Could I leave my dog home alone for 10 hours? just for 3 days while dh is away?

[EleanorReally]

or should I try and take annual leave?
whats the max she can be left do you think
she is 6 JRT
actually 9 and a half hours

[ineedaholidaynow]

9 hours is too long.

If they are very rarely left it’s not really a good idea to suddenly leave them a long time.

Can you look into dog walkers/doggy day care?

[Ariela]

Is it the summer holidays? Know any teenagers like dogs? Or train your dog to living in the garden over the summer - ours has a kennel with bedding, water, and all the tripperies of a lovely dog life outside, given we spend the summer outside she's there too, so no issue to go out and she's in the garden not the house. We get a neighbour to pop round and check if we're 10 hours +, but she's perfectly happy.

[SherlockSays]

My dogs are in for that long 3 days a week, but we have a dog walker that comes in at dinnertime and takes them for an hour. So the morning they spending snoozing and the afternoon they're completely tired out from the walk.

[SherlockSays]

I think begrudging £45 for a dog walker isn't very responsible though - surely you knew that dogs come with random (and often a lot larger) costs throughout their lifetimes.

[BiteyShark]

I know you don't 'want' to spend money but could you really cope for 9-10 hours locked up without needing to pee?

My dog after being left out by our daycare lady often pees straight away because he just needs to go. That's after 3 ish hours.

If you are happy to come home to mess (pee and poo) and an upset dog given that you said they are hardly left then go ahead. But I would judge you for begrudging spending £45 to enable your dog to be comfortable.

[Fillybuster]

If she’s not used to being left, then definitely not. She will get distressed and it’s simply not fair.

But I don’t see why it needs to be £45? We live in London,and I’ve found people willing to come in and let the dog out, or take him for a short walk, every day, for more like £5-7 a time. And I only pay £10/hour for our amazing dog walker to come by, unlock the house, take Fillydog out for a proper walk and then bring him back and lock up again. So worst case would be £30 and no guilt! Check out dogbuddy/rover for your area, interview a few people and you’ll find someone.

[Theimpossiblegirl]

Unlikely that you're in North Somerset but my dd is doing some post-gcse dog sitting. Maybe there's a nice teen near you that could pop in.

[Heyha]

It's too extreme to go from hardly ever being left to being left for more than a few hours. The dog walker is essential in my opinion.
Ours used to be left 8 hours 3 days a week with a dog walker for an hour round lunchtime so if it ended up being a 9 hour day it wasn't too much of a stress as it was only a small change but to go from nothing to loads (even if you go in late) is likely to cause problems.

[embarrassedbymyhouse]

dont want to spend £45 on a dog walker

None of us probably relish spending £££ on childcare either. But that's what you sign up to when you have a child or get a dog. You make sure they're properly cared for.

[ilovesocks]

I'd say no. Mine could cope for 10 hours in an emergency, but I wouldn't do it deliberately, and definitely not back to back.

[IHeartArya]

Oh gosh I’ve just remembered when I was looking after SILdog while they were away. I had to drive dd to an activity an hour away. 2 hours there so 4 hours. I’d obviously checked that this would be ok. I had not factored in breaking down. Waiting for recovery vehicle. We were gone 8 hours in total. Dog was fine thankfully & I was so apologetic to SIL but it just added so much unnecessary stress.

[Monkeybunkey]

Mine can be left for 9 hours without messing or stressing. Long walk beforehand and the radio on. It depends on the dog and what they're used to.

[Ivestoppedreadingthenews]

My sister leaves her dog during the school day but the garden is secured and they have a dog flap.

[Ivestoppedreadingthenews]

Do you have any teens in your family/friendship group? For such a short period you don’t need a professional dog walker. Just someone to take the to the loo and make a fuss of them.

[Illberidingshotgun]

In an emergency a dog would survive, but this is a planned situation. This is also a dog who isn't used to being left, so I don't think it's appropriate.

It is always worth building up a relationship with a dog walker, someone who knows your dog and can step in on the odd occasions that you need it.

Any animal owner will need to have potential access to at least £45 at any point - your dog could need major surgery or any other costly treatment, and the excess on your insurance would likely be more than this. (Thanks to Ddog's ailments his policy costs a lot more than this a month!!).

One way of reducing the cost would be to see if the dog walker does home visits - popping in quickly to check on them, let them out for a wee etc. Although IMHO this would still leave the dog on it's own for too long.

[Lost5stone]

I'd say 6 hours is too long for a dog who is not used to being alone for long.

£45 is really not much when you have a dog is it. (I know it is to some people don't get me wrong, but having a dog means that these types of expenses pop up)

[Branleuse]

I think its too long unless absolute emergency, and this is not, it is preplanned in order to save money. I think you need to get a teenager in to at least let her outside and give her a fuss, if not a full on walk.

[IHeartArya]

Try here SIL uses them occasionally

www.borrowmydoggy.com/

[EleanorReally]

perhaps i will juggle between neighbour and my dm

[NoSquirrels]

My dog is part-camel & refuses to pee in the garden, and can go 6-8 hours very easily. We don’t ask her to, as I work from home, but she’s stubborn and doesn’t ever seem to get desperate for a pee. She also sleeps a lot and is extremely calm, so not bothered by being left.

However yours is a smaller dog (with a smaller bladder) and not used to being left at all, and JRTs are not renowned for being particularly calm! I’d try to fix my hours, ask my neighbour to also pop in, or get a dog walker. Possibly also a day of annual leave. A one-off day your plan might be OK but fur 4 days in the trot I think your dog will be really anxious at the end of it, and that could cause you issues in the future.

[Sofasurfingsally]

Probably best. A neighbour did this a few years ago over the GCSE exam week, and the dog barked incessantly. The so called dog sitter called at 6.

[EleanorReally]

thanks, had a look on borrow my doggie

[Floralnomad]

My dog would be fine with that as an occasional thing , he has a cast iron bladder and would just follow the sun round the bedrooms . If I go on a day out dh tries to come home for an hour or two at lunchtime and generally texts me to say that the dog slept the entire time he was in and ignored him .

[Sparkletastic]

4 hours max.

[mrsjoyfulprizeforraffiawork]

Whilst I don't adhere to the 4 hours maximum rule, I would never leave my dog alone for 10 hours even just on one occasion. I really think you need a dog walker or a kind neighbour to help you out here. Quite apart from the toilet needs (and lots of dogs are hugely distressed by having to make a mess indoors), your dog will be miserable on his/her own all that time. On a working day, my dog has to be alone for five to five and a half hours before dogwalker comes in to walk her for an hour then about four to five hours before I'm home again. If I go to the theatre (rarely!) for the evening, my neighbour pops round halfway through the evening to take the dog for a wee and give her a cuddle.