How long are your dogs home alone?
- Thread starter Laurelin
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Kenya, never. my grandfather works from home and is her constant companion. plus she has the dog walker and doggy daycare
Romeo, 4 hours or so, spread throughout the day. usually 2 in the morning and 2 late afternoon (my classes). I leave him home with a bully stick or something
and I have seen many people who work full time have perfectly happy dogs, i think its just about putting that extra effort in. like taking them for a walk after you get home from work, or before you leave in the morning. and finding ways to keep them entertained when your gone (daycare, fun toys, dog walker, etc...)
Romeo, 4 hours or so, spread throughout the day. usually 2 in the morning and 2 late afternoon (my classes). I leave him home with a bully stick or something
and I have seen many people who work full time have perfectly happy dogs, i think its just about putting that extra effort in. like taking them for a walk after you get home from work, or before you leave in the morning. and finding ways to keep them entertained when your gone (daycare, fun toys, dog walker, etc...)
These past few days have been the most time i've EVER spent with Oakley straight...I prob haven't left him for 4 straight days now...
And now I def do NOT feel bad when I leave him home for hours at a time...cause he is so freakin lazy, haha. I'm the one bugging him more for attention than he bugs me, LOL.
Right now my schedule is pretty awesome, so he is only home for 9 hrs one day...the other weekdays, just 4-5.
He is REALLY good by himself though...cause he doesn't do anything...I can leave my room a pigsty, and he won't get into anything.
And now I def do NOT feel bad when I leave him home for hours at a time...cause he is so freakin lazy, haha. I'm the one bugging him more for attention than he bugs me, LOL.
Right now my schedule is pretty awesome, so he is only home for 9 hrs one day...the other weekdays, just 4-5.
He is REALLY good by himself though...cause he doesn't do anything...I can leave my room a pigsty, and he won't get into anything.
I work days and Bill works overnights so the boys aren't home alone very long at a time. Some days he has to stay over and they are alone about 5 hours in the morning. Other than that he's home about an hour after I leave. If we are going out of town for the day, they go to Mom's for doggy play day or my sis or cousin comes over and walks/feeds/play with them. In an ideal world, dogs wouldn't have to spend 9 or 10 hours a day alone and crated. But, having a job and feeding the dogs is kind of important too LOL! Unless you are dealing with a baby puppy and not able to give them a mid day potty/play session, I think most dogs are fine with it though.
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Never. Someone is always home. Mom has only worked for less than a year since having us kids. Dad is currently laid off. Oldest brother has never had a job in his life and still living with my parents. Other brother is currently laid off.
That's one reason I fear Cocoa would have a hard time adjusting if I ever could finally take her and have her live with me. I'd be working some of the time, going to school full time probably, and when I got home a baby to take care of. She's not used to TONS of attention, but she is also not used to being crated EVER but for dog shows. Not sure how she'd feel being crated every day for a few hours.
That's one reason I fear Cocoa would have a hard time adjusting if I ever could finally take her and have her live with me. I'd be working some of the time, going to school full time probably, and when I got home a baby to take care of. She's not used to TONS of attention, but she is also not used to being crated EVER but for dog shows. Not sure how she'd feel being crated every day for a few hours.
You could always ex-pen her, or put her in a bedroom, assuming she's not destructive.
My dogs are alone for varying times. Usually 4 or 5 hours at a stretch, I try to come home for lunch. My dogs sleep all day, though, as I always end up waking them when I come home for lunch. Three have free roam of the house, and Grimm is in an oversized crate, which gives him wander room.
My dogs are alone for varying times. Usually 4 or 5 hours at a stretch, I try to come home for lunch. My dogs sleep all day, though, as I always end up waking them when I come home for lunch. Three have free roam of the house, and Grimm is in an oversized crate, which gives him wander room.
When it was just me, the dogs would have to be alone for about 10-12 hours about twice/week and 9-10 hours the other 3 days. Most of the long days they'd have a break mid-day when I came home for lunch.
Now that I'm married and DH is here, they are usually alone from 10:45am-12:30pm (about 2 hours), 1pm-4pm (3 hours), and 4:30pm-5:30pm (1 hour) for a total of 6 hours alone 3 days/wk. On Fridays they are alone from 9am to 5:30pm (8.5 hours). Sat/Sun/Mon they are only alone for a few hours generally - DH has Sat/Sun off and I have Sun/Mon off. Occasionally they will be alone longer, but rarely.
Kes is still crated when I'm not home, so he's not alone, but confined for longer than the girls are alone.
Now that I'm married and DH is here, they are usually alone from 10:45am-12:30pm (about 2 hours), 1pm-4pm (3 hours), and 4:30pm-5:30pm (1 hour) for a total of 6 hours alone 3 days/wk. On Fridays they are alone from 9am to 5:30pm (8.5 hours). Sat/Sun/Mon they are only alone for a few hours generally - DH has Sat/Sun off and I have Sun/Mon off. Occasionally they will be alone longer, but rarely.
Kes is still crated when I'm not home, so he's not alone, but confined for longer than the girls are alone.
3-4 days a week, they might be home alone for a few hours when I'm working, depending on if anyone else is working/at school. I arrange it so that they are not alone for more than 4 hours at a time... I really don't like leaving them alone that long without a walk, and I worry about Fozzie's SA flaring up. Luckily, I have friends that live 30 feet away who also visit them. I come home on my lunch to walk/feed/play with them, too. Hopefully I'm going to start bringing Fozzie to work so I won't have to worry as much.
I think that a lot of it depends on the dog. I adopted Fozzie with the requirement that some one was home during the day, and that makes sense to me, for a puppy. That was when I lived at home and some one was ALWAYS there. I don't feel it's fair to leave a puppy alone for 8 hours with no potty breaks or interaction whatsoever. But, there are lots of dog walkers, daycares and other options out there!
I think that a lot of it depends on the dog. I adopted Fozzie with the requirement that some one was home during the day, and that makes sense to me, for a puppy. That was when I lived at home and some one was ALWAYS there. I don't feel it's fair to leave a puppy alone for 8 hours with no potty breaks or interaction whatsoever. But, there are lots of dog walkers, daycares and other options out there!
No more than a couple hours. My mom works at home so even if I'm gone all day at school and work, the dogs aren't alone.
I actually felt bad being gone for 2 hours today. That's not very long. I don't mind Lucy being crated because all she does is sleep all day anyway so it's not a big deal, but I haaaaaate crating Juno because she always wants to be on the go... and then I dread coming home and having to deal with that pent up energy lol. I just feel bad for her even if she's only alone for 2 hours a week.
I will say though that if my mom wasn't home during the day, I would have opted for an adult dog instead of a puppy.
I actually felt bad being gone for 2 hours today. That's not very long. I don't mind Lucy being crated because all she does is sleep all day anyway so it's not a big deal, but I haaaaaate crating Juno because she always wants to be on the go... and then I dread coming home and having to deal with that pent up energy lol. I just feel bad for her even if she's only alone for 2 hours a week.
I will say though that if my mom wasn't home during the day, I would have opted for an adult dog instead of a puppy.
I always leave interactive toys with my dogs. Kongs with treats, nylabones for chewing, etc. It's not ideal to leave them home alone that long but unfortunately the bills have to be paid. I always try to get them as much exercise and play time before and after being left alone since I know they'll sleep awhile during the day anyway and I want it all to happen while we're gone.
Sal is a lone from 7am to 3pm (my wife and I have slightly different schedules). I wish I had a job where I could have Sal with me. That would be a dream come true. When I retire I plan on getting a job where my dog can with me 24/7. Sadly Sal won't be there as I am 12 years from retirement.
In the Summer, Sal spends less than 2hrs a day a lone.
In the Summer, Sal spends less than 2hrs a day a lone.
My dogs (until this week) were home alone for 8 and 1/2 hours M - F. Murphy sleeps on my bed all day anyway and there are always plenty of toys for Mu to play with. Now my hubby got laid off so he gets to hang out with the dogs all day. We'll see how that goes. Lol. I do wish that I could be home more or at least come home and check on them but I work an hour away and it's just not possible.