Quote Originally Posted by badger View Post
I'm at a point where I feel I'm ready to open my life to another dog. However, I'm having many people tell me I shouldn't, as I work all day.

My dog was very old and was very low energy and didn't need to do much other than sleep all day. A younger dog, well, that's where I get a bit stuck. I have two cats, one of which was very close with the dog and I'm sure they kept each other company while I was away.

There's bound to be other people who are single and work all day, and still manage to have a well balanced dog in their life, no?
How about an adult, well-trained dog? A respectable breeder/trainer may have some adults as well as puppies - but a puppy would make your life more difficult if you do not have a lot of time for training/supervising. Usually young puppies like to be busy - so either you give them something to do (training), or they will find something to do (most likely something you would not agree with). A well-trained dog will understand your rules pretty quickly and should not cause problems if you are absent for several hours every day. If you have a doghouse (I figure you would since you have one dog already), an outside dog would make things even easier

Of course when you do make a decision - please post pictures of the new family member