work our dogs are confined to our bedroom and bathroom (where the pad is located).

If you do something like this, or give your chi free run of your place and utilze a pad I highly suggest looking into UGODOG.net. Once you get your chi to use the ugodog pad you won't have to buy the disposable pads again, which will save a lot of money in the long run (and reduce the amount of solid waste generated).


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## rudy's gal

Thanks soooo much guys, I appreciate it. I know every working person has to leave their dog for the day, so it was nice to get some reassurance that this is normal and that he will be fine, lol. Most mornings he gets a walk before work, and he ALWAYS gets a long 1 hour+ walk after work, plus play time all evening, plus he sleeps in my bed at night - and we hang all weekend! Sometimes I'm just a worry wart.  So thanks for all the thoughts. xo


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## rudy's gal

jesuschick said:


> I do and we did, for years, with our sweet boy, Mick.
> I figure my girls have the reverse life of other babies. They do not go to crates or a pen during the night. They are in "their room" during the day and then once we are home and nearly all weekend long they are freely roaming around with us or going places with us.
> 
> .


Exactly how Rudy lives too, and it sounds like a nice life - thanks for putting it into perspective.


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## omguthrie

Yep, I've had dogs while I was a working woman and am now a student. My dogs are home for up to 8 hours or so while I'm gone. The border collies are loose in the house and Lilo the chihuahua is crated for that time. Whenever I am home they are all loose in the house with me or hanging out in the yard with me. They don't seem to have any problems with this schedule and no pottying inside from any of them.


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## kimr

One thing to keep in mind with young ones...Just because they _haven't_ chewed anything yet doesn't mean they _won't!_

Gracie was perfectly house trained, had never chewed up anything, so at 8 months we decided to try her running loose during the day. I suppose she was bored, even though she has Pedro and a cat for companionship...She became very destructive. 

My main fear is that she will do something that might harm her. Everything else in my home is replaceable, but I would never forgive myself if she were to chew into an electrical cord or something like that. 

She is crated during the day while we work. She isn't mature enough to be left running loose in the house - she's 1 year now. Pedro is 4, and he's fine - he would never tear up anything. One of us comes home at lunch to let her out to run and go potty. It's nice that we both work so close to home and are able to do that.


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## mooberry

We do it over here! 

Bijoux actually doesn't even stay in her pen she is closed in our room with Lincoln while we are gone and right now because BF is off doing the whole army thing with travel time it can be as much as 10 hours @[email protected]

She has pads, water, toys and Lincoln to keep them both company, Lincoln used to have free run of the house when there was two of us and it wasn't usually a long time without on of us here. But now that it's just me I use him to keep Bijoux from crying -she screams bloody murder if you pen her and is self destructive-

I find that dogs do really well left alone when there are two of them, they keep each other stimulated and I honestly feel better knowing that Lincoln can watch over Bijoux while i'm gone.

I don't know if you use Kongs but for Lincoln I freeze a kong solid and give it to him before I leave so he has somthing to do I also give him his afternoon meal from a Kong Wobbler so that he is still stimulated. For me making sure that they are have something to do and each other to be with while i'm gone makes me feel much better. 

Same as everyone else here they are able to roam free while I'm home. They are my joy and my everything so when I come home nothing makes me happier than spending time with them. I'm sure it is the same for everyone else working full time, I believe that it makes the time that we do spend together so much more precious I appreciate them more and when I do have free time I make sure it's puppy friendly places we go because I want every minute with my fur family that I can. -I don't mean to say that those lucky stay at home mom's/dads don't love their babies just as much-

That's just my two cents of course


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## LadyJ

I worked for 48 years and my dogs stayed by themselves all day. I had two most of the time, so they had company. If the dog was trustworthy, it was allowed to be loose in the house. If not, it was confined, probably in the kitchen, some big area with tile. They got lots and lots of attention when I was home and slept with me all night. Dogs don't have any concept of time as far as how long, so they don't know if you're gone for 10 minutes or 10 hours. I used to run the video camera now and then just to see what they did while I was gone. They slept mostly. They always got the best of care and were loved a lot, so I didn't feel guilty about having to leave them. They had a good life because I worked ... most people have to work ... dogs are able to adjust wonderfully. I'm retired now and love being home most of the time and being able to spend time with my dogs. They still sleep most of the day!

Jeanette


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## rudy's gal

Just wanted to reiterate my thanks to ALL of you. You've put me at ease. xoxo  What a great group of chi people!


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## Ness♥Bella

I work Mon thru Friday 8 am- 5 pm so of course Bella is home alone. I keep her in her playpen inside and she has access to the outside screened in lanai where she uses her Potty Patch. I walk her in the morning and then when I get home. My son is home from Classes around 12 so he keeps her busy and playing. 

No one should ever feel bad about keeping their Chis home alone. If they have food, water and plenty of Toys they will never get bored! I watch Bella from work on a pet cam and she is always busy! I am surprised when I get home that she has any energy left for me, but she always does. 

Don't feel guilty Rudys Gal. Even if what you were doing is wrong(which it is not), one of the reasons people have pets is for that unconditional love. Rudy will love you no matter what.


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