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.

This.

Too long to leave a puppy.

I raise puppies and I have to build up the time I leave them to a max of 4 hours but it takes months to get to that point without them getting distressed. Our old pet dog was happy to be left all day but that was when she was a mature dog who snoozed on the sofa all day.

Re being a Guide dog fosterer, that's a great idea but you do need to live close enough to a guide dog centre so you can drop off/pick up from school daily.

I work from home and DP does part time in the office so we are around most of the time but when im working they still have to have hours at a stretch alone while i work and in emergencies we might both be out for 8hrs at a time and they are fine - we have cctv on them we can get on our phones and they just patiently sleep. If we were both in an office most of the time we'd hire a dog walker. They are older dogs though, this wouldnt work with a puppy, they need plenty of opportunity to go out, plenty of socialisation so they dont grow up starved of attention and weird/separation anxiety.

You cannot leave a puppy alone at all really for the first year I would say it's except for incremental training to avoid separation anxiety

I cannot imagine getting a times 8 week old pup and then three weeks later leaving it 💔 in a crate 💔

Our first dog died in 2019 and he had a destructive nature and would get thing and eat them when we were out: washing powder/ hand cream all the delicious treats.

Our new dog was a 8 month old pup rehomed from a breed rescue. We didn't leave him for a year or so and built up 10 mins in crate to an hour in crate then loose over two years.

Now we leave him for four hours a few times a week. I work 4 days and my mum has home two days and the other two days PIL will come and come and visit for an hour or so.

He is totally fine but I feel awful. My life is ruled by leaving him for more than four hours. We have great kennels who will have him for the day for us.

I’m not going to bother reading the thread because MN is ridiculous around dogs being left alone.

As a puppy, no a middle of the day walk is not going to cut it. Depending on where you are, you could send your dog to dog day care, anything like that in your area? where I am there are larger more commercial options but also dog walkers who will offer day care in their homes. Your problem is the first six months - puppies needs a LOT of attention, but once they’re older what you propose is fine - depending on the nature of the dog, no separation anxiety etc. As an ex dog walker myself, most dogs and their owners fit the profile of what you describe though for really lengthy days they’d book in two walks. Only on MN have I ever seen it completely unacceptable to manage dog ownership in this way.

The maximum I'd leave mine during the day is about 7 hours but not over feeding time. We build up leaving them gradually from being a pup so they were used to it.

They are rarely left that length of time .

I think never leaving a dog doesn’t do any good . They have to know it’s normal and you will be back .

Is your office dog friendly? We have a dog policy where I work which basically says well behaved, toilet trained dogs are welcome, one dog per office (I work in a large building which has multiple smaller office rooms with 3-4 work stations each) and as long as no one else has any objections. No one ever objects, everyone loves a dog day! We have mainly Cockerpoo type dogs but the odd whippet, French bulldog, Jack Russell and labrador as well.

Mine stays at home, max 6 hours one day a week but one of us pops home at lunchtime that day to let him out for a wee halfway through that 6 hours. He is 15 years old though so sleeps 23 hours a day if he gets his own way! I either WFH or we have a dog walker the rest of the week.

I’m a SAHM so our dog doesn’t get left for any length of time unless we have to go somewhere without him which happens very rarely. We’ve discussed putting him in doggy daycare if/when I return to work. We certainly wouldn’t just leave him at home by himself all day. Even if a dog walker comes midday that’s not enough in my opinion because the dog would be alone the rest of the time. They are highly social animals and would hate that, especially a puppy that needs even more attention.

I’m out 8-3.30 and have a dog Walker - work from home 3 days a week too. When he was a puppy he went to doggy daycare. I wouldn’t have left him home alone that time as a young pup personally. Now I need to be home for 3.30 (log back on at home) as he needs eye drops 3 times a day. Don’t underestimate the cost and time a dog takes. Worth every penny though

Maximum we leave ours is 5 hours but this is very rarely.

However, I have a friend with a shitsu and they have a cat flap for him and it works perfectly fine!

5 hours max. Usually less there's normally someone there but if there isn't then it's 5 hours. When he was a pup it was 3 hours

Not with a puppy. When older should be ok.

My three can be left for hours if needs be, but there's three of them to keep eachother company, they have an outside run so can run about and play and aren't confined to the house, have auto feeders and waterers, and we did a lot of separation work with them as puppies/youngsters to teach them how to be on their own. They're a little pack so they do fine for a day if we must leave them.

But we rarely do as I mostly wfh these days. Older dogs can be fine, even better if you have a pair so that might be worth considering if you have the room. But one week isn't enough for a puppy to settle in before leaving it for long stretches, you're setting yourself up for an adult dog with separation anxiety.

Massively selfish to get a dog if you are going to treat it this way. Get a cat instead.

Good god that is shockingly cruel. That poor dog. 😪

In the past when we all worked out the home my dogs have been fine with 3-4 hours alone with a quick 30 min visit during lunch hour or my parents popping round.

Only had 2 from pups and arranged it so they were never left more than 2-3 hours a time max until they got older and more lazy.

My dog now would be absolutely fine being left for 8 hrs now its older and is very occasionally when it's been unavoidable but i wouldn't make a habit of it and certainly not with a puppy. Sorry op 😞

I think 3 hours maximum but not as a regular thing. I skimmed your posts and I don't think the 3 days out the week the dog will be alone is going to work out unless the dog is going to be walked for a couple of hours to break up the time. They need company as much as it's about exercise. And depending on the dog, they may need to be crated while you're out, so that's not good for long periods of time.

That's too much walking for most puppies. It's more brain and mental stimulation they need. And proactive training in small bursts.

Doggy daycare with someone who works from home? Pref with an older well trained dog?