Can a cocker spaniel puppy be left on its own for up to 5 hours?

[HopeNotFear]

Hi, we would love a working cocker spaniel puppy but I would like some honest advice if it’s the right thing for us before we start looking for one.

We (myself, DP & 13 year old DD) have read up lots on this breed and spoken to a few owners and we are all really keen to get one, however I am worried about leaving the puppy on its own for long periods of time 2 or sometimes 3 days a week.

I work 3 days a week and am out of the house from 8.30am -- 5.30pm. DP is full time but does shift work over 7 days, so he will sometimes be off one or 2 of my working days. On his day shift he leaves home at 9.30am, can pop home about 1.30pm / 2.00pm for 45 mins, and DD will be home from school by 4.15pm. On back shift DP leaves home at 1pm and DD is home about 4.15pm. At a push, I could probably reduce my hours at work so I could also pop home for 30mins during the day while the puppy is settling in.

I would take a couple of weeks holiday to settle the puppy in, but after this, it’s likely it’ll need to be left on it’s own whilst we’re at work/School, and there’s no-one nearby who could pop in and puppy sit during this settling in period.

We have a big lounge and could have an area fenced off so puppy would have space to move around but would be safe, with it’s toys and radio left on so it hears voices. We would of course build up the time it’s left on its own, but I realise 15/16 days from getting the puppy till I go back to work isn’t very long to build the time up.

I know cocker spaniels like company and stimulation and don’t like being left on their own for too long or too often. Just wondering if anyone has been able to make it work in similar circumstances with either a spaniel or another breed of puppy.

Just read this back, sorry it’s so long!

No no no no no no no

Why do people who work so many hours even contemplate getting a dog!?! Doesn't matter the breed of the dog. They're social creatures and need company.

You may as well have a baby and say does it matter if I leave it in the house whilst I go to Tesco. Grrr.

Our dog has never been left longer for 3 hours in its entire life - and even that's been rare and I've felt awful about it.

I have a show cocker and I have only left her for that long alone once due to going to a funeral. I would not do this regularly with her, and especially if she was a working cocker.
You need to think about the toilet training. It takes longer than you think.
You need to think about training. It needs to be pretty much constant during the early days and months.
They also need to have company, and its about building up a bond between you.
If you are getting your puppy from a reputable breeder, then I am very surprised they have let a puppy go to a home where people are out a lot of the time.
I would suggest you look at a different breed that does not need the stimulation a spaniel of any type does. Dogs like whippets only need short walks but in an area that they can run and then they spend the rest of their days sleeping.

Why are you so determined on a working dog? Your lifestyle isn't suitable for one. There are plenty of retired greyhounds or older rescue dogs who would be happy left for a couple of hours, but a young puppy, never mind a working breed? Honestly, no.

And please don't be relying on your teenage DD to take any responsibility for the dog. Sooner or later she'll have a social life and be off to uni or whatever and won't be around for the dog.

Another one saying no, too. It's too many hours every day. You might get away with it occasionally, but that would depend on the pup's temperament, and you have no idea when you choose it whether it'll be prone to develop separation anxiety, which is a crippling condition for the dog and one that often gets the dog rehomed. Please don't do it. Work out if you can sort out some care for the pup during those hours.

We have a cocker spaniel. She's fine left on her own as long as she feels secure (which in her case means being confined to a small space and having as few stimuli as possible while she's on her own) but I'd never consider doing that to her every day. When my husband and I have both been working I've always got a dogwalker to come in the middle of the day. Mine took all of a week to potty train, but in other, unrelated, ways she's a seriously high-maintenance dog. I did quite a lot of research too, spoke to loads of breeders, they all said all the right things. None of them said "oh by the way, cockers produce an indescribable noise unlike anything you've ever heard coming from a dog. They do this in response to a fox in the garden, a cat in the garden, a squirrel in the garden, trees waving in a sinister way, a fox in your street, you coming home, your neighbours walking past, the postman coming, being let out in the garden, not being let out in the garden... They're quite capable of doing it in the middle of the night, working themselves up into a complete hysteria and needing you to sit up with them for several hours before they calm down."

We had our first baby 6 months ago, and most of the time being new parents has been considerably easier than being owners of a cocker spaniel.

Thanks for all your replies.

Common sense told me we couldn’t leave a puppy on its own for up to 5 hours, which is why I asked on this forum and you have all confirmed what I was thinking.

However, with careful planning on our part, the puppy would only be left on its own for up to 2.5 hours, 2 days a week. The other 5 days either myself or DP will be at home with the puppy. The puppy / dog will be taken on long walks (appropriate to its age) every day and have plenty interaction & stimulation when we’re at home.

That said, we’re still very much at the planning / talking stage and appreciate all the constructive comments.

We have a working cocker. We got him at 4 months old as we had an 8mo th lab with separation anxiety and the owner of the pup had hurt her back. We offered to foster for 2 weeks (I knew we’d be keeping him) and he was a bloody nightmare. The two puppies destroyed the house when I was asleep (night worker at the time and used to walk them before I went to bed in the morning).
However, now they are both 3, they are inseparable and happy to be alone all day when we’re out at work. They do have a flap though so can get out in the day to use the loo.
Working cockers are very anxious though and if they haven’t been properly trained from tiny tiny, the anxiety will stay. Ours is the most loyal and loving dog ever but he is shit scared of DH and has been since the day he came home. He is most definitely MY dog.

Don't get a working breed, and a very high energy one at that, unless you plan to work it. So good few hrs of exercise a day, plus agility / obedience / search and rescue / retrieve work; a def not if you will be leaving it alone for any length of time at all

An adult cocker yes, pup no. Consider dog walker, doggy day care for socialisation. Any teens, friends or family members that will visit pup. Check out 'show cocker spaniels' as opposed to working (less wired).

Even 2.5 hours is too much for a pup

I’d say a pup could be left for 2.5 hours, esp a working breed but they need an environment that replicates a working life.
It’s the mental stimulation that tires them out not physical exercise.

When we start the dogs to work sheep it’s the 20 mins learning commands, sides, holds, crawls etc that exhausts them. They starts at 4 months, which I suppose it older than when the OP is talking about going back to work but not hugely.

Maybe worth looking up your local gun club, even if you have no desire to work him/her as they’ll be offer advice for training.

One of my friends who is a keeper trains and helps train a few spaniels and labs as the dogs love it and the owners enjoy seeing them learning. However they’ll never set foot on a shoot. Your recall will be amazing though and they learn to never ever chew anything!

Another thought, there are a few animals breed to be working dogs who don’t take to working life. They are gun shy or dislike living as a group, various different reasons, and they are often re homed into a family environment.
Look up your local gundog rescue and they’ll probably have a few looking for a home or be able to put you in touch with them.
Agiiity is another great outlet for providing mental and physical stimulation, when they are old enough of course.

I'm totally with *starutopia, why get a dog to leave it on its own for most of the day, pup or not?

I work full time (mix of office and home) and have a working cocker spaniel and have had him since a puppy.

Really don't understand why MN is so anti dog when you work as in real life lots of people work and give a dog/puppy a good home and being around 24/7 is no indication of caring for a pet as there is so much more to it.

Mine has gone to day care for half days when I am in the office since he was 13 weeks which meant toilet training continued. He is now 14 months old and loves daycare and still goes so he is on his own for around 2.5 hours around 3-4 times a week.

As for working cockers there is a lot of misconception that you need to walk huge miles and work them all the time. Like any other dog you just tailor the exercise to suit the dog so on my days when he isn't at daycare he gets to chase and hunt a ball around constantly for 30 mins which satisfies his hunt and chase instinct and is absolutely knackered. He may get another 30 mins but more often we then do a session of agility and chase the ball in the garden. We do group sessions of gun dog training and agility training every few weeks as well so his exercise is tailored for mental stimulation and obedience far more than just walking.

It's perfectly doable to work and have a puppy/cocker spaniel but you just have to have a plan when it's younger to be looked after.

What I will say which no one ever mentions is also have a back up plan if your dog is ill and cannot attend day care or be walked as mine has had several accidents and illnesses which has required me to work at home (fortunately I can) for several weeks.

But that's different bitey yours is in daycare and isn't left as long on its own

When we got a puppy I was at home not working at all. There’s no way I’d get a puppy now.

I was home with him all the time to start with, supervising him constantly and whisking him outside at the first sign of needing the toilet. Gradually started leaving him, for 20 minutes, then half an hour, then an hour etc. But the first few months of puppydom is very hard work and now I’m working, although I can work at home most of the time if I want to, no way I’d get a new puppy.

Our cocker is fine for a number of hours but it rarely happens. I remember when she was a pup at Christmas going to the Inlaws down the road and I was worried leaving her for maybe 8 hrs but I popped home once in the middle to check her, we'd only had her 3 months. She was fine but it made me anxious. Nowadays I wouldn't like it as a regular thing but often I'm working upstairs for hours with her snoozing downstairs.

Look after the dog as best you can and she will learn the routines of your house. Don't mind the dog martyrs on mumsnet. You'll know soon enough if the dog is unhappy with anything.

No. An adult could be left for 5 hours 2 days a week very easily but you are looking at a good year before that is an option. 1 to 2 hours is the most a young puppy should be left. They shouldnt really be left at all. After about 6 months it could be more like 3 to 4 and build the time up.

Popping home doesn't work. Its company they need as well as opportunities to pee. Dropping in is actually cruel imo as they get excited to see you and then you bugger off again.

In my experience, Spaniels need company, at all times, when they can't see their people they will stress out. Gorgeous dogs but can be very clingy. Our office dog Spaniel stares and whines when his mum goes to out to the kitchen to make a cup of tea.

Maybe an older adult dog with plenty of training might be able to cope that long, but not a puppy and not a spaniel.

Your other plan where pup wont be left as long sounds ok. If there were days you did need to be away longer, could you not hire a dog walker?

Are you planning on working the dog?
I have border collies and they get bored very quickly - leaving them in a large space with toys and stuff while i was out for up to 2 hours would guarantee id come back to some damage. Not so much now but when they were younger. One of them decided to start a hole in the middle of my carpet. I crated in the end.
Saying that my 1 year old bc recently decided it would be a good idea to start reshaping my bannister and my 7 month bc helped the new decor by taking away a bit of the stair carpet and beading from the laminate. I dont know what theyre planning but theyre working together. This has been due to me being ill and not giving them as many walks as usual

Your updated situation sounds absolutely fine. Dogs need to learn how to be OK on their own and that starts with short bursts from a young age.

Why do you want a working breed though OP?

Have you thought about adopting an older dog? Seems much more suitable.

Absolutely definitely not no. And certainly not for a working cocker spaniel puppy!! You would be setting yourself and the dog up for failure.
A retired rescue adult greyhound on the other hand would suit your hours very well. Could you have a think about that?

We have a working cocker spaniel pup( 6 months). He is left for a maximum of two hours a day , with teenagers coming in and out. My eldest boy (18) work s opposite days to me in the week and so looks after him / walks him etc but does resent it, so I agree don't rely on teenagers to help too much. In hindsight he has been the wong choice of dog for us ( see my thread on him ! )

I walk dogs & one of my existing clients got a working cocker pup, after discussion with me, as they are both put all day.
They got her at the start of the holidays (both in education) so

She settled welĺ & I went in 2 hrly, but was & is a nightmare if left/ bored. Chewed, took forever to toilet train. Gorgeous dog but needs loads of exercise, and brain draining games to tire her out.

Please consider getting a dog visitor/ walker for those 2 days you are out, if you really want a puppy, you'll not regret it.