To think leaving a puppy for 5 hours is risking it?

[CurryBelly]

My puppy is 6 months old. I work 8:30 to 1pm mon - Thursday and for two of those days, puppy goes to daycare. Two days she’s left home alone but crated until I get home at 1:15pm.

Last week she suffered an awful accident in her crate, she rushed out too quickly and got her foot caught between two metal bars. It was horrendous and she was stuck like that for 20 minutes until I could find someone to cut the bars. Thankfully no injuries but it’s made me paranoid and I said no more crate from now on.

So over the weekend she’s had the full run of the living room, hallway and kitchen. I’ve left her for two hours max while I’ve been shopping twice and she’s been absolutely fine. No damage. She’s been left out of crate over night for weeks and has been fine also.

But I’m back at work tomorrow. I’m worrying that 5 hours will be too much and she’ll get bored and wreck the house?

I'm sorry - I do think that is a long time for a puppy to be alone. Even if nothing happened, I would worry if it were me. I also think she would be safer in the crate if anything (I know there was that accident but as it happened when you were letting it out, presumably you could avoid it happening again)

You could get one of those cameras that you can see from your phone. Thu she'll probably sleep...make sure you've got lots of toys with food hidden in xx

Yep, it's too long. Can someone check on her part way through or can she go to day care?

I absolutely hate leaving her. I’m on casual hours so pick and choose my own shifts so theoretically I don’t “have” to work but financially I can’t really justify not working. We would manage but hubby wouldn’t be happy (understandably).

The daycare costs £40 a week so even if I just worked two days a week (while she’s there) financially it wouldn’t really be worth it.

I’m thinking wean herself off crate for next few months ... only put her in it when I’m at work but leave her out all other times?

You can get soft crates/play pens if that makes you feel anymore comfortable about leaving her in a crate. I had a boisterous pup who would fly out her crate as soon as it was opened so I know what you mean!

Alternatively, I'd leave her with lots of toys and be vigilant about things she can get into. We got rid of our pups crate when she turned one and we've not had any problems at all, it's possible we could have got rid of it earlier and all been fine!

No space at daycare for the other two days but even if there was, it would cost me £80 a week which would really eat into what I’m actually earning. There is no option for half day care

She'll probably come to resent the crate, possibly seeing it as a 'punishment' for something she hasn't done.

What about a dog walker?

Our dog is much older and is left home alone quite a bit. We bought an extra large soft sided travel crate and she absolutely loves it. She often refuses to come out (we don't close the doors) as it's so cosy and comfy so it could be a better option. It definitely keeps her warmer too.

Far too long for puppy

If she wrecks the house it is much more likely to be due to anxiety than ‘boredom’ And if she’s shown no signs of anxiety so far then there's No reason she should suddenly start being destructive.

Make sure she has plenty of toys/chews to keep her occupied. Letting her Stretch has her legs whilst you’re at work is much preferable to keeping her caged

The few dog walkers I’ve contacted have said they have no space as soon as I say what breed she is 🙄 (Doberman). Could be coincidence as none have actually said that’s the reason

5 hours is too long. I wouldn’t want to leave my 21 month olds DDog for that long. The dog walker is your friend. They will take him for an hour or so and it will constantly £8-15 depending on where you live.
My dog loves the dog walker and playing with the other dogs.

The answer depends on the puppy, really. My first lakeland terrier had an insatiable appetite for mischief and was a chewer. He was never allowed the run of the house if there was no-one in. He had the whole kitchen and garden to himself (dog flap in back door) but I never trusted him not to chew through a power cable or something.

My second lakeland was much easier and could be trusted. She never chewed anything once she was past 20 weeks or so and was housetrained at 16 weeks. She had the run of the whole ground floor and garden. She was banned from staying upstairs while we were out after I came home to find she'd snuggled into my bed. I don't mind dogs on the bed, but finding a hairy monster snuggled under the duvet is a bit much.

Could you let him have the run of the kitchen, eg put a baby gate across the door? He should be fairly safe in there, unless he's a very big or agile breed that can reach the worktops.

Far too long. Even my 18 month old dog gets fed up by 3/4 hours.

Ah, he's a Dobermann. They're a long way from sensible at 6 months, so I'd say no to having the run of the place for 5 hours.

@geekone Your dog walkers are amazingly cheap! Here, £13 for 30 minutes is the cheapest I've found.

When we had to keep the dogs in, because we were having some new fencing put up, I enquired how much they would charge for just popping in to let the dogs out for a wee in the middle of the day. They wanted £26: half-hour minimum charge x 2 dogs. One of the dog walkers lives in the house that backs on to mine, so she'd only have to walk round the corner.

My neighbour did it for nothing, and on the days she worked, I arranged my visits so I could pop home at lunchtime. That was several years ago too, I dread to think how much it is now.

That’s too long regularly for an adult dog IMHO let alone a puppy

Scrap the full daycare on two days and get a dog walker for everyday you are at work. It’s about £13 an hour round here.
Then it splits the time you are away. You leave at 9, Walker comes in 10-11 and then you get back at 1.

By 6 months our puppy was quite happy doing 5 hours. He sleeps up on our bed for most of the morning.

Section off a space of the house for him, not too bog, maybe just kitchen to start with as he's been ised to just a crate

5 hours isn’t risking it , it’s just simply cruel. Why did you get a dog if it is going to be left alone for that long?

Far too long, and locking the dog in a crate for five hours at a time is ridiculous.

It’s 5 hours twice a week. All other times she’s with me and I take her everywhere. Country walks, beach, parks, dog meets, training classes etc. Plus my circumstances changed soon after I got her, I never used to be out so long

Many would consider 5 hours as the absolute maximum for an adult dog.

locking the dog in a crate for five hours at a time is ridiculous

And cruel. And not what crate training is designed to achieve.

I think five hours alone is really pushing it for a six month old puppy. It's about the absolute maximum for a mature, calm adult dog.

I would also warn you that at six months, mine hit the teenage years and became quite destructive and chewy. I wouldn't risk leaving a teenage dog uncrated on a regular basis - not just because of the expense of repairing the damage, but because your dog could eat something dangerous which could kill him.

Please don't leave him alone with a collar on either - I'm not sure if you do, but it could be lethal for your poor dog if he gets caught and strangles himself.

Do you have a friend or neighbour who could pop in and let the dog out and keep him company for a little bit? I understand cost is a factor in your decision making but it's a long time for a puppy to be left to his own devices.

If your circumstances unexpectedly changed shortly after you got your pup then the kindest thing to do would have been to rehome your dog. I stand by my statement that you are being unnecessarily cruel to your pup by crating him for 5 hours at a time.