How long do you leave your dogs?

[Hazza000]

We lost our spaniel 7 months ago and now have only one little dog. I work part time 3 days a week and some of these are weekends or nights when other family members are home. Our little lhasa apso therefore is rarely left for long periods if ever. However it has come to my attention that an alarming number of ppl get dogs and leave them alone in crates all day while they work. AIBU to think these ppl are selfish and irresponsible pet owners?

The longest I leave mine is 4 hours. They get seen to by a dog walker at lunchtime and she is really good with them. I wouldn't leave them all day alone. If I couldn't afford a dog walker I wouldn't have dogs. I don't think it's fair to leave them all day.

If we are ever home on a week day they get cranky cause they don't get their afternoon, post walk nap. They are in a good routine.

My dog is an old lady now and snoozes her day away mostly but I have guilt if she's left for more than 3-4 hours

My dog is left all day in my back garden. He has an insulated kennel and gets around an hour(ish) long walk every day after work and hours of walking at the weekend.

Suits him just fine.

Eric is left for 3 to 4 hours max, any longer than that he goes to one of our adult dc. Not because he seems bothered about being left it's more that I don't think it's fair to leave him without human company for very long.

8 month old gets left for 4 hours max, but that isn’t very often as I don’t work. A couple of times we’d need to leave her longer so we’ve either had a dog walker or had a friend come round to walk and feed her

My beautiful old boy Fred is rarely left for more than 4 hrs. As a PP said, he's so old now (nearly 16) that he could probably go a good 8hrs without even waking up, but I don't like him being alone. My lovely ex DH looks after him when I'm out of an evening too.

No longer than 4 hours, even though she sleeps it just feels too long anymore than that. I once heard someone say how would you feel stuck in a room for 7 hours with nobody to interact with and that stuck with me.

About 7 hours in the garden but there are two of them. They're tied up (next to each other) though because they dig out and injure themselves in the process. We'd really like them not to be tied up but if they dig out again, like theyve done many times, and go onto someone's farm they'll be shot. They live inside when we're home though.

Mine is rarely left for more than an hour or two but I think there is a massive difference between a dog being alone for most of the day with free run of the house and a dog that is shut in a cage for hours . IMO it’s worse for a dog to be left in a cage all morning and all afternoon with a walk at lunchtime than to be left for say 6/7 hours with no walk but the ability to mooch about the house as they want . This is one of the problems with the popularity of cages , it has enabled people who wouldn’t have got a dog because they didn’t want to come home to potential damage / mess to now keep them because they can shut them in a cage .

The length of the weekly shop!! And the back door is left open all the time. . Days out, an older dc is in /out during the day. Happy ddogs!!

penelope , why not just leave them indoors ? What happens if it’s raining or really hot .

Our previous dog was free to roam around the garden and go in and out of the backroom. We never had a problem with him getting out.
I sometimes think that it might be because we've got two now (both male and both desexed) so they're their own little pack.
It does sadden me but I don't know how to fix the problem.

We don’t leave ours alone. He goes to daycare if we are both working away from home.

3-4 hours max, but dh and I both do a lot of work from home, so the dog usually has company.

Sorry, Floral, I missed your post.
Well, I didn't think they could hold on for that long - it's probably closer to 8 hours. But now you say that, they do hold on that long overnight.
They don't really seem to mind it though; they both run over to where they're tied up, one jumps up on his chair where I clip him on.
Regarding the weather, it doesn't rain much but if it does one can go into a shed and one can go under something else that's always accessible.
It does get hot though but they both have access to shade and water.
This only started six months ago when I got full-time work.
I leave at 8 and DH is home at about 4.
I'm going to think about leaving them in the backroom where they sleep; one is a bit of a chewer though (decorative knob on piano, dining chair, corner of a sofa, outdoor seat cushions, padded tops of brand new in the box workboots). He was younger though.
Thanks for making me have a rethink :)

4 hours once a week the rest of the time it's 15 mins here hour or so there

I am home most of the time but my dog does not like to be left . We let him roam most of down stairs If we go out . Max would be 3 - 4 hours but that would probably only be once a week. The rest of the time it's probably 1-2 hours max .

Our dogs rarely get left for more than 3hours even then I feel guilty. I doubt that people who leave their dog all day in a crate are going to comment as it is horrifying.

Pre mat leave our dog was home all day by himself (usually 8 - 4.30) however this definitely suits him as he likes to snooze a lot during the day.

When he was younger PIL used to kindly pop round and walk him on a lunchtime which we were so grateful for, however we discovered that this was upsetting him as he started to chew furniture so we had to ask them to stop.

Since then he has just settled into his own routine, waking up at 7 with us to go for a walk, snoozing all day (despite me and DS being home and DS trying to get his attention!) then going for another walk at around 5 with DP.

I worry about my dog's renal system if she doesn't get out for a wee regularly, as well as her feeling lonely and fretful, so she always has a dog walker for an hour in the middle of the day on work days. Plus, she has a huge picture window to gaze at the wildlife and people outside all day. When I'm working, she has to do without me for about 10 hours although she and the parrot are good pals. We don't own a crate, thankfully.

Well I can leave my dog for 16 hours. That's if he's fed as I leave. My husband Vin on the other hand. I can leave him for days.

Don't worry. Your dog will be fine my dear x

16 hours? can he get out and do his business?? I don't think he should be left for that long alone. My little Klaus cant stay on his own for even 15 mins, always needs his mummy!

Not more than 4-5 hours. We have a dog walker who comes round when I am at work. He is 6 1/2 years old very active lab/retriever. I find it easier to come in from work with him calm and tired when I have tea to make and DC to concentrate on.

3 hours at the most.