To shut my dog in the garden for the day?

[Dogingarden]

Please read the full thing before you call me cruel.

I will be gone from about 8am until late on the night because I'm travelling for a medical procedure that I can't put off any longer. There is no way to make the time shorter due to where I live in relation to the hospital and I need the treatment asap.

I had a dog sitter booked but she had an accident and is currently on crutches and unable to drive. The others in my area are booked or just far too expensive. I have family but only my brother is able to drive and works 12hr shifts so he's only able to visit after 8pm. The house is rural detached with no close neighbours.

He can't go to kennels because I accidentally missed his vaccine boosters during the move and the local ones won't take him without them being up to date.

Dog is a large terrier. I have a large, safe garden with plenty of shady spots regardless of the time of day. I would leave multiple beds for him, including a dog house that was already in the garden when I moved in. There is also an automatic water bucket fitted to the house (previous owner) which he uses happily when we're in the garden. I will leave dry food out.

He absolutely will not toilet in the house, even with puppy pads, so he'd potentially be going 12+ hours without a wee which makes me very uncomfortable because he's had kidney issues in the past.

Please don't be awful - I'm terrified of what the biopsy will show and I'm doing my best.

Great news, hopefully your biopsy results will be similar, good luck.

Your dog should be able to be outside for a day. If you're worried he will escape, do you have time to get him chipped? Or get an air tag onto his collar?

Ive read and understand your dilemma, I have a dog as well. If it was me, I'd go for the expensive sitter option to ensure my dogs safety.
I live in a rural area too, and have a fully fenced and lockable area in my garden for him to play outside in, but for your peace of mind, do consider having him looked after and watched over. It's up to you obviously, I wish you well on both fronts, with your hospital procedure and your dog.

You have my sympathies OP. It can’t be pleasant having a breast biopsy ❤️

I work as a petsitter. I would advise having a local dog walker do 2 visits. He could bark all day or you could have complications and be forced to stay overnight so you need a plan B.

edited to say I’ve just read that you’ve sorted it out. It might be worth reaching out to local dog walkers in case you need them in the future.

The suggestion about reaching out on a community FB is a good idea. There will be someone who would volunteer to help. Personally I wouldn’t do it since it’s unpredictable how he would behave. What if he barked for a very long time and became a nuisance for neighbours? Ideally you want to find someone who can either look after him for the day or is willing to stop by a few times in the day to make sure he’s okay. You’re posting because you don’t really feel okay about it, so if I were you I just wouldn’t do it. You have alternatives. Trust me, there will be someone in the community who will help.

Glad you found a solution OP

that's good news, hope the SIL is ok with her allergies

Good solution. Good luck with your appointment 💐

Good luck with your app @Dogingarden I am SW Scotland if I can be of any assistance with your boy. Xx

I do feel for you as we had loads of situations like this (ex large terrier owner). I don’t think you can do this, my main concern would be the weather at the moment. It’s too hot to leave a dog of that temperament to its own devices. I’m sorry but it’s too risky. Keep asking around or pay the expansive sitter. Sorry

Borrow my doggie sounds made for you.

I'd come and look after him if you weren't so far away 😊 Good luck with your procedure 💐

@SErunner

why isn’t what OP is proposing a solution?

Please tell me no one has suggested that OP puts off her biopsy so that the dog doesn’t need to be left??!

Hundreds of pounds for a day sitter for your dog? I charge £30..no one around here charges over £50 for a day.
A biopsy shouldn't take more than 2 hours, 3 tops, unless they are very overwhelmed, which if you are booked in, they shouldn't be.
I'd revisit the dog sitter personally. What would happen if your dog had an accident? I know it's unlikely but still.

Leaving a dog for 12 hours isn’t a solution in my opinion, it is totally inappropriate to leave a dog that long. The OP did have options (dog sitter) albeit the one she spoke to was expensive (although I think she must have misunderstood as there is no way a days dog sitting is hundreds of pounds, and she could have travelled to another sitter if needed). There were other options suggested by posters as well. No one was suggesting she should cancel her appointment. Her most recent posts show she has found a solution thankfully, so I’m not sure why you’re taking the discussion back to the beginning.

Sounds like you’re probably sorted but for what its worth:

If you know your dog isn’t likely to bark and will be quite content, as a one off I think it sounds fine so long as you’re sure the garden is well secured.

Alternatively you could try to look for a dog walker rather than a dog sitter to call in half way through the day, my sister pays £10 for an hours walk.

Or depending on your relationship with them, could you leave the dog indoors and ask a close neighbour to pop in 2 or 3 times to let the dog out to the toilet for 10 minutes. If any have teenagers you could offer some pocket money.

I absolutely did not misunderstand the price. She wanted £250 to care for him for one day.

She’s bonkers in that case. No one in their right mind would pay that (double the cost of central London full day at nursery). There would be others much cheaper. Glad you have a solution now anyway.

And if she got burgled, the insurance company wouldn't pay out because she had purposefully left the house insecure.

But then you’ve told everyone you are out?

One of our local dog walkers only charges £15 an hour which I think is definitely worth paying just for peace of mind. They could pop in during the day and take him out for an hour, weather permitting.

OP means if she leaves him locked in the house all day.

The RSPCA (and other specialists) say you should never leave dog longer than 4 hours. I'd pay for expensive sitter and bite the bullet. Will also give you peace of mind while you're having your procedure.

The OP SiL is going to look after the dog.