What to do with Mia and Summer....?

[Laurelin]

While I'm at work. M-Th I work 10 hour days straight plus commute time. Right now my sisters are home for the summer so they're around to let them out and all that.

Now, in the future, they won't be. So I'm brainstorming a bit.

1. Mia is not trustworthy out. Even a dog proof room has been destroyed by her.

2. Mia can escape an expen.

3. Summer has SA unless I keep her with Mia.

4. It's an awful long time for either of them to hold it.

Ideas? I've thought about a giant crate and a potty pad. Or a dog walker. I have no idea how to find a dog walker though. Neither of my dogs are doggy daycare suitable.

 

[Sit Stay]

I'd try and find a trustworthy dogwalker, personally!

 

[Renee750il]

I'd say a dog walker is your best bet. You might check at your vet's office and see if they have anyone they recommend.

 

[CaliTerp07]

My training place has dog walkers they recommend. You might ask yours?

 

[BostonBanker]

Do you have any neighbors or nearby family? I work similar hours, although with the other family in the house, a normal day is only 7 or 8 hours for Meg. If someone else isn't going to be home before me, we have a great kid in the neighborhood who is about 10; her mom always comes over with her (by agreement) while she takes Meg out to potty and plays with her for a bit. Affordable for me, since I don't have to pay a professional, and Meg is thrilled to get kid time. Other times, my aunt who lives about 15 minutes away will come and take her for a walk for me.

 

[Lizmo]

Have you ever thought about a kennel? Or a dog door to a secure, fenced area?

Of course, those all depend on where you're living when the summer is over and your sisters go back to school. Those ideas might not be the best if you are living in an appartment.

 

[monkeys23]

Crate seperately in the same room where they can see each other. Have a dog walking service come potty/play with them during the day.

Scout has SA in regards to me and other dogs in our pack. She and Lily are crated seperately in the living room. She does just dandy with that. I would never leave them unsupervised together, but that is just me.

 

[~Jessie~]

If I were you I'd look into getting a dog walker to come over mid-way through the way. Our petsitter charges $10 (I think) for 30 minutes a day for 1-2 dogs.

Our dogs aren't left alone for that long, but if they were we'd have a dog walker come over. Rory is crated, but the chihuahuas have their own room with access to a pee pad.

 

[mom2dogs]

I can't find a picture of the pen I'm thinking of (and I forget the brand mine are, I bought them at shows). . . but they are pens with vertical bars (no square holes). A LOT of the Westies I bring home for socialization, grooming, etc from a friend are climbers and cannot be trusted to stay in an x-pen (one of mine can scale a 48", thank god she's the only one that I own I have to worry about, I hate it) but since there is nothing to grab a hold of with their back feet they cannot climb up and over unless something is in there to lift them closer to the top. I know they come in different sizes/heights, and are pretty heavy duty (can't be scooted around like a common x-pen either). Would she destroy a screen top if you used one of those?

 

[Kat09Tails]

I had to make the same decision a few years ago on what to do with the then two papillons while I was on a 12 hr shift away from the house four days a week. We're far too rural for a dog walker so I went another route. I went the indoor kennel route in my carless garage with a potty box.

Nothing to destroy, far more spacious than a crate, they can potty if they need to, have all the water they could want, and my sanity is saved. They also are in a safe space from all the things that would harm a little dog along with the weather.

 

[Laurelin]

I can't find a picture of the pen I'm thinking of (and I forget the brand mine are, I bought them at shows). . . but they are pens with vertical bars (no square holes). A LOT of the Westies I bring home for socialization, grooming, etc from a friend are climbers and cannot be trusted to stay in an x-pen (one of mine can scale a 48", thank god she's the only one that I own I have to worry about, I hate it) but since there is nothing to grab a hold of with their back feet they cannot climb up and over unless something is in there to lift them closer to the top. I know they come in different sizes/heights, and are pretty heavy duty (can't be scooted around like a common x-pen either). Would she destroy a screen top if you used one of those?

It's definitely worth a try, I think! If you find a picture or where they sell them, let me know! I haven't tried a lidded x-pen (that I recall).

Kat, how big was your kennel?

I'm still looking at dog walkers but either way I'd be attempting to do some sort of indoor kennel. Outdoors is a no go for little dogs around here. Too many coyotes and birds of prey.

Any good ideas on finding a reliable dog walker?

 

[Laurelin]

I'm hoping when I move, the commute will be about halved so that should at least cut off an hour of the day.

I only work a standard 40 hour week it's just I elected to take every other friday off (I think it's worth it) so instead of 8 hours a day, I do 9 hours M-Th (plus an hour long lunch break in there) and then 8 hours one friday, 0 hours the next.

 

[Kat09Tails]

K-9 Kwik Dog Kennel 6 ft. x 6 ft. x 4 ft. Kennel - 308593A at The Home Depot

It looks just like this one. If I had to do it over again I'd go with a panel kennel though. They're a little more expensive but much easier to upkeep, move, etc.