Starting later this year, I will be switching to a 4 10s schedule at work. My dog has always been perfectly fine home alone for my usual 8 hour shifts, but I don't want him to need to go 10 hours without people or going outside. I am considering getting a dog walker for the middle of my work day, but the ones I've found are quite expensive (minimum $20 plus tip for a 15 minute potty walk) and I'm not keen on shelling out that much money for such a short time period. I have also considered dog daycare, but I've heard horror stories about it so I don't love that idea.

If I rented a place with a dog door and an enclosed backyard, would that be sufficient? For context, I have a small, relatively low energy poodle mix without any separation issues. As soon as I get home every evening, I intend to take him on a long walk. And we'll be doing lots of adventuring on my 3 day weekends.

If the dog door alone wouldn't be sufficient, would fostering a dog to keep mine company be a reasonable idea? He LOVES other dogs.

Thanks in advance!