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Cavalier moms/dads who work full-time

We crated our current dog when we first got him (he was full-grown rescue already) and never let him be in there all day. I would come home for lunch to make sure he could stretch his legs & get some hugs.

We only did that for a few months until the communication lines of where to "go" was established.

Now he has full run of the house, bird & squirrel watching or just curling up in any favorite corner. I hope for the same with a cav, except I'd like her to be at the office with me for while so she can go pee more often. I would still crate though even at the office.
 
DH and I work full time as well. When we first got Willow, we crated her, and one of us would come home at lunch to let her out. As she got older, we have been giving her more room - now she has the front hall (fairly big) to herself, with a radio playing - she mostly sleeps in there all day. We play with her and cuddle her all evening, and rarely go out in the evenings. When we do go out for a couple of hours on a weekend, we let her have our living room, too (although with the new wire eating thing, I'll be making sure that room doesn't have any exposed wires before doing that again).

I wish we could give her the run of the house, but she's not ready for that - I don't know if she ever will be, but we'll see....

I'm very glad we found a breeder that would let us have her when we both work - we had our hearts set on a Cavalier, and couldn't love her more!

Krista
 
Yvonne117,

I'm sorry to say up to nine hours a day. Sometimes my Mom will come over a let them out, but not very often. I know that's a long time. I've tried to think of other ways, but have come up with nothing. It takes me over 1/2 hour to get to my house from my job.

Some people say that's the reason they won't have a dog, and it's legitimate, but I could never live without a dog. I've had dogs in my life since I was four years old and we kept our dogs to their last days. LIke everyone on this site, I think of them as family, dogs, but family.

I try my best to give all my animals two dogs and two cats a lot of attention. Like I said I spend the majority of my weekends at home with them and rarely go out after work, maybe once a month. Other than that I'm home.

Please if you are going to respond negatively, keep in mind I'm doing the best I can with my situation. I would love to be home my often.
 
As a cavie mom who works full time, I completely understand your situation. I am passing no judgement, because not everyone can afford a dog walker, or is in the situation to come home for lunch every day. Is there a part of your home that you could bock off with a baby gate or purhaps put an xpen so scouty has more room to roam? If your home is carpeted, you can get remnant lanolium really cheap at home stores and just put it over the carpet during the day in her area. ;) We did this at my MIL home when we lived with her, and the clean up was really easy.

My cavies are corralled in our kitchen during the work day, so I don't feel so guilty about having them locked up in a crate. A dog walker and doggie day care are just simply out of the question in my household, as we are on a tight budget. It is just a luxury that we can't afford.
 
Scouty girl said:
Yvonne117,

I'm sorry to say up to nine hours a day. Sometimes my Mom will come over a let them out, but not very often. I know that's a long time. I've tried to think of other ways, but have come up with nothing. It takes me over 1/2 hour to get to my house from my job.

Some people say that's the reason they won't have a dog, and it's legitimate, but I could never live without a dog. I've had dogs in my life since I was four years old and we kept our dogs to their last days. LIke everyone on this site, I think of them as family, dogs, but family.

I try my best to give all my animals two dogs and two cats a lot of attention. Like I said I spend the majority of my weekends at home with them and rarely go out after work, maybe once a month. Other than that I'm home.

Please if you are going to respond negatively, keep in mind I'm doing the best I can with my situation. I would love to be home my often.

You may have already looked into this, but my brother worked longer hours than you and hired a neighbourhood youth to come in after school. She wasnt allowed a dog, but was definately old enough to be responsible in looking after the dog. Actually, when she was older a few yrs later and they had their first child she became their babysitter too. Really you are paying the going babysitter rate which is WAY cheaper than paying a petsitter service. Just a possible suggestion that may or maynot be appropriate for your situation.
 
Sharon, I dont mean to respond negatively and I understand you have to work, so do I. I leave my dogs in the kitchen together with toys etc for approx 6 hrs a day. Also I am not anti crate mine are both crated at night.
I just believe and I am sure everywhere I have read say dogs should not be crated for that long a period. Do they have water in their crate? Is there nowhere as others have suggested you could give them the run of. Are they crated at night as this would mean they would be crated most of their time. I am sure you do love them and must have dogs but is it in their best interest to kept caged for so long.
 
There is absolutely nothing wrong with working full time and having a Cavalier....as long as you make arrangements. Look at all of the people above who work and have made arrangements for their dogs during the day. Honestly....my two sleep most of the day. They will conk out an hour after getting up, I could play with them for an hour midday, and then they are out again for the rest of the afternoon. As long as they are not left alone all day long by themselves with no opportunity to relieve themselves and get some interaction they are fine.
 
We both work full time, but have a dog walker come mid-day. We started this when we got our pup, but now that he's trained, we're still continuing our service as they just enjoy it so much.
 
Hi,

i'm single and work full time, but lucky enough to have the best best best neighbours in the whole world who love animals and adore Harry.

They have 3 dogs themselves and take Harry out for a mid day walk as well as letting him out for toilet time, and into their garden for plays with their dogs.
i have asked them how they would feel if i got another cav and they are soooo excited!
they refuse to take payment from me, so i buy dog food and treats (most of which go to harry as he's sooo greedy)

If i didn't have this help i would still have a dog, no question and work around it
harry also sleeps on my bed so we have that connection and he loves his hugs every morning!
 
Thanks to everybody for all the great suggestions. It didn't start off this way, not having anyone to let Scout out during the day. My Mom, who lives one door away from me, was coming over to let her out during the day and playing with her. She adores Scout.

About a month after Scout came home, my Mom and I were coming home from a short grocery trip and she came into my home and didn't see my Newfoundland laying on the floor and tripped over her a broke her leg very high up near the hip. She had to have surgery and a titanium rod put in her leg. The this past November she had to have surgery on her other leg. The doctor found a slight break in the same spot as the previous leg.

My Mom is 72 and she is not to keen on coming outside during this bad weather. We recently had a lot of ice and I can understand how she feels. After all I don't want her falling again because of one of my dogs. I felt bad enough the first time.

I've tried to allow Scout freedom in a small part of the house, but she proved untrustworthy. After all she's just a baby.

It will be thawing out soon so I'm going to ask my Mom to continue to let her out.

The idea about a neighborhood child letting her out was great. The only problem with that is my Newfoundland. Although she is great, she is very large for a female and gets quiet excited when someone comes in. Also, sometimes she can be a little stubborn and you have to use your stern voice with her. I'm just afraid it might be a little overwhelming for a child. Everybody in the neighborhood knows her. Newfs have the same personality as a Cavalier, only in a much, much larger package.

I love Scout and want to do what's best for her. Again, I'm doing my best with the resources I have.

I always appreciate all the good information I receive from everyone on this site.....Thank you.
 
I know where your coming from on your Mom - mine is the same age and fell and broke her pelvis in 3 spots. It was a long long road to recovery physically but also for them at that age it sort of makes them look at things different. Hard adjustment to a changing life as your parents age, not easy. Oh spring is here soon so its not so bad. Try looking at grocery store ads for a large crate - we have an old one from our lab and I was just thinking the other day maybe about setting it up for when I go out. I am nervous leaving Kodee in the xpen as she is too smart for her own good and expect trouble will be found in minutes!
 
Both CH and I work full time but DH has flexible schedule, then we can combine the time we spend with our Lia.
 
Scout's mom:
I wish we were neighbors since I am able to come home mid-day. We could have a doggy co-op :)

Based on all the postings I feel cavalier moms & dads at least on this forum are really thoughtful people.
 
I've tried to allow Scout freedom in a small part of the house, but she proved untrustworthy. After all she's just a baby.


Maybe you could have another try removing the things she can get at. Do you have a kitchen area, maybe you could use a puppy gate. As she is left for 9 hours at a time that is lots of exploring time for her so it is up to you to make it safe. I found these guidelines for crating, maybe you could crate in the morning and your mum could let her out to have the more freedom just for the afternoon hours.

Crating Duration Guidelines

9-10 Weeks
Approx. 30-60 minutes
11-14 Weeks
Approx. 1-3 hours
15-16 Weeks
Approx. 3-4 hours
17 + Weeks
Approx. 4+ (6 hours maximum)

*NOTE: Except for overnight, neither puppies nor dogs should be crated for more than 5 hours at a time. (6 hours maximum!)

Apologies could not work out how to do the quote at the top.
 
When my little George was a young pup he stayed in my (very small) kitchen with a baby gate and his toys. I have a very tiny chew mark on the door frame and sometimes his furry rug in his bed would be over the other side of the kitchen after he'd played with it bless him. Apart from that he was good as gold. Being in a small room rather than a cage really suited him. Not once did he toilet in there (except when he was very poorly), cheeky thing would wait til I was home and come out of 'his' kitchen to wee on my lounge carpet :wggle:

Me and a friend that I'm blessed to have would call in on him at least three times a day and he would always hop back in his basket when we left, honestly with a bit of effort to make them realise they aren't abandoned they are very happy.
 
I am a single parent and I work full time. No way I cannot. We have a cavi that is now 8 months old. She did great and had no serperation problems as a pup. Nor does she now. I leave for work at about 6:30-7 am and do not get home until 4 pm. My daughter leaves for school at almost 8 and is home jsut before me. So, Lily is alone for about 8 hours, give or take. I work 45 minutes from home and cannot make that trip at lunch. I fretted over getting a dog and finally decided I could make it work somehow. I know some disagree with this sort of arrangement and if I could work closer to home or at home, I would. For lots of reasons! But I just don't feel it should keep us from having a pup. She gets A LOT of love when we are home and is at my side all the time. She knows we love her and is very well adjusted. Good Luck in finding a breeder to work with you.
 
I'm quite lucky, I am able to drop my boys off at Grandma's everyday - they are retired and don't mind looking after them. I think secretley they wish they had them all the time. The grandparents are very proud of them both and thoroughly enjoy the attention they get when out with them. Grandad loves to talk about his wuffies!

Even so, on the odd occasion and when grandparents are on holiday, I have left Merlin and Josh (grandma's lab) together for 8+ hours and it has had no detrimental effect on them. They have had a good walk in the morning, they have plenty of toys, the radio on and they are happy :D

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think they key is routine. Whenever mine are left, they always get double love and a treat for being good. I think they understand that sometimes they just can't go with you. I do take mine everywhere I can even if its just popping to the shop, they come with me. I went shopping this afternoon, they came in the car with me. sorry.... I've started to ramble......
 
Again, thanks for all the great suggestions!!

SFCAdogmom....I wish we lived closer too, a doggie coop sounds great. Our babies could play together...

Kodee....I did buy Scout a crate big enough for a Golden Retriever. She does have room to roam, but of course not the same as being out. My kitchen has a large opeing about 4 1/2 feet. I would need to buy a really big gate, and I really don't have the room for an expen. She'll be one soon and I'm going to try to give her another try. I just don't her to injure herself.

Yvonne117....My mom was all set to start the new 'let scout out and play with her around lunch day', but we had a nasty snow and ice storm yesterday Now that's been pushed back until the melt.

merlinsmum.....I agree with your statement about a routine. In the morning when I get ready to leave, I take Scout out for the last time, when she comes in she goes directly into her crate and waits for her treats. Talk about a guilt trip!!
 
It's funny how guilty we all feel about being gone during the day - yesterday I was home most of the day with my two cavs and all morning they both just wanted to sleep. I kept thinking "why don't they want to get up and play since I'm home?" So, routine is the key - I now know every Monday morning the "look" I get for getting dressed to leave for work is just a tactic - they start running in circles over the fact they get a cookie 'cuz I'm leaving :D Then they just settle themselves down for their morning nap....

Sheri
 
Sheri,

I know, isn't the guilt trip horrible. When I get ready for work in the morning, Scout comes into the bathroom her head is hanging down so low her chin is practically hitting the floor, and those eyes!!!

Of course, when I bring out a treat she seems to perk up. Sleep, that's what they do most of the day isn't it?
 
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