Hey all, I was interested in bouncing a couple of questions off of you all, since many of you seem very experienced with dogs. Maybe some of you would oblige me and offer some advice!
So, my husband and I are considering getting our first dog. We have two cats, but I/my family have never had a dog. He has had a couple of dogs in his life, but has never been the primary care person for it. So, we're novices, for all intents and purposes. I have always been an animal lover and *always* wanted a dog. We know it's a big decision, so we're trying to do our research. Both of us work full time, he *very* full time (long days) and I have short days (7-8 hrs). It is not an option for one of us to not work, but we're concerned that if we get a dog and leave it in the house all day, that it would be bored/sad/lonely/unhappy. What do you all do? I followed the dog crating thread closely on this list a bit ago, and it seems like many of you crate train your dogs for many hours (up to 12). I wasn't sure, though, if this was a 5-day-a-week occurrance, or just once in a while. Do you use dog sitters? Doggie daycare? Any thoughts on these services? Also, our house is very dog friendly - we have a dog door (previous owners had *5* dogs) and a big fenced in yard. We have a big tiled room (~350 square feet) that the dog door is off of. It can easily be sealed off from the rest of the house, and potentially, the dog could go in and out as it pleases. Do any of you have a setup where the dog(s) can roam both indoors and out during the day when you're not home? My concern would be barking and digging out - that we wouldn't be home to stop any of it, should the dog feel compelled to run outside and bark, visit the neighbors, etc... Finally, what was the biggest unexpected lifestyle change that you underwent when you got your first dog? We're thinking of a Wheaten terrier. Anyone have one? Yay! Robyn ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Protect your mail server with built in anti-virus protection. It's not only good for you, it's good for everybody. http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=39 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:165280 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
