How long can you/do you leave your puppy/dog for?

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I'm just wondering really.

I've hardly left my pup alone at all, partly because she has had a broken paw these last four weeks.

But I'm going stir crazy and there are things I've just got to do.

How old is your pup?
Is she crated?
People are probably going to say I'm neglectful or a bad dog owner here, but when mine was little (5ish months onwards) he'd be left for a maximum of an hour or two and he was fine with it. Puppies sleep a lot and that's what mine did.
Now he is older I leave him for 3-4 hours comfortably, although it is rare - maybe once or twice a month. I work from home with no dcs yet (due next year) so he is always with me, but I believe that as he has been used to being left alone gradually he has no separation anxiety and is generally found snuggled up on the sofa on my return!

Yes, she is crate trained and likes being in there. Stays in all night no bother. Often gets put in there during the day when necessary and doesn't seem to mind (unless she can smell food).

Perhaps I just need to be brave.

She's four months old btw.

I think she will be fine for an hour - was going to say take her out for a walk first but you can't do that if the poorly girl has a broken leg Maybe have a bit of a play and then put her in her crate and pop out for a bit? Or you could build up to it by say leaving her for 20mins at a time and seeing how she is when you come back in?

Our "pup" is now 15 months old ..... how did that happen? We didn't leave him alone at home until he was around 4 months old. He was absolutely fine. We didn't leave him any longer than an hour to start with. Now, we are able to leave him quite happily in his crate for up to about 4.5 hrs when we need to. [Only occasionally and always after a long walk!]

I was really apprehensive about doing it to start with - the longer we left it, the more I worried he was going to suffer from separation anxiety etc.. But he was fine!

Just bite the bullet and do it!

Yes I'm going to.

Just looked in my diary and DS has an appointment at the orthodentist tomorrow morning. By the time I take him there and drop him at school it will be just over an hour.

DH cannot stay at home - he's stuck on some deal or other.

Puppy will be fine

What the buggery fuck do folk do who WOH?

Leave him for an hour, definitely

Your puppy has got to get used to being left at some point, otherwise you'll end up house bound forever!

The worst that could happen would be a weeing accident, which is easily cleared up.....

I WOH and my dog goes to doggy daycare.

My neighbour used to come in at lunchtime but he would bark when she left, so now if I'm out of the house, so is he....

Yes, I know that's right.

I think I've ben retiscent because of her injury....but given that she's back in her strapping, the fracture having opened up again, she could be like this for another four weeks and I jsut can't be house bound fr that long.

Do you have a friend or neighbour that could watch her for an evening or so if you wanted to go out?

I did this with Ddog up until about 5 months - he was with the neighbour for anything over an hour, and in his crate for anything less. TBH I took him most places with me, which now means he is extremely adaptable but hates being left.

He simply cannot understand why he can't come to work with me (me neither, it would be great ), but he loves daycare so we've found a good compromise...

gosh... i leave mine in her crate for just over a couple of hours when i run a toddler group twice a week, she cant come with me, she just sleeps, we have someone doing some work in the house and they never hear her, she is always asleep when they sneak a peek. also if i have to do a supermarket shop or i have to pop out to the city she is fine even for 3 hours. we did have a bit of crying when we first did it when she was 12weeks, just after we got her but she stopped a minute after i had locked the front door (i sat and listened). she is in the crate at night now (she used to be in a box in the bedroom until last week) and she has been really quiet and just goes to sleep. the crate is in the larder so she can see whats going on but she feels safe as its not exposed and its nice and cosy in there, she often goes in there for a nap if the kids will not leave her alone and she is tired. she is 15 weeks now and i am at home most of the time and she does sleep most of the day even when i am there with short bursts of football with the kids or chasing around the guinea pig run barking then back to snoring on the sofa, she also has two small walks a day. TBH they cant come to much harm in a crate.

I would suggest an hour (ish) for small puppies, gradually rising to 4 hours for adult dogs. But always have a good long walk before you leave them for 4 hours. And if it's 4.5 hours it's not the end of the world.

A good thing to do is either leave them tired so they sleep or leave them with something to do, e.g. hide treats around the house so they're occupied. But dogs are fine being left, just so long as you really make their life a full and happy one when you're around.

Went to the orthodentist this morning, actually got stuck in the trafffic so pup ended up on her own, in the crate for two hours...and she was fine.

I snuck in and she was asleep. LOL.