Those of you home all day with your dogs...

I'm home several days a week with Roscoe. Mostly he sleeps. []  I'll take him for a hike or a trip to the beach sometimes. Sometimes we wait 'til DH gets home, so he can come too.  Now that Bella is here, I do A LOT more playing with toys - tug, fetch, etc.  But even she sleeps a fair amount throughout the day. 

well if your situation is temporary and you'll be going back to work in a couple of months...I probably wouldn't change her schedule too much. I mean an occasional walk or trip is no biggie but if you make each day full of 'stuff' you do together she may have a tough time adjusting to when you go back to work. Just something to consider....I'd follow her lead and not mess with it too much if it works for her.
 
I know kids sure have a rough couple of weeks when school starts for this reason lol! Staying up later...wake up later....doing stuff or NOT doing anything, then having to wake up early, work all day, etc...

I'm a fulltime housewife, so I'm always home with Gingerbread. Usually we get up, I eat breakfast, he runs around like a little tiny Arabian horse, playing with his toys. Then he eats breakfast and plays some more. I check into different discussion forums, etc. online and he amuses himself with his toys or naps under the computer desk. At some point I take him for a walk or two. He naps a lot (right now on the couch). Basically we just "hang out" together.
 
I agree with RWbeagles that since it's only during the summer that you'll be home all the time, try to keep some structure so that she doesn't become overly dependent on you. I keep her crated or babygated away from you part of the time, leave her at home while you run errands, etc. Even though my little Gingerbread is fairly independent, he developed separation anxiety because of how much time he's with me. I'm working on it now, but prevention is really worth a pound of cure.

I'm home with Louise all day and our walks are limited during the day now too because it's so hot.   We'll still go down to the lake and she'll sit in the water and swim a bit and then roll around like  snake in the sand, then we'll go home.   I also bring some of her toys and go sit in the shade in the park sometimes and have her play there.   Since she does like water, I fill the bath a bit with cool water and she'll wade and play in there for a bit.   She also comes with me to some shops that allow animals, like bookstore and pet stores.  But most of the day she just hangs out and naps and tries to tell the cat how much she loves him.

I do more with Maddi during the summer/time off from school/work then when I have more things to do.  She's always had someone around though (she rarely is in her kennel more than 2 hours on any given day). During the summer, I do more training, play more, take her for more walks, go hiking, and go swimming with her. I also, eventually plan to get a kayak and take her with me in that. If I feel like sitting around on the 'puter all day, I do that. She usually sleeps.
 
 
I'd personally, do what you want. If you want to laze around all day and only do her 'normal' excersize amount, then do that. If you want to take her hiking, do that. I would keep a normal sleeping schedule (for you and her) because it still keeps something routine.

I'm home all day with my dog Gulliver (standard poodle).  Usually after his morning check of the garden, he has breakfast and then lays around a couple of hours while I do my own thing.  Then he gets an offlead run in the park for maybe an hour.  The rest of the day is spent sleeping, following me around, playing fetch for a few minutes, training for  few minutes, etc.  He gets another hour run in the afternoon/evening.  After that it's pretty much quiet time.  Some days are more busy than others, eg if my sister comes with her two toddlers it's REAL busy! 
 
I agree with the others who said you shouldn't change the routine too much, otherwise he might have trouble adjusting when you go back to work.  Sometimes it's easy to guilt trip ourselves if we're home but not interacting with our dog.  Truth is, they are okay to just lay around inbetween activities.
 
BTW this is my first post here.  I've been browsing a couple of weeks, and really impressed with the forums, so decided to join.  Is there somewhere I'm supposed to introduce myself?  Hope you didn't mind me jumping in on this thread.

Maybe get her a small pool to play in, you can BBQ she can swim! I liek to take Rory to the beach, on hikes, or packa  a picnic and just go sit at a park where there isnt anyone else and let her roam a bit. She just likes to graze (yes my dog is weird, she actually grazes), smell the flowers chase birds but it sounds like you live in a warm area which I dont so some of those might be outta the question.
For a nice summer treat get a empty half gallon milk carton, fill it halfway with water, freeze it over night, peel the cardboard off the ice block, throw it in the rass and laugh at your dog, haha! I think it was Glenda who suggested using a bunt cake pan and freezing the water so she dosnt have to chase it around.
Maybe enroll in a class of some sorts just to pass the time and expand your dogs abilities!

OK, so basically, I will go with the flow .  I have some friends who enjoy hiking, so we will do that a bit more than during school, but we did it then whenever we could too.  I do still go out and crate her then. 
 
As for a pool or something similar... she is not a fan of water.  However, one of the people I hike with brings her dog who loves water and Zoe did get in up to her ankles last time so we'll see if she realizes she can go further next time .
 
Thanks for the responses!

I'm home with my 3 everyday. here was todays schedule: Everyone up at 7:30, mom has to have coffee before she can even think about the dogs breakfast. Breakfast for all, including the fish and cat. Everyone goes outside to investigate and do their thing. Back inside for their morning nap. Wakeup, wrestle, zoomies, destroy stuffies, etc...Too hot to walk today, so cleaned the fish tank, of course with Tootsies help and Sammy trying to catch the fish. Silly dog. Mom takes a nap with all 3 for an hour. Everyone, except Sammy (min. pin.) hates the heat, so very low energy day. Dad will be home in 2 hours and the dogs get wild and crazy. Typial summer day for three dogs.

When Im home all day, Bailey sleeps for most of it.  I play with her a little, work on commands, sit outside with her... but mostly just do my thing and she sleeps[]

I'm home all day with my dogs, usually out of the house for a couple of hours each morning on volunteer projects.  I try not to let them set the rhythym of the day, if I did I'd never get anything done around here.  Since I can't walk them together, I walk the little one at noon and in the evening, and my husband walks the big guy in the evening.  The rest of the time they are following me around helping me with housework and projects.  Most of my gardens are in the front yard, which is not fenced in, so they have to watch that from the door. 
 
The time I feel like they really run the show is late evening, just when I sit down and want to knit and relax, 1.5 year old Misty cranks it up and wants to play, play play and drives me nuts no matter how many walks or how much play she's had that day.  Am working on not letting her rule that time. 
 
I'd say go about your business casually, and they'll follow along. 

We got Talus a pool and he loves it, he'll only go in if its not too deep...
We take him for walks, for a run at the airforce base, to the store, to the library (it's got rocks around the outside and he likes to climb them...
His fave thing to do is go visiting friends...(my mom, the beach for a walk with friends, the store...etc.)
But he loves sleeping the most....

I've been working a lot the last couple of months, sometimes getting home by 8 or 9 in the evening. When I do have a day off, Shadow loves that. About 9 in the morning, he'll start bugging me for a walk, which is good as it hasn't gotten truly hot, yet. We walk, then he may rest first then eat or eat the rest. The rest of the day will be punctuated by bits of play and training, maybe a trip to somewhere that I can take him, such as Petco, or the Dog Days of Summer.

Anyone have any ideas on how I can stay home with my dogs all day?  I haven't been able to figure out how to clone myself and send the clone to work...shoulda married a farmer or an investment banker - something. [sm=rolleyes.gif]