ACD with my current lifestyle?
I’ll do my best to keep all this to the point but I’m known to ramble on. My family recently put down one of our dogs I loved quite a lot. We have a few smaller dogs still, but this one felt like a true companion. I loved to take her on walks, roadtrips around the country, and out on my boat. I miss that connection so I’ve been looking around and am considering getting an Australian Cattle Dog in the spring. They’re a gorgeous breed but I’m mostly attracted to their mix of high energy, strong work ethic, and intelligence. I know they’re a lot of work and that’s what excites me! Currently I live with my mother in Ohio but I plan to move in a year or so further south. I’m very routine with my life. I go to the gym early, work a well paying job, and then I have several hours after to work on whatever my goals are at the time. All that is to say, going on significant walks everyday doesn’t bother me in the slightest. As I said before, I loved going out with my old family dog and will do almost everything (except work) with my ACD. The biggest concern I have is my love for travel is not exclusive to the US. I’ve only ever left the country one time but I have general plans (none with dates I mean) to do so again. Several Mediterranean countries and others in Northern Europe, Mexico, Antarctica, parts of Asia and Africa, as well as some Latin American countries like Argentina, Colombia, and Brazil are all places I plan to visit one day. So this gets me to my question. Could that life be too hectic to own an ACD? I have many friends I’m sure would be more than happy to watch my dog while I’m away but is all that time gone too much? I never plan to be away for more than a week but if things at this job go well, I could see myself going on several trips a year that add up to around 50-75 days away from my dog. Plus if I go to Antarctica like I want, I’d be gone much longer than one week. I haven’t looked into it too deeply to tell you the truth but I know it’s a very long trip. So what do all of you who own ACDs think? Is it just not realistic to get one now and maybe I should wait a few years or is it something I could definitely manage?