How long home alone?

[UsernameN0Tavailable]

Hi

I'm currently working entirely at home and when Covid is over will only need to be in the office 1 or 2 days a week so we're in a position to consider getting a dog.

I know every dog/breed is different, but on the days when I need to go to the office the dog would get a walk in the morning, i would leave at 8am, then we'd get a dog walker to come in and do an hours walk in the middle of the day and DH would be home around 4pm, so it would be 3.5 hours alone, 1 hour walk, another 3.5 hours alone.

Does this sound OK or do we need to consider doggy daycare instead?

That's too long for my dog and he goes to daycare. The advantage of daycare is that you don't need to walk them at all those days as they have had enough exercise.

That would be fine for my dog. She's been used to it since she was a puppy and is totally ok with it.

I think it's too long for a puppy. You'll get people telling you their dog was fine with it, but that's a long time to leave a young dog on it's own.

An hour of walking is far too much for a young puppy. I'm a dog walker and I take them 5 minutes per year of their age, so they won't go for a full hour until they're one. But you may find a walker who would come and spend an hour at your house - so a short walk, toilet break, playtime and some company?

If not, I would go with daycare.

Our puppy is now 11 months and would have been fine with that from around 7 months but as long as it is only 1 or 2 days a week. Some dogs just can’t be left for that long though so have a look at daycare or a dog sitter as a backup plan.

We that if it’s two consecutive days when we are out like that, he is better with walk one day but daycare the next. If it was two separate days (with days at home in between) he would be fine with a dog walk in the middle of the day, particularly as my dog walker is amazing and sometimes takes him for 2.5 hours

Mine's only 5 months so goes to daycare. But when he's older we're going to see about leaving him at home a few days a week.

I'm a dog walker and I take them 5 minutes per year of their age

Is that a typo?

Puppy - no, settled dog- yes

My dog would be absolutely fine with that.

@MrsTerryPratchett

I'm a dog walker and I take them 5 minutes per year of their age

Is that a typo?

Yes - should be per month, sorry!

So a four month old would get a twenty minute walk, plus some time at home playing or training. I don't take dogs younger than one year on hour long or group walks.

Thank goodness. My three year old would lose his little doggy mind!

@MrsTerryPratchett

Thank goodness. My three year old would lose his little doggy mind!

I was distracted by the cat

Every dog is different. You can’t just assume that your dog will be okay in doggie day care. Not all dogs are. Not all dogs can be left for the same amount of time. You could have one with seperation anxiety which means u will not be able to leave them at all till you have worked on it.

Mine was fine for over fours hours. My parents dog u couldn’t leave for an hour.

My dog (retired greyhound) would be fine with this, and in fact is why we chose this breed. Even now we are home virtually all the time, she sleeps and ignores us for most of the day!

All the animal welfare organisations recommend no more than 4 hours in total a day - you’ve got 7 hours there... so almost twice as much.

So yes, you’d be better off considering daycare, but, daycare often isn’t set up for puppies so you’ve got a good few months where you’d need something else if you get a puppy and not all dogs like daycare, which you wouldn’t know until you had the dog.

Where did the OP mention a puppy?? For a laid back older dog - with access to the garden - that length of time alone should be fine. Adult dogs sleep for 12-14 hours a day.

Thanks everyone, yes it's unlikely to be a puppy, we're hoping to rescue but who knows if we'll be accepted. I would love a retired greyhound, but we also have cats so they probably aren't the breed to go for.

I think we'll probably end up looking at daycare instead.

Thanks

Ours is left occasionally for about 3-4 hours at a time. My husband's retired so no long gaps when we're at work, just for shopping or going out for a meal or something. Never overnight. So far she's mainly come on holiday with us, bar one short break to NY. (She stayed with family who do dog fostering.)

If we were going on a weekend away we'd book somewhere dog friendly. Just after we got her my cousin got married, we were both supposed to go but in the end it was just me that went. If that sort of thing happened again we'd have to think about it, maybe leave her with a friedn or neighbour.

Blimey - I didn't realise recommended alone time was so short.
My neighbour is leaving their 6/7 month old dogs alone in an upstairs flat for 8 or 9 hours a day. Should I be reporting that to anyone?

@Ohnonononononono I would bother. I have two next door and they are left for that time as well. No one will be interested as long as they are not being abused and have food and water. It’s awful. Imagine having to not go to the loo for that amount of time. Either that or they come home to a mess. Honestly. What is the point of having a dog to leave it on its own for 9 hrs a day.

Horrible, isn't it? They don't get walked when they come home again either - only before the owner goes out.

I don't like to think about the toileting arrangements too hard.

@Ohnonononononono

Blimey - I didn't realise recommended alone time was so short. My neighbour is leaving their 6/7 month old dogs alone in an upstairs flat for 8 or 9 hours a day. Should I be reporting that to anyone?

Unfortunately nobody is likely to be interested unless the dog is making a nuisance of itself (howling, barking and crying non-stop). The RSPCA criteria for neglect are shockingly low - as long as they have shelter, food and water, they're considered "taken care of".

If they're barking and making a racket you can make a noise complaint via the council.

@UsernameN0Tavailable

Thanks everyone, yes it's unlikely to be a puppy, we're hoping to rescue but who knows if we'll be accepted. I would love a retired greyhound, but we also have cats so they probably aren't the breed to go for.

I think we'll probably end up looking at daycare instead.

Thanks

Just prepare yourself for the fact that a lot of rescues won't let you adopt if you're going to leave the dog for longer than 4 hours, even if you plans for daycare or a walker in place.

Maybe try a smaller centre as opposed to a big one as they're more likely to flexible in that regard :) we were turned down by a lot of rescues because my in-laws were going to look after the dog instead of us

If the dog is left for 3.5 hours, then had an hour walk and interaction with dog walker, then left for 3.5 hours, I'm not sure why people are saying the dog would be left for longer than recommended? It doesn't say no more than 4 hours in a 24 hour period so the above arrangement still meets recommended guidelines