Leaving Corgis at home during the day
Hi all,
I wanted to bring up a subject near and dear to my heart. Back in the mid-1990s, I had a beautiful Samoyed dog, who was going to be champion, no doubt! I was alone at the time, no one else in the house. Echo had to be by himself 14-15 hours a day on the days I worked, rotating shift. I hired a pet sitter and my mom came to look after him in the middle of the day to break it up, but that was really nothing of value, and not for very long. I decided that I would never EVER do that to a dog again. I found a new home for him after a year. It broke my heart to part with him, but it was the only thing that was fair to him.
I've been in a unique situation for the last few years. My Corgi Zeppelin was able to be around me almost all the time. When he was a puppy, my wife's mom was ill and living with us, and her caregiver was here 24 hours a day, and able to give attention to Zeppelin, too. After my wife's mom passed, I quit my full time job 2 years ago, and I've been working with my wife in her business since then, being able to stay home almost every day. In addition, we have 2 Maltese dogs that are here, and are good playmates for Zeppelin.
With the economy being as it is, I need to go back to a full time job, away frorm the house. Which means, Zeppie and the Maltese's will be alone most days from daybreak to 5pm-6pm-ish. They do have each other of course, and there is a chance that my wife may be in and out of the house now and then, a housekeeper comes in once a week for a few hours. I'm just worried about my doggie being alone so much. Am I foolish for being worried? I know most dogs don't have the 'luxury' of having their owners with them all the time, but since my first experience, I am am heartbroken about not being able to stay with him. Please reassure me that Zeppelin is going to be okay.
I wanted to bring up a subject near and dear to my heart. Back in the mid-1990s, I had a beautiful Samoyed dog, who was going to be champion, no doubt! I was alone at the time, no one else in the house. Echo had to be by himself 14-15 hours a day on the days I worked, rotating shift. I hired a pet sitter and my mom came to look after him in the middle of the day to break it up, but that was really nothing of value, and not for very long. I decided that I would never EVER do that to a dog again. I found a new home for him after a year. It broke my heart to part with him, but it was the only thing that was fair to him.
I've been in a unique situation for the last few years. My Corgi Zeppelin was able to be around me almost all the time. When he was a puppy, my wife's mom was ill and living with us, and her caregiver was here 24 hours a day, and able to give attention to Zeppelin, too. After my wife's mom passed, I quit my full time job 2 years ago, and I've been working with my wife in her business since then, being able to stay home almost every day. In addition, we have 2 Maltese dogs that are here, and are good playmates for Zeppelin.
With the economy being as it is, I need to go back to a full time job, away frorm the house. Which means, Zeppie and the Maltese's will be alone most days from daybreak to 5pm-6pm-ish. They do have each other of course, and there is a chance that my wife may be in and out of the house now and then, a housekeeper comes in once a week for a few hours. I'm just worried about my doggie being alone so much. Am I foolish for being worried? I know most dogs don't have the 'luxury' of having their owners with them all the time, but since my first experience, I am am heartbroken about not being able to stay with him. Please reassure me that Zeppelin is going to be okay.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by DR, Nala & Simon on
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Yes they all are going to be ok. I also work long hours and I wish to stay with my babies. I don't earn enough for a pet sitter. My family is far. What I do is take extra time for them, take them out to potty, and do a long walk with them. This will make them sleepy. I leave food (not much) and water, toys, and blankets for each. I enclose the kitchen, just in case of an accident (they both are house trained). And I leave the computer on web radio with music (New Age for relaxation). They usually play a little and then go to sleep. I know they are ok, but I never stop worrying.
I have to think that if I don't go to work, I can't support the rawhide supplement, the tennis balls, the little baked treats, the "not so cheap" veterinary visits, etc. But you bet I spend every single minute of my time off with them. They deserve it!!!
Don't worry, you are not alone. Zepellin knows you love him.
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Permalink Reply by Geri & Sidney on
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He'll be fine!
When I was laid off, I as home with the dogs and they slept 90% of the time. Then I got this great job where we have three office dogs (none of them mine though), and even though those pups spend all day with their owners, they also sleep at least 90% of the time!
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Permalink Reply by Chantel & Princess Bella on
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My corgi and beagle are home on their own (and outside) from 8am to 5pm everyday. They are completely ok with it...you don't need to worry so much. They will keep each other company and that's great.
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Permalink Reply by mosesbotbol on
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You'll have to give them more exercise before and after work, but they should adapt...
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Permalink Reply by Liezl De Beer on
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I agree with everybody comments. I was in the lucky position to take my Corgi to work for the first 9 months I had her and that sorted out my problem of what to do with her during the day. But then I started a new job and this time I had to leave her at home. I agonised over it for weeks and very nearly didn't take the new job because I just thought it would be to upsetting for her to have such a radical change to her routine. But I actually had no choice and she was absolutely fine! The first few days she was puzzled as to why she couldn't get into the car with me in the mornings but within a week she didn't even ask to go anymore.
However, I underestimated this new job and it turned out that I was away from 06h00 in the mornings and only came home anything between 20h00 and 23h00. Within days I could tell that the lack of routine was confusing her and she didn't cope well with being on her own for that long. Besides, then we couldn't go for walks and she struggled with that as well. So I changed jobs again (I'm freelance so it isn't as bad as it sounds!) and I now work very regular hours. I'm away from 07h30 to 17h30 and this regular routine works very well for her because she can tell when I'm coming home and it shapes her day. I make a point of going for regular walks with her and I also take her on regular outings so that her world isn't just limited to my yard. That makes a big difference.
And trust me, they do sleep most of the day anyway! When she came to work with me, she slept most of the time and saved her energies for when we came home at night. Now that she's at home alone, she does exactly the same thing. I don't make a big fuss of leaving in the morning, I simply tell her to go outside and I get into my car. So she doesn't suffer from any seperation anxiety and her behaviour is absolutely normal, no excessive digging or destruction to my garden and the neighbours reports that they don't even know she's there because she doesn't bark or act like a frustrated dog at all.
Turns out that leaving her at home was more stressful for me than for her! The big trick is to ensure that she is stimulated in other ways - regular walks and outings does it for us.
Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Ju Lo on
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I put my Theo is doggy daycare in part because I felt bad about leaving him home alone all day. But if I had a second dog, I probably would have them both home alone. They really do sleep most of the time, and if they get bored, they always have each other! It sounds like you're in an ok situation. It's so nice that you're concerned!
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Permalink Reply by Curt, Griffin and Violet on
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Thanks to all of you who have had encouraging words. I'm sure a lot of non-dog people would look at my concern and think I'm crazy, as he is 'only' a dog. But he isn't. He is my best friend.
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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on
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Try to corgi-proof the house, just as you would child-proof it. No accessible food or food garbage, like that. We once came home to find a panicked corgi with her head stuck in a potato chip bag that she'd fished out of a wastebasket -- this was before we'd learned to cut the corners off of food bags, but it was a stiff bag and did not suffocate her.
We used to crate the dogs in our absence, but recently we've left them uncrated after some neighborhood burglaries (they do not bark for visitors/intruders while crated) and there have been no problems.
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Permalink Reply by Liz Thompson on
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Hi Curt,
I bring my corgi to work about 3x a week, he sleeps most of the time. Your dogs will be fine. I also owned 2 cockers (for 14 yrs!) who were home all day alone, and confined to a pretty small area as they were never 100% housebroken. They had each other and did fine as long as they were walked when I got home. I always made sure to spend time with them when I got home. Liz
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Permalink Reply by Parker on
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I'm pretty lucky to have a fairly short work day because I work at home a lot in the afternoons ( I work from 8:30 to 3pm). But on the days I do just do paper work from home all day, Grover sleeps most of the day. So don't worry! You'll give them specail love when you do get home! They'll be fine!
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Hi Parker,
Thank you for the vote of confidence that he'll be okay. Not that I'm slighting anyone else's Corgi here, but I haven't looked at most of your home pages, but I did happen to look at yours, and Grover is adorable! I'm sure he is as sweet as he looks!!
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