How long do you leave your dog alone?

[Issueatwork]

DP and I thinking of getting a puppy. Both experienced dog owners and have owned some difficult breeds such as shar peis and German shepherds etc. No children and no plans to have any, and live on the edge of a nature reserve and enjoy spending weekends hiking in the Peak District, so would be ideal really.
The main negative point is that we both work full time. When we first get the dog DP is happy to make a week AL and I’ll be able to speak to work and arrange home working for about 2 weeks after. Usually though, I wfh 2 days a week but Mon, Tues, and Thurs we would both be out of the house from around 7am to 5:30pm latest. DP has said that’s fine as we will take the dog for a small walk in the morning, hire a dog walker for lunch time and take it out again once home.
Would you think this is reasonable? In real life I know countless people who work 9-5 and have dogs and also don’t even have a dog walker, but online it looks like it’s a huge Nono.

Agree. As a child our dog was home alone from about 8:30 to 3:30pm. She was happy enough. I think it's quite a new thing to take your dog everywhere, and not leave it at home at all.

I don’t have a dog currently but have discussed with DH that if we were to get another dog, we’d actually try and rescue a bonded pair who are a few years old! I think dogs like company.

I think your situation would be too much alone time for a puppy.

Sorry just seen you’d get a dog walker. I think that’s fine but I’d try go for group walks as they’re then out the house longer. Ours used to be collected 9:30 and returned 11ish.

We leave hours two hours, three on the odd occasion.

Then he’s for a couple of hours before meeting another nap, maybe two hours at most.

@ThatsAnExcellentIdea i think I’m the short-term we could work around with me doing some more home working etc, and the dog would not be dragged on too long walks when young if that’s what you were asking. I was worried more about long-term, is the time too long for an adult dog and looks like the general consensus is yes.

@Chitasaurus maybe I was too soon to rule them out, was put off slightly when told many don’t like to be walked. Saw a few comments online about how they’re the most cat-like dogs haha

@AgathaQuiztee thanks for drawing my attention to this, it’s worth having a look into at the very least :)

I personally think it's doable but think more time off and working from home is needed at the start to eventually go as you described.

When I got my puppy we had the summer holidays off, being at home to get her used to us, toilet trained and used to being on her own.

Someone is home 4 days a week but the other 3 days she is left for varying hours of time - max about 6 hours , however she has dog flap access to secure garden. When we are home she mostly ignores us and sits on opposite sofa or next to us, though when she is out for her walk she loves a good run around and then sleeps again!

This would be fine for an older dog, but wouldn't be possible with a puppy for the first few months. They will need to toilet too often and shouldn't be left for hours at a you age.

My dog is three now and is fine with being left alone, I don't think she particularly cares whether we are there or not, spends most of her time napping in another room to us anyway. She was destructive in her puppy stage but grew out of it when she stopped teething.

If you're working from home then you may also need to train the dog to get used to being alone to prevent then from developing seperation anxiety.

We can leave ours (1 year old Weimaraner)for around 4 hours max before she'll need to be let out. Tbh I think with a dog walker that's fine. I grew up with dogs and we were always out. Both parents working full time and us in school. Only seems to be post Covid that it's an issue to leave them with a dog walker.

Hmm, i dont think thats ok imo, if you are out of the house that long 3 days a week it's cruel to leave a dog that long, even if you "get a walker" in the middle of the day.
They'll need the toilet, food etc. Especially young puppies, who are essentially similar to toddlers in that they need constant attention.

I also doubt any reputable rescue or breeder would agree to sell/give you a dog based on these hours. We were grilled by both rescues and the breeder.

I got a dog only after being self employed for a year and when I knew 100% that my business was going to work. She comes to work with me every day.

We leave her a few hours here and there but that was trained up over a period of many many months, maybe even up to a year where she was left for small increments of time until she got used to it. We'd never leave her longer than 4-5 hours but that would need to be an absolute emergency. Ie. We didn't know or couldn't anticipate being that long because something happened. In 5.5 years it's happened maybe twice. Shes a lazy girl and generally just sleeps thankfully. If we know we'll be longer, we leave her with a family member or i book a doggy daycare ifni want her to have some extra Socialising or just for a change. Hell, even if we go to the cinema, my mum looks after her for those few hours.

It might be wise to either think about getting a cat (super independent, we have 2 and 1 dog) or if you're adamant, see if you can adapt your work schedules or get more wfh days or do part time days instead.

My partner works in hospitality, a dog friendly place in the sense customers can bring dogs and when our dog needed 8 weeks of crate rest, his boss told him, as long as she didn't interrupt his work, he could bring her in to work!! He didnt ask, his boss just offered. As I have my own workroom I was ok looking after her since she came with me to work anyway so apart from making space for a crate, it made no difference. Ask your employers, They can only say no. (Assuming you are in a workplace that can potentially agree!) Some might be like "ooh puppy" and agree.

My only other suggestion would be doggy daycare for those 3 days rather than a walker. Socialising, well walked, fed, given lots of toilet breaks and stimulation. My one collects early morning and drops off early evening within certain time windows so it could just work perfectly.

Ours took a good 6-8 months to be house trained, once teething kicked in, she was a terror!!! She calmed down fully at 18 months, that's when I'd say she became more chilled, and we can leave her alone longer than a supermarket trip length of time!

Lots of dogs are left alone all day, it really isn't "cruel".

A puppy obviously needs more attention, but an adult dog is fine, as long as it gets plenty of walking. None of our dogs had any issues btw, and as two of them were rescue dogs I'm sure they were better off having a loving home and amusing themselves during the day than staying in a rescue centre. The first one was outside, with a kennel for shelter, the other dogs had a dog door so could go in or out as they wished.

imagine being a dog stuck in a cold kennel probably 23 hours a day, bit of a walk and nothing else.

imagine being a dog having a nice walk in a morning, lovely sofa to lie on, another walk at lunch, then a snooze till dad gets in and then gets another walk! and THEN gets to cuddle all night, in a lovely warm house

i know which dog i would be

get the dog OP, its not ideal but show me someone's dog who has the perfect life 24/7

there are dogs being abused, put to sleep and neglected all over the country. The op neesd to work - she will make the dog situation work

good luck op!

We’ve got a retired greyhound that also loves 2 good walks a day- preferably including chance for a run each time too. He’s then happy to crash out and snooze but we only leave him about 5 hours. Wouldn’t like to leave him longer than that.

before we retired last year (how weird is it to say last year already lol) Husband worked 12 hour shifts 7 days out of 14. I worked dawn to dusk at my restaurant. Somedays we were both working for that 12 hour stretch. I was able to run home a few times a day to let them outside, as my restaurant was about 6 minutes away. My dogs were happy and loved there. I would never have done that with just one dog. My husband had the other 7 out of 14 off work. Now We live in another country retired. They love it here but we rarely leave them. Grocery day they are in the car with my husband whilst he drives me around..beach morning ..well they come with us. Since moving here they have never been left for more than 4 hours and that has been rarely. Well adjusted dogs can handle long times home alone as long as they got their morning walk, fresh water in their bowls and lots of toys. But I watched my cameras when we were still working and out alot, and they basically lie balls up and tits up on the couch all day..hahahaha.

A puppy would be a disaster. Have a look for an older rescue dog who doesn’t have any separation anxiety.
Our boy was a gorgeous unwanted stray. We averaged around 5 days in the month where he was home from 8am-4pm. On those days we had a fantastic dog walker who took him out and ran him ragged for 2hours.

I left mine for 4 hours per day from the start, this was fine but no one at can a puppy be left 8+ hours. You'll need a dog walker ideally with puppy training experience for full days or consider an older dog perhaps.

Breed is also very important, I had a dog that likes his own company, doesn't hang around us even if working from home, choose wisely

I think it will be fine. I’ve just got a puppy and do 3 days 7.30-4.30. Did a week just us and then A couple of friends came in 10-10.30 and 2-3pm for a play and let out. She was fine and well rested! They do both have dogs though so she had quite a play. Tbh she was better doing that that the chaotic other days as she struggled to get enough sleep when we are all here.

Have you thought about:
1 Borrow my doggy -people might come in and help?
2 Asking neighbours/relatives/friends who live close by to pop in?
3 Taking odd days/half days of annual leave separately for a few months (this would also be great to get the dog used to each of you and your training styles etc. )

In my experience it’s not so much the first few months but actually 6-10 months when they get destructive/panicked every time you leave (my last dog knocked off and destroyed everything on the kitchen drainer in 15 mins when I went to speak to a neighbour 😩).

These threads always suggest you shouldn’t get a dog until ‘you don’t work’. But the reality is I’ve seen a lot of snappy undersocialised and bored dogs with retired people.

If you can give a dog a good life - go for it.

Also:
Dogs are not pack animals (they hunt as a pack live alone in caves/burrows)
Dogs sleep for 14 hours a day- and not all at night!
Puppies sleep for 20 hours a day.

You'll get so many people saying no you can't leave a dog that long. But if the dog has a dog walker at dinner time I don't see why not.
I work 8-3 and come home to walk her at dinner time and she's fine. The dog will get used to the routine

What’s the point of getting a dog if you’re hardly ever around to see them

Our adult dog was happy to be left for a full work day and wasn't distressed, depressed or stressed on our return. He often didn't even need a pee desperately when we got home. I'd try not to leave him longer than 6 hours but particularly in the evening, he was fine to be left much longer

Having had dogs in the past when very inexperienced and working full time, I vowed never to do that again.
The neighbours complained and complained saying they howled all day and in fairness they did also destroy anything they could, including units, Lino, doors etc

I now work 4 hours a day and in any case there is always someone home (adult children) so our 4 year old dog is absolutely fine - he has company all day.

Max he is left in any situation is 6 hours - probably too long but it's very rare.

Absolutely agree. Next door got 2 dogs start of lockdown. Now they are back at work the dogs howl and bark the minute they leave for work

the noise is annoying but the pitiful sound of the dogs howling and barking all day is heartbreaking. I’ve tried talking to them but they are not having it

A couple of hours but fortunately have family she goes and stays with if it could be longer than that. She never appears unhappy when we leave her but I am happier knowing that she has company when I'm not about.

I think it would be cruel.

Perhaps rescue an older dog? All pounds are full to bursting and any dogs that are handed in that aren't claimed within 7 days, or lucky enough to get a charitable 'rescue place', are PTS.

I don't think you can offer a home to a puppy, you don't have the time for the care and training he/she would need.