I am planning on buying a dog this summer, having spent some time reading about the various breeds I am still unsure as to which one to go for.

My situation.
For the next 18 months I will be a mature student and thus around at home with flexible hours. Following this I intend to return to fulltime employment (9-5).

My accommodation for the foreseeable future may well not have a garden (although this may change).

Depending on her work commitments my girlfriend may be at home during the day however this cannot be relied on with daily certainty.

I may consider getting a dog walker depending on how things develop with my dog.

Given that I am going to be out of the house during the day i am looking for a breed of dog that will be less prone to separation anxiety.

Having read up on the subject and spoken to various owners and kennel club accredited breeders I am erring on a Bulldog... I would however prefer a more athletic dog that could accompany me on runs.

I would very much appreciate the advice of any knowledgeable members of the forum.

Please note that this is a genuine request for advice, I understand and respect the opinions of those who say dogs should have their owners company all day long. In fact in a perfect world I would be able to choose how i spend all of my time, sadly this is not the case. So if you are kind enough to give me advice please bear this in mind.

Many thanks.



PS I would like to thank the first two commenter’s for what I consider to be genuine advice.

Hi

i personally dont think is gsd is a good idea - we have one and she is very needy - there is always someone at home as i work days and my partner works nights. She takes up a lot of our time she is always wanting attention - our shepherd and collie go out for upto 3 - 4 hours worth of walks a day - and spend a lot of time in our garden - big dogs generally need a lot of attention and walking.

i personally if i was in your situation would not look at anything bigger than a medium sized dog - eps if you have no garden, they need space.... maybe a terrier of some sort might better???? i would do a lot more research before getting one and ask your self is a dog definetly right for you if you know you are going back to a 9 -5 ??? will you still have enough time for a dog?????

hope this helps

susie and the gang

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not to sound to harsh but are you really doing a good thing by getting a dog and spending a year at first with it and then suddenly the dog will have to be shut up all day while you are at work, and you have no garden for the dog to go in so it can only get out when you take it, as much as people love to have dogs i dont think they think properly about it if you are sure about getting a dog then maybe you could look into getting a dog sitter for when you start work, as for what breed would be best to get and one that likes to be left i dont think really any dog likes that especially if they are not used to it from the very begining, good luck if you do go ahead but i would really consider the dogs feeling abit more, sorry if i sound harsh.

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second that nici.

good one nici.

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Personally I would wait until I was settled and secure.

There are breeds that are quite happy to be housebound for long periods of time provided you commit to adequate daily amounts of exercise and quality play and training time.

You need to be prepared for destructive behaviour through boredom and/or separation anxiety. It may not happen but its too late to consider these problems 18 months down the line.

I did a similar thing, I got my dog while I needed time off work through illness, although I had a long term plan which was that Duke would accompany my husband as a driver's mate. He started out part-time a morning or an afternoon and progressed to full-time but took early retirement preferring to stay at home.


Sue

Hi Sue,
Many thanks for the above comment. Please could you be more specifc with regard to the breeds happier to be at home?

Hi what about a little terrier,border terriers are lovely,or yorkshire terriers,ive heard bulldogs get a lot of problems due to their breeding and face shape.

Hi I reely fink tht u shuldnt get a dog eny time soon until u r setteled
Im not being a bore but as nici sed u cant get a dog used to hving u around 24/7 and then not this will seriously stress the dog out and could cause ur dog 2 become ill and obviously u dont want tht 4 ur k9 freind

And if u dont hve a garden were is ur dog gunna relive its self

And getting a dog walker agane personally i dont think will help a great way 2 bond wiv ur dog is 2 walk it and play wiv it out on the feilds

Im not putting a downer on fings but fought u aught 2 no

Tom

I have toy poodles and i would never home a pup with anyone who works more than a couple of hours as dogs need companionship and how would we like being shut up all day with no company ....it would be a lonely life