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

[Be1atrix]

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?

My friend leaves her dog from 530am to 3/4 pm

Ddog is left maximum 4 hours, not on a regular basis though, maybe once a week while I do shopping doc/dentist appointments etc. If we both need to be out longer my neighbour kindly looks after him ( although she loves him so much she can hardly wait for him to go and visit!)
We always wanted a dog but held off until we felt we could give him the time and attention needed. Quite unashamedly we do organise our time around him , we love our Ddog!

No dog thank goodness

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?

A change of circumstances and adapting best you can is one thing, choosing to get a dog knowing it will be left alone for long lengths of time daily is another.

Some dogs are ok left alone, some aren't and get very anxious. I've seen dogs seriously injure themselves trying to get out of the house when left alone.

You can't know what your dog will be like until you get one. Many rescue places don't regime to families where they'll be left alone all day so the OPs May go the puppy route.

A puppy needs introducing to being left alone over time and build up, if both adults are working full time and can't take the needed time to ensure toilet training and building up over weeks sometimes months to leaving alone for six plus hours daily then there's a very good chance the puppy will be stressed.

They can't know until they get a dog what it will be like and it's a risk I wouldn't take and is why OP is getting a bit of a hard time.

Circumstances change, you say yourself you wouldn't get a dog in your current circumstances, which is what the OP is considering.

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

That's right. A dog is a living animal with needs, not a human right. If you can't fulfill a dog's needs, don't get a dog.

I'm always mystified by the cruelty card. The majority of our dogs have come from rescue and I'm sure would far prefer to be at home alone for a few hours than in kennels

Kennels are horrendously stressful places for dogs. Surely we can aim a bit higher welfare-wise than not-as-bad-as-kennels!

Our dog isn’t usually home alone although can be and doesn’t seem to bother him. I WFH and he’s rarely in the same room as me though. He follows the sun about the house and snoozes in whatever place he can find it. I’m not sure what the difference is whether I’m there or not.

Twice a week our dog (1yr old) is home alone 7-1:30. No problems.
I make sure he has done his business before I leave and leave him with his Kong and treats.
Occasionally Fil will call in around 11 and let him out in the garden.
I take him for a walk when I get home.

I have lived in several countries and only come across this rule on Mumsnet.
Some countries people leave dogs outside all day, some inside and in the UK people either used dog walkers or popped back at lunchtime to let dogs out.

DP and I work from home, so our dog (15 month old) is rarely left alone in the day. All I can say is I sometimes wonder if he’d really care if we were here or not as most of the time he’s fast asleep. He occasionally gets up, walks to a different spot and falls asleep there instead.

He’s a golden retriever with amazing powers of bladder control though. And he gets two big walks a day, so he knackers himself out good and proper.

So I wonder if our circumstances changed and we both had to go out to work full time if our dog would really be so very upset or whether he’d just think, ah well - sleep time.

My dogs get left 5 hours a day 4 times a week but I have a dog walker. They don't like being left even though they have each other.

Ours is a rescue, his previous “family” used to keep him crated 23 hours a day or tied up in their yard. So I know what separation anxiety looks like, and we had to do a massive amount of work with him when we got him to socialise him and help him feel secure.

I work four days a week, leaving at 8 and getting home at 6. His dog walker arrives at 11 and brings him back around 1:30-2. We’ve tried full days at doggy daycare with him before but he hated that, and is much happier with the dog walker. He sleeps in our bedroom at night. We’ve had cameras on him before and he mainly sleeps all day, getting up occasionally to have a woof at whatever squirrels or foxes have invaded his garden. My husband will also work from home about once a fortnight and the dog just sleeps all day then too.

We have three very different dogs. We try not to leave them for longer than 4 hours but on occasion we have done.

My parents had a dog that was devoted to my dad. When he went to work she would take herself off to the bedroom and wouldn't leave until he came home. She had the option to join my mum but had no desire to move until he came home.

Our youngest dog, a young husky, is very unreliable when he is left alone but we have discovered that he tends to do his naughty things as soon as he is left not because he has been left for a long time.

We have a dog walker but both work full time so dog is alone from 8- 5.30 except for the walk(2 hours) he’s fine and it’s significantly better than his previous life.

I dont now because my work pattern has changed but i used to leave mine from 7.30 till 6pm, they were fine.walked for 30mins before i left and 1 hr in the evening.

I waited until i could wfh to get a dog. It's too lonely for them otherwise.

I waited until my dad retired for this reason. The dog is left for 2 hours in the morning until he comes and then 2 hours after hes dropped her off. If he is away/ ill etc i have a dog walker who is a relative so they do a 2 hour walk. I think more than 4 or 5 hoirs every day just wouldn't be fair.

In the Secret Life of Pets the dogs are left alone all day with a dog walker in between just saying.......

I’ve a 10yr old dog - always worked full time and always had a dog walker . Have cats too so didn’t. Ire the dog as being alone . Now partner works from home so dog has him and cats but tbh except for dog walker she sleeps most of the day or steals partners snacks .

View the dog as being alone not ire .

Our dog has me at home Mon, Tues and Fri and DH at home on a Thurs. Weds and Thurs he has a dog walker come and take him out. I have a four hour rule on the days he stays home alone even though he's fine - it's not fair otherwise.

I would love a dog but I work full time, my daughter is at school and we have no one to take a dog out so I got a cat instead and she's amazing company.

I think it's cruel to leave them all day every day I have to say. If you're working full time you're probably tired when you get in and unlikely to want to walk the dog for an hour and then pay it attention as dinner needs cooking, chores blah blah. It's just not fair, just about ok if a dog walker spent a good quality hour or two giving it really tiring exercise.

Dogs trust told us we couldnt leave him longer than 6hrs, which was fine as my partner is unable to work due to disability. Being a staffy he is very much my partners shadow and only left on his own for minimal time, couple hours at most if we at hospital.

I think people get shot down for leaving a dog alone at home all day rather than a few hours. When I worked full time we had a person who would come and Take him out half way through the day for a really long walk and a play then stay for a bit. He was fine. He obviously preferred it when we were him but he was fine. Tbh when he was a puppy I did stay at home ( I worked from home at that point) but he was left sometimes. Now we have the opposite as I'm housebound now and I fear the young dog we have alongside the old boy would die if I ever went out!

I'm out of the house 8-6, dog walker takes out from 11-12.30 my dd works one long day a week then mainly 2-8 so she is only ever alone for 3-4 hours . We got a very low energy breed though and spends most time asleep whether we are in or out. I did initially have dog walker in twice a day but was too much for her.