Tied Down by Home/and or Pets.

[Sarah in SC]

Good luck with that fostering...I and many others in our Border Collie rescue group are what are known as "failed fosters" in that we wound up keeping the foster permanently! I am fostering a BC puppy right now, Petey, who is working me to death with his housetraining, but I'm still hoping that I can get him out the door before we get too attached! His buddy Chance from the same shelter rescue already has a forever home, but we kept him to treat a bad case of demodex mange that came up. I'd like to keep the population at 4, but it creeps up!

Sarah

 

[Calgary_Girl]

We have two dogs and they go to the doggie "resort" when we travel and do just fine. Going to the "resort" is much funner than being at home if you ask me....they get play time 3 times a day which includes walks, playing ball, running off-leash, swimming in the summer, massage time and cuddles with the staff, etc.

The longest they've ever been at the resort is a month while we were in Europe. I'm pretty sure that we'll always have dogs but I'm leaning towards smaller dogs in the future so they can travel with us. Our dogs right now are 80 lbs and 45 lbs.

 

[rs0460a]

I am fostering a BC puppy right now, Petey, who is working me to death with his housetraining

Good 4 U...

We like the "more mature" dogs that are housebroken. While we had pups in the past, I (and DW) have made the "requirement" that they be housebroken (or at least crate trained).

- Ron

 

[5j404]

You might want to consider "puppy-raising" for a " Service dog organization" We've done it and learned so much . You get the puppy when they are about 8-12 weeks and raise and train they till they are about 14-18 months old. As one who had dogs all my life It been a way to have dogs in my life but not a 10+ year commitment. Great people to work with , bimonthly classes so you and the pup learn all you need to. Basicly they want the puppy's loved , confidantans well behaved. Puppys need to learn good house manners -Every one invovled are such great people to be with and wow did I learn alot about raising a dog.
Built in puppy sitters if you wish to travel ( within the organization) and low costs most groups pay vet bills and medications you cover food and toys. Most organizations will keep you informed on how you dog is doing after it leaves you. It a very fulling feeling getting them to their next step in thier training. Realising what an impact they will have on anothers life. Kinda like seeing your kid settling in at college, or off at the first job.
And if two years isn't enough theirs always more puppies to raise or puppies to babysit while others are on vacation.

 

[bssc]

We just heard from our Matron of Honor. She is making as much money dog sitting than from her regular job. She goes over to the owner's house, plays with the dogs and all that good stuff. For lots of money, she will live there while the owner is out of town.

 

[Kwirk]

Our kids convinced us to allow a stray to join the family 16 years ago. The kids left home years ago but Paprikas is still here, at least 17 years old now. She has slowed down a LOT but her only real problem is incontinence (managed with low-dose phenylpropanolamine). We love her but we may need to make a difficult decision when we retire and leave the country for months at a time. Her longevity has come as a real surprise.

 

[pedorrero]

When I was single, I had a gerbil or two. Let's not get into the issue of why a man in his 30s or 40s owns gerbils

I never felt ill at ease leaving the rodent(s) alone for as long as a week. On the rare longer trip, I had a friend who I trusted to look in on/feed & water the burrowing, gnawing critter. It's helpful that this type of pet lives in his own litter box, and only needs changing weekly or even few times a month.

For past four years I've lived with a girlfriend; she has to work, she owns the cats, so she has always stayed home caring for domestic issues while I frolic and travel where-ever.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Let's not get into the issue of why a man in his 30s or 40s owns gerbils

Mr Gere? Is that you?

 

[modhatter]

We have one dog who we have tried to board on two occasions for two weeks. In both cases he didn't eat the entire time. Came back and he was skinny as a bone and hair falling out. Never again. Keeps us from traveling and we would really like to, but giving him up is also out of the question.

 

[Kitty]

I have, now, two dogs and two cats. They are all spoiled beyond reason in some folks eyes

That is why I am getting an RV, for short trips the cats can stay home the dogs get to travel. For longer trips we all go together. Therefore the next RV has to be big enough for two adults, two dog, two cats. There will be a lot of fur in that RV for sure. However, there is nothing like a snuggle with a fur kid at night or any other time you need a little unconditional love

Kitty

 

[Dreamer]

Kitty,

Don't you have farm animals also? Is it pretty easy to find someone willing to take care of those animals? You amaze me with everything that you do.

 

[ziggy29]

Yeah. Dogs are the tough one. We can leave our cats at home for a couple weeks at a time, and hire someone to just come in twice a day for a few minutes and replenish the food and water, and occasionally change the litter box. They're cats. They deal with it.

A dog left alone can go bonkers within hours. They're inherently social animals. Leaving them alone for long periods of time, whether at home, in the yard or in a kennel, causes many dogs to distress about being separated from its "pack," whether that pack is canine or human. No other critters bond with "their people" so much, at least in the typical case.

Ultimately it often comes down to whether the love and companionship one can get from a dog is worth the sacrifices in being able to go away for long periods of time. For some it is, for some it's not. There's no right and wrong answer (other than getting a dog and proceeding to neglect it being a clearly wrong answer).

When we do go away, we send our dog to a "dog ranch" where she has long periods of play time outside with other compatible dogs every day and doesn't spend most of the day cooped up alone in a small kennel. It's pricey -- about $30 a day -- but the alternative (for us) is to either never get away, or to be miserable during our entire trip thinking about our poor pooch confined to a small kennel 23.5 hours a day.

 

[bssc]

My sister has seven (7) horses, along with chickens, dogs and cats. She is going to have to find someone to take care of all of them while we all get together for the parentals' 50th wedding anniversary.

 

[Dreamer]

Kitty,

You don't need to answer my above question, because I found out the answer by reading a different thread.