Is this fair?

Zhucca

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#1
I need some advice because I feel like I'm going to be neglecting my dog, but I might be being silly.

So I'm switching to night shift, this week. Schedule change is hard for anyone, even without the responsibility of pets. (or children, but I'm 21 and don't have any of those yet!) So my hours are going to be 6:30pm to 2:30pm. To stay up when I come home would be silly, because I'm not going to go for a walk around my neighborhood around 3am, maybe if I had a Caucasian Ovcharka. So, I think the best idea would to go straight to bed (letting Duke outside first, of course) and wake up around 10:30-11ish. That way, I can take him for a long walk and then I'll be off to the gym. I'm worried though since that's a lot of downtime, 9hrs when I'm at work, then another 8hrs while I'm sleeping. I guess what does go in my favour is that Duke is easy going, and doesn't have high energy demands. but Is that too much?

This is going to hard for him because he's hardly been left alone for the past 2yrs or so - he goes to "work" every day with my friend Dean. Hangs out with people and Boomer all day. Before that, he came to the daycare every day with me. He does have separation anxiety, but it's gotten better. I could ask my new roommate to let him out while he home. He does know Duke (he works for Dean), but he's not much of a dog guy.


This is probably a silly inquiry 'cause lots of people work the same hours, if not more, with dogs... but I'm worried. Humor me if you can :eek: thanks in advance.

A picture just because:

(looks like dandruff on him, but it's snow lol)
 

meepitsmeagan

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#2
I think just like people, the dogs adjust to whatever schedule they are put on. The first few months may be a little difficult, but I don't think it will be impossible at all. Maybe get a treadmill or something, then when you get home from work, you can maybe watch TV for an hour or so and have him on the treadmill, then you can both go take a nap?

Also, things like Kongs and other food toys could help, as well.
 

JessLough

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#3
The last 4 or 5 years I've been doing a similar shift (the ending time is flexible.. from midnight to 4am by the time I get home).

Honestly? She was fine. Though, we did do a walk after I got home from work, because she was high energy and needed it to not drive me nuts. She also wasn't crated, which, IMO, makes a big difference. I don't know that I'd feel comfortable, personally, with leaving a dog crated for that long with just a quick bathroom break. But I know many people make it work.
 
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#4
I worked nights for years with my dogs, and one kid fwiw, and we found it worked well. Gage just got to sleep, a lot, lol. He would sleep with me all day, I worked from 10pm-8am, then we would be up and we would walk and hang out with hubby, then when I left for work hubby and gage would climb into bed again...I'm sure gage loved it. Now that it work days gage sleeps all day alone so he didn't sleep any more while I was on nights.
 

Zhucca

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#5
I think just like people, the dogs adjust to whatever schedule they are put on. The first few months may be a little difficult, but I don't think it will be impossible at all. Maybe get a treadmill or something, then when you get home from work, you can maybe watch TV for an hour or so and have him on the treadmill, then you can both go take a nap?

Also, things like Kongs and other food toys could help, as well.
A treadmill is a interesting idea, but I don't think I could justify the cost. I think maybe play around the the yard would be better. I wish I could give him food toys, we're battling some hardcore allergies and he's only allowed his raw food: bison, elk, and llama tripe right now. Thanks so much for the suggestions. I will have to look into a treadmill...


The last 4 or 5 years I've been doing a similar shift (the ending time is flexible.. from midnight to 4am by the time I get home).

Honestly? She was fine. Though, we did do a walk after I got home from work, because she was high energy and needed it to not drive me nuts. She also wasn't crated, which, IMO, makes a big difference. I don't know that I'd feel comfortable, personally, with leaving a dog crated for that long with just a quick bathroom break. But I know many people make it work.
Glad to hear that someone else had a similar situation. Duke won't be crated, he'll be in my room. When he proves to be okay in my room I'll let him out in the house. Last time I left him out in the house he ripped open a bag of flour and scattered it all over himself and the house. But that was awhile ago.. lol.


I worked nights for years with my dogs, and one kid fwiw, and we found it worked well. Gage just got to sleep, a lot, lol. He would sleep with me all day, I worked from 10pm-8am, then we would be up and we would walk and hang out with hubby, then when I left for work hubby and gage would climb into bed again...I'm sure gage loved it. Now that it work days gage sleeps all day alone so he didn't sleep any more while I was on nights.
Yeah Duke will spend awhile sleeping too. I guess this would be the benefit of a spouse, haha. Shared responsibility! I'm glad your dog was happy with the situation and I hope Duke will be okay as well.
 

JessLough

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#6
A treadmill is a interesting idea, but I don't think I could justify the cost. I think maybe play around the the yard would be better. I wish I could give him food toys, we're battling some hardcore allergies and he's only allowed his raw food: bison, elk, and llama tripe right now. Thanks so much for the suggestions. I will have to look into a treadmill...




Glad to hear that someone else had a similar situation. Duke won't be crated, he'll be in my room. When he proves to be okay in my room I'll let him out in the house. Last time I left him out in the house he ripped open a bag of flour and scattered it all over himself and the house. But that was awhile ago.. lol.




Yeah Duke will spend awhile sleeping too. I guess this would be the benefit of a spouse, haha. Shared responsibility! I'm glad your dog was happy with the situation and I hope Duke will be okay as well.
Oh, if he's just in your room, I'd say there's not a problem :) he can get up and walk around and stretch then.
 

Taqroy

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#7
I think just like people, the dogs adjust to whatever schedule they are put on.
This. I would just make sure that he gets some love/play/whatever makes him happy between you getting home from work and you passing out. If he's not super high energy I wouldn't worry too much - it may take awhile for him to get used to the routine though.
 

Grab

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#8
I used to work third shift and all three dogs did perfectly fine, even living in an apartment at the time
 

MericoX

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#9
I used to work the 6pm to 6am shift years and years ago. I always made sure we had a nice play session before leaving and once I got home and then crashed. They seemed fine. If you look at it, it's just the opposite of sleeping 8 hours and then being at work 8 hours.
 

Grab

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#10
I'll point out that I really liked third shift. I think I was able to do a ton more things than I can working my current hours
 

joce

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#11
You may find you want to walk when you get off. I am up for hours and the wind down time is needed. I can never go straight to bed.
 

adojrts

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#12
I have worked an evening/night shift different times in my life and not once did I ever come home and go right to bed.

There are a lot of things you can do at that time without having to go and walk him. :)
 
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#13
I don't think it's "fair" or "unfair" - it just is what it is. I don't see it as any different than someone who has a "normal" schedule -- sleeps all night and then goes to work at 8 or 9 am. No matter what someone's schedule is, their sleeping time is almost certainly going to butt up against the time they're not home.
 

Michiyo-Fir

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#14
I don't think it's a problem. We only do one long exercise trip in the afternoon, and then she sleeps the whole night and stays home for most of the day and out in the afternoon again.
 

Southpaw

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#15
I don't think it's "fair" or "unfair" - it just is what it is. I don't see it as any different than someone who has a "normal" schedule -- sleeps all night and then goes to work at 8 or 9 am. No matter what someone's schedule is, their sleeping time is almost certainly going to butt up against the time they're not home.
This.

I think it just looks difficult because of the time of day, it makes it look weird lol, but it really shouldn't be any different from anyone else who works full time. 3 days a week I work 8am-7pm, I do absolutely nothing with my dogs when I get home - I eat dinner, I take a shower, I take a little time to relax and watch TV and then I go to bed. They do fine, I just make sure they take first priority when I do have free time.
 

Dogdragoness

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#16
I need some advice because I feel like I'm going to be neglecting my dog, but I might be being silly.

So I'm switching to night shift, this week. Schedule change is hard for anyone, even without the responsibility of pets. (or children, but I'm 21 and don't have any of those yet!) So my hours are going to be 6:30pm to 2:30pm. To stay up when I come home would be silly, because I'm not going to go for a walk around my neighborhood around 3am, maybe if I had a Caucasian Ovcharka. So, I think the best idea would to go straight to bed (letting Duke outside first, of course) and wake up around 10:30-11ish. That way, I can take him for a long walk and then I'll be off to the gym. I'm worried though since that's a lot of downtime, 9hrs when I'm at work, then another 8hrs while I'm sleeping. I guess what does go in my favour is that Duke is easy going, and doesn't have high energy demands. but Is that too much?

This is going to hard for him because he's hardly been left alone for the past 2yrs or so - he goes to "work" every day with my friend Dean. Hangs out with people and Boomer all day. Before that, he came to the daycare every day with me. He does have separation anxiety, but it's gotten better. I could ask my new roommate to let him out while he home. He does know Duke (he works for Dean), but he's not much of a dog guy.


This is probably a silly inquiry 'cause lots of people work the same hours, if not more, with dogs... but I'm worried. Humor me if you can :eek: thanks in advance.

A picture just because:

(looks like dandruff on him, but it's snow lol)
When I worked for track maintience I would work race nights from about 4pm-1am just on race days ... On non race days I worked days from 7 am- 4pm & my dogs adjusts fine
 

Zhucca

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#17
Thanks everyone for the responses, it's made me feel better.

Last night was my first shift, and it went kind of badly. He's been left alone plenty of times, when I work saturdays or sundays he's left for 8hrs. Yet last night he peed all over a pile of my clothes (my mom would say it's my fault for them being on the floor), and barked when he heard my car coming. Which is bad for my roommate when i'm arriving at 2:15. There are some wrinkles I need to smooth out; I'm not sure why he needed to relieve himsefl. He's never peed inside and he peed/pooped before I left for work. Weird.

I did go for a quick walk too, just to a field 1 block away from my house. He was amped up but mostly because of his alone time neuroses.
 
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