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Original poster

Tell the truth.. do you leave your dog home alone?

226 replies

Be1atrix · 13/10/2019 11:32

Just that really. As a family we're all desperate for a dog but work full time. We would pay for a dog walker to come in at lunchtime.

In The Doghouse section people who leave their dogs at home get shot down. But surely there's people who work full time who have them? How do they manage?

OP posts:
krustykittens · 13/10/2019 12:00

We both work from home so not an issue but have occasionally had a family day out where it wouldn't be suitable to bring the dogs, so they have been left longer than four hours. But there are three of them so they have company and someone checks on them and lets them out for a pee. It isn't right to leave dogs on their own the majority of the time.

SunshineCake · 13/10/2019 12:04

Mine has been left for four hours twice in her life. She is just over three and it was an emergency. If she's left for two hours I'm wanting to get back to her. Most days she is left for an hour or so but she spends most of her time with me in the house or out with me.

Leaving a dog 8-6 is cruel imo.

A dog walker popping in at lunch time for an hour or less isn't much better imo.

AddisonForbesMontgomery · 13/10/2019 12:05

I work full time, when I got my dogs I purposefully chose to get two because I cannot get home in the working day, my dogs are walked first thing before I go to work and first thing when I get home (after they’ve been out in the garden) on the weekends I take them out for hours,

There are some days I don’t want to walk them because the weather is awful, but they need the walks so I take them,

Some weeks if I’ve been particularly busy in work and they’ve been alone for longer than I would normally, I will take leave so they aren’t alone more than usual,

They’re happy, I know immediately if one of them is out of sorts, they have the full run of the house, but they are small dogs and I have a pair, I wouldn’t want to leave one dog alone all day, dogs are pack animals and need company.

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SpiderCharlotte · 13/10/2019 12:05

No more than 4 hours and that's rare. We only got a dog when our working hours were able to facilitate this.

People will come on here and say it's fine and their dog is perfectly happy. It's not fine and dogs should not be left on their own for a long time but people will be happy to convince themselves otherwise.
They do this because their desire to have a dog overides what's best for the dog. Oh, and someone will always say 'you don't know my dog, I know what's best for my dog' blah blah blah.

People need to work, they don't need to have a dog.

SunshineCake · 13/10/2019 12:09

Leaving them alone, overnight, outside. SadShock.

spiderlight · 13/10/2019 12:17

I work from home so I'm here all day, but he has to be left occasionally if we go to the supermarket/cinema etc. We try not to leave him for more than four hours, or more than once on the same day, and he's left with an array of Kongs/lickimats to keep him busy. If we have to be somewhere all day and can't take him, he goes to stay with my friend for the day.

Mmmmdanone · 13/10/2019 12:18

Our dog walker takes her from 1pm and drops her back at 5 when I'm home- all for £10! She's alone 3.5 hours before walker gets there.

wingobingos · 13/10/2019 12:18

I'm a bit surprised at the responses.

If you work full time and can't afford/arrange a dog sitter or doggy day care - you can't have a dog?

I'm not goading at all, genuinely interested.

I have a dog, work just a couple of hours, 3-4 days a week. Didn't work when we ddog was a puppy but I am just very fortunate.

Is there a rule - or a bad thing that will happen if you leave your dog for 4+ hours - what is the actual evidence?

I don't like leaving my dog because they love us being home so try to as much as possible. But I do leave ddog randomly for long periods - where necessary when needs must - but never overnight.

yumscrumfatbum · 13/10/2019 12:25

I work part time and 50% of my job is home based. That means the maximum time my dog is home alone is around 3 hours. If we are going out for the day at the weekend I get a neighbour to pop in and we do the same for them.

CherryPavlova · 13/10/2019 12:30

No we rarely leave him at all. Either with one of us or in daycare. Sometimes he goes for a sleepover or weekend with one of the children or does home boarding.
Very occasionally, we’ll put him in his crate for a couple of hours if we cannot take him with us but nowadays we choose dog tolerant restaurants and activities.

Personally, I don’t understand why you’d get a dog and not look after it properly.

Mmmmdanone · 13/10/2019 12:31

wingo some dogs can get depressed/anxious if left alone too much. Ours certainly hates it! I know some dogs that don't care but some definitely do!

EatDiamondsForBreakfast · 13/10/2019 12:32

I was quite shocked when I joined Mumsnet about this subject to be honest. I’m Australian & the dog walker/never leaving your dog alone thing was so surprising to me. There are Doggy Day Care’s here & they are springing up everywhere but 10 years ago I had never even heard of such a thing Confused. I’ve always lived rurally and most people have always just left their dog at home while they worked. All my neighbours still do this. It absolutely baffles me that a pp said she called the rspca about dogs being left while neighbours were at work. Is it a uk thing?
I read a thread on here recently about a lady who had a massive fight with her daughter as someone HAD to be home at 6PM (!!!) to feed the dog .....I was astounded! Why 6pm exactly? Why can’t food be left in a bowl for the dog? Surely dogs don’t starve in 4 hours?
I’m sure someone will be along in a minute to say nobody leaves their dog alone even while they go to the loo in Australia Hmm
Smile just my observations.

GeorgiaGirl52 · 13/10/2019 12:32

When I was working they were home for about 8 hours, but never alone because they had the comfort and companionship of 2 other dogs. Also had a supply of food, water, the full run of the house and access to a secure locked garden. They were glad to see us when we came home but were never frantic.

SpiderCharlotte · 13/10/2019 12:33

But I do leave ddog randomly for long periods - where necessary when needs must

Why don't you make arrangements for your dog when you leave them for long periods? How long are you talking? That's probably pretty subjective.

Is there a rule - or a bad thing that will happen if you leave your dog for 4+ hours - what is the actual evidence?

Did you not research this yourself before getting a dog? I know this sounds a bit snippy, I don't mean it to, but surely you did?

Moondancer73 · 13/10/2019 12:35

Of course people do it. It's most definitely not right, or fair though. Our dog - who is now nine - is never left more than five hours and has the tv on for company. One or other of us is always home after that time and he is often walked before he is left or as soon as we get home. You cannot leave a dog full time and think it's ok because it's not.

DogAndCatPerson · 13/10/2019 12:38

He’s only ever home alone for a maximum of 4-5 hours and that isn’t regular, maybe once a month. When DH and I go outOUT and we make sure he’s been taken for a long run out beforehand and is tired out. On a day to day basis he’s left alone for a max of 2 hours, whilst I do things like go to an exercise class or the supermarket. We built up to that slowly.

People do leave their dogs for 8 hrs+ a day, every day. It doesn’t make it right or fair on the dog. I honestly cannot fathom people getting dogs knowing and planning for it to be left, essentially alone, for 8 hrs a day.

CuriousaboutSamphire · 13/10/2019 12:43

Yes. But I waited until that time would never be more than 3 or 4 hours at a push. That's bad enough, the behaviour when I get back shows just how much he has missed having company!

It isn't the loo breaks they miss!

Encyclo · 13/10/2019 12:44

Our boy would hate being left alone, he loves having us all here and can sulk all day when ds goes back to Uni on Sunday.

The most he's alone is 2-3 hours on the weekend and he cries when we're leaving bless him.

SuperMeerkat · 13/10/2019 12:44

Start off by saying I don’t have a dog. When did doggy day care become a ‘thing’. When I was a kid we had a rescue dog for about two years before he passed away (he was old when we got him), i’d never heard of it. Never heard any adults talking of it either. This was in the nineties.

TDMN · 13/10/2019 12:44

Genuine question - what are the signs that a dog is unhappy at being left alone all day? We had dogs growing up who got left for 8 hours who were seemingly content but maybe we missed the signs?

BiteyShark · 13/10/2019 12:55

Start off by saying I don’t have a dog. When did doggy day care become a ‘thing’. When I was a kid we had a rescue dog for about two years before he passed away (he was old when we got him), i’d never heard of it. Never heard any adults talking of it either. This was in the nineties.

It wasn't a thing back then. My parents had dogs and when they were left for many hours we came home to pee/poo and things chewed. It seems obvious now that they were stressed or bored. My thoughts are that simply people didn't understand about dog behaviour etc as much as they do now because we have so much more information at hand now due to the internet.

Yes people leave dogs alone all day but scratch beneath the surface and often they are destructive or 'play up' in the evenings.

You do get the ones that know it's going to be boring for the next 8 hours when alone and sleep as long as they get two good walks a day but you won't know if your dog will be one of those until you own them.

Personally we only got our dog knowing we had the money to pay for walkers and in the end opted for daycare because he gets company for most of the day. I couldn't bring myself to leave ours all day knowing he would be unhappy. He is ok for around 3 hours on his own (I know as I have a camera) but any longer and he gets restless.

Savingforarainyday · 13/10/2019 12:59

Hmmm

So.... for people who have rehomed a dog, is it better for them to be at a shelter?

What about people who got the dog while they were in one set of circumstances, but then their circumstances changed, and now the dog needs to be left more?

What if the dog is older, and now is genuinely ok?

I got my dogs when I was a SAHM, gradually worked slightly more, got a divorce, low income for most of the time.
So, I should have rehomed the dogs, rather than let them be on their own for 5 hours?

I only have one dog now, and work long hours. Luckily kids are in college, so the dog very rarely is left for longer than 4 hours. But it's just luck it's worked out that way.

I wouldn't get another dog in my circumstances, as it wouldn't be fair.
Honestly though.... do people really think it's better for the dog to be rehomed if your circumstances change?
What, honestly, are people meant to do?

dottiedodah · 13/10/2019 13:07

I think 4 hours max is the most TBH. We actually got our girl from a couple who were working all day and she had chewed her tail due to boredom! They had a dog walker too. Most dogs who get re homed are stressed because they are home alone a lot and fret ,they dont know where you are and stress !.If you were left alone all day no TV or paper nothing to do how would you feel ?!

dottiedodah · 13/10/2019 13:08

As will start chewing furniture ,howling/barking

DogAndCatPerson · 13/10/2019 13:09

Having a dog when your lifestyle is suitable and then adjusting when your circumstances change beyond your control is one thing, saving. Getting a dog when your circumstances are already not remotely dog friendly is another thing entirely.