To search for a small dog that can be left alone during the day?

[PleasedToBeAFlower]

I will accept it if I get flamed by dog lovers for this.
But is there such a thing as a small dog that can be left alone for 5 or 6 hours 3 days a week?
Or is it just completely unacceptable to plan to do this?
My DD aged 9 has a significant educational learning delay. This is affecting her self esteem and self confidence. She is otherwise highly intelligent.
So I need to chanel in to things she loves, so that she can feel good about things she loves and is good at, to compensate for spending all day at school feeling rubbish about herself for not being able to learn.
And boy oh boy does she LOVE dogs. She literally adores them. She cannot pass one without making friends with it. Dogs seem attracted to her. And she's amaaaaazing with them. All breeds, all ages, doesn't matter, she adores them and they do seem to adore her.
She has begged for a dog for 6 years so far. I've always said no.
But I actually think it would be incredible for her to have one.
I have no doubt she would be 100% committed to it, and it would be a lucky dog as she would love it and care for it so much.
BUT it would be alone in the house 3 days a week for about 6 hours a day.
No way round this.
Kids at school.
DH and I go to work, and we dont have jobs that we can take dogs to.
Is this ever, ever, ever do-able???
Or is there never a way to have a dog if it's left on its own?
I realise it has to be fair on the dog, not just what we want.

Two dogs could work but one dog of a pair can still experience significantly more separation anxiety than the other. I have two dogs who are not close and while there is no agression between them they spend as much time as possible far away from one another in separate parts of my house. One of them gets very anxious when left. It very much depends upon the personality of the two dogs. In order to train both dogs effectively you would need to get one on its own first and then a second one later so the first one would still be left alone. The worst combination is a sibling pair from the same litter. They focus on each other rather than the owner and consequently can be very difficult to train leading to more problems,

There are ways around this. They're called dog walkers/dog sitters/doggy daycare.

I'd love à dog but aware of the fact Im not home enough and it would be cruel to the dog

We really wanted a dog. But we are all busy through the day (even when I'm on nights...I'm sleeping!) so... we got a cat.

I'll get a dog when I retire or am able to go part time.

My retired mother in law used to take her neighbour's dog out for walks during the day as something to do. It was mutually beneficial to all parties.

Yes of course it’s possible, hire a dog walker to take them out in the middle of the day. The going rate is £12 per hour.
However dogs with separation anxiety are hard work and you won’t know if they’ll have it until you get them, so be prepared for lots of training needed to ensure they’re happy at home for a few hours without you. I’d also advise taking some annual leave when you first get the dog, maybe you take 2 weeks, then your husband takes 2 weeks to get them settled in before you start their routine, so that you’re not leaving them straight away.
Do loads of research on the best breed for you and buy from a reputable breeder if you’re getting a puppy.
Good luck!

The only way this would work is if you got a dog walker to come in and take them out during the day.

Explain at shelters - seems like you need an older dog that is ok with being left. They may have one! Certain greyhounds spring to mind - I know one that if they don’t sleep for 8 hours during the day will be grumpy

once back in the house, you will need to give it loads of attention, play, games. Some dogs love walks; some value 1 or 1 time but I’d say at least 30mins of this (time on your phone.)

my parents had an aging dachshund when growing up that required alone time & valued play more than anything.

You definitely can’t get a puppy.

A dog walker would be a good option for you. In the meantime what about signing up to sites like borrow my doggie, you can both take someone else’s dog out for walks, borrow it to have at home for a few hours etc and it would give you an idea of whether she will take it seriously and also what kind of breeds will work best for you. Making friends with dogs out n about is very different to owning one (as I’m sure you know) and this way it’s less of a commitment.

Or look at cats instead? Does she like cats? Much less work involved

This dog is reserved and you’d have to take holiday to do a settling in period or use a dog sitter (as in someone who comes to your house) but she’s an example of a dog that:

• child tested
• can be left up to 5 hours

it might take a while to find the right dog but I think as long as:

6 hours is absolute max. & only 3 days
you have a plan B to let the dog out if there’s an issue / emergency e.g. a neighbour with a dog who would be sympathetic
you have the time for play, training and enrichment outside of those working hours.

https://woodgreen.org.uk/pets/pippin/

PS: I have a spaniel who is the neediest creature you have met and is hardly alone - but my point is dogs are individuals and there’s is probably one for your circumstances. My parents dachshund would have liked more alone time than he got!

Six hours is too long personally IMO. We leave ours a max of four. But it sounds like a dog would have a great life with you so I’d go ahead but with the proviso of getting a dog Walker or someone to pop in and see the dog / let it out on those two days.

I have two pugs and they are perfectly content to spend five or six hours at home alone, although it doesn’t happen often. They just snooze and we are pretty sure of that because we always look in the window when we get home and it doesn’t matter if we are gone for thirty minutes, an hour or four hours, they are always snoozing.

We got them both as puppies years before covid, I was full time at home with the first one when he was a puppy and when the second one was a puppy and there was nobody at home for part of the day, we got somebody to come in every day, she used to spend an hour or two in the house.

The trouble is, dogs are still individuals no matter what breed they are, they are not all going to behave the same. If we had three days a week when nobody is at home for most of the day, I don’t think we would get a dog, definitely not a single dog.

It will be fine just get someone to pop in or walk the dog. I would leave my dog for 4 hrs any longer than that I pay for a dog walker to take him out.

We have a border terrier who sleeps most of the day. I am in every day as I work from Home but frequently go out on weekends where the dog is left at home and she's fine. I have a dd who Is 1 and the dog is fine with her. I would warn though that whilst border terriers love people they are notoriously snappy with other dogs.

I leave my adult dogs at home once a week for 6 hours to go volunteering and they are absolutely fine - I have cameras and can see them snoozing or wandering to their bowls. I wouldn’t do that more than a couple of days a week. It took a bit of ‘bladder training’ to get them to that point.

I think if you get a dog walker to come in and break the dogs day up this is fine BUT it can take months to get to a position where you can leave pup alone even for an hour.

Separation anxiety can be genetic as well and so even if you train well, from the start you could still have a dog that hates being alone.

We have a tiny chihuahua. I work shifts and when my partner is away at sea he's on his own.

If it's a night shift I take him for a long walk before I go. Top up his bowls and leave a small bowl of treats for him and Alexa playing quietly. I bought a camera and he just literally sleeps all night downstairs in his little cat bed until I come home and walk him again before I take him up to bed with me. He sleeps downstairs when I'm home anyway so he doesn't notice anything different,

If it's a day shift though my neighbour will pop in and let him out around 11am.

Then my mum pops in after work and takes him for a quick walk and usually turns Alexa up cos she thinks the dog likes it louder then I walk him again when I'm home,

Obviously it's 2/3 shifts a week though, and he's the most pampered happy dog I've ever known 😂

ask them at the rescue centre how long they would suggest you leave them?
if they say 4 hours,
then get a dog walker for those 2 days
bearing in mind there will be settling in time to take into account when you first get the dog

I have two small dogs who are used to being left for a full day once a week. They have a dog flap and spend all day slerping. But, I wouldn’t do that with one dog, and also, not whilst they are a puppy.

My 2 are both rescues so not a specific breed

You would need to build up to it but my dog is left 8hours a day when I’m at work and is perfectly happy. We have a long walk before and another when I get in. she is crazy when I get in though as she’s slept all day!

plenty of people won’t leave their dog at all and that is their choice but for us it is fine.

whilst building up see if a family member or a friend could pop in in the middle of the day for toilet and play time. Or get a dog walker or doggie daycare. Younger dogs can’t hold their toilet so long.

as long as the dog is loved, trained and well cared for which it sounds like it absolutely will be then this shouldn’t be a barrier.

do some research on individual breeds before you get one as some may be more prone to anxiety being left than others and join a breed specific Facebook page for all the inside gossip!

I am so surprised at all of this. Dogs can be left for 5-6 hours on their own if they become used to it. We have a border terrier and we used to do this with our old dog too. However, it should be built up to over a couple of years - until at least 18 months old their systems are not mature enough to go that long without a toilet break.

No dog will come ready tuned to be left at all, you'd need to build up to it over several weeks/months. You'd be better with a younger rescue dog but again, you'd need to all get to know each other, create a bond, work out what the dog needs to be left (i.e, music, kong toys, a window to look out of etc). My dog can be left for 4- 5 hours but that's with quite a lot of thought put into it, over many years. It's very rare that he's left for more than 4 hours though. You absolutely must employ a walker for any period over 4 hours or it's tbh a bit neglectful. I spend about £30 a week on dog walkers and WFH the rest of the time. That's what you're looking at minimum.

I don’t think a dog rehoming centre will allow this. Mainly because many of the dogs will already have separation anxiety, have been taken from their homes and places into cages on their own for weeks/months/years on end.

Maybe if you and your husband could take some annual leave to get them used to your home for a few weeks, before you start to leave them. But you can’t leave a rescue dog or a puppy in your home as soon as you get it

Lots of dogs might tolerate 6 hours alone if they have lots or exercise and attention either side. The issue is they won't as a puppy so you would need a few years to build up to it. They also are unlikely to as a rescue. And even if you get a puppy and are only looking at leaving it after a few years for that long then there is no guarantee they will be happy alone for long periods. Most would probably say 4 hours or so is fine but once your start going into 6 -8 it's too much. That's generally been the case for our dog.

There are loads of dog services though around the whole country so look into dog walkers and doggy day cares etc.

It doesn't sound unsurmountable to sort rhat kind of time out easily.

I cannot understand why you haven't researched dog ownership. I do hope if you do go ahead and adopt a dog, you employ a dog walker.

What I don’t understand is how people are expected to afford a dog if they are not supposed to be left alone so the owner can go out to work? Insurance, food, vets bills etc are not cheap. Are dogs only for the retired and those that WFH?