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?

For 6 hours. Not y hours.
Cue cries of " boohoo if it's only a fortnight you have no excuse for not getting a dog walker" 😂

Our neighbour has a dog. The dog walker turns up at midday. That dog barks from 9 in the morning until 12. Almost non stop, and again in late afternoon. That is not a happy dog, it's stressed and bored. Why would you buy a dog if you are both at work? It is a crap thing to do.

I do feel bad leaving mine at all but we do have a variety of measures in place to minimise their distress. We have a dog walker two days a week and I have Wednesdays off. Sometimes my older dog will go to my dads and we have 3 teenage kids who have different college/ school schedules. The kids are obviously around in th school holidays too. They get walks before we go to work and sleep with us on our bed.

I have no idea why people would get a dog and leave it on its own all day, every day. Just why?

Because life changes ......
When I rescued my dog I was single and I could take my dog to work
Then I had DD and was at home for a year
I then worked part time for years
By the time I went back to work full time my old girl slept most of the day

She was always an anxious wee thing and for her it was better to be at home by herself than at day care and she hid under the bed from the dog walker. My dad would walk her when he could but there were days when she was home alone.

Every dog and every situation is different. Of course the ideal is that we are at home all day with our dogs but that can't always happen. My old girl has passed away now and we miss her dearly. I am still convinced she had a lovely life with us and that she passed on knowing she was loved, safe and in her own comfy bed

We used to have one that was left all day and would bark for 2 and a half hours (we timed him) when lonely. It was heartbreaking to hear him. It is a form of animal cruelty.

I reckon at least half the people who own dogs aren’t fit to own them/don’t look after them properly

Yanbu. I'd never have one, they're too much of a commitment.

YANBU next door leave theirs all day and it howls constantly, worse in summer when they leave a window open.

Depends on the dog. My parents dogs are walked for 1 hour in the morning, left alone for 4-5 hours, somebody quickly comes home at lunchtime and lets them out, then another 4 hours alone. then a 1-2 hours walk. they are happy dogs, and all live/lived very long lives.
They are all a bit older and calm breeds though

When do they go wee on their own?

I think it's cruel, I world love a dog but it wouldn't be fair to have one as I wouldn't be able to give it the attention it needs.

It's very cruel. But people feel entitled to have a dog so they get one without much thought for what its life is like when they leave the house.

Went out for the day yesterday to London (,am with my pooch pretty much 24/7 ),so rather anxious as she got left for 6 hours ,as our friend who was going to have her, had to work at the last minute .As soon as friend arrived back poochie went mad with excitement! This is a rare event for us, but so many people treat it as the "norm" Obviously people need to work ,but proper provision should be made for their dog .He doesnt know when you are coming back, and is left alone feeling bored and stressed. There is an awful Calendar on sale ATM depicting "dog Shaming " as though having the dog make a mess ,is somehow funny ! No he is bored lonely and stressed out!

This is what worries me. My DH is desperate for us to get a dog. He works full time and is out between 6am and 6.30p, sometimes longer. I only work two days a week at the moment, but I am out from 7am til 5 or 6 on those days. We do have family that lives very close by who would probably be willing to pop by and take dog for a quick walk, but I wouldn’t want to rely on this as they have their own lives. We could of course get a dog walker but i guess that is only an hour and I don’t know how dog could even pee on those long days. So I’m currently thinking we should not get a dog. Which is a shame as I am home three days a week and we are both off at weekends and we think it would be lovely to have a dog. I also worry about the future as I don’t necessarily want to always work this part time.

A mix of circumstances mean mine get left about two days a week 8-4 - the rest of the week they go with my daughter to the kennels/daycare she works at or she or myself are home with them most of the day.

The trouble is, within the life time of a dog circumstances can change massively. When we got my older dog (she’s 10) I was home with young children. Then my ex left and I had to work. So it was either leave the dog at home will I did so or rehome. As a new single parent with fairly young children still I didn’t have the money to pay for help either.

How long it's reasonable to leave a dog depends on a whole lot of things:
How the dog reacts to a lack of people ( mine sleep)
Whether the dog has access to the outside
If the dog is properly exercised and stimulated when the owner is around
And finally, how long they are actually left, and how often.

A dog that can cope with four hours on a regular basis can probably cope with eight hours as an exception, provided it can go out to do a pee. But there is no point having a dog if you haven't the time for it or don't walk and train it, anyway.

Not a dog owner, so take what I say with a pinch of salt.

Obviously it's not ideal, but what are you supposed to do? Daycare's fine if you can afford it, but for some people they'd literally be working so they could send the dog to daycare. Just leave some toys and water, put a few treats out and you'll be fine - that's what MIL does.

Just leave some toys and water, put a few treats out and you'll be fine

That's terrible advice, just because your MIL does it, doesn't mean that it's fair on the dog. Most studies say 6 hours a day as an absolute maximum for adult dogs, less for puppies and elderly dogs.

This is why we don't have a dog. I work 13/14 Hour days outta work it means I'm at home 3/4 days a week but on on my work days a dog would be alone from my partners hours which is over 8 hours and it's just not fair
I really would love to have one though,but can't

I have a doggy cam for when we go out. Our dog sleeps the whole time. When we get in, it probably feels like we haven’t left for long when he wakes up.

I didn’t work full time when I got my dog but things change....I put off full time promotion several times because of the dog but then last year went full time.

Work is quite flexible and I’m normally home by 4pm, sometimes work from home all day. I have a dog walker. I have a uni student dd who is often drifting in and out the house at odd hours. Dog also has a house cat for company and they’re best friends, play together and snuggle up together so hopefully dog isn’t too lonely.

10 hours alone every day is far from ideal. But then I’d prefer to live the life of such a dog who has to spend hours alone during the day rather than other intelligent mammals like pigs or cows bred for meat, which barely habe space to turn around and never see the sun until they are taken for slaughter.

It's disgusting, dogs are not meant to b left alone all day. Even my cat doesn't like being left at home all day. Apparently she goes out during the day and offloads herself onto neighbours that are at home for company then returns home when it's time for me to come home.
Dogs need company. I would not have a dog and work full time.

@Dandelion753 so because some animals suffer, they all should? Or maybe everyone should try and do their bit for all animals, such a bizarre argument for basically being neglectful of a dog's needs.