Poll - how long do you leave your dogs alone for

How long do you leave your dog(s) alone for?

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Ours are rarely left longer than 2 hours but thats because OH is a dog walker (only out a few hours) each day and i only work 2 nights a week and when im at work he is in. We home board so are around for other people dogs too.
I could leave them as long as needed and they would remain clean and quiet but I would not unless I really needed too.
If circumstances changed and I worked 9-5 and so did OH, then I would have a dog flap from the garage/doggy room for them to come and go but no I would not rehome, as this is not always the best option, you never know where they may end even with the best of intentions.

Could your daughters not chip in with you for a dog walker for atleast part of the week to break the week up?
 
Sadly I do not have a secure garden - and the secure back yard is not accessible from their room. They are also very spoilt and will only toilet on grass. My front garden is open to the road.

We are minutes away from the Mersey Valley so they get good free range walking. There are a lot of dog walkers in the area. I suppose I will have to look into this - but we are talking about increasing my costs by upwards of £50 a week.

It's the guilt as well. I appreciate that there may not be homes that would take them as a pair - however, they are used to spending time apart as when the girls are home they sleep separately. I'm not sure they are that bothered about each other - they don't curl up next to each other or anything like that. However, my preference would be to keep them. It' just a) whether I can afford the dog walking / visiting and b) whether it's ok for them to spend so much of the day alone.

What do you do when you want to go out for the evening. Quite a few times when I go out - I am out from 4 till say 12?
 
My younger daughter (the one who has moved out) will try and come back one day a week to walk them. But she's at University and should be out having fun - not tied to her mother.

The other one is not around that much and is not predictable. It's not an urgent matter yet - I am just thinking into the future (not too distant I suspect) and wondering how I will be able to cope.

Most of all I want to do what is right for the dogs.
 
If you go out from 4 til 12, you feed at 3, take for wee/poo just before you go out, then out for a wee again at midnight and perhaps a very light meal then but we don't bother.

Honestly, they'll be fine. xxx
 
Ours do 8am-12pm on their own, then dog walker comes at 12-12.30 for a midday walk then they are on their own from 12.30-4.30pm they are fine and not destructive.
 
I picked 7 - 8 hours... we work full time but nip home at lunchtime at the moment, so Stan is left for around 8 hours a day, but with a small break. Which he usually sleeps through. Our circumstances are changing a bit so we may not be able to come home for lunch a few days a week, but I doubt very much it will bother Stan. If we're not here he just seems to sleep - even if we leave him a yummy chew he will leave it until we get back, and is always asleep when we get in (and quite often asleep before we leave!). He has been left 8 hours a day, 4 hours at a time,5 days a week, since he was 12 weeks old.

TBM - defo look into dog walkers, although I can understand this is an expensive option. They've got each other, I'm sure they've got comfy beds, you can provide them with chews, kongs etc...they'll probably barely notice you've gone ;)
 
Mine are left from 5:30am - 3:30pm ish. Not ideal, nor was it planned like that but they have a dog flap to the garden and free access downstairs. I tried two dog walking firms - one was really unreliable and would text me after I'd left for work to say that she couldn't make it that day at least once a week and the other managed to lose my JRT in the woods. That was bad enough but I got a call from the person who found her trying to get back into the house 3 miles from the woods and when I rang the DW, the stupid, stupid women hadn't even noticed she was missing a dog...btw, this dog wasn't a runner type and she would have looked for the dog walker before she headed home across a main road.Other walkers in the area won't take big dogs with small dogs (even from the same household) so the bill would be nearer £100 pw.

Maybe I was just unlucky but it's made me very wary of anyone else taking my dogs out.
 
They are normally at work with OH from 8-1pm or 2-5pm or sometimes all day so rarely are at home all day on their own and I work 2 days then 2 nights and then off for five days, so very rarely is OH stuck to leave them at home, also he always comes back for lunch anyway.

When OH went away and I was working I got a dog walker in for 12-1pm walk and got the neighbour to do a pee break about about 6ish and feed. I was out of the house 6am-9pm They did very well then I took them for a rave at 9 for half hour (They have flashing lights), but god I felt guilty.
 
cbmcts said:
Mine are left from 5:30am - 3:30pm ish. Not ideal, nor was it planned like that but they have a dog flap to the garden and free access downstairs. I tried two dog walking firms - one was really unreliable and would text me after I'd left for work to say that she couldn't make it that day at least once a week and the other managed to lose my JRT in the woods. That was bad enough but I got a call from the person who found her trying to get back into the house 3 miles from the woods and when I rang the DW, the stupid, stupid women hadn't even noticed she was missing a dog...btw, this dog wasn't a runner type and she would have looked for the dog walker before she headed home across a main road.Other walkers in the area won't take big dogs with small dogs (even from the same household) so the bill would be nearer £100 pw.

Maybe I was just unlucky but it's made me very wary of anyone else taking my dogs out.
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Bladdy nora....thats bad practice from your dog walker/s......I would have been livid:eek:
 
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TheBlackMoth said:
Sadly I do not have a secure garden - and the secure back yard is not accessible from their room. They are also very spoilt and will only toilet on grass. My front garden is open to the road.

We are minutes away from the Mersey Valley so they get good free range walking. There are a lot of dog walkers in the area. I suppose I will have to look into this - but we are talking about increasing my costs by upwards of £50 a week.

It's the guilt as well. I appreciate that there may not be homes that would take them as a pair - however, they are used to spending time apart as when the girls are home they sleep separately. I'm not sure they are that bothered about each other - they don't curl up next to each other or anything like that. However, my preference would be to keep them. It' just a) whether I can afford the dog walking / visiting and b) whether it's ok for them to spend so much of the day alone.

What do you do when you want to go out for the evening. Quite a few times when I go out - I am out from 4 till say 12?
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I went out for the evening last night, I went for a meal and then popped back home to feed and let them out then went back out for a few hours.
I have never gone out for 4 till 12 and esp if I had been out all day, this I would make an effort to get home or go out later.
I would not part with mine, I would make necessary changes.
I would be less worried about leaving a pair of dogs that where non destructive/noisy/pass motions when left as these tend to be signs they are not happy to be left so long.
Could you not leave them in the kitchen or what ever room leads out onto the yard and have a small pen built right outside the back door and get a dog flap....I literally mean a small pen you can move if need be away from the door when not needed (as they are only little dogs) and make the yard more secluded if its not already so folk cant look on or dogs be disturbed to much when they jump out for a wee if need be.
You would probably have no problem finding them a home together to be fair, it's just knowing for certain they are safe and ok, folk will say anything when they want a dog and spin a lovely story but it's not always the case sadly.
 
They are absolutely fine when we leave them. Mumble occasionally has a chew at something if he finds it - but mostly I think they sleep. If we give the treats or toys they bury them and dig them out to enjoy when we get home.

Sadly the house isn't really adaptable - it's had double glazed french doors everywhere - so nowhere to put a dog flap. I also have six cats and I never leave the dogs and cats alone together because the one thing that the dogs do do is chase the cats. They have never actually bitten them - but I prefer to err on the safe side.

I really would prefer to keep them - and to be honest I don't have an amazing social life - just once or twice a month. I will see how things go and if the oldest proves not to be reliable at helping now the youngest has gone (as I suspect) then I will think about a dog walker. It's a shame my mother doesn't like dogs as she lives round the corner and she could pop round and let them out - however, she is 85 and not likely to change her habits now.
 
i wish i could only be away for 3-4 hours!!

betty is alone all day while we are at work. she gets a good walk in the morning then is out in her kennel and run, from about 8.30 until 5 ish when Calum gets in from work.

never had any problems with separation anxiety, chewing/destrution, barking whining etc. she just sleeps her fat head off until we are home.

over the weekend she is very rarely alone. ;)

eta: she used to spend all day while we were working with my friend and her three dogs on a farm... but she started fighting with the other bitches, so we had to build a run in the garden.

the black moth: could you not build a run for yours? we just used security fence pannels. quick and easy to put up, and laid slabs on the ground. betty is fussy about where she does her business aswell- but she is walked in the morning before going into the run, so does the toilet then, and if she really needs to go then she will on the slabs. ;)
 
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Most people I know who have dogs work normal days so leave the house at 8am and get back 5/6 ish. The dogs are always fine they sleep and if you ome home early look at you to say why are you disturbing me.

It's what you train them to expect. I do not think not leaving them for more than a couple of hours is healthy for either party. It's harder then if you need to leave them for n emergency etc
 
I work full time split shifts between 630am and 10pm and my OH works shifts eith 5am-2pm or 2pm-10pm so our dog can be left up to 8 hours Max. He has a run which has a straw bed in the kennel area and a run with two water bowls. He also has a chew and toys. If he is to be left longer then that or both me and my OH aren't home till 10pm he goes to the in-laws for the night. ALso if only out 1-2hours he stays in the kitchen with a big bed next to radiator. He is a happy dog and our neighbour has a key and our numbers if need be. He only 18months and has adapted to it well:o
 
A little while back I was pondering a similar upcoming dilemma to you, OP, in that I've mainly been working from home in the last few years but will very soon have to go into the office at least 9-5 five days a week, likely to be 8-6. Some days I can drop the dogs at my parents' place (to join the rest of our own personal spangle massive!) as I'm going to be part time in their city, other days they'll be stuck at home. The solutions I had suggested to me from various other doggy people, including a reputable trainer, are:

1) Beg a neighbour, local kid, friend, etc to pop in, pay as necessary.

2) Retrain your dogs to use a designated tray with puppy mats in it, so that they can go to the toilet in a spot in the house. It starts with putting the mats outside wherever they normally go and getting them used to the idea, before bringing the mats back inside. (Essentially making them use a dog litter tray).

3) Hire a dog-walker or find a doggy day care unit.

4) Find a lodger, offer a room to a uni student, nurse on the night shift, etc. There are quite often mature students or quiet undergraduates who'd prefer to live alone and/or miss their own pets like crazy and would be happy to help out.

5) As well as the above options, make sure the dogs have entertainment - a small meal on a timer, a game/ball where they can unearth titbits, things to chew, things to cuddle, sprawl on, a radio or tv on a station/channel where it's mostly talking not music, etc.

My situation got resolved in that I've moved back in with a disabled friend, who pointed out she's more than capable of opening doors to the garden and hugging spaniels while she's trapped at home unable to work. She can't walk them, but the girls love her to bits and at least they won't be alone. I couldn't, for various health reasons (theirs and mine), contemplate rehoming them.

Be realistic with yourself: there are plenty of creative solutions possible BUT you need to think about what you can afford, how long a not-ideal situation might go on for, and how much any option will affect your quality of life as well as theirs. Don't forget, you can always experiment with different solutions before you try rehoming and see what might suit. Whatever you do, very best of luck, and your concern here suggests that you'll definitely do the right thing by your beasties.
 
I would say 4-6 hours is a reasonable time, but thats personally what i think for my dog. Some dogs are quite happy to laze around sleeping all day! :rolleyes:

I worry about my dog constantly, hes a very hypo border collie and strives on a strict routine.

He will have 30-40mins walk in the morning, then i will go to work 8.30am-12 in afternoon. I luckily found a job very close to home, i wouldnt work very far from home because he just wouldnt cope!
He will then get a 20min walk at lunch whilst im home.

Then OH will walk him from 3pm-5pm, then he is left until 7.30pm whilst we are at the yard.

If i had to leave him for more than 5hours then i would be hiring a dog walker or he would go to a doggy day care thing.

I think i have separtion anxiety with this dog, so sad but all i do is worry about and that hes okay! :rolleyes:

Oh and every time i leave him he gets aload of different treats hidden all round the house to keep him entertained, and a nice big bone!!
 
i dont think i ever leave my dog alone she comes to work with me comes to the yard infact goes everywhere with me i have had her 8 years now but i wouldnt hesitate in leaving her for 5 hours she isnt a needy dog i did leave her at home on the hot days in summer when i went out for a hack she just slept on the bed was in the same place as i left her i think it really depends on the dog
 
whisp&willow said:
the black moth: could you not build a run for yours? we just used security fence pannels. quick and easy to put up, and laid slabs on the ground. betty is fussy about where she does her business aswell- but she is walked in the morning before going into the run, so does the toilet then, and if she really needs to go then she will on the slabs. ;)
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They are terribly spoilt and very much house dogs. I really don't think they would like to be outside all that time. They like sofas and beds, not concrete and don't like rain or cold. In fact Bunny shakes if it's the slightest bit cold. They have a room with a view of the street, a sofa and a dog bed which is a bit crate like as it's under a table and very dark. They seem to alternate between the two when we are out.

You can see how spoilt they are. They really think they are lap dogs.

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They are absolutely adorable! I too have a wimpy terrier house dog - no way he could ever live outside. He can also hold a wee for a very, very long time if it's raining outside!

I honestly think they'll probably be fine left 'alone' - in their eyes they're not really alone because they've got each other. You can but try it, and if it doesn't work and they seem stressed out, then perhaps look into a dog walker.
 
they are very very cute! :D

betty might look tough (american bulldog) but she isnt!! ha ha! she was used to sleeping on couches at the farm with the other dogs (never allowed on the furniture at home!!) and doesnt like the cold and wet. she adjusted to life in the kennel very quickly, and has a nice warm straw bed, and if its realy cold then she has an equaflece dog tankie wich keeps her warm and dry. ;)

there are days that she is left in the house- if there is no breeze then i need to leave her inside, as the midgeys eat her alive. came home one day and she'd sratched her head raw. :( :( so if its very still or wild weather i leave her on her bed in the kitchen. again she just snores the day away until we are home, when she goes off up mountains to try and catch fish....

xx
 
Last week ALL week- but then we were in Portugal, and technically he was not alone in kennels. :)

Usually 9-1/2 and then 3-4.30....... the only day he has not had someone home at lunch time he ate the coffee table!
 
2-4 hours. Any more and the neighbour takes them to her house. We're very fortunate to have a fabulous retired woman who adores all dogs to have them to play with her GSD.

The OH's work hour only clash with mine three times a month so again, we're very lucky.
 
I ticked 2-4 hrs as that i the max time I would leave my dogs alone. I see some have ticked 9 hrs, I hope that isn't a daily routine..:(

Some people buy dogs then work all day leaving the poor dog on its own then tell it off if it has chewed something or made a mess. I can't see the point in having a dog if your not there for it.

My son wants a dog but his wife (just got married last week) has said no as they both work full time.
 
KS1, would you sshh? Passing comment on what people do with their dogs, ffs...

My dogs spent 8/9 hours alone probably 4 days a week - and they're perfectly happy, because they sleep during the day and spend the evenings walking/playing with us.

YOUR dogs might not cope being alone for more than 30secs, but for many of us its not an option to be at my dogs beck and call. If I felt she was distressed then we would manage the situation.
 
CAYLA said:
Bladdy nora....thats bad practice from your dog walker/s......I would have been livid:eek:
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I was more than livid :mad: I really did do my nut and would never use this firm again ever...but other dog walkers in the area seem to do it as a hobby IYSWIM...not available school holidays or only 3 days a week or are people that I really would not want to trust to keep my rottie out of trouble - he will take the pee out of the type who squeak at him rather than insist on his manners. They were so hit and miss that I cancelled the 2nd firm because there was no routine for the dogs . I'd prefer that they weren't waiting for someone who may or may not show up.

KS1 said:
I ticked 2-4 hrs as that i the max time I would leave my dogs alone. I see some have ticked 9 hrs, I hope that isn't a daily routine..:(

Some people buy dogs then work all day leaving the poor dog on its own then tell it off if it has chewed something or made a mess. I can't see the point in having a dog if your not there for it.

My son wants a dog but his wife (just got married last week) has said no as they both work full time.
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While I agree it isn't ideal I do take exception to the implication that I shouldn't have dogs! Sadly, life doesn't always go to plan (please note the OP) and circumstances change. Do you think I should put my dogs up for rehoming because I got divorced, moved house - with only one salary I had to move further from work and buy a cheaper house - and up my hours to pay the bills? After all, they would spend 22 or 23 hours a day without human company if they were in kennels awaiting homing, wouldn't they?

My dogs have free access to the garden and my attitude to chewing has always been that it's my fault for leaving things where they can get them...
 
I have friends who work from 9-4.30 and their dog is left home alone but she is a greyhound and justs chills on the sofa. They have a cleaner once a week who lets her out plus the husband works some weekends and the wife dosnt.

All in all I suppose shes left all day for about 3 times a week,not ideal I know but being the breed she is it dosnt seem to have had an adverse effect on her.

It certainly wouldnt work for my dogs, even though they have each other and lots of toys and treats the desire to chew would be too strong for them and I wouldnt have much of a home to come home to. I even have to tie the windows together because they have worked out how to open them and then they would be gone.
 
KS1 said:
I ticked 2-4 hrs as that i the max time I would leave my dogs alone. I see some have ticked 9 hrs, I hope that isn't a daily routine..:(

Some people buy dogs then work all day leaving the poor dog on its own then tell it off if it has chewed something or made a mess. I can't see the point in having a dog if your not there for it.

My son wants a dog but his wife (just got married last week) has said no as they both work full time.
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get a grip! ;) no offence but you cant assume that because my dog is left at home all day that she is unhappy!! she gets a long walk in the morning and is then out in her kennel and run- she has a warm dry bed in a kennel, access to water, toys and freedom to move about in her run area. long walk, plenty of play, and kept inside with us at night.

the reason she is kept like this is because my situation changed- she used to be kept at a farm with my friends dogs all day while i was working. but things didn't work out- she began scrapping for dominance with the other dogs.

what should i have done?? get rid of my dog???!!

different strokes for different folks eh? i'd love to not have to leave the dog from mon-fri 8.30 till the end of the close of business.... sadly that is not a luxury everyone can have.

she sleeps all day- has never whined, pined, chewed or displayed any other anxious behaviours while we have been away- i know this as my cousins wife who lives across the road from us was on maternity leave, and was very helpful in getting her used to being kenneled in the beginning: she kindly let me know that betty was z'd-ing it all day while we were away!
 
KS1 said:
I ticked 2-4 hrs as that i the max time I would leave my dogs alone. I see some have ticked 9 hrs, I hope that isn't a daily routine..:(

Some people buy dogs then work all day leaving the poor dog on its own then tell it off if it has chewed something or made a mess. I can't see the point in having a dog if your not there for it.

My son wants a dog but his wife (just got married last week) has said no as they both work full time.
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To be fair my RESCUE dog's existence was to be shut in an unheated kennel, with a very small run, and walked for 40 mins twice a week- or live with me have a min of 2 hours exercise a day, comfy bed, allowed on the sofa, decent food, plus all sorts of other cool stuff, BUT he has to spend 6ish hours of a weekday alone

Hmmmmmmmmmmm now which life would I pick if I were him?????

Do not tar all those who are not retired/unemployed/home workers with the same brush please!
 
I clicked 7 - 8, at the moment it's very rare they're left at all as my dad it retired and mum only works mornings but they're away (and once OH goes home) they'll be on their own from 7.45am - 5pm. They're outside, with free access to the garage (carpet down, beds and toys out) and tbh spend most of the time asleep which is all they do with my parents there....they have to wake Jack up to take him for a walk!

When I move I'll be living with OH who works 9 - 3 and one night a week 4-12am. I'll be working full time so they'll be on their own probably 8 - 4 most days. I'll see what the house we get is like but I'll either go home for lunch or get a dog walker if I can't leave them in a similar situation to the one they have now.
 
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