Leaving a dog home alone?

[amy56]

Hi all

The subject of getting a dog has raised its head again in our house for the umpteenth time! - however this time we are giving it serious consideration!

Can I ask - have any of you had a puppy when you all work/go to school for most of the day? . I last had a puppy when I was 19, and both DH and I had full time jobs then, although I'm struggling to remember whether it coincided with DH's time doing shift work.

I only work three days a week and my longest day is 6 hours, although I choose what hours I do to some degree,so I could pop home in the middle - but is that enough?

[papamouse]

Why not rescue a dog that can be left at home. Or use a good dog walker.

[4fromsuffolk]

We know lots of people who work and have a dog.

I am at home in the day with our 2 and work in the evenings and at weekends when my Husband is home. That is more to be here for our children.

If we are going to be out for a long time then we use a lovely
dog walker. She charges £6 for 30 minutes or £10 for an hour.

I have to say though if we are out for any length that is usually when naughty things happen - like chewed up post. I think that is because they are used to Company.

Maybe dogs that are used to being left wouldn't do that.

Our family is richer for having dogs I think. We went for a walk this morning by the river and it was lovely watching our youngest (eldest is too creaky) running up and down the banks with our children in tow. We wouldn't be without ours.

[hipthehippo]

Aargh... this one's quite contentious depending on who you talk to... we were told that we shouldn't really be leaving our pup/dog longer than around 2-3 hrs max on their own. It was also recommended that we crate trained our dog so that when we were out he knew it was "down time" in his crate, which is used as a safe place, not a punishment. He often just wanders in and goes to sleep in his crate anyway. I think the max we've left him has been 4hrs although he was somewhat cross-pawed and desperate for the garden

TBH it depends on your dog. There are some that suffer from separation anxiety and will bark and howl or destroy the house when you leave them on their own, but equally there are some that are fine.

We know that ours will bark for a few minutes but then he settles down - we've actually sat outside the front door to listen. He's no longer kept in the crate if we're out for a couple of hours as he doesn't destroy things - well, not unless it's tissues or a plastic box

It might well be worth considering a rescue as they should have a good understanding of the dog's personality, which you won't know if you get a pup.

[Nic18076]

This is just my personal opinion, so please don't think I am judging anyone, but I wouldn't leave a puppy for longer than about 20 minutes when they are tiny. To get them trained you have to keep popping them outside very regularly so they get the idea, and they are obviously used to being with the rest of their brothers and sisters, and can get very scared by all sorts of noises, and might develop a destructive habit.

Papamouse's idea is a good one, or if you are set on a "from scratch" puppy then do you have any family members that can come in and sit with your dog for you? Also could you take some holiday from work whilst the puppy is very little?

I work from home, but often have to go out to a client's premises for the day so our dog is sometimes left home alone now that he is a grown up (he is 6 years old now). Right from the start though we shut him in his "area" with a baby gate for part of the day when we were in the house, so that he got used to being kind of alone and safe. My home office is upstairs and he stays in his area in the mornings even if I am in the house. He is happy and secure and doesn't seem to have any separation anxiety when he is left, and will often "put himself to bed" in an evening under his own steam .

[grant_w]

This is the reason we don't have a dog.
We're both out of the house from 8 til 5, so would have to find a dog walker to take the dog out at least once a day, letting themselves into our house in the process.

[amy56]

Thank you for your replies

I too have read that they shouldn't be left for more than 2 or 3 hours. Is that because of needing to go out to 'do their business', or is it because they just shouldn't be left that long, in terms of loneliness? (As I say, it's been so long since I last had a dog that I really don't remember the details of raising one!)

I could easily come home to let the dog out for a fifteen minute toilet break on the one or two days that I'd be working from 9-3pm (the third day would be a half day anyway). But if it's to combat loneliness, then i guess popping back for a few minutes and then leaving again for three hours wouldn't really help would it?

I understand getting a rescue dog, but if we do decide to do this, we would be getting a cocker spaniel puppy. I realise puppies are more work,and whilst we realise they are only puppies for a short period (ive had three cocker spaniels from puppies in my lifetime), for us that's part of the experience and one we'd like our two boys to have too.

[hipthehippo]

Originally Posted by Nic18076

This is just my personal opinion, so please don't think I am judging anyone, but I wouldn't leave a puppy for longer than about 20 minutes when they are tiny. To get them trained you have to keep popping them outside very regularly so they get the idea, and they are obviously used to being with the rest of their brothers and sisters, and can get very scared by all sorts of noises, and might develop a destructive habit.

Papamouse's idea is a good one, or if you are set on a "from scratch" puppy then do you have any family members that can come in and sit with your dog for you? Also could you take some holiday from work whilst the puppy is very little?

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Yes, sorry - I'd forgotten about when they're really little It's absolutely a short time at first - and gradually increasing. My mum's at home so she's the one who gradually started leaving him for longer and longer - I'm out of the house for a solid 11 hours a day M-F.

[FlorayG]

Lots of people leave dogs alone at home for hours but that doesn't make it right. Dogs are pack animals and it's unnatural for them to be alone away from their pack ( even if the pack is human)

[skalexander]

We work full time and have 3 dogs, the youngest is 10 months old next week. We pop home for lunch everyday for 45 mins to feed the puppy and walk/play with them all. They also go to daycare once a week, to socialise with other dogs, and they come home exhausted. When we aren't there, they have the run of the downstairs of the house and can access the garden via a dog flap.

There will inevitably be people who think you can't work and have a dog, and I respect their opinion, but I think you can. Our dogs want for nothing - they are well fed, exercised twice daily (including an off lead run most days), they sleep on our bed and they're well loved. We have a very strict policy that we don't leave them for more than 30-60 mins during the evenings or weekends, and even then its seldom, because of the time they spend alone when we're at work - so if we want to go out together, they go to my Mum and Dad's. My brother has also stepped in before, when our wee man wasn't well and I couldn't bear to leave him.

It can be done, you just need to have the flexibility and the commitment.