Dog Owners. Anyone here own a dog and work long shifts?

[FELINEGUITARS]

As far as leaving dogs goes - I agree with the advice that others have said.
But there may be maybe elderly dog owners who can't get out enough that you could help out when not working .

Rescued pets can indeed have some issues but way better to give them a good shot at a life.
Worst of all are pets from puppy or kitten farms - they always seem to be mental.
Pedigree pets also often are metal from inbreeding. (EDIT: Oops - I meant mental)

I always wanted a cat but didn't really want the responsibility and was happy to fuss over neighbour's cats  (who always recognise a mug who will fed them treats).
However my cat Tigger turned up as a stray who was living rough and fighting all the local cats when competing for their food.
It didn't take long before he just didn't leave anymore and lived permanently in my garden till I let him stay in the house when I was there.
Over the years that he's been here he's become very settled although he hates me playing guitar.
Some of you may have met him at the workshop.

Oddly enough his physique has changed a lot since he no longer lives rough and fights for food (and we had him neutered too)

Before , when we met him he was called "fatneck" or "Whingey Meow-stink" (Yngwie Malmsteen) both due to looking like Mike Tyson and having a whiney meow and being a smelly stray


Now he's slim and no longer smells.....APART FROM FARTING

[gwEm]

Were you already called Feline Guitars before Tigger moved in?

Perhaps he saw a flyer of yours and wanted to meet the girl on your adverts..


(Reminds me a bit of the "Street Cat Named Bob" story)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17467244

[zf]

I have a 9-year-old lab that I love to bits. On work days, he's always home alone for at least 9 hours (8-hour work day plus commute.) If I have band practice, this might be 12 hours easily. He has no problems with it whatsoever (doesn't break things, doesn't pee inside etc.) If I go to the bar on weekends and get home late and sleep until the afternoon, he _might_ start waking me up at 2pm but usually just sleeps happily until I wake up.

I guess they key is that when he was small, we were around him 24/7 for the first couple of weeks. After a week or so, he never had any "accidents" inside. Also, we were students + working part-time at that point, so he got used to a really irregular schedule: going to sleep early, waking up late, or the other way around. Some dogs are like alarm clocks, mine is most definitely not.

But every dog is different, of course.

[FELINEGUITARS]

Were you already called Feline Guitars before Tigger moved in?

Perhaps he saw a flyer of yours and wanted to meet the girl on your adverts..


(Reminds me a bit of the "Street Cat Named Bob" story)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17467244

Yes - Feline name was coined in 1988, and Tigger only appeared in last 4 years

[Alex]

Dogs don't take very well to being left alone, not even if the quiet ones and if it's only for a few hours. It's just not in their psychology, as a vet once explained to me.

The only "trick" would be to have at least two dogs (so they give each other company) and have them in a garden shed/garden. Of course that could lead to a whole lot of other problems. :-)

[Frank]

he hates me playing guitar

My parrot usually shuts up just long enough for me to get halfway into recording a guitar track then unleashes a terrific screaming fit. Still, fun to try the Blackmore/Gillan "strange kind of woman" question/answer riffs on him.

[puma_21]

2 whippets and I do 12 hour shifts. Sometimes I hate my life. Get a lot of friends who can "swing by" or just get an aquarium :lol: