I am a fairly new dog owner myself, we got Calvin almost 2 years ago now, but I've been around dogs my whole life! I currently run my own in-home personal training business so I am in and out of the house all day. The longest I am ever gone is maybe 4 hours at a time. I understand that some pet owners have specific guidelines for their dogs diet/exercise/etc. and I have no problem abiding by those rules. We do not feed off the table, nor do we feed people food to our pets. Because we do not have a fenced in yard, I try to take our dog to the dog park at least once a week. If approved by YOU I would be more than happy to take your dog there too! If you're not comfortable with that we get lots of play time in the house and go for at least 3 walks/day.