Friend's dog home alone - wwyd

And FWIW both of mine are kennelled during the day, I do come home at lunchtime where possible but it's almost like I'm disturbing/inconveniencing them :p
Both are clean/non destructive in their kennels and don't bark unless they have something to bark at (landlords are next door and would soon inform me).
Couldn't have dogs if I didn't work and their condition and disposition is always remarked upon positively.
 
I used to be able to come home at lunch at let mine out. I have a new job and will be gone much longer. So far as long as they get their play time before and after work and some stuffed Kong toys they seem to be fine.
 
I have my family dog who has always been independent and is always doing stuff on her terms. She can easily be left for 8+ as she just sleeps (as seen on the dog camera) and is not interested in interaction or going outside.

I also have my dog who is an absolute nightmare and has separation anxiety ( he had 6 homes by 6 months old) and cannot be left alone! We have worked on this so he can be alone for 3 hours after a walk, but any longer and he sits and howls whilst destroying everything and anything :(

I think it is very dependent on the dog and the dogs needs. If the dog is getting good walks and lots of stimulation, I wouldn’t be too concerned, especially if nothing has been destroyed or he hasn’t had any accidents.
 
amymay said:
I don’t know either CT, although I do essentially feel that a dog that is basically alone for 17 hours a day, can’t especially be happy.
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I wouldnt do it now, but I have done it and the family dogs growing up were all kept like this although there was some overlap with my parent's jobs. Still think its less stressful and better for a dog than rescue kennels. My dogs come with me to work 2 days a week and stay in the car-people have told me thats bad too.
 
merlo89 said:
I have my family dog who has always been independent and is always doing stuff on her terms. She can easily be left for 8+ as she just sleeps (as seen on the dog camera) and is not interested in interaction or going outside.
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I have one like this. If I won the lottery I'd fence him off a big compound and throw in a herd of antelope, so he can live the lifestyle he's always dreamed of, unfettered by rules and human interference :p
 
This is the life of the vast majority of dogs I meet, to be honest.
If the owners are working full time it's common, much more common then dog walkers- Generally, people only tend to use dog walkers when there are issues or its a very long day away or they are very diligent owners. Dog doors are thankfully very common so they can potter in and out.
Unless young or high energy breeds most cope with the routine they are given....its the young ones who aren't getting enough stimulation that tends to cause trouble...dogs let you and your neighbours know when they are unhappy.

A tired dog is a happy dog. If they are physically or mentally tired before you leave most do just fine. Mine personally wouldn't cope with it because she's needy as hell and thrives best when there is company around... but its really not that uncommon.
However, given that when my dog comes to work she sleeps in a cage for most of the day...and she literally just sleeps and is to lazy to even watch what's going on most of the time....... I can't really talk.

is it the way I chose to keep a dog...personally no...is it the worst way to keep a pet....far from it.
 
I would continue as you are, doesn't seem that the Dog is that bothered, as others have mentioned there are plenty of dogs left at home during the day.

Mine has an hour walk in the morning, then is left from 8.45 to 12.30pm. He then gets a 45 minute walk and then left from 1.15 - 5pm he then gets another 45-hour walk. At the weekends I make sure that I am around and if we fancy going for a drink or out for lunch we will go to a Dog friendly pub. On a Wednesday I have a dog walker, she takes him out with other Dogs for 2.5 hours, its pretty cheap actually £15 per walk, but that is including pick up, 2 and half hour walk and then dropped off home again. Could she perhaps afford a Dog walker at least once a week?

He has never messed in the house, seems to be half asleep when I walk in and hasn't destroyed anything. Neighbours say they don't really hear him either. I leave the TV on for him and change his toys over when I go home at lunch.
 
Aru said:
Unless young or high energy breeds most cope with the routine they are given....its the young ones who aren't getting enough stimulation that tends to cause trouble...dogs let you and your neighbours know when they are unhappy.
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TBH even high energy breeds, if settled enough can be happy being left for 8 hours +

My dog is a beagle so a high energy breed and one prone to wanton destruction when bored (if you look on some Beagle FB pages it is scarey how destructive they can be) , aside from having a good bark at the postman he sleeps most of the day. he is walked for 30 mins before work and 2 hours after work, but on my rare days off the dog gives me the evil eye if I dare disturb his sleep (normally upside down on the sofa!) during the day.

No destructive behavior, no messing in the house, very content, happy, well behaved little dog.
 
When I was younger our dogs slept in the barn most of the day, we hardly saw them after their walk. But although they were sleepy they had company and free access to go to the toilet. It was only as they got older that they would sleep in the house for long hours. Its a shame dogs can't use litter trays it would make life a lot easier.

I am going to try and suggest a dog walker for one or two days, even if its the let out service. I just need to wait for the right opportunity to mention it. I don't want them to think I'm judging them or interfering, but there's part of me that feels they could do a little bit more.

I am silly as well, hence asking you for a more objective view. I looked back at the house when I left him last Friday and he was staring all sad faced at the window, they know how to make you feel terrible!
 
conniegirl said:
TBH even high energy breeds, if settled enough can be happy being left for 8 hours +

My dog is a beagle so a high energy breed and one prone to wanton destruction when bored (if you look on some Beagle FB pages it is scarey how destructive they can be) , aside from having a good bark at the postman he sleeps most of the day. he is walked for 30 mins before work and 2 hours after work, but on my rare days off the dog gives me the evil eye if I dare disturb his sleep (normally upside down on the sofa!) during the day.

No destructive behavior, no messing in the house, very content, happy, well behaved little dog.
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Mine is also a Beagle, I feel lucky with his behaviour when I compare him to the others on Beagle groups on FB. Are you on Beagle Banter? I saw recently one Beagle chewed the piping to the dishwasher and flooded the whole downstairs!
 
If anyone finds a higher energy dog than my old one let me know ;)

WandaMare said:
Its a shame dogs can't use litter trays it would make life a lot easier.
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Like I say mine are kennelled during the day, they are never, ever dirty in their kennel, apart from that one time when I was too liberal with the hydration aid after a long journey and I though I had suddenly acquired a racehorse :p
If they were really bursting or needed to go, I am sure they would, but they don't, they empty themselves in the morning and the evening and the odd lunchtime and are happy to hold on, sometimes I am begging them to empty so I can go to bed or get to work lol, I am sure it would be the same in the house.
 
I always find this an interesting debate. I tend to refer to my own experiences and direct observation of dogs over the last 40 years of dog ownership when forming an opinion....
 
LaurenBay said:
Mine is also a Beagle, I feel lucky with his behaviour when I compare him to the others on Beagle groups on FB. Are you on Beagle Banter? I saw recently one Beagle chewed the piping to the dishwasher and flooded the whole downstairs!
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Yes I am, but not very active int he group as most of them seem to be fairly numptyish and I struggle not to tell them so!
I think a lot of their problems come from not enough exercise or training and a distinct lack of a routine.
I'm just glad I didn't find the group until AFTER I got a beagle as it would completely put me off the breed.

ETA the very worst thing mine has done is take a few cans/containers out of the recycling bin, into his bed and licked them.
 
conniegirl said:
Yes I am, but not very active int he group as most of them seem to be fairly numptyish and I struggle not to tell them so!
I think a lot of their problems come from not enough exercise or training and a distinct lack of a routine.
I'm just glad I didn't find the group until AFTER I got a beagle as it would completely put me off the breed.

ETA the very worst thing mine has done is take a few cans/containers out of the recycling bin, into his bed and licked them.
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Yes, I would never have got a Beagle if I had seen that group. But they all seem to find it funny and blame the breed for lack of manners. I saw the dinner post and the dog was eating off their plate as they were eating. Gross! seemed like normal behaviour for some of them though.
 
Mrs Spaniel is left alone from 8-5.30. I live with my brother and he does shifts, so he manages to let her into garden at 11.30 or 3pm depending on his pattern, but there is also weeks when he is working 9-5 or is away on holidays, training courses etc.

I walk her for half an hour before work, plus she potters in garden while I sort the aviary out and I throw the ball a couple of times. First thing I do when I get home is an hours walk or we head straight to the yard twice a week after work to do my part loan. I offer her the chance to nip into garden before we set off but she rarely wants to go and is happy to wait till we arrive (which I clear!)
 
LaurenBay said:
Yes, I would never have got a Beagle if I had seen that group. But they all seem to find it funny and blame the breed for lack of manners. I saw the dinner post and the dog was eating off their plate as they were eating. Gross! seemed like normal behaviour for some of them though.
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I saw that too. Mine wouldnt dare. He sits quietly in his bed whilst we are eating and only then does he get fed.
I've heard a lot of people saying that the breed is hard to train but tbh I've not found it so. Mine will do anything for roast chicken and is frighteningly intelligent so only needs a couple of repeats before he has it down.

I have a lot of experience with dogs, mostly with rescue dogs that have major issues that need retraining (we were the last chance saloon for the golden retrieve rescue for a good number of years), but my husband had none before we got our Beagle and hasn't found it difficult to teach ours anything. We walk ours off lead a lot of the time and never have a problem with recall. I even hack out with Jezza off lead and he recalls to my pony when I need him too.
 
By the sounds of it, the dog has an otherwise wonderful life, apart from the number of hours being left and, at the end of the day, he has no concept of whether he is being left for 4 hours or 8 hours or 12 hours. If he's not wrecking the house, or otherwise being a pain in the posterior, I would think he's a perfectly happy pooch :)

I'm in the office today so my dogs will have been left from 8.00 am until 4.30 pm ish, with no dog walker or let out person. I will get home and they will be giddy but not stupid. They have however had an hour's walk this morning and will be going out for the same time when I get home. If anyone approached me to say I was mistreating my dogs, I would argue before they came to me they were spending 22 hours a day alone in kennels - which is worse?
 
WandaMare said:
I am going to try and suggest a dog walker for one or two days, even if its the let out service. I just need to wait for the right opportunity to mention it. I don't want them to think I'm judging them or interfering, but there's part of me that feels they could do a little bit more.
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TBH I do think you are Judging and interfering and If it were me I'd take offense.

You do what you feel right but don't be surprised if you lose access to the dog entirely. It would be different if they were having problems with behavior but I wouldn't want in interfering busybody telling me how to manage my perfectly happy, non destructive dog.
 
My dog is left alone while I am at work
Shes a collie
I walk her and throw a ball for her (her ultimate favourite) before I leave and as soon as I come home we head off to the yard for 3-4 hours, and pretty much all day both weekend days. I borrowed a friends baby cam to check up on her and she mostly sleeps for the day or chews on one of her toys.
She used to be in the garden, with a kennel, until neighbour got two jack russells who bark at her incessantly and run up and down the fence, and she got upset. From then she has seemed happier in the house. If I have a long day I drop her at the yard in the morning or the night before and she stays there. She doesn't mess in the house, and many people comment on how she is the happiest dog they know.
When next doors dogs arrived I actually contemplated moving house so that she would be happy in the garden but thought I would try her inside first.
It might not be ideal, and had I rescued her from a normal kennels they maybe wouldn't have given her to me as I am out at work - but she is definitely happier secure and comfortable in my house with her favourite person (she is a very one person focussed typical collie) coming home at the same time every night and giving her plenty of love and exercise and attention.
Of course I would love to not have to go to work and be able to spend all day with her, but this works for us and I would know if she was unhappy.
I would actually be pretty pissed off if someone tried to tell me this was cruel or she was miserable, without being able to point out something I had missed about her behaviour. There are hundreds of collies awaiting homes in Ireland, and she tells me every day how grateful she is to be in mine, with me. I adore her. I also considered getting her a friend for company, but to be honest I think she would find it very hard not to be the special one and that would potentially upset her more than benefit her. Shes not that bothered about being mates with other dogs.
 
All my dogs until now have been left from 0800 until 1700 never had any issues all walked well before and after work.

I have two just over 12 month olds now again walked before and after work. But as I currently work a ten minute walk away from my house I do go home and walk then at lunch time. On the odd and I mean very odd occasion I can't get home they are left.

We have a camera I stopped putting it on as they just slept had a play then slept. My OH spends hours playing with them as well.

That said I am due to change jobs soon and will not be able to go home at lunch time so they will have to go all day. I have no issues with this. If they start to mess or misbehavior I will revisit the situation and look at a dog walker. This is currently not an option as the youngest is still scared of people current work in progress
 
conniegirl said:
TBH I do think you are Judging and interfering and If it were me I'd take offense.

You do what you feel right but don't be surprised if you lose access to the dog entirely. It would be different if they were having problems with behavior but I wouldn't want in interfering busybody telling me how to manage my perfectly happy, non destructive dog.
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I'm not judging them Clodagh, I know I'm not experienced with enough dog situations to make a valid judgement, hence posting this thread. I'm certainly not going to go muscling in and start interfering either. Some people on here think his situations ok, maybe not ideal but not a problem and some people think he's on his own too long, so it is a bit of a dilemma.

I find that when I'm at home away from the dog, I am fine with it and don't worry, but then when I go to walk him and he always rushes to the loo (I won't go into details but its not just a quick wee, its the other too and quite a bit..) then I start to worry about him being uncomfortable on the days I don't go.

Its just difficult to know what to do really. I would only say something if they raised the subject and I was able to chip in without causing any offence.

And also in my defence, I have been a good dog friend to them. I have looked after him at short notice when they have had problems, I've helped out by checking on him on other days when he hasn't been well so I would like to think it would be ok to voice my concerns respectfully if it was necessary. But I'm not sure it is necessary and that's the problem!

I certainly feel a lot better about the whole thing knowing that its quite a normal thing for dogs to be on their own for so many hours and they seem to cope with it ok.
 
That wasn't me! I did agree with it and 'liked' the comment but I didn't actually say it.
I have never left dogs shut in that long myself, when I used to work horrendous hours my dog had access to the garden, but relatively speaking it is not cruelty.
 
Clodagh said:
That wasn't me! I did agree with it and 'liked' the comment but I didn't actually say it.
I have never left dogs shut in that long myself, when I used to work horrendous hours my dog had access to the garden, but relatively speaking it is not cruelty.
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Sorry Clodagh, I meant to reply to Conniegirl, wrong C!
 
I must admit the thought of leaving a dog alone for many hours on consecutive days does trouble me. Not judging, just my opinion. They’re social animals, they appreciate human companionship imo. Certainly, some breeds/types are more laid back & ‘lazier’ than others and perhaps easier to manage in such a lifestyle, but I still find it far from ideal & I do wonder if some owners justify their dogs daily routine because the dogs don’t display destructive behaviours? Some dogs won’t, they will accept their lot & not protest.
 
I've got nothing to justify personally, my dogs' condition and attitude speak for themselves. They are an active breed and not showing any signs of stress, and I see a lot of stressed dogs. They live a very fulfilled life (manys an evening I am posting from the beach or forest car park lol) which I can provide for them by working.
I know someone who works from home, their dogs look many years older than they are, dull coats, no muscle, no light in their eyes, it makes me so sad. I don't think being home all day constitutes being a great dog owner.
 
CorvusCorax said:
I've got nothing to justify personally, my dogs' condition and attitude speak for themselves. They are an active breed and not showing any signs of stress, and I see a lot of stressed dogs. They live a very fulfilled life (manys an evening I am posting from the beach or forest car park lol) which I can provide for them by working.
I know someone who works from home, their dogs look many years older than they are, dull coats, no muscle, no light in their eyes, it makes me so sad. I don't think being home all day constitutes being a great dog owner.
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Kennelled is so different to being shut in the house though, they get fresh air, motivation to move, things to look at.
I don't think this staffie in the OP is having a bad time of it at all, overall, but I would happily leave a kennelled dog, or dog with access to garden, for 12 hours, and used to, but not one shut in the sitting room.
 
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