Hello all!
I haven't posted here in a very long time. Chase is doing well...he's a big boy now, almost 2! Anyway, this Summer we moved from Victoria (where it never snows) to North York (where it will). My partner has a job that sometimes has him home all day (the case right now...which Chase, of course, LOVES) and sometimes has him away from Monday to Friday (which will be the case from January - June....poor puppy will be very lonely).
Anyway, I work pretty long hours as a teacher and I'm just not sure how I'm going to exercise Chase enough come winter. Right now, Chase has company and backyard or park play time throughout the day, and then he gets an hour-long walk with me when I get home. Come January, Chase will be alone during the day and it will be so dark...I'm not sure that I'll feel comfortable going for an hour-long walk in this neighbourhood (a generally safe neighbourhood, but you still hear about female joggers being assaulted and other horrid things). I also won't feel comfortable letting Chase play off-leash in the dark, so he won't be getting as much exercise.
When we were in Victoria, walking Chase before and after work wasn't a problem. I lived in a very safe, well-lit neighbourhood and it was never that cold. There were fenced-in, well-lit dog areas where he could play off-leash. I could take him out for half an hour before work because my day started at 8:30 and I only had a 15 minute commute. Now my day starts at 7:30 and I have a 40 minute commute. So walking him before work is just really difficult right now.
He went to doggie daycare in Victoria once a week or so, but that won't work here, unless I can find an affordable daycare that opens really early. As it is, I leave for work at 6:40. Any daycares that I've found online are both 20+ minutes out of the way (which would add another 40 minutes to my commute) and do not open before 7:30.
Basically, my question is how do you exercise your dogs in the winter? How can I find a decent dog walker in the North York area? I've been searching for what seems like forever, but can't find anything local. I was thinking that if I could find someone to give him a good romp in the middle of the day, we could just play together in the backyard after work without me worrying about safety.
I'm also thinking about taking up another obedience class or agility to give him a bit more stimulation during the week.
Thoughts?