For those who love animals just as much as they love their job, an awkward conflict of priorities can make it hard to decide if it’s wise to adopt a dog. Crucially, every dog should be cared for and live a healthy and fulfilled life, and so it’s also a question of morals – not just time.

If you’re concerned about whether you’re in the right place to invest your time and emotions in a living animal, then here are a few things to consider first.

Is your job flexible enough?

In order to decide if owning a dog is right for you, then you will need to be realistic about how flexible your job is if your workplace has an unfortunate habit of not letting you go home on time. It’s usually recommended that you don’t leave your dog unattended for more than four hours at a time. Leaving dogs alone for long periods of time could be detrimental to their mental state and overall health, so it’s good to be honest about your working hours and whether you will need to hire doggy day care in order to feasibly own one. Many people also have the option to bring their dog into work, but if your employer doesn’t allow this, then you will have to consider other options.

If you know that it’s possible to leave work promptly, and get home in time to look after your dog, then a good option to split up your dog’s time at home would be to find dogwalking services London to make sure it gets the required amount of exercise and attention. If you can’t realistically bring in your dog to work, or go home at lunchtimes to give it some fresh air, then you may have to enlist help.  So, if you’re in the north London area, then searching for ‘Dogwalkers London’ or ‘dog walking north London’ will help you to find a service to look after your pup while you’re out at work.

Dogs as stress therapy

If you’re bad at remembering to take time off or go home when it hits 5 o’clock, then a dog could be a poignant reminder that you have a life to attend to. Not only that, but many people find dogs to be therapeutic when it comes to stress and grief. If you’re struggling to cope with stress at work, then owning a dog could be a great way to help calm nerves and relax after a hard day’s work. However, it’s important to know that once you’ve invested in having a canine that requires regular exercise and care, they will have to become the ultimate priority for you.

It can be hard to admit that you will have to delay in getting a dog until you’re in a much more flexible job, but this might be the most secure option for you. However, if you have decided to be sensible about what time you go home in the evenings, and are willing to pay for help when it’s needed, then you might be in the right place to get a dog.