People leaving dogs at home while they are at work

[Sparkles57]

AIBU to find it appalling when people go to work all day and leave their dogs home alone?

I have two and work full time and I spend a small fortune on daycare for them through the week. If I’m out at the weekend I’ll leave them for 5 hours max, any longer and I’ll pay someone to drop in and let them out etc.

I’ve noticed lately from people talking at work it seems to be the norm for people to just leave their dogs in the house when they’re at work! 10 hours alone seems really cruel to me, so I’m really surprised by the blasé attitude a lot of people seem to have to it.

On the other hand, mine are kept downstairs at night so they are on their own for a good 9 hours whilst I’m in bed, so maybe I’m just being a judgey bastard?

@ShirleyPhallus
Me neither. My d dog sleeps in the bedroom btw. He’s a stress bean.

As an expat in a country where most dogs are strays rather than pets, and strays which are regularly rounded up and euthanized (best case scenario) or just poisoned (with rat poison left in bits of meat where they’re likely to find it) I can’t help but find your post slightly ridiculous. I have two dogs which, to be honest, stay at home for up to 5 hours a day some days. However, I rescued these dogs from a life of fear and danger on the streets. They are well fed, well cared for, and safe. I am not going to spend a ‘small fortune’ unlike yourself to take them to a daycare because dog daycares don’t exist in this country. I do find it deeply irritating that you’re implying that I’m somehow somehow selfish for rescuing these animals but still having to go out to work. I also think the way that dogs are treated in the UK by some people isn’t verging on insane. Being left alone for 6 hours a day, or however long the average work day is there, isn’t really the end of the world if the pet is loved, walked, fed, and happy. I also think it’s very obnoxious of you to imply that just because you have the money to spend a ‘small fortune’ on a doggy daycare means you are a better pet owner or love your dog more than people who can’t afford this but still love and cherish their pets and have very happy, well cared for animals.

I think that the amount of time a dog can be left is very dog dependent.

Having a dog that can never be left alone is almost as unhealthy as a dog that is always left alone.

Whilst i dont think that leaving dogs for long periods is ideal I also don't think that rescues refusing to let dogs go to working households is ideal either. A dog in a good home that is left alone for slightly longer than ideal is still preferable to a rescue kennel imo.

I am lucky that my dog comes to work with me most of the time. But if i know my workday will be too hot for him or too busy for me to engage with him I will leave him home. I try to work out what's best for him on a daily basis.

So people who have a change in circumstances should do what when they can't afford 'doggy daycare?' rehome a dog, for it to be possibly euthanised? Because let's face it, rehoming a dog isn't the happy ever after it sounds, is it?

Its not fair to leave dogs home alone all day - definitely not. Fine if you have day care booked, or if you have other members of the household who are around when you are not. Or if you can pay for not just one but two dog walks (am and pm) during a standard work day absence of 8 hours

I don’t see a huge issue. Mine are alone from 8 in the morning until around 3.45 when the DC get in from school. They then walk and fuss them.

They are adult dogs though (I worked half days when they were young, so weren’t on their own for long) and they have each other for company, they are mother and daughter and have a real bond.

They don’t appear scarred by it at all and I don’t think I’m cruel. Different I suppose if you leave a puppy completely alone for 12 hours, but in that situation I wouldn’t get a puppy.

I use a dog walker so not sure if that meets your standards of being ok. Dog can be by herself from 8am to 4pm but with the walker coming and taking her out late morning. Not every day as I often finish early/work from home. But some weeks when busy it can be 5 days a week.

Our DDog goes to doggy day care 3 days per week and DP and I alter our hours the other two days so that he isn’t left alone too much (usually up to 4 hours if needed).

We didn’t intend on using doggy day care when we got him the plan was for him to go to work with DP to his office however the owners sold the building and the new owners no longer allow dogs onto the premises so we had to adapt.

He loves doggy day care and has a brilliant time there, the owner is fantastic and we (including DDog) were lucky to find her.

We have occasionally left him for longer I think the most 9 hours when I ended up in hospital and DP was working away but we’d never plan to leave him that long.
Would I be without him? No and neither would DP, DP and I have hobbies which we’ve had to curtail and we don’t travel as much because we have DDog and he is our responsibility but I don’t think leaving him alone for some of the time is cruel, he has a number of brain toys which he has when we’re out but mainly sleeps (he’s quite a low maintenance breed, give him a good walk and then as long as he has a sofa or a bed to sleep on he’s happy doing that, whether we’re in or not)

And when she was a puppy I worked part time and dh worked from home. But life changes, dh got made redundant and his new job is not wfh. I increased my hours. I wasn’t going to rehome the dog. We do have a house cat as well and they love each other so they have company.

Even the most chilled-looking dogs are bored, unhappy & stressed when left alone all day. If you were to measure their cortisol levels you'd get the true picture.

How do you know for certain that all dogs are unhappy with being left?

No I don't think it's cruel and agree it depends on the dog. I don't leave my dog because I don't have to. There's always someone with him apart from a very occasional day out. If we can take him then we do. It's not ideal, of course it isn't but it's not cruel and if you're a committed dog owner who ensures that your dog gets the exercise it needs ie a good long, active walk before you go to work and one you get back with a dog walker visit half way through the day then it's fine for many dogs.

I agree with you that it's far from ideal but people's circumstances change and dogs differ. I wouldn't judge someone based on pretty incomplete information.

Yeah, it is cruel to leave a dog at home when you go to work.

But it is fine to leave our elderly and vulnerable sat alone in their houses, sometimes not seeing other people for days on end.

Priorities.

Good point oakmaiden
I live in a country where it is perfectly normal for dogs to be locked up in runs for 23 hours a day. The lucky ones get to run around outside for an hour. The idea of doggy daycare seems an alien notion. Does it really matter if a dog gets bored? I get bored at work, my kids get bored at school. Life can be boring. In my experience bored dogs just go to sleep.

I don't see the connection Oakmaiden? No one is advocating prioritising dogs over old people

I also think it's dog dependent. Puppies, no. Dogs with separation anxiety, no.

And if you have 2 or more dogs, they're not alone are they?

I work from home, and my 2 spend a good percentage of the day sleeping. Like pp have said, moving from one sunny spot to another. Are they bored? They have plenty of toys and each other to play with, but it seems they'd rather sleep.

I should also have said it's breed dependent too. I wouldn't leave a high energy dog, such as a collie, at home for too long.

Dogs also need loo breaks! I think it's vital to get a walker or someone to break up the day if you work. It's not like a dog can read a book or watch TV, they get their stimulation from being out and about sniffing at things and interacting with the world.

If dogs can’t tell you about it then how do you know they are bored and anxious? Maybe they are happy

I think it'll affect some breeds more than others. And if they're especially destructive and anxious for any reason.

But if a dog is getting the best vet care, food, love, warmth and protection, and at least two walks a day- that's not cruelty. Their humans have to work to provide for them.

We leave our dogs one or two days a week for a very long day. From 7:30 to 7ish. They have a dog flap and can go in and out and have each other for company. Sometimes I tuck my older dog in on the sofa in the morning and when I get in that evening she is in the same place with the blanket on her... The younger dog spends quite a bit of time in the garden pooling around and shredding his toys or sun bathing.
Of course they would love to come with me to the office and of course I would love to stay at home all day with them but it just isn't realistic.
A dog walker is not feasible either as I haven't found a reliable one yet, they lose dogs, leave doors open, lock the cats in to poop everywhere, or don't turn up. Plus I pay for the privilege.
And I can't use day care as all the people around her insist you chop your dogs bits off and do yearly vaccinations.
I prefer to hold down a well paid job which gives me flexibility to be around most of the time and take the dogs on holidays etc with us. They get long walks and lots of attention and company the other days and in the early morning and evening on work days.
I absolutely would not get a dog if I was working those hours everyday, in that case I agree it is cruel.

You are definitely not unreasonable OP. Dogs need company.

Although I mostly agree... I’ve got a horrible cold today and wasn’t planning on spending anytime in the garden despite the lovely weather. Just invited Ddog to spend a bit of time with me indoors - not interested. I’ve had to let him back out as he’s just standing at the door. (He does this quite regularly - except for walks I barely see him some days unless I go and sit outside with him, I don’t think my company is that important to him compared to lying in the sunshine...) all dogs are different I think, just like people, I don’t know why people on here are so reluctant to believe that. My old family dog wasn’t much of a people person either, I don’t think he really cared about us leaving the house - he wouldnt even get up to greet us when we returned home, only my mum because she’d give him a snack But my parents newer dog is very affectionate and very excited when they come home after being out a while and would probably struggle if left alone more than a couple of hours.

A friend of mine got a dog last summer after years of wanting one. They got a pedigree gun dog/spaniel type which I (limited doggy knowledge tbf) understand to need a lot of exercise and stimulation. However both her and her DH worked at least four days a week in a city two hours away, so the dog was being left alone in the house for twelve hours on those days. Even on the fifth workday when she was wfh, she was working so hardly able to entertain a dog during office hours.

The solution to this was to adopt another dog to keep the first company during the day I understand wanting a dog or rolling with things as circumstances change, but you have to ask yourself what you're playing at getting an animal knowing it will be on its own for most of its waking hours. It's not fair.

I also think it’s very obnoxious of you to imply that just because you have the money to spend a ‘small fortune’ on a doggy daycare means you are a better pet owner or love your dog more than people who can’t afford this but still love and cherish their pets and have very happy, well cared for animals.

I agree, and it makes me wonder what some of these posters who have that kind of money would do if they fell on hard times and couldn’t afford the dog walker/doggy day care anymore? Send it to a dogs home because it couldn’t possibly be left alone for more than 4 hours??

The solution to this was to adopt another dog to keep the first company during the day

Arrghh why do people do this without researching?!

My neighbour did this with his cockers. The older one was very very aggressive to the younger one right from the start, and now she's a very timid and frightened dog. I've seen her with red bite barks on her face. If you go to stoke her she collapses and wees on herself it's heartbreaking. He locks her outside in a cage (rescue centre style big outdoor cage) and keeps the older one inside, but obviously they are together when he's at home.