Both my husband and I are career people but find our home is a little empty as our children are on their own and we have not decided to replace our last dog, at this time. While not home during the day, most dogs can manage this time alone. As a school teacher, my husband gets home earlier than most getting the dogs outside for their afternoon breaks. Our family dogs included a beagle and a lab mix. We believe both of our dogs lived a long life due to the exercise gained from daily and consistent walks, good dog food (we rarely let our dogs eat people food) and the attention/love we gave them. Like we raised our children, our dogs were always well behaved which we believe in part is due to the discipline and consistency that we strive to deliver.