Would leaving a puppy alone for this length of time be ok?

[Duckegg271]

If we got puppy at 10 weeks, I had 5 weeks working from home and then returned to work for the following hours:

Tuesday 9-12 home for an hour at lunch then back to work 1-4

Wednesday 9-12

Friday 9-12

Would that be ok or too long left alone?

[SausageSimon]

I think it's absolutely fine OP, I think even the long day is ok as it's just once a week but I'd be tempted to get some extra help while they're still a puppy once a fully settled adult it won't be a problem

People who say their dog won't cope with being left for 3 hours at a time do make me wonder what training they're giving their dog. I've had 4 dogs all which have been very happy settled dogs that could be left as they got sufficient mental and physical stimulation overall. I'd go from leaving them for 10-15 minutes and gradually build it up while you are at home for that period, don't be with them constantly as someone I know has done this and now can't believe he will never be left alone, shock

[adaline]

It sounds fine if you get daycare or walker for the long day. Even if you could get someone to come and sit with the puppy and let it out that would be plenty.

[TheHorseOnSeventhAvenue]

I know there will be those who flame me but my dog - from 11 months normally has one long day home a week.

Full on days at the weekend, then two days day care and she’s actually better to have a chilled day BUT she has no separation issues. I do find the routine has to mean I only leave her when she is exhausted/ comfortable but after two days doggy day care and running madly with 14 dogs means she sleeps in her down time. Day care means extra journey time for me but is so much more full on than a walker.

Also I take her for at least one day per week even when I’m working from home all week so she knows it’s normal. My biggest concern is that she now loves day care rather than me.

Every dog is different though. Mine never relaxes when I’m home but chills on the sofa as soon as I’m out of the door.

[tabulahrasa]

“Are people who don’t work/work from home the only ones who should really have them?”

Or work overlapping hours, or have someone willing to puppysit... or will pay someone to...

“So 3.5 hours twice a week? That must be ok surely?”

For a puppy - it might be, it might not be, it should be ok (dependant on the individual dog) for an adult, but for a puppy that age? You might need a back up plan for a bit in case it’s not.

[TheHorseOnSeventhAvenue]

I also should caveat my last response. Yes, my girl is good but we have to schedule feeding, walking, peeing and pooping plus squeaky ball and cuddle-puppy time in to our day.

Believe me, she is chilled but having a dog in your life is a big commitment!

[ArthuriaAugustaDarcy]

OP, I grew up with dogs, my parents had rescue dogs etc, etc, etc.

I love dogs to bits.

I do not have a dog, though I would dearly love one, as would my DC.

The question, for me, is not "what would a dog do for my family and me?", but "what could my family and I do for a dog?"

ATM, my family and I would gain hugely from having a dog, but the dog would not gain from this. I am out of the house too much (and IME, 'too much' means more than a couple of hours a day on a regular or semi-regular basis). So we don't have one. Sadly, from the human perspective.

[BiteyShark]

Phone up dog walkers OP as some offer daycare but don't necessarily advertise it.

Tbh my dog gets far more things at daycare than he would ever get with me if I was at home 24/7. He gets to socialise with other dogs, adults, children, goes on different walks and gets other experiences than most people can't or don't offer their dog with traditional two walks a day (I have many photos and videos of him having a great day sent to me). For me the money I spend on daycare is priceless.

He does still get left but only up to 3 hours at a time but for long days I never have to worry about him.

[Veterinari]

@Duckegg271
It depends on how much self-settling training you’ve done, not the length of time. Going from 24 hour contact for 5 weeks to being out of the house all day is a massive shift and you need to train pup to cope with this as part of the basic training/socialisation. One of the biggest mistakes new puppy owners make is ‘love-bombing’ with 24/7 contact for weeks, then abruptly going back to school/wok leaving the pup to feel abandoned.

Can he
Settle calmly in a room (with a toy/treat) whilst you’re in other parts of the house?
Be left home alone for shorter periods of time eg whilst you visit friends or go shopping, again with a treat/toy

To get to this you neee to start with super short time periods of alone-time and gradually build up. If the answer to this is yes and he’s calm and non distressed (video him) then he’ll likely be fine.

If not then you need to do a lot of training first

[Duckegg271]

Thankyou for all the replies. I’ve learnt a lot!

[Rejelio]

OP you might find that a half day at doggy daycare on a Tuesday is enough for your puppy... they tend to come home and crash out so they would probably sleep in the afternoon.
I think it sounds like you have a good plan as long as you build up to it (and end up with a sensible puppy!)

[Jouska]

The aim though surely is to give your dog more than just exercise until they crash.

If the dog is happy to be left for three hours you have socialisation, training, getting them out and about etc after you have worked in the morning.

Dogs are not just there to be walked and then left

[Duckegg271]

Jouska absolutely, I haven’t said the dog would just be walked and then left. It would become a part of the family and when I’m home from work I’d do all of the things you mentioned above.

[Jouska]

Cool

[yearinyearout]

As others have said, if you go ahead it's important to build the puppy's confidence being left alone. So if you're crate training just pop it in a for short periods whilst you clean the bathroom etc, and slowly increase the time. I think it's doable if you can sort something for the long day. Even if you don't have a doggy day care centre maybe there are people who look after them at their home, we have several in my small town. Worth asking around on local Facebook pages or asking if the dog walkers know of anyone.

[freddofrogger]

It's fine op. MN is not a good place for advice about this. You'll just get told a dog can't get left for any reason or any length of time. I'd suggest doing research out side of mn.

[Dollyparton3]

We've just got a puppy (5 months now) and here's what we did:

First two weeks me and my husband were with him to settle him in, we took a week off each plus it was the school holidays.

Then I work from home two days a week, he goes to daycare for the other 3 days. Sometimes he's dropped back from daycare at 3 and OH doesn't get home until 6, on those days he's so tired from daycare he happily sleeps in his crate.

A couple of times we've had to get walkers in to play with him every 3 hours (daycare was on holiday) and I had my nephew on standby to come in and play with him for a couple of hours as well.

It is doable but it takes careful planning. The brilliant thing about daycare is that the days I'm at home he has a few short walks round the block and sleeps the rest of the day to recover!

[GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman]

Have you thought of timing things so that when you go back to work, it's the start of the university summer holidays, and employing a student home for the summer to puppy-sit for an hour or two of the each of the blocks of time you're out? That would let you adapt the time alone to the needs of the puppy. That way, pup would be 13 weeks when you stopped WFH, and then the student would be around (perhaps tapering off) for another 13 weeks. The puppy would then be six months old, and by then you'd know lots of local people with dogs who will be able to offer advice and recommend sitters if you still need them.

[Yeahsurewhatever]

There are different breeds more prone to seperation anxiety .so do some research on this

The hours are fine though long term. It's just your first few weeks - may make potty training difficult.

Could you have day care and walker regularly for the first few weeks until potty training is more established? It's a cost but will help in the long term
Near us they do puppy visits - so if your dog can't go to daycare yet or do big walks someone can pop in for a little fuss and potty break a few times in the day

You also need to make sure from day one you are getting puppy used to being alone.
You can't be there 24/7 then suddenly disappear for 3 hours and expect there not to be destruction.

As PP have said, can you time holidays to extend your time a bit
Eg. Summer holidays couple of weeks off, followed by 5 weeks working from home- few weeks could make a big difference.

[MattMagnolia]

Since crates appeared a few years ago people have found that caging a young dog avoids him destroying the house when he’s left alone.
So legions of lively pups are shut in crates for hours daily, bored, lonely and frustrated.
When the behaviour problems start they are rehomed.
An older dog can cope alone for 3 hours but not a puppy.

[SunnyUpNorth]

Any tips for making a puppy more settled on his own while I’m in the house?

I have a 16 week old spaniel. I have a camera and can check him when I’m out. He is fine for up to around an hour to an hour and a half on his own in his crate when I’m out, I think he gets twitchy as he needs the loo. When I’m home he goes for a wee at least every hour. I always walk him first and make sure he’s done a poo before leaving him and it’s only once a day while I nip out to get him used to it.

But when I’m at home I tend to leave him in the kitchen which has a stairgate across the door. He just stands at the gate and cries. I probably need to leave him more often and flit in and out but sometimes like putting the kids to bed, having a shower etc means leaving him for 20 minutes or so. I’ve left him with lickimats, kings, toys etc and he just ignores it all til I come back. Usually he is food obsessed!

[Veterinari]

@SunnyUpNorth

Sit in view to reassure him but totally ignore him. No eye contact, no touching, absolutely no reinforcement at all. He will whine, jump and cry. Ignore him.

Your presence will reassure him and allow him to relax enough to explore his treat. Continue to sit there.

Gradually you can move further away, and step out of sight whilst he’s occupied but keep it very short.
When you return don’t give him lots of fuss or make your presence super-rewarding. You basically need to make yourself as boring as possible and his environment as interesting as possible

[SunnyUpNorth]

Thanks Veterinari. I am trying to be boring when I come back into the room or home from being out etc. I breeze in, ignore him a bit. He settles immediately when I come back into a room. I will make more effort to build it up in small doses.

How long does it usually take to build up to leaving them home alone for a couple of hours? He is 16 weeks now, seems fine for an hour but def gets unsettled after that. I’m sure as his ability to go longer between wees increases his time alone will be able to increase.

[Veterinari]

That sounds perfect. Spaniels are tricky because they are bred to be Velcro dogs....

Just try and build the time up gradually. As you’ve already recognised you’re limited at the moment by his toilet training but if he’s fairly reliable with then, you can start to increase your toileting interval whilst you’re at home and see how he copes.


The other thing to train is ‘settle’
Scroll down this link of lovely videos to the teach your dog to settle video:
www.dogstrustdogschool.org.uk/training/i-want-to-train-my-dog/training-videos/

It’s a really useful tool for reducing over excitement, teaching impulse control and rewarding calm behaviour, all of which are useful foundations for coping with being alone

[Elieza]

OP it’s great you are asking these questions now. Unlike my neighbour who got a pup. Love bombed it for the first few months of its life while she was recovering from a serious health issue at home, and then went back to work. No crate training, no dog walker, nothing.
Meanwhile I now have to listen to a whole day of barking. And I mean the whole day. Whenever she is out weekdays and indeed at the weekend too. So when I’m staycationing for a week in summer I have to listen to that racket. It’s bloody awful. The poor dog is upset. I’m demented.
She should never have gotten a dog. Very selfish, thoughtless woman.
Sometimes you need to think of the poor animal who will be bored and lonely all day so you can have it’s company for a couple of hours. Would WalkMyDoggie not be a good compromise?

[fib11235]

I would say think about the breed of dog you get as well.
We work full time but were desperate for a dog. Knew that it would need to be left so couldn’t have a puppy but went round the charities looking for an older dog (grew up with a Labrador and seem to remember they have bladders of steel).
Most charities tend to follow the Guide Dogs rule that if the dog will be left for >4 hours it’s an instant no as their retired guide dogs are used to being with humans 1:1 for their working lives so find it stressful to suddenly be left but we found a charity who were slightly more sympathetic and arranged to have a 5 yr old choc lab for 1 week on foster whilst we were on annual leave. We contacted the charity at the end of the week to ask if we could extend the foster period into a 2nd week so we could try the dog with our work routine and got a camera linked to our phones so we could monitor the dog from work and see if there were any signs of distress.
We had a dog sitter ready on standby and pre-warned the neighbour giving them our number requesting that they contacted us if he barked or caused a nuisance to them that was missed by the camera but he barked for 5 mins on the 1st 2 days (I stood in the drive and timed it) then my sister suggested trying a treat ball to distract him and from then on he’s been fine. In fact he’s a bit boring to watch on the camera as he mostly just sleeps and seems to get more irritated at weekends when we are around and he doesn’t get the same naps. We then adopted him outright and have been happy ever since (18 months), he did Snowdon with us at the weekend but it is definitely worth considering the charity foster route if unsure. The charity picks up all the food and any vet expenses whilst the dog is on foster and if it doesn’t work for you or the dog you have the safety net of knowing you can give it back.