Wanting a doodle, but in conflict

[Justin Horowitz]

My daughter and I realy want to get a goldendoodle. I am willing to commit to the doodle and I know my daughter will do her part, though she is with me part time. Ultimately the repsonsibility will be mine. I'm good with that!!!. My conflict and concern. I work full time at least 9 hours per day. If we got a pup it would be in the next month so my daughter can have time with the pup during her summer school break and I would take time off from work. My concern is the pup not having enough quality time with a human once school begins in Sept. I look at a pup like being a newborn baby and needs human contact. Am I being too sensitive? To me a dog is a family member. The doodle would be my second child.....

Justin

[Adina P]

Justin, it sounds like you are looking at this very responsibly. How long would you be able to take off of work when puppy arrives? I think those first two months are the most critical for socialization, learning manners, etc. So if you had considerable time with a pup over the summer, that would be great!

Personally, I would hesitate to get a pup if I worked long hours and nobody else was home. BUT...people do it and many successfully. If you can exercise pup in the morning before work and put in time in training and exercise after work--then you may find it works out great. But 9 hours straight is a long time for a young pup to go without a break of some kind. Are there dog walkers or pet sitters locally? Perhaps a doggy daycare? Even though YOU may not be home with the dog all day, if that dog got a walk in the middle of the day from a dog walker or was able to spend time at doggy daycare at least some days of the week...then that may be an option that could work very well.

Another thought is perhaps to ditch the 'puppy' idea and get a 2 year old dog rehome that has a history of being good with children and out of their chewing up everything, out-of-control energy puppy stage...plus no house breaking!

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

Well I do tend to agree with you somewhat leaving a puppy home alone, we all have to work, but think you could consider some other options if you get a puppy. The summer will be great for you's, but this would also let you put plan B into effect, find yourself a good pet sitter, they can do afternoon breaks while you are at work. Most Pet Sitters will give your puppy and afternoon potty break which should include playtime with your pup, also...doggy day care is another great option. Both of these are great for puppies and socializes them. So don't be hard on yourself ...you do have options. To find a great pet sitter in your area you can go this web site and research pet sitters... Pet Sitters International...hope this helps

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't think you are being too sensitive at all. If you got a puppy, it would probably only be about 5-6 months old in September. You really cannot leave a puppy alone for 9 hours a day. (I personally don't trhink you should leave any dog alone that long on a daily basis).
I don't know how old your daughter is, but it's an old-time caveat that a parent must never expect a child to assume any responsibility for a pet. So you are correct that the responsibility will be yours. I don't know if you have had a dog before, especially a large sporting dog who needs daily exercise, but I am involved in doodle rescue, and the number one reason cited for giving up a doodle is "not enough time." Please think about whether you will be able to provide enough training, exercise, grooming...doodles need a lot of all of that...day in and day out, good weather and bad, for the next 12-15 years, whether you are sick, on vacation, working late, etc.
I appreciate the fact that you are carefully considering what is best for you potential "baby" before you just run out and change a puppy's life without thinking it through. They are like children...totally dependent on us, for life.

[Justin Horowitz]

Thanks for your responce. My daughter is almost 14, great kid and is helpful. I haven't had a dog for about 30 years. My last was a purebreed Old English Sheepdog. Exercise is non issue, I'm very physically active, love 4 season in the Northeast. I had thoughts of looking into (if I got a doodle) training it to become a therapy dog and then I could bring it to work. Your thoughts on therapy training?

Thanks again.

[Adina P]

Justin, my Rosco is a therapy dog--we visit the library and our local juvenile detention center. Might want to join our Therapy Dogs group here on DK to learn more.

What line of work are you in? Would your dog actually be doing some kind of activity while there? I ask because most therapy dog organizations will cover you with liability insurance during volunteer work...but they won't cover you while you are AT work. If your job will allow a dog to join you, then all your dog will need is to be well trained...if he's not actually going to be doing therapy work with other people...no need for the therapy dog designation as it doesn't actually give any extra privileges for public access (only service dogs have that and they need to have a job where they are assisting their handler in some way).

[Justin Horowitz]

I'm in physical rehabilitation medicine, prosthetic and orthotics. My patients would not need a dog to help them in my office. I thought it would be a way that the dog could be with me throughout the day.

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

OH I disagree that your patients wouldn't benefit from seeing a Therapy Dog! I cant imagine ever needing or having a prosthetic but I am sure there some emotional challenges with accepting them. Having a Therapy Dog to pet and take patient's minds off of why they are really there could really help. When I walk into an office and there is a dog there unexpectedly I always smile and it lifts my mood... I remember it for days!

[Adina P]

I agree that depending on the particular puppy you end up ... it may need considerable daily attention/time. You "might" get lucky and end up with a dog like my 3 y.o. Rosco who could lay around all day and be happy as long as he's near you and fed. He's been like this at least since he was 2 y.o...if not longer.

But that's not common in a doodle. My other labradoodle Thule has finally reached this point at 4 years old...I could NEVER walk them or play fetch and they would not be problem dogs...they wouldn't be very healthy due to lack of exercise, but they wouldn't start acting up. Other dogs could easily become a huge nuisance and become destructive out of boredom and pent up energy. There is no way to know for sure what your doodle will be like...a good breeder can help you weed out the highest energy pup. But even Rosco who was a mellow pup had jekyll hyde nipping moments...that took a year to train out of him!

I think if YOU really want it...and are 100% committed to a dog (and for its whole life no matter the challenges) then you can make just about anything work within reason. My husband Clark has had his border collie for nearly 14 years...there were times when she'd be alone for over 9 hours a day because that was the only option (she wasn't a super young pup though at that time) and she did fine. They were a team and his commitment to her was solid. But he also put in a ton of time in training her early on and he would give her time to play and burn energy even if it meant walking her at 2am (he's a bit of a night owl) to the park for frisbee.

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

I agree with you - and in my world an ideal situation is to be stay at home parent to a dog. But if circumstances were that I couldnt do that I would definitely make the financial sacrifice of putting her in Doggy Day Care or hiring a dog walker/sitter who can have a house key and come over everyday for a couple of hours to walk the dog or play with the dog. Some dogsitters sit in their own house (they will come get your dog walk it and then take it home with them for say the latter part of your day.) Just advertise in the paper you will be surprised how many people are willing to help out. My dogs are fine alone here and there if I go out for the whole afternoon - but I would never leave them alone 8 hours a day 5 days a week - I think for most dogs that is hard on their psyche. And thats my opinion on the subject, get the dog and find a sitter for when you are at work. (even if its just a couple of hours per work day).

[Mommy2Max]

Everyone here has given you great advice. My Max has just started going to day care and I'm home all day with him. It gives him a chance to be with other dogs and learn things a human just doesn't do as well - most of the time.

I hadn't had dogs for years and I was young when I did so, the responsibility fell on others. I geared myself up for the responsibility part. I have to say, you are spot on about the "newborn" comment. Just like parenting, all the preperation in the world doesn't do it all. You learn a lot as you go along in your daily life. Doodle Kisses has been a a tremendous help - more helpful than I can articulate. I adore dogs but, I was one of the "a dog is a dog" people. That went out the door aproximately 10 seconds after seeing my Max - LOL. I think you are spot on in your thinking and it's a good thing you have that thought now and not after the fact.

I wish you the best - just like children, the work you put in is well worth it. Truly priceless!

~Danielle

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

I really do not advise someone to advertise for a pet sitter in a newspaper because you really do not know what you are getting, do the research yourself and get someone who is a bonded and an insured pet sitter, this is why I recommended PSI you can go to their web site and research sitters. You might pay more for a PSI sitter, but in the end you and your pet will be happy.I do not know if you are in or near these two areas but these are some sitters A Joy To Be With in Standfordville, and The Golden Paw in Stone Ridge, you can find them on PSI. Therapy dog training takes a while, and I really would not recommend testing a dog till it is at least 1 year of age, although some do it younger, I have seen to many younger dogs not do well or develop some problems because they were to young and did not have the obedience behind them. My first doodle Hannah was an exception to every rule, she is also used for my disability and has been going into stores and all over since the age of 12wks, she like Adina's Rosco can be a couch potato one minute and the next be out runing like the wind at the doggy park. She just adapts to every situation. I did not certify her for Threapy and her CGC till she was over 1 year, not that I couldn't have, but is just my choice and some thoughts for you.

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

hehe - Small town girl here...cant you tell! Ya if you live in a city you dont need to advertise and probably shouldnt. I have always lived in 'everybody knows everybody' communities. So here we do everything by bulletin board or local paper if word of mouth isnt fast enough.