What do dogs do all day?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Trying to see how a dog would fit into our family (mom, dad, 2 teens). Do dogs sleep a lot? Or play by themselves? There’s an adult home everyday except Wednesday when both adults are at work so maybe we need a dog sitter for that one day. Do you take your dog when you run errands or leave them to roam around the house for a few hours?

Why are you getting a dog? It really depends on the age of the dog and the breed. Yes, they do sleep a lot but, dogs are expensive and they need food, training, exercise and mental stimulation. Plus vet bills are very expensive! Most dogs would rather stay at home than go to Target with you. Did your 2 year old enjoy errands? Probably not!

So, if you are just getting a dog because you want it to sleep all day than maybe get a plushie? Dogs are living beings with needs of their own!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on the dog — partially breed dependent but also personality. My brothers German shepherd is in movement almost all day. I have a neighbor whose golden retriever er spends the day trying to hold their hand or watching out the window for neighbors. Here is my golden’s typical day:

7 am walk
8-9 am, squirrel monitoring and maintenance
9-10:30 am — morning nap.
10:30-11–watch food container
11 — lunch
12 — afternoon walk
12:30-2:30 afternoon nap
2:30-3 watch food container
3 — afternoon snack
3-5–afternoon snack perhaps punctuated by squirrel maintenance or will play soccer outside if anyone will play with him
5–short walk, followed by monitoring of food container and humans preparing dinner
7 — dinner, followed by additional monitoring of human food consumption
9–short night walk, followed by 15 minutes of tug or throwing chew toy h in air and demands for butt scratches
Bedtime.

Lol. I understand squirrel monitoring but can you explain squirrel maintenance?

[Anonymous]

My dogs -- a toy poodle and a 30lb mutt -- keep this schedule:

6am-ish -- wake up humans to demand out-for-potty and breakfast by jumping on them and licking their hands
6:05 -- out for potty
6:10 -- breakfast
6:15 -- climb back in bed and sleep some more
7:30 -- 15 min walk for more potty and some sniffs
7:45 to 10 -- doze on couch
10 to 12 -- doze on bed
12 -- out for walk with dog walker
12:30 to 5-ish doze in various places, with occasional wake-ups to bark like mad if a delivery truck shows up anywhere nearby
5 -- demand dinner
5:05 -- out for potty
5:10 -- dinner
5:15 to 6ish -- stare out window and watch animal (bird, deer, squirrel, etc) and neighbor goings on
6 -- 45 min walk around neighborhood
6:45 to 10:30 -- doze on bed or couch or floor
10:30 -- out for potty, and one dog gets an antacid pill in a treat
10:40 to 6 am -- one dog sleeps in bed, and one dog sleeps in dog bed and joins other dog in human bed at 6 to wake up humans...

rinse, repeat

If you have a puppy, all bets are off. If you have a working dog breed dog, all bets are off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once their through the puppy phase they sleep a lot. If you don't want it home alone on Wednesdays you could look into dog daycare.

The dog we have now hates the car so he stays home when I do errands. Our previous two liked to come with me as long as the weather was suitable for them to wait in the car. Otherwise they stayed home.

It’s rare that weather is suitable for dogs to be left in cars!

My friend lives in Minneapolis and takes her dogs on errands a lot. It’s rarely too hot and they have fur coats when it is cold.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get a low energy breed, it makes things a lot easier.

This. Don’t get a Lab. She’s two and still needs someone to watch her or she can find things to occupy herself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a low energy breed, it makes things a lot easier.

This. Don’t get a Lab. She’s two and still needs someone to watch her or she can find things to occupy herself.

Yeah, it always amazes me how popular labs are. They are sweet and happy, but can be higher-than-average maintenance for sure given their energy, need for attention and exercise, and propensity to get into stuff and chew stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trying to see how a dog would fit into our family (mom, dad, 2 teens). Do dogs sleep a lot? Or play by themselves? There’s an adult home everyday except Wednesday when both adults are at work so maybe we need a dog sitter for that one day. Do you take your dog when you run errands or leave them to roam around the house for a few hours?

Why are you getting a dog? It really depends on the age of the dog and the breed. Yes, they do sleep a lot but, dogs are expensive and they need food, training, exercise and mental stimulation. Plus vet bills are very expensive! Most dogs would rather stay at home than go to Target with you. Did your 2 year old enjoy errands? Probably not!

So, if you are just getting a dog because you want it to sleep all day than maybe get a plushie? Dogs are living beings with needs of their own!

Op here. I will an empty nester soon and was hoping having a companion who would ease the transition. I’d love to go on walks and maybe hikes with a dog. But also want to make sure the dog would be ok at home for a few hours when I’m at dinner or the gym.

[Anonymous]

Don't be the ahole that takes their dog doing errands. Come on, OP. Leave your pets at home for pete's sake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trying to see how a dog would fit into our family (mom, dad, 2 teens). Do dogs sleep a lot? Or play by themselves? There’s an adult home everyday except Wednesday when both adults are at work so maybe we need a dog sitter for that one day. Do you take your dog when you run errands or leave them to roam around the house for a few hours?

Why are you getting a dog? It really depends on the age of the dog and the breed. Yes, they do sleep a lot but, dogs are expensive and they need food, training, exercise and mental stimulation. Plus vet bills are very expensive! Most dogs would rather stay at home than go to Target with you. Did your 2 year old enjoy errands? Probably not!

So, if you are just getting a dog because you want it to sleep all day than maybe get a plushie? Dogs are living beings with needs of their own!

Op here. I will an empty nester soon and was hoping having a companion who would ease the transition. I’d love to go on walks and maybe hikes with a dog. But also want to make sure the dog would be ok at home for a few hours when I’m at dinner or the gym.

Sounds like you need a job, or maybe to volunteer with dogs. You don't have a lot of experience - do not get a dog, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a low energy breed, it makes things a lot easier.

This. Don’t get a Lab. She’s two and still needs someone to watch her or she can find things to occupy herself.

Yeah, it always amazes me how popular labs are. They are sweet and happy, but can be higher-than-average maintenance for sure given their energy, need for attention and exercise, and propensity to get into stuff and chew stuff.

They are the best dogs but not until age 2-3 and after. Before that, they are pretty nuts and can be destructive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trying to see how a dog would fit into our family (mom, dad, 2 teens). Do dogs sleep a lot? Or play by themselves? There’s an adult home everyday except Wednesday when both adults are at work so maybe we need a dog sitter for that one day. Do you take your dog when you run errands or leave them to roam around the house for a few hours?

Why are you getting a dog? It really depends on the age of the dog and the breed. Yes, they do sleep a lot but, dogs are expensive and they need food, training, exercise and mental stimulation. Plus vet bills are very expensive! Most dogs would rather stay at home than go to Target with you. Did your 2 year old enjoy errands? Probably not!

So, if you are just getting a dog because you want it to sleep all day than maybe get a plushie? Dogs are living beings with needs of their own!

Op here. I will an empty nester soon and was hoping having a companion who would ease the transition. I’d love to go on walks and maybe hikes with a dog. But also want to make sure the dog would be ok at home for a few hours when I’m at dinner or the gym.

Totally ok! Never understand when people say having a dog is like having a baby. No, not at all. Even during the puppy stage, which is challenging, you can put them in the crate as needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trying to see how a dog would fit into our family (mom, dad, 2 teens). Do dogs sleep a lot? Or play by themselves? There’s an adult home everyday except Wednesday when both adults are at work so maybe we need a dog sitter for that one day. Do you take your dog when you run errands or leave them to roam around the house for a few hours?

Why are you getting a dog? It really depends on the age of the dog and the breed. Yes, they do sleep a lot but, dogs are expensive and they need food, training, exercise and mental stimulation. Plus vet bills are very expensive! Most dogs would rather stay at home than go to Target with you. Did your 2 year old enjoy errands? Probably not!

So, if you are just getting a dog because you want it to sleep all day than maybe get a plushie? Dogs are living beings with needs of their own!

Op here. I will an empty nester soon and was hoping having a companion who would ease the transition. I’d love to go on walks and maybe hikes with a dog. But also want to make sure the dog would be ok at home for a few hours when I’m at dinner or the gym.

Totally ok! Never understand when people say having a dog is like having a baby. No, not at all. Even during the puppy stage, which is challenging, you can put them in the crate as needed.

Same as a baby in a crib. It is a safe place to put them. That was the only way I got to take showers as a single mother. I put my DS in his crib.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once their through the puppy phase they sleep a lot. If you don't want it home alone on Wednesdays you could look into dog daycare.

The dog we have now hates the car so he stays home when I do errands. Our previous two liked to come with me as long as the weather was suitable for them to wait in the car. Otherwise they stayed home.

It’s rare that weather is suitable for dogs to be left in cars!

My friend lives in Minneapolis and takes her dogs on errands a lot. It’s rarely too hot and they have fur coats when it is cold.

This is DCUM

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Take dogs to run errands? Where are these dogs at, in the shopping carts?!?

Op here. I live in the PNW where the weather is mild. I see people leave dogs in the car while they shop. Plus my car (Tesla) has a dog mode to keep the climate controlled.

Sounds boring for the dog. Why take them anywhere if you just leave them in the car?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trying to see how a dog would fit into our family (mom, dad, 2 teens). Do dogs sleep a lot? Or play by themselves? There’s an adult home everyday except Wednesday when both adults are at work so maybe we need a dog sitter for that one day. Do you take your dog when you run errands or leave them to roam around the house for a few hours?

Why are you getting a dog? It really depends on the age of the dog and the breed. Yes, they do sleep a lot but, dogs are expensive and they need food, training, exercise and mental stimulation. Plus vet bills are very expensive! Most dogs would rather stay at home than go to Target with you. Did your 2 year old enjoy errands? Probably not!

So, if you are just getting a dog because you want it to sleep all day than maybe get a plushie? Dogs are living beings with needs of their own!

Op here. I will an empty nester soon and was hoping having a companion who would ease the transition. I’d love to go on walks and maybe hikes with a dog. But also want to make sure the dog would be ok at home for a few hours when I’m at dinner or the gym.

Totally ok! Never understand when people say having a dog is like having a baby. No, not at all. Even during the puppy stage, which is challenging, you can put them in the crate as needed.

Well then you lack imagination. Taking care of a puppy is taking care of another living being.