how long is too long to leave a dog?

[bumpybecky]

Apologies for slightly odd title and the typos I'm bound
to miss...

How long can a youngish dog be left in the day?

I know it will depend on the dog, but I'm looking at a spriinger x collie, around a year old and it would need to be about 4 hours a day,. We would walk before and after of course.

Is this completely unrealistic?

[lljkk]

Collies are lively breeds & less likely to settle nicely for that on their own than others.

[OwlLady]

a springer collie cross is going to need to be stimulated during those 4 hours as they are very mentally agile, but it can be managed but you need to do your research first

[Canidae]

A walk before and a kong to chew on and he/she will be fine for 4 hours.

[NotWankinginaWinterWonderland]

I'm thinking if it is a year old it will be pre-trained, the owner may have been at home all day or not, you might want to get a dog crate just in case.

My dog thinks her name is 'go lie down' and she does this and she can be left for around 4/5 hours, longer is necessary.

[tooearlytobeup]

My 1 yr old Springer is totally fine with this. He sleeps while I am gone and it just means he is more bouncy in the evening

[Alameda]

I think it's a bit long for that particular blend of dog. But maybe you will be lucky and have one that settles after a long gallop off lead? Radio or tv in background might help, and treat balls/kong/raw carrot especially if not crate trained in case it starts chewing everything out of boredom or anxiety.

[bumpybecky]

thanks all :)

he's a rescue and I've not spoken to his fosterers yet, so hopefully they'll be able to give me a much better idea of whether he's been left or not.

Kongs, chews and radio all very good ideas.

It's been so long since we had a bouncy youngster that it's difficult to remember what we used to do. Our last dog was a collie x lab and we had her from about 6 months, so we have done this before, just 15ish years ago :)

There will be plenty for him to be occupied with after I finish work, lots of children willing to play ball as well as a good afternoon walk :) Also planning on training classes and other training at home.

[LetThereBeCupcakes]

I think it depends on what else you do with them, to be honest. My dogs go to daycare, obedience and agility classes. I do daily training sessions with them and make a point of taking them new places for walks.

Sometimes I think they're glad to see the back of me for a few hours!

[bumpybecky]

ah well we're a family of geocachers (like a treasure hunt using gps), so although I can see us being in the park by school every morning, I'm hoping to go to new places as often as possible for longer walks in search of tupperware boxes! (geocaches)

[LetThereBeCupcakes]

bumpy my husband is into geocaching. Me and the dogs used to go too but at 8 months pregnant it's a bit of a struggle now!

[bumpybecky]

8 months pregnant sounds like a good excuse to sit in the warm and try to solve some puzzle caches to me..... :)

[LoveDogs]

I agree with giving a kong but I wouldn't give a hard chew or raw carrot whilst your out, because we have a cocker x and she can tend to choke on them if she's not careful (she's very enthusiastic) so we tend to give her those when were around so that we can come to her rescue if she needs it.

[SrirachaGirl]

5 minutes?



Up to four hours is OK with our 1 yr-old Springer as long as she's just had a GOOD run. I always leave her with a peanut butter kong and a pig ear. She also has our older dog for company, which helps, I think .

[tazzle22]

I have that mix of dog too ........ and we geocache .

I found she was ok at that age as long as has something to do..... we had, amongst other things, treat balls that were filled with part of her mixer ration. She was mostly past the chewing everything phase by a year old and would stick to her chewy toys

no way really to say till its with you

hope it all works out well

[bumpybecky]

tazzle is your dog any good at finding caches?

I'm planning to use a clip local box as a feeding bowl.....

[bumpybecky]

stupid fingers! clip lock not local!

[tazzle22]

that sounds interesting bumpy ...... never thought of that lol given the variety of containers that are used as hideys !!!

Although feeding would definately give the dog pleasant associations I think it might confuggle a wee bit with the food being the stronger smell and association.


Megan usually very busy looking for water / mud to immerse herself in, far too busy to find summat she cant eat either lol ...but Actually I might look at this seriously !!!! I will just have the empty container to start with and as I clicker train I will mark and reward her picking it up, then go fetching... then finding etc.

watch this space !!!

did your last dog find any ?

[bumpybecky]

We only started caching after our last dog died, but I think she'd have loved it :)

We did have a foster dog this time last year, but she didn't find any. She loved the walking bit though so was happy to offer moral support.

I was reading bits online earlier about clicker training and read a page with video on how to train sniffer dogs, starting with treats under a tea towel, then moving onto tea bags, I think the next logical stage is cliplock boxes and film pots in the garden! it would be tricky as they're all different shapes, sizes and smells, but if you've managed to train a 'find it' command, I reckon it's worth a go....

[bumpybecky]

thepositivedogblog.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/how-to-train-sniffer-dog.html

before anyone thinks I've completely lost the plot, we'll be clicker training and walking in the woods looking for caches anyway, so I'm not going to be sending the dog back if it's rubbish at hunting tupperware!

[tazzle22]

thanks for the link..... will have a look !

I havent actually done that much with her for a while as concentrated more on my other dog ( rescue that needed a bit more input) and my horse ( also CT) and for a while M needed loads rest and limited excitment / exercise as recovering form major leg op.

MIght start im xmas hols though

any update on the pupster ?

[bumpybecky]

no :(

we're attempting to adopt from a very busy rescue and it is taking ages. I first saw the dog on their fb page 2 weekends ago, rang as soon as they opened monday, rang 17 times before I got as far as the answer phone! waiting a week before they returned the call (one call from them missed in that time). Spoke to them on monday, got some updated info, said I'd need to discuss with DH. Called back as soon as they opened tuesday (and every day since) to arrange to meet him, but they've not returned the calls. Just to leave a message takes at least 5 calls as the line always seems to be engaged.

I know they are incredibly busy, but I just don't do patience! The wait has given me time to do some research though and I know a bit more about dog training now though, which can't be a bad thing :)