Q&A with ‘The Paw Man’ (738) – Selecting The Right Pet For Your Lifestyle Samantha Seth-Wayda Dear Grant, (Paw Man) I have a slightly different question for you, it is about human desire rather than dog (and human) behaviour. Do you think it is fair to have a dog if all family members work full time hours? Paw Man What an interesting question. It fits right alongside ones like ‘Do we have any right to harness an animal for our own purposes, be it to haul heavy loads, to guard and protect us or to work for us in any endeavour?’ These are more questions about ethics than animal behaviors….. but I’ll wade in, as I would often use questions like these as time fillers when I was instructing. Whilst me may not actually solve anything, learning is undoubtedly taking place as we work our way through them. Dogs will adjust to the circadian cycle of the pack they live with so if that means the dog will have a rest cycle from 7am till 6pm then so be it. That just means that the dog will have a highly active cycle from 6pm onwards and assuming that the dog is being walked for an hour a day then its life is still going to be pretty happy. Assuming that the dog is ‘with’ the owners after work, not locked outside the house from them then I can see no reason to deny humans and their dog a relationship. Samantha I have always had dogs until recently and miss them dreadfully, however, I have only ever had them as part of a family, where they were not left alone for extended periods of time. Or, as with the last dog “Rosie” which I inherited after my parents had passed away and recruited local dog walkers to break up the day for her with bursts of exercise and company (she was a Border Collie). I always felt very guilty about the amount of time she spent alone, even with dog walkers, particularly as BC’s can be neurotic if under-stimulated. Paw Man Just like us dogs adjust to cope with the demands that life places upon them…. You can have a dog that is too physically fit for the environment that it lives in…… this reminds me of a Doberman that covered 85 klms a day with its owner who was a triathlete in training. The owner lived in a town house and the dog lived on a 4m X 2m balcony and destroyed anything on that balcony. The dog was too fit and energetic for the tiny sterile environment he lived in. Samantha I have now been dogless for 2 years, largely because my job demands long hours from me and do not want to be selfish to any animal, but really miss having dogs in my life. I appreciate that certain breeds need more stimulation, exercise and work, but can it be fair to any breed to spend a large period of their day on their own? Thank you for your advice in advance. Yours Sincerely Samantha. Dear Grant, I am happy to wait for advice. Also, I would like to clarify that the purpose of my question, as re-reading it I am unsure if it is clear: I would like to get another dog, but worry that I am being selfish in this and so far have resisted. I do not mean to cast any judgement on people who work and have dogs. Hope to hear from you in 80 days. Paw Man There is a site you might want to have a play with to see what breed it suggests for you. It’s an Australian web site so it may not include some of the location specific dogs but its worth having a play with so see what it suggests… petnet.au/selectapet/choose-a-pet I suggest that you work your way through the settings using your current situation and then go through it a few more times altering only one variable each time from the previous run. Obviously the most important variable for you is going to be the amount of exercise and activity the dog needs. Have fun with it anyway. :)
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 12:34:57 +0000
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