Long working hours and a cocker spaniel?

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ik2277

New Member
I was recently looking online at rescue pages and came across a picture of the most gorgeous cocker puppy I have ever seen (picture below). It was love at first sight. He is a a Merle purebread that came from a puppy mill operation. I immediately filled out an application, after all when I was a child a cocker was my dream dog after a neighbor girl had the sweetest one I could imagine. Now that I am doing a bit of research I am starting to wonder if I should reconsider. Both my husband and I work full time and have a long commute which keeps us away from home for about 12 hours each day.
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We do currently have a Shiloh Shepherd at home (for those who are not familiar it's basically a very large fluffy German Shepherd) and we have a dog walker that comes in the middle of the day. Part of the reason I started looking at another dog was as a companion for our Shiloh as well as I wanted more of a lap dog but everything I read says you cannot leave them for extended periods of time. From those who are experienced cocker owners given that we would have another dog to keep him company and the walker in the middle of the day is this still a bad idea or is this doable?
 
I don't think Cockers are any different about being alone than any other breed, it depends on the dog, not the breed IMHO.

How old is he ? If he is just a pup and not trained that could be an issue, for any breed of dog, not just a Cocker.
Where would he stay while you are gone, if he is young and still not trained having the run of the house would be a problem.

we both worked, I worked 10 hr shifts so I too was gone long hours. My husband was able to pop in and potty ours unless he had to go out of town, it has never been an issue, we have two Cockers.

With the a dog walker coming in once the pup was trained and trustworthy I don't see why it would be a problem.

He is cute
 
Depends on the age etc. I don't think cockers are any different than any other breed. Yes depends on the dog. But being a Merle. There could be many health problems associated with them. Do your research don't go on this blindly.


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12 hours plus is a long time to leave any dog alone regularly. That being said, it can be done. It just means that when you're home, your dogs need your attention. You can get dogs to be buddies for each other, but they need human companionship too.

My dogs are home 9.5 hours every day. I have to work and I can't get home for lunch. They survive and are happy, healthy dogs. That being said, my spare time pretty much belongs to my dogs. I do classes, training, walks and play. I don't do a ton of social stuff, as I feel it's only fair to be with my dogs as much as I can.

With a midday break pottying is taken care of - just make sure the mental and social aspect are taken care of too.
 
few things come to mind- 1. welcome to MCS ;) In your situation, I'd recommend an older dog. An adult who's bladder will be large enough to wait 6h. A puppy cant wait that long. Plus they need so much by way of socialization/training etc that its going to be hard to squeeze into the remaining 12h of your day.

Also, be aware that a puppy mill dog often comes with its own set of issues. Potential health issues, temperment issues and lack of socialization. The worst dog I ever had to housebreak was a mill dog b/c he'd never learned to even be clean in his crate. (the usual starting reference point for dogs being house trained).

And finally be sure to investigate this "rescue" group well. It is not unheard of for a mill/commercial breeder to brand themselves a 'rescue' group to play on people's sympathies. By definition, a puppy mill sells its puppies. Rescues usually get the dogs no longer suitable for breeding for whatever reason. That puppy looks pretty young. Some rescue groups will purchase dogs from a mill and in such case could get a puppy I suppose.... you'll have to decide for yourself whether that scenario would be morally acceptable to you.
 
Cockers4Ever said:
few things come to mind- 1. welcome to MCS ;) In your situation, I'd recommend an older dog. An adult who's bladder will be large enough to wait 6h. A puppy cant wait that long. Plus they need so much by way of socialization/training etc that its going to be hard to squeeze into the remaining 12h of your day.

Also, be aware that a puppy mill dog often comes with its own set of issues. Potential health issues, temperment issues and lack of socialization. The worst dog I ever had to housebreak was a mill dog b/c he'd never learned to even be clean in his crate. (the usual starting reference point for dogs being house trained).

And finally be sure to investigate this "rescue" group well. It is not unheard of for a mill/commercial breeder to brand themselves a 'rescue' group to play on people's sympathies. By definition, a puppy mill sells its puppies. Rescues usually get the dogs no longer suitable for breeding for whatever reason. That puppy looks pretty young. Some rescue groups will purchase dogs from a mill and in such case could get a puppy I suppose.... you'll have to decide for yourself whether that scenario would be morally acceptable to you.
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All very valid points. The rescue org does have all sorts of dogs and they do seem legit based on looking around that I did, but it is a puppy (currently 9 weeks old) and we know that with the amount of time we are gone we would probably have to section off a room and use puppy pads to start off then transition to training to dog to go outside. I am mostly worried about raising a neurotic little dog because he didn't get enough attention during the day when we are at work.
 
Lots of people work, have great dogs, and started with them as puppies. Your other dog will be home with the puppy during the day and you have a dog walker coming in to give it some attention. I think as long as you give the puppy the puppy love and attention during the time you are home, the puppy will be fine.
 
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