Time Alone

lizziedog1 · 11-07-2009, 01:12 AM

There seems to be some debate and even some heated arguments regarding how long a dog should be left alone. I just want to know what everyones opinion is on this subject. P

RBark · 11-07-2009, 01:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lizziedog1

There seems to be some debate and even some heated arguments regarding how long a dog should be left alone. I just want to know what everyones opinion is on this subject. P

23 hours a day alone, 20 minutes pottying, 20 minutes eating, 20 minutes abusing.

TxRider · 11-07-2009, 01:20 AM

Mine always have the run of my house, free feeding with plenty of water available. It seems 8 hours is fine for them, 10 hours pushing it but doable, 12 hours way too long and I can expect to end up cleaning things up I would rather not, and obviously they have had to hold things as long as they could which I imagine is uncomfortable.

That's really the only limit I see, as otherwise I don't think my dogs can tell between 1 hour and 8, at least not from their behavior.

May be shorter for tiny dogs, I dunno as I would never own one.

yappypappymom · 11-07-2009, 03:43 AM

I havea 13 wk. old pup that has at the longest been left alone for 3 hours a pop or less since I have had had him...I couln't bear to be gone any longer at this stage & juat would'nt feel good about it for either his sake, or for mine though..

moots · 11-07-2009, 03:46 AM

Family of 5 here and theres always at least 1 person home, doesn't mean someone is with the dogs all the time as my dogs like to do their own thing.

pugmom · 11-07-2009, 06:41 AM

I didn't vote .....my guys can be alone anywhere from 6-8 hours
on a good day my husband gets home about 6 hours after I leave on a bad day about 8

Labsnothers · 11-07-2009, 09:05 AM

I think many of us assume what we do is right. Many people are forced to leave their dog all day while they work. We have had to in the past, but one or the other was always able to make it home at lunch time to give it a break. I hate to see a dog left more than 4-5 hours at a time, but have little more than my gut to back that up. Many dogs seem to do OK left much longer.

katyorkie · 11-07-2009, 09:16 AM

I did not vote, I have to work and I am gone almost all day. I have a dog door so I don't get many "surprises", BUT, I still get them. My dogs are probably left alone from 8-12 hours/day during the week. I don't get to go home at lunch and check on them. They have run of the house and they do a good job of staying out of trouble.

Nargle · 11-07-2009, 09:28 AM

Okay, I'm confused. Are you asking how long I personally leave Basil alone, how long the average dog is left alone, and how long they SHOULD be left alone?

Umm... I'll answer each separately XD

1, Because of my boyfriend and my schedule, Basil is left alone a max of 4 hours during the day, though most days there's always someone home (Or out at the dog park or Petsmart with Basil!). Though there has been a few days where he's had to stay home alone almost 8 hours, like one time we had to drive all the way to FW and attend a baby shower, and there were some other errands to attend to along the way.

2, I think the average dog owner (Or at least the average responsible owner, there are plenty that have reduced their dogs to strays contained within a fenced area of land) typically goes to work around 8 hours a day, I'm guessing. I'm not entirely sure at all XD

3, As for how long a dog SHOULD be left alone, that's SOO up to the individual dog. Some dogs are very independant, and even when their owner is home they're off chewing on a squeeky toy ignoring their owner. Basil, on the other hand, is very much a velcro dog, and has SA, and he doesn't need to be left alone for hours and hours. Every minute someone's home he's within 10 ft of them. Also, there's quite a difference between puppies and adult dogs, especially in potty habits and dependance.

Laurelin · 11-07-2009, 10:25 AM

Some days my dogs aren't ever left alone. 3 times a week they're left alone 8 1/2 hours, sometimes with a break but many times not. They've been left alone as long as 12 hours with no problems, but that's a rare occurrence.

Most people who own dogs need to work as well so I think it's perfectly doable and okay to have the dogs home alone during the work day. If it were a perfect world, we would all live on farms and stay with our dogs 24/7 but it's not realistic.

Wlfdg · 11-07-2009, 10:42 AM

In the summer my dogs can be home as much as 8hrs. It's just too hot to take them out. I'll take them out for a good hour+ mtn.bike ride at dawn and a long(1-2+hrs.) walk at night. They sleep the rest of the day away. They have the run of the house. Even when my GF or myself are home they don't go out for more than a couple of minutes during the day. They want right back in.

We are planning on enclosing the back of our house and putting in a doggy door next summer for them. It'll be especially nice in winter when they want to sleep outside at night but come back in for water. They won't wake me up at 1:00 a.m.

.

Once it gets cool enough (Sept>June) they are with me at all times.

sheltiemom · 11-07-2009, 10:56 AM

Personally my dogs are not left alone for more than about 2 hours at a time a couple times a week, but that's because my husband works from home. Most days they are not left alone at all. As far as how long I think dogs should be left alone, I think it depends on too many factors to say for sure...is the dog a puppy or adult, crated or uncrated, is there a dog door, does the dog get into things, how much exercise does the dog get at other times....6-8 hours is about the max I feel comfortable with, but back when my husband worked outside the home there was one day a week when we had to leave ours for 10 hours, and they did ok.

Puppy_love_122 · 11-07-2009, 11:24 AM

Everybody living in my house has dif. schedules, making somebody home almost all the time. Whether that person is competent enough to actually look after them or not is up for debate

but they are only ever home alone for perhaps an hour or 2 a week. If everybody is going to be gone for more than a few hours, they go with us or stay with a friend...Belle just can't hold it that long anymore.

BellaPup · 11-07-2009, 11:39 AM

Unfortunately since my work-from-home neighbor moved, Bella is alone while I am at work...missing her. She doesn't seem to care, as soon as I leave she's up in bed and as far as I know doesn't get up until I come home. If I have to leave her for more than 9 hours I feel SUPER guilty, so on days I know I'm going to be working late, or have errands to run before coming home I bring her to daycare.

Sometimes I'll be at work and wish she could answer the phone so I can check on her! LOL

emily445455 · 11-07-2009, 11:51 AM

I put "6 to 12 hours". I crate both of mine, and I'm sure after 12 hours they would be dieing to get out to go potty and exercise.

FilleBelle · 11-07-2009, 11:53 AM

I leave the house at 7am and get back around 3pm. Sometimes I run home for lunch, but that's rare. Alvin has a dog door but, as far as I can tell, sleeps the entire time I'm gone. Sometimes he is actually in the same bed when I get in as he was when I left.

DJsMom · 11-07-2009, 11:56 AM

As of yesterday, I can no longer leave Coco at home alone for more than possibly the time it takes to go to a dr appt or run errands due to severe SA problems we're having with her that seem to be getting worse rather than better.
In the past I've left her alone in her crate for up to 4 hours at a time,,, but yesterday I came home to find a bloody mess - she managed to break a wire on her crate & ripped up 1 of her paw pads. I will now either be taking her to work with me or getting her in day care.

Some dogs can NOT be left alone at all - even tho their owners DO have to work, & in those cases we do have to think about what is BEST for the dog. However, I do feel that those who start off with their dog being left from the start are perhaps less likely to have problems with separation anxiety.

lizziedog1 · 11-07-2009, 12:02 PM

I am surprised that no one has brought the question of breed into this debate. Can a three month old weimaraner be left alone as long as a three year old bulldog?

FilleBelle · 11-07-2009, 12:09 PM

I don't think we're having a debate. We're just responding to the question of how long we leave our personal dogs alone. Not much to argue about there.

In your example, the 3-year-old bulldog could be left alone longer than the 3-month-old Weim because the bulldog is an adult while the Weim is a puppy. Breed doesn't play into your scenario...age does.

Having said all that, I wouldn't think breed would make as big a difference as individual personality. Many small dogs are bred to be their owners' constant companions and yet are perfectly fine left alone all day while Mom and Dad work. On the flip side of that we have working and guardian dogs on this very board which should, based on their breeds, be fine left alone all day, but instead suffer from terrible SA. Some dogs are bred to be better off alone than others, but I think you'd have to judge your individual dog to know if that was actually the case.

lizziedog1 · 11-07-2009, 12:30 PM

Quote:

In your example, the 3-year-old bulldog could be left alone longer than the 3-month-old Weim because the bulldog is an adult while the Weim is a puppy. Breed doesn't play into your scenario...age does.

Oh, really?

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/weimaraner.htm

This doesn't describe a breed that would do too well left alone for long periods of time. It states that this breed needs extensive exercise. It also states that the owner needs to be a take charge type. Leaving this dog alone all day would tend to preclude doing that.