Those moments when you have to leave your dog at home

[pyloricStenosis]

New puppy owner here - very green around the gills - it's been years and years and years since I last owned a dog and then I was a kid so my memories are vague and jaded

I'm just wondering about those days or moments when you absolutely HAVE to leave your dog home alone... what do you do?

I'm trying to judge what is most fair....

I work 15 hrs a week - I coukd go to work fir 3 hrs and pop home for an hour then back to work and then school run - but even that seems unfair amount of time in am albeit much much larger than needed dog crate

I coukd do doggy day care - have researched and found somewhere very reasonable and lovely who offer half day/no walk OR full day/1 HR walk or 2 half HR walks

Or I could do 3 hrs at home then half day care

What do other people do on here?

Also if you leave your doggy at home do you tune into cctv to check up on him/her?

It's a whole new world for me - we popped out tonight for a rare meal out without kids and came back to a very distressed dog

Usually bed times are ok and stress free for doggy and humans

I can't bear the idea of leaving her again if she's distressed buy I need to work a solution

[beachyhead]

I work two days out of the home a week and I have someone come in to be in the house for 5 hours each day (and she cleans!) could you have someone in for a couple of hours who is doggy minded?

[insanityscatching]

We started slowly leaving Eric from him being about 12 weeks old, so we started at 10 minutes and built up time. Now he's absolutely fine to be left for four hours which is my maximum that I'm happy to leave him for. I leave him with a drink and a biscuit and he has the run of the downstairs but he mostly sleeps whilst we are gone. I think puppy was distressed if you were gone a while and he's had no sort of preparation for it.

[mollie123]

what insanity said
build up the leaving from about 10 minutes until he is used to being left and more importantly you coming back and not abandoning him
I also with my rescue dog who suffered from anxiety when left used to use a differant door to go out when he was not coming with me - so back door for walks and front door for 'just me'
I also used a crate for a few weeks to make him feel secure when he was left - now he is fine for up to 5 hours

[Eliza22]

Our puppy is 12 weeks old. I have had to leave her in her den for short periods to go to sainsburys or the bank or other short errands and she's been fine. Yesterday, I had to take my son somewhere. We were 3 hours (he is disabled, there was no one else to either sit with the puppy or take ds) and she was very upset yesterday evening. Following me (even to the loo) and crying at bedtime. I have learned my lesson....for now, I'm pretty much grounded. Ds has a hospital appointment next week which with the travel and waiting about (and actual appointment) could be a 5 hr round trip. I have no choice but to cancel it.

Doggy daycare sounds good OP. As the puppy gets older, everyone says it will get easier (hope so!!)

[nmg85]

Eliza22 Do you have a local dog walker that does puppy visits? That was a life saver for me when I needed to go to the hospital etc when pup was younger. Even now more then 3 hours and she has someone come in.

[Eliza22]

I will look into it.

[pigsDOfly]

Just to add to what others have said, when you do have to leave, and there's no getting round it, every dog has to be alone at times, leave her with something to take her mind off the fact that you've gone: could be a stuffed Kong for example.

My dog is very happy to be left alone as she knows that when I go out she will get her treat ball filled with small dry dog food - ball has to be pushed with her nose to get the food out so keeps her busy and it's not her usual food and is kept purely for when I go out.

She gets quite excited when I'm leaving the house - bit insulting really - and is always calm when I come home.

Obviously my dog is older than yours and has the run of the house, but as your dog is crated a Kong, perhaps frozen, would be a good thing to start with.