July 6, 2026, 2:56 pm | Read time: 8 minutes
“Better alone at home than in a shelter kennel”–this argument seems reasonable at first glance. Dog trainer and PETBOOK editor Katharina Marioth explains why this comparison falls short and what truly matters when adopting a shelter dog.
Why This Comparison Doesn’t Work
Recently, I came across a reel on Instagram that I couldn’t shake off. The message: A typical 9-to-5 job is not a disqualifier for adopting a shelter dog. The reasoning seemed logical at first glance: It’s better for a dog to be alone for several hours a day in a nice, cozy home than to spend the entire day in a shelter kennel. Thousands of likes, hundreds of approving comments. And I understand why this thought resonates with so many people. It sounds reasonable, it sounds compassionate, and it alleviates the guilt of those who want a dog but work full-time.
Still, I consider this comparison one of the most dangerous I’ve encountered in the animal welfare debate recently. Because it asks the wrong question.
A Comparison That’s Flawed from the Start
Comparing a kennel to a living room suggests that one must choose between the two. But that’s not true. The real alternative to a kennel isn’t “alone at home,” but “a home that suits the dog.” And that can mean: no full-time job, a dog walker, daycare, an extra home office day per week, or simply another pet that better fits the lifestyle.
I understand the desire to quickly help dogs in shelters. In my work as a behavioral assessor, I regularly see how much the confinement of a kennel affects dogs–frustration, constant stress, and sometimes behavioral issues that only arise due to the confinement.
But that’s precisely why the answer isn’t: “Then we’ll just accept that the dog sits alone in the apartment for hours.” The answer must be: We carefully consider which dog fits which lifestyle and, if necessary, change the lifestyle, not just the location.
Being Alone Is a Matter of Training, Not Setting
I’ve previously explained in detail how dogs learn to stay relaxed when alone, with gradual training, short absences that are slowly increased, and a dog that learns being alone isn’t threatening. What this Instagram debate completely overlooks: A nice home doesn’t replace this training. A dog experiencing an apartment for the first time has no idea that the person will return, that noises in the hallway are harmless, or that the blanket in the hallway isn’t the only safe place in the universe.
Especially with shelter dogs, there’s a second component not mentioned in the reel: Many of these dogs have a history. Some were surrendered, some abandoned, and some know humans primarily as unpredictable factors.
Separation stress doesn’t arise because a dog is “spoiled,” but because it has learned that being left is a real possibility. These dogs typically need more transition time, more patience, and often professional guidance before they can spend several hours alone comfortably.
Not Every Dog Can Handle an Eight-Hour Day
What particularly bothers me about the generalization “9-5 job is okay because home is better than a kennel”: It treats all shelter dogs as a homogeneous group. They are not. A calm, adult dog with a stable personality can indeed handle an eight-hour day well if walks, engagement, and a reasonable daily structure are in place. A young dog, a fearful dog, or a dog with an unclear separation history can be in real distress with the same routine.
Therefore, the crucial question is never “kennel or apartment,” but: Does this specific dog fit this specific lifestyle? It’s more inconvenient than a reel, but it’s the only question that truly helps the animal. And this case-by-case assessment is the job of good shelters and foster homes.
What Serious Adoption Should Achieve and Where It Often Falls Short
Here, I also want to be self-critical, because not every shelter does this job well. If adoption discussions happen in five minutes at the kennel, if no one asks about daily routines, work hours, or experience, if the pressure to free up space is greater than the commitment to good adoptions–then it contributes to dogs ending up in households that simply don’t suit them. That’s not a success for the dog; it’s a problem that’s merely relocated.
Good adoption means an honest assessment of the dog, honest questions for the prospective owners, a training plan for the first weeks, and ideally a trial period with feedback. If you’re a prospective owner with a full-time job wanting to adopt a dog, you should actively ask about these points and be wary if no one raises them. A reputable shelter will never say: “It’ll be fine, just get them out of the kennel.” Instead, it will work with you to see if a well-trained, calm dog fits your lifestyle, or if a daycare, a second dog in the household, or another pet is a better solution.
How to Tell if a Dog Is Ready to Be Alone
From my practice, there are a few indicators that help in the assessment–and that are completely missing in the Instagram debate:
- How has the dog already reacted to short absences in the shelter or foster home? Calm behavior during ten or twenty minutes says more than any apartment size.
- Are there signs of excessive clinging to caregivers, constant following, or panic when approaching the exit? These are typical precursors of separation stress that should be taken seriously before the dog even moves in.
- How old is the dog, and how strong is its basic trust in humans in general? A dog that generally experiences humans as reliable finds it naturally easier to be alone than one that still needs to build fundamental trust.
These questions can’t be answered in a 30-second video, and they certainly can’t be dismissed with the phrase “apartment is always better than kennel.” They require observation, time, and ideally the assessment of people who have experienced the dog over weeks–shelter staff, foster homes, or behavioral consultants.
What to Do if Your Dog Suddenly Can’t Be Left Alone After Vacation
What Often Goes Wrong in the Adoption of Rescue Dogs
What You Can Do Instead If You Work
If you work full-time and still want to give a shelter dog a home, there are several realistic components that offer much more than good intentions alone. A structured training plan for the first weeks is essential, as is a buffer of vacation days right after the move-in, so the dog can settle in calmly before the first longer absences occur.
Midday care by neighbors, family, or a dog sitter can also significantly shorten the day for the dog and relieve you at the same time. Honest feedback from the adoption agency is also important: Actively ask how the specific dog has behaved during absences so far, and don’t be satisfied with a blanket “They’ll learn it.”
Equally important is the willingness to be honest with yourself. If, after the first few weeks, it becomes clear that the dog shows significant stress despite training, it’s not a personal failure. Rather, it’s a signal to seek alternatives with professionals. For example, more intensive care, adjusting work hours, or, in extreme cases, the honest realization that this dog needs a different lifestyle than you can offer.
My Conclusion
I don’t want to discourage anyone with a full-time job from having a dog–on the contrary, many of the most relaxed dogs I know live with working people who have seriously addressed the issue of being alone. But the claim that a 9-5 job is fundamentally unproblematic because the alternative is supposedly the kennel is too simplistic for me. It replaces an individual professional assessment with a convenient feeling of compassion.
So if you’re considering adopting a shelter dog with a full-time job: Do it. But do it with open eyes, with a realistic training plan for being alone, and with the willingness to adapt to the dog you actually get–not the one that would have fit into the reel. A home is always better than a kennel. But a poorly prepared home doesn’t solve the dog’s problem; it just moves it to a place where no one films it anymore.
About the Expert
Katharina Marioth is the founder of the Stadthundetraining brand and the KEML principle. She is a certified dog trainer and behavioral assessor for dangerous dogs in Berlin. In her daily work, she collaborates closely with veterinarians, scientists, and other specialists on dog-related topics. With her expertise, she secured the title of Dog Trainer of the Year 2023 in the Sat.1 show “The Dog Trainer Champion.”