What should I do?

[Snuggle]

I go back to work in April and have been informed that my shifts have changed. I used to work 6am-12pm or 12pm-6pm but now I will be working 8am-6pm. Before I went on maternity leave I lived 2 mins away from my work but now we have our own house and live 20 mins away from my work.
Anyway, we have a dog and I'm not sure what we are going to do with him when I go back to work as I cant just nip home to let him out anymore (which is what I did before) and I dont think its fair to leave him for over 9 hours stuck in the house on his own. We cant afford to put him in kennels or hire a dog walker and there's no-one around us who can pop in and let him outside.
What should I do?

 

[Babylicious]

Do you have any family that live nearby who could let your dog out? Alternatively could you change shifts? or nip home in your lunch hour?

 

[fran_23]

have you got a garden you could build a little kennel in? and leave
food and water out.
in the summer that should be fine i know i'd be worried about
the dog being out in the cold in the freezing weather though.

 

[Sherry]

I would go with the kennel in the garden too, make sure there is plenty of padding an bedding to keep him warm though. Its not nice having to give a dog up.

 

[Snuggle]

All my family live in Scotland and I cant really come back in lunch hour incase traffic is bad and I dont make it back in time.
I cant leave dog outside as we are not completely enclosed so he could run away

 

[Sherlock]

Umm are they allowed to change your hours while away on maternity leave? I thought you had to have the same job/hours as when you left. I'd look into that. Its technically a change in contract and you have rights.

With regard to your dog, I used to have a similar problem and I was upfront with my work and asked to be allowed to leave the premises for the entire hour with a little leeway if I ran late and got back 5-10 minutes over. If you are working such long days you should get an hours lunch break or at least 45 minutes so should have time to nip home.

I'd not leave my dogs all day and they needed to be let out. My boss was happy to agree and I simply cut the time out of my short break later on or stayed 5 mins late to make up for it. Mind you, only rarely was I not back in time. It took me 15-20 mins each way and they had 20 minutes or so out for a walk.

I never considered rehoming them. I'd sooner have quit my job than do that. It worked well for me and I was happy in the job and doggies were sorted also

 

[Urchin]

Umm are they allowed to change your hours while away on maternity leave? I thought you had to have the same job/hours as when you left. I'd look into that. Its technically a change in contract and you have rights.

Absolutely...also, being a parent, you now have the right to ask for more flexible working hours.

 

[Snuggle]

Unfortunately it doesnt work this way in the RAF...we work the hours we are told and if it doesnt suit us then thats just tough luck! They can change our hours anytime they like. My work wont help me with changing hours so I can spend time with my baby let alone let me have extra time so I can go home and let dog out. We may have to think about rehoming him
Thank you for replies girls

 

[samandbump]

not ideal i know but could you not take him to work in the car with you and let him out for a short walk on your breaks?at least he will get walked and wont be in the house all day alone???

 

[Snuggle]

not ideal i know but could you not take him to work in the car with you and let him out for a short walk on your breaks?at least he will get walked and wont be in the house all day alone???

I couldnt leave him in the car all day

Thank you for suggestions though everyone

 

[Vickyleigh]

Aww if I lived nearer to you then I would have looked after your dog.
How long have you had him? Here's on idea what about putting an advert in your local paper or shop window and avertise for a dog sitter. When you get a call tell them you can't pay much but you would appreciate the help or you could ask around and see if anyone knows of any kids or teens who want to earn a couple of pounds. Youngsters would work for practically nothing! I hope you don't have to rehome him that would be so sad for you

 

[HappyAlice]

I thought you posted recently that you weren't going back to work

 

[Snuggle]

I thought you posted recently that you weren't going back to work

I did Turns out that it would cost us far too much money in early repayment charges as we only bought the house in July so I have to go back to work as we cant afford the house on just hubby's wage

 

[Sherlock]

Any chance you can find another job with better hours to suit you with baby? Working such long days seems really harsh with a LO Surely there is something out there for you.