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?

It so depends on your dog. My previous dog was left from about 10am -3pm from a few months.. she was absolutely fine. Never had any issues.

My dog now has just turned two and is far needier (and my circumstances have changed) and won’t leave him for more than 3 hours max.

I’ve never crated dogs - when I got my last dog about 14 years ago it wasn’t a thing. And with my dog now - he just didn’t like it so I didn’t push it. Can you see how she is for maybe two hours or so first?

So much hysteria and nonsense on this thread

No puppy is the same and no one can be certain of how a dog will react to certain conditions.

OP, do not even think about rehoming your dog, he is clearly v loved. Don’t crate him for five hours in the day though, it’s not fair. Make a safe, comfortable area for him. Get a camera so you can keep an eye on him, leave him with plenty of stimulation, Kongs, etc.

Crating, when done properly is certainly NOT cruel and if you know anything about the psychology of dogs you would know this.

It’s far too long to be shut in a crate, but if you left plenty of toys and things to chew I think the puppy will be fine for half a day two or three times a week.

Get a mesh puppy pen, they're v v cheap on Wish.com, but 5hours is too long IMO. Can you get the camera phone app plus a friend or neighbour to look in on them for a quick check/cuddle? I left my 3month old kitten for 2-3hours when visiting a terminally ill relative but that's the max I did til she was independent & had a cat flap. She was always so ecstatic & relieved to see me when I got back, I felt really guilty.

Never had my puppy in a crate. Ever.

When she is left during the day it is in a 'puppy proof' room where she can't hurt herself and if she has any toilet accidents I accept that's on me for leaving her and can be easily cleaned up without punishment or fuss.

Cosy bed, water, toys and radio 4 on in the background for comfort noise.

I slowly built up the time I left her and she has been absolutely fine. Happy to be left now and understands the routine.

Think 5 hours is ok if you build up to it but not from hardly been left to suddenly left for 5 hours

She needs a walker and you need a crate made of mesh

*I’m actually feeling really sad about the thought of a puppy being in a crate for five hours"

Me too. Get someone in half way through to play with them and keep company for a bit. You said you'd give up your job if it wasn't working so clearly you can afford a dog walker/companion for an hour or two a week. It's unbearable thinking of a young, lively puppy being caged for that long. Yes I crated my own pup but only for a very short time and never after 6 months old.

Why have a dog if you are going to leave it for so long on a regular basis?

I seriously fucking despair.

I find it quite amusing when all the people who think it’s ok to leave a dog in a cage for multiple hours always spout the bit about dogs in the wild choosing small dens to curl up in . I won’t disagree they probably do like small dens to curl up in but the difference is a dog in the wild can get up and leave his small den when the fancy takes him , a dog locked in a cage cannot .

Why didn't you factor in doggy daycare costs before you actually bought a puppy?

I wouldn't leave a dog if any age regularly for five hours alone, I think it's unfair.

Agree Floral and doubt they ever curl up alone for 5 hours in said cave

I’m sorry but I stand by my original comment. The sheer drama and hysteria on this thread is ridiculous. And as for people saying if you’re going to leave a dog for 5 hours what’s the point in getting one, they’ve never left their dog alone for no more than an hour...Jesus wept. People do have lives.

We don’t have children, our dog is our ‘child’ really and is totally and utterly spoilt, she has a great life, but if I want to go and do a bit of shopping and have a bit of lunch out on a Saturday after walking her in the morning then I will. Having a dog is meant to enhance your life, it’s not meant to be the sole bloody purpose in life, a complete chore that you can’t ever leave etc. No wonder so many dogs have separation anxiety. One of my best friends boards dogs, she said the amount of needy, whiny dogs she gets is unbelievable and it’s mostly because the dogs lose their shit if she goes out for a couple of hours because they’re not used to ever being left alone for that amount of time. The last one she said she had to call the emergency contact to come and pick it up as it literally howled constantly whenever she left the room/ went to the toilet/ went out for a couple of hours. That’s not enjoying having a dog, that’s a bloody prison sentence.

@Hanzodojo but this isn’t a well trained content dog who has been made used to lengthy periods of separation- this is a puppy which is a completely different situation

I don't see 'hysteria' on here

Its not hysteria to consider 5 hours too long for a puppy to be left alone.

Please don't leave a young animal alone for such a long time. It doesn't sound like you have the time to give this puppy so I wonder why you got it.

Locked in a crate for 5 hours and your concern is what? Your home? Not the puppy shut in a crate, presumably with its own waste products when it can't hold itself that long!

How long has this been going on.

Just bloody horrible. Come home and take it out fgs. Let it relieve itself and have a run so it will settle for a sleep for a few more hours when you're back again

Having a dog is meant to enhance your life

How sad that their purpose in life is to enhance ours. People aren't being hysterical, 5 hours in a crate is cruel.

Dog crates are not cruel if used correctly

But no way would I crate a dog for 5 hours on it's own, that's just cruel. We crate trained our rescue pup, she was left an hour max in the crate before she was fully trained, then she was confined to the kitchen, then the whole of the downstairs. But again, never more than an hour, apart from at night. She loves her crate, regularly goes in for time out during the day, has her favourite teddies in there, memory foam mattresses and a cover over the crate. It's the only place she'll settle for the night.

I definitely would not leave a pup or on older dog crated during the day unless they were very destructive and certainly not for more than an hour.

@Hanzodojo there is no hysteria here. There is nothing wrong with leaving your dog alone. There is something wrong with leaving a puppy locked in a cage for 5 hours. Very wrong.

I would say it's fine. I don't like the idea of a crate. It seems cruel to me.
Long walk before and a walk as soon as you get home should be ok? It's only 2 days a week.

Take her on a big walk (you’ll have to get up super early) , give her one of those toys with bits of food you have to work for. Put her in the laundry.

Too, too long - even for a young dog not a puppy.keep trying dog walkers there are loads. They might be reluctant as she’s a baby and more of a handful but keep tryingZ

You can’t get a dog from the RSPCA if you’re going to leave it for more than 4 hours alone in the day. There is a reason for that. We had a dog and both worked but the days we were both out a dog walker came. We’d walk our dog 6am, leave for work 8am, walker arrived 11.30, dog got back 2.30 ish then one of us would be back by 5.30/6pm.
If we were going out in the evening we would always be back to walk dog first - never went out straight from work etc
That’s what life’s like with a dog. It does curtail what you might normally do, they’re not entertainment for humans.
Good practice for kids INHO, at least for the experience of putting something/someone before you’re own needs/ wants

I appreciate the advice but resent being called cruel. You do not know me. You don’t know the time and effort I put into this dog, my whole life literally revolves around her. Obviously it’s not ideal leaving her for 5 hours but it’s literally twice a week. She gets walked before I go to work and then I spend the whole afternoon with her, no matter what weather, out walking in a variety of settings. I even bought a specific type of car to enable me to do this, one which suits her needs more than my own. Even through the floods a few weeks ago we were out, her having a whale of a time splashing around all afternoon. She has a better life than a lot of dogs who’s owners don’t work. Tuesday and Thursday she’s at daycare all day playing with other dogs, socialising, training etc. Friday and all weekend she’s with me out and about all day every day. She’s a happy dog. Yes, twice a week she’s on her own too long but I’m working on a solution and no my concern isn’t my house, it’s her chewing something that will harm her.

Anyway, here is my best mate, taken yesterday.

It's not leaving her that's the issue, it's crating her. Create a safe space she can roam about in. Or do you have any friends home during the day? I often pop in and walk my friends when I'm off work for her.

Can't you get a puppy pen to section off part of the room (a higher than average one given that she might jump it!) the cameras are only about £25 off amazon too, if you wanted to keep an eye on what she's up to.