Well, I have a Golden Retriver. His name is Rusty! Him and I are like two peas in a pod. When you get a conpanion, you have to look at it like taking one of your friends in, not as a job. The way you list the chores makes it sound like you are taking on a second job. If you look at it that way, of course you are going to think it is a PITA to take care of. But if you go into it as, "I'm getting a new friend!" Then you can incorporate your new friend into your life. I'm not saying it is easy, but it becomes second nature in a few weeks.

So to give you an example, here is my daily routine.

5am: Wake up, brush teeth, wash face. Rusty is waiting for me by my door, we walk down stairs and I let him out. I get a cup of coffee, go out on the deck and watch him run around the yard. He gets in, I give him a treat, I go to the living room, I lay on the couch and turn on the news. Rusty goes back to his bed and lays beside me.

6am: Take my shower, do my routine and get dressed for work. I go back downstairs and feed Rusty breakfast while I make my own. After I eat, watch some more news, drink another cup of coffee and have a smoke.

6:45am: I let Rusty out one more time and I am out the door for work.

2pm: I have a sitter come to my home and let Rusty out again. She only stays for about 30 mins to let him out, refresh his water and she is out the door.

6pm or 7pm: I am home and I let Rusty out again. I start making dinner for me and my girlfriend. At around 7 7:30, I feed Rusty and we both eat at the same time.

8pm: He goes back outside and we toss the ball for 30 mins to an hour. He comes back in and we all chill in the living room.

10pm: Let him out for the last time, get him on his bed, give him 3 treats and I go up to bed.

SO if I had to put a time on it. I spend 30 mins total of my time with Rusty (Caretaking wise) This is also a weekday schedule. Weekends are pretty much the same except he is out alot more playing and stuff. Over the weekend, I say I spend about 4 hours with him, i.e taking him for walks, playing in the backyard, him watching me mow the lawn.

So the best advise I can give you, think of it as a new friend and not just an god or animal. In my mind atleast, when I have discussions with people about pets, I always calls Rusty my friend because he is. Now I'm not saying Rusty goes with my everywhere, or sleeps in bed with us, or I feed him at the table. Rusty has his own space and his place. Just to me, an animal or a dog or just a cat, or whatever means its wild or no one cares for them. A friend is someone who is there for you, makes you happy, doesn't matter how mad you get at them, both of you always know you guys are there for each other.

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2011 E70 50i M Sport

Dogs are a good bit of work and an investment of time and attention for a (dog's) lifetime. It can be a pain and sometimes you just want to sleep in or stay out late but your companion is dependent on you. The rewards can be great so it's worth it. Think about an angles thoroughly though and it seems like you have since you have had a trial run of sorts.

I also think that you and the CEO need to decide what you want out of the dog and how that dog would fit into your lifestyle. For example, do you travel a lot? Do you have a large home? Do you have a big yard? Do you have kids? Do you want a dog you can run/bike/hike with? There are many questions to ask and answer in deciding what kind of dog you want. I think applies mostly to pure breeds but also to pound puppies. Here is a guide from AKC. I'm not a huge fan of AKC but there is good info to get you thinking. There are many other "dog breed tests" to help you decide what breed is right for you. http://animal.discovery.com/breedsel...lectorindex.do

We have a male Rottweiler and just love him to death. He's a handful sometimes but he's a competition/protection dog from working lines so we knew we'd be getting a dog that takes a little more work. Having said that, he gets a 20-30 minute walk/jog every morning, then some time in the pool and yard, mostly on his own. He gets his breakfast and he's pretty much just hanging out until we leave the house. He is crate trained which is an absolute blessing for us. There is nothing wrong with crate training a dog so long as that dog gets sufficient time out, exercise, and attention. (More info on crate training.)

Our boy gets out when we get home and he gets play time in the yard with some ball fetching, running around, and some more pool time. In the evenings he's hanging out with us or in the yard. He'll want some attention so we give him chew toys or play games with him like tug. It's usually pretty easy to do. All in all, it's not a huge burden on us. Yes, some mornings are too early and sometimes we have to rush home from being out to take care of him. It's still worth it though.

Most dogs need activities, stimulation, and socialization. A bored dog can be a frustrated and destructive dog. They become part of our families and like children but they are still dogs so they all need obedience training and need to understand their place in the home. Our dog NEVER gets on furniture because he knows he's not allowed. He doesn't eat until we say so, even with his bowl full of food right under his nose. That's just some of the ways we remind him he's the dog, not a human. It's tough but it's for the best.

So much more to consider but start with some breed/type of dog research.

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Based on all of the walking, I am assuming you do not have a yard??

I have a 6 yr old Weimaraner (also have a 14 yr old one, but she doesn't get around much anymore) - I also have 2 acres with 1 acre of underground fence. She gets plenty of exercise with little input from us. When she needs to potty, we let her out the door and she comes back when she wants to. She has only run thru the fence a few times, but she let us know by barking because she could not get back inside the fence.

Sounds like you need a cat-dog!!

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2001 X5 3.0i (PP/WP/AP) Traded at 213K miles
RARE White on Black - Why does everyone get Tan??
First E53 with 215s on XOutpost!!

..and don't forget to go to your local dog shelter if/when it's time

I'm an avid believer in adopting animals. I always say Don't Breed or Buy while shelter animals die

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The Present:
2014 Audi Q5 TDI Prestige
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2013 Lexus GS350
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2007 BMW X5 4.8i LOADED & Loved
2009 VW Jetta
2008 VW Touareg VR6
2005 BMW X5 3.0i
2005 BMW Z4 3.0i
2004 BMW X5 3.0i
2003 BMW 325i
2000 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 4x4

Sounds horrific.

I am of the opinion that unless you are around all day, generally- say 4,5 days a week, you should not own social animals. Dogs, horses.

People underestimate the intelligence of dogs, but with attention they achieve the intellectual capacity of a 4 to 8 year old, IMO.

If ignored and allowed to simply stagnate they will not do well, let alone become destructive.

It can be rather sad.

I'll share.

Myself and my partner for some time wanted a dog, we live very busy lifestyles and for about a year just dismissed the idea all-together!

Until late 2010 this is...

Approach:
So our approach to this was very much factual versus emotional.. its far too easy to impulse buy that puppy dog in the window that wins your heart there and then but have no plans for how you will care for it during its entire lifespan, we realised the fact of the matter is we didn't have the time or space for a bigger dog so if we were to take the plunge it'd have to be a very small dog... after narrowing it down we decided we wanted to get a Pomeranian... we liked them after all!

Plan:
How would we take care of it day in day out? Did we have time for it? Well the next thing we done is sat down together and laid out all of the dogs requirements and any concerns we had and put it all on paper pros and cons basically, we needed to ensure we could fulfil all the requirements for it and of course anything that we thought may be an issue had to be addressed! ie: "what to do with the pup whilst at work"

Decision:
Well that process took a couple of nights as well as a fair amount of research and we decided that it was the right decision and that we had indeed made the right decision as to what breed we we're after.

Choosing your Pup:
We managed to find a lady not too far away who had the pup we were after and we took a drive out there to check out the pup and his parents, he was born and raised in a nice clean family environment and the parents appeared healthy and to have very nice temperament. We chose him and picked him up a week later! I do agree with others though if you can rescue a dog and give it a chance at the life it deserves then by all means do it! your doing a good thing! I will note a lot of people are out there breeding dogs purely to make a quick buck, this is taking advantage of an animal and wrong on so many levels! I think personally think these people should be shot.. I've come across a few questionable characters in my travels... some dog breeders are no better too so be careful.

Sorry if that sounds too factual and that its like making a large purchase or business decision but fact is if you can't fulfil the dogs requirements then it's best you don't have one.


8 months on we couldn't imagine life without our little dude, the first few months are a little tough but if you put in the hard yards early you will be rewarded in the longer term! A dog is a life enhancing experience in my opinion.



hope this helps.

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2006 E53 Kalahari Beige, X5 3.0d Sport [sold] | MY13 Audi A1 Ambition | 2004 911 GT3| W124 Estate

We have a backyard but it's full of compost...tomatoes, etc, and AFAIK, that stuff is not good for the dog, so we did not let him in the back.

I share similar outlooks with ARD, and if I was to take a member in, I did not want it to become something I just walked and fed in the mornings and nights. It should have someone there in it's life to play, etc.....and at the end of the day, after much hemming and hawing, that is just not something we can give it at this time.

That's the right decision if you feel it is. It's really a decision only you can make based on your lifestyle and level of commitment. Having said that, I would encourage you to keep thinking about it, keeping your mind open to different breeds or different dogs that might cross your path and tug on your heartstrings. Dogs can be so rewarding and enrich life. Ours can be a little bastard once in a while but he's part of our lives and we enjoy doing things with him and traveling with him. Life is better with him around.

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