Exercise

If you have to start work early, get up even earlier to make sure your dog gets some exercise before you head out for 7-8 hours. I know, I know, I can hear the sighs from here - 'Get up even earlier?!'. In reality, if your dog were in the wild like her ancestors, she would spend about 10 hours a day on the move with her pack. I'm only suggesting 30 mins - 1 hour in the morning. If you don't like exercising in the morning, then just throw her in your car and drive to the nearest dog-friendly park or beach. Let her run off-leash and wear herself out, it does help if there are other dogs to socialise with too (I call it the 'self-exercising' dog). Not all of us have the fitness to run with our dog for an hour or more, so this way they do it for themselves.

If these ideas do not appeal, then be prepared to spend some money on a dog walker. In many places you can either provide a trusted dog walker with keys to your house or leave your dog in an accessible area of your property. Your dog walker will come and collect your dog, walk her & return her for between $10-$20/day. This is the way to go if life is just too hectic to find the time to do it yourself.

In saying this, can I underline that there is really NO REPLACEMENT to taking your own dog out walking & running every day. It is all part and parcel of establishing yourself as Pack Leader. A dog walker will assume that role too and they will be the leader of all the dogs out walkign each day. It is the only way to maintain control of the pack & be certain, in the case of off-leash walkers, that they will all return to the walker at the end of the day.

I know I'm probably pushing it now, but when you come home from work once again, your dog needs another, this time longer, energy-burning walk. And this time it needs to be you that does it!