Our big Dog Max ran outside when he heard them 
Thank you all for your opinions/suggestions. I will consider what i want to do going forward. If i just accept the fact that i will be using walkers/doggy daycare on an everyday basis that does open up the available options of dog breeds to me as well. Traits like 'independent' might become less important relative to 'train ability' or 'people pleasing' since the issue of time by themselves would be largely negated I think? So perhaps i should go do some more research.
If I were to get a puppy vs. an older dog I would obviously treat that situation drastically different. I have plenty of family/friends help I could get in the area along with professional services as needed and also have plenty of vacation time to burn. That, even if it lasts for a year, I still view as something temporary vs. a permanent lifestyle change.
