# King Charles spaniel - At while at work



## AndiDidsbury (Apr 9, 2014)

Hello,

What are peoples views in leaving a dog at home during work hours?

And if it's not ok what is a suitable comprise with regards to dog walkers and sitters?

Thanks in advance!


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## estrelaslave23 (Jan 18, 2014)

Ami is left 4 hours in morning and same again after lunch and is used to the routine. In fact, when i tried to take her to work i had to physically drag her off her bed! I think all day is too long every day. Don't know anything about dog walkers, sorry.


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## Wilmer (Aug 31, 2012)

How old is the dog your thinking of? When Betty was a young pup (3-7 mos) she went to a small daycare during the working week. At 7mos we started introducing staying at home with two home visits, working up to 5 days a week when she was 9mos. So far, so good with no damage or reports of noise ...


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## missnaomi (Jun 4, 2010)

I have 3 dogs and work full time.

At the moment, two stay at home and have an hour off lead walking with a trusted person at lunchtime each day, and I walk them or run with them before and after work too - plus we do lots of training and activities, the also go swimming on Tuesdays. When they were younger they went to daycare almost daily, for the first 3 years of their lives actually. That was expensive.

One is younger so he goes to a sitter in the mornings at least and I drop him of in the morning or my way to work and often often he gets dropped off at home after lunch and spends the afternoon at home. 

If I have meetings or am going to be late I sometimes arrange for them all to go to a sitter or friend, the younger one likes daycare or I might arrange for a second walk for the older two and for the youngest dog to stay the day at a friends house.

It's manageable but takes commitment and planning and dog walkers/daycare etc isn't that cheap.

I think the main thing is that not every dog would be ok with being home alone all day so you can't really get a dog and plan to do that, some would, and it depends where you live too - as in, some dogs might not be ok to live in a noisy urban street and chill out happily at home, so if you get a dog you have to be prepared to cope with the needs of the dog - and you don't know exactly what they'll be until you have the dog. I had to think carefully that if my dogs weren't ok to be left whilst I worked, and dog walker wasn't enough... what would do then etc.


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## rose (Apr 29, 2009)

Most cavalier breeders will not sell to full time workers. Cavaliers are companion animals that need company. Older ones can be left for a few hours as they like to sleep a lot!!


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## pogo (Jul 25, 2011)

We have 2 dogs and they are left at home, and both of us work full time, we do however both work nights so it's a little different but they are left for about 9 hours overnight but all they do is sleep on our bed


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## MyMillie (Jun 17, 2012)

rose said:


> Most cavalier breeders will not sell to full time workers. Cavaliers are companion animals that need company. Older ones can be left for a few hours as they like to sleep a lot!!


I agree with this so much!! they are a breed that can suffer a lot with full time workers if they are left for too long!! they need to have someone look in on them most of the time, they truly only thrive on companionship! beautiful beautiful dogs in the right home IMO


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## Labrador Laura (Sep 12, 2010)

Both me and the OH work full time but with my route and OHs Mon - Fri one week my dogs are left for 4days and the other week its 3days on these days I come home on my lunch break and give them a 20-30min walk and then go back to work. 

Some days I start at 7am and finish at 2:30 
OH leaves at 8 then I come home about half 11 and go back at 12 then I'm home 2.5 hours later.

Other days I start at 9 and finish at 4:30 -
So I leave at 8:50 and come home for 12:30 and leave at 1 then I'm home 3.5 later.

Both my dogs are happy with this and I always leave my younger dog with things to keep him entertained and leave the t.v on.


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## MyMillie (Jun 17, 2012)

Wilmer said:


> How old is the dog your thinking of? When Betty was a young pup (3-7 mos) she went to a small daycare during the working week. At 7mos we started introducing staying at home with two home visits, working up to 5 days a week when she was 9mos. So far, so good with no damage or reports of noise ...


With the greatest respect to what you provide with your dog, and I'm not buttering you up when I say this , I can see you provide the utmost care for the lovely Wilmer just like all the others who have commented on this thread has done, but we are talking about a certain breed here, and I speak with knowledge of the them and I know they certainly would never be able to cope like other breeds that are fine with out human contact for people who work full time, I certainly dont have any issues at all with folk having to do this.... they need to have the finances to be be able to keep them after all this is the real world, but going back to the king charles spaniel they certainly do need the companionship and IMHO they should be with folk that dont have work full time! I was lucky to be in that position when I had Dylan, but if I hadn't been, I would have chose another breed which wasn't 'so' reliant and could cope with full time workers


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## ellenlouisepascoe (Jul 12, 2013)

Are King Charles spaniels that different temperament wise that the Cavalier King Charles? 

Myself and my husband work full time and Taz has absolutely no issues with being left alone. He curls up on the sofa and sleeps, did the same in his previous home too. 

Just to add he does get visits now since the Sibes came along  He is also kept in a separate part of the house to the Sibes while I am out so he doesn't get squished


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## BoredomBusters (Dec 8, 2011)

We look after spaniels of all kinds, and they don't have a problem being left. Of course, that might not be true of all spaniels, but it can be done. Most of them are introduced correctly to being left alone from a puppy though, so they don't find it horribly stressful.

Being left at home all day I think is too long - the longest I ever left mine when I was at my busiest was 6 hours, and I didn't like it because they would be very demanding when I got home.

Good dog walkers or daycare is a good compromise. There are more good dog walkers than there are good daycares, because good daycare is expensive and most people can't afford it. So the cheap and cheerful is more common - and are not always being run by dog experts.

Here's some info on looking for care - Boredom Busters - Finding a Dog Care Provider


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## Strawberryearth (Apr 5, 2012)

My cousin has a KC and a CKC, they have both been left while she worked full time. She had a dog walker in the early stages, I'm not 100% on how she went about the ownership. However they are the most laid back and agreeable dogs I have ever met. They have adapted to numerous house moves, addition of children (twins, no less) and multiple changes in circumstances. They don't seem to have any issue at all with being left alone- they sleep more than any dog I have ever met (and I own one of the laziest Dachshunds in the land!).

I am not saying that they are wide representatives of the breed, but I also think that breed generalisation can go too far and that a lot of how they are depends on how they are brought up and trained. All dogs are different and some may never take well to being left alone for periods of more than a couple of hours, no matter how well they were trained from a pup. But that goes for all dogs, not one specific breed. 

I think, in this case, adaptability would be key. Being able to change things if they didn't work out- the ability to nip home at lunchtime as well as having a walker, or having the funds to pay for day care if you found that the dog was not coping.


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## cavmad (Jan 27, 2009)

I think it really depends on the age of the dog and how you introduce them to being let. My CKCS are older and like nothing better than sleeping the day away after breakfast. I have to wake them up to take them up the fields then its straight back to the sofa until tea time. Rupert the King Charles is much younger and wouldn't cope he needs to play and is also much more clingy than the cavs but I had him from a pup and most of the cavs were rescues from the puppy farms.
A puppy would have to go to day care or have someone come in several times as they need feeding and letting out frequently,but as they get older you can lengthen the time between visits. As long as you do plenty of nice things with the dog after work and at weekends it should be ok


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## cavmad (Jan 27, 2009)

I think it really depends on the age of the dog and how you introduce them to being let. My CKCS are older and like nothing better than sleeping the day away after breakfast. I have to wake them up to take them up the fields then its straight back to the sofa until tea time. Rupert the King Charles is much younger and wouldn't cope he needs to play and is also much more clingy than the cavs but I had him from a pup and most of the cavs were rescues from the puppy farms.
A puppy would have to go to day care or have someone come in several times as they need feeding and letting out frequently,but as they get older you can lengthen the time between visits. As long as you do plenty of nice things with the dog after work and at weekends it should be ok


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## catseyes (Sep 10, 2010)

I think a lot of it depends on the dog as well.. i could leave zelda for 4 hours but having a new puppy who seems to have SA if i go out for 4 mins he freaks. I have to walk zelda so he is only left for 20 mins twice a day, we are doing training on the issue, trying to get him to distract from being alone with food etc but so far no joy.

You could get a dog who struggles alone, theres no way my pup would cope being left for someone to go to work.


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## westie~ma (Mar 16, 2009)

The longest I regularly leave my chap in one stretch is 3-4 hours to go to tennis and do food shopping. I'm then home for 5.5 hours and go again for 1.5 hours in the evening. Usually there is someone here in the evening for him. 

Very rarely I go to Cardiff shopping (like once a year) he's left alone until one of the kids come home in the afternoon. 

Other than going to tennis and food shopping I spend my days (and nights) with him. He comes on holiday with us too.


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## tinamary (Aug 17, 2008)

We have two dogs and work full time. We have a dog walker for the days when we cant get home at lunchtime. I personally wouldnt do it again as all I do is worry about them when im not here. 
Dogs seem happy with the walker and im ok because there are two dogs so they have each other. I have never crated and hate the thought.


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