Going out and leaving dog in the evening

[TheBodyPiercer]

Please help me ease my guilt. Longest the dog has been left alone is 4 hours due to work emergency.

I'm supposed to be out tomorrow evening. My plan would be leave work early and pick him up from daycare at 4 and take him to park for an hour (he also gets walked twice at daycare).

I would then need to put him in his crate at 7.30, I'll be back around 12.30.

Hes fine holding his bladder and usually sleeps through the night (10 months old). He doesn't usually go in his crate until 10 for the night.

Will he care? Am I evil? 😭😂 or am I allowed one evening out.

I don't know much about young dogs but surely he'll be shattered after daycare and conk out. If he's used to kongs, licky mats etc then you can leave him something. I'm sure he'll be fine

With mine the more you exercise him the more wired he gets and is more likely to get into mischief, he's not crated though - but sticking to his routine is best, even though the idea of extra exercise makes sense. But give it a go and adapt for next time if necessary. Enjoy!

I love our dog cam by the way, always nice to see him snoozing happily if I go out

That's completely fine

5 hours in a crate? I wouldn’t. Can’t he stay overnight somewhere? Can someone sit with him for a couple of hours?

The length of time is fine for a dog to be left.

If he’s use to sleeping in his crate overnight then I can’t see the problem with it.

What are you going to do about meal time, you need to leave enough time for him to eat and then go to the toilet before you leave him.

@Wolfiefan

5 hours in a crate? I wouldn’t. Can’t he stay overnight somewhere? Can someone sit with him for a couple of hours?

If he sleeps in the crate overnight from 10pm, hell be in it for longer than 5hours.

Overnight isn’t the same. The dog will sleep overnight. During the day that’s too long to shut a dog in a crate.

He's often tired after daycare but doesn't nap unless we put him in his crate he just plays up.

He would be left with a kong and other things but usually just falls asleep once in there.

I wouldn't leave him 5 hours in the day but I'm just thinking after daycare then another walk and because it's close to his normal bedtime he should be fine.

My parents are away otherwise I'd ask them to pop in. Nowhere to stay overnight either.

I've not been out all year and usually don't leave him longer than 3 hours max and that's maybe twice a month.

He usually sleeps in his crate from 10pm until 7am.

I will feed around 6 which is his usual time.

He will be fine. Late nights are not my favourite thing to do to my dogs but I think I stress about It more than they do. Daycare & a play in the park. Sounds like you are doing well by him.

I'd feed him a little earlier than normal, but otherwise I think it's fine

Dogs are pretty bad at telling the passage of time, stop worrying! Obviously it's not ideal to leave dogs for extended periods on a regular basis but it doesn't hurt them occasionally. We never crated but on occasion he was left alone for longer than I would wish but the alternative was kennels which he hated, fretted all night in and was visibly shaken on collecting (tried 3 different places) whereas apart from being desperate for the nearest tree, leaving him alone had no obvious issues.

I don't leave my dog more than 4 hours during the day as she gets restless but she never bothers at all at us going out for much longer in the evening. When we are in during an evening she chooses to go bed after her dinner at 6 and we don't see her again until we let her out before our bedtime. She is often very reluctant to get out her bed to go out. I am sure your dog will be fine for 5 hours.

Could you not leave him at daycare overnight or ask him to drop him off at yours at 10. If she would and put him in his crate.

My son is a dog walker we have dogs overnight. X

He'll be fine. As long as crate is roomy enough and comfortable and he's fed and watered he'll crash out until you return. The fact that he plays up until put in his crate shows that he needs his 'cot' to trigger him to wind down. I've had to do similar when my dog was that age. It's not an every day occurrence so I think he'll be just fine if he's not an overly anxious dog (I have a very emotionally needy Collie X and she was fine)

Going by last night, it’s pretty dark at 7.30 pm so your dog may not even realise the difference in times going to bed. We have a clever border collie who knows the time of day, so we wouldn’t get away with it, but good luck, I bet you will come home early.

Thanks everyone.

Unfortunately our daycare finishes at 7 and isn't near our home (it's on the way to work).

He's not anxious and never protests going in his crate. His crate is in a cubby under the stairs and is covered so would be dark. We do also have a camera.

Its definitely not a regular occurrence, he has 3 days at daycare and the other 4 one of us is home with him all day. I'm just a worrier, I don't actually think the dog cares 😂.

Worst case scenario is I come home early or take him park all day sunday to to appease my guilt!

My main concern would be that if you're feeding him at six, and leaving at 7.30pm, will he have the chance to pee and poo before you leave him?

I also think 7pm - morning in a crate is far too long, sorry.

He often doesn't eat his food straight away and will eat at 10pm then go to bed.

When I get back around midnight I would let him out for an hour before going back in crate.

He wont be in 7.30pm until 7am.

Is there any reason why you can't leave him, just not locked in a crate? It's what people used to do before crates became a thing.

Same goes for overnight - why does he have to be caged?

7-7 in a crate with only an hour out is also too long , can you not get a baby sitter to come and spend the evening with him ? I’m not a crate user but common sense would also say to me that if he isn’t happy for. whatever reason this may backfire and he may then see the crate as a problem. Can I also say that extra walks etc are not the answer to leaving dogs alone .

Hes a rescue dog and was crate trained from when we got him, he puts himself to bed in the evenings and has all treats in there so isn't adverse to going in there.

He's not been left free roaming and I'm not going to do so on my first evening away.

I understand extra walks aren't a solution to leaving him alone but it's with the intention of him being tired in there.

As previously mentioned he very rarely gets left, both myself and my partner dropped a day work when we got him to ensure he's not left alone.

It's not an ideal situation but it's not something we do regularly, or something I've ever done in the whole time I've had him.

I think you've had a lot of folks come on to say it's ok to follow through with your plan so hopefully that helps you. It's tricky navigating the responsibilities for those we look after. I do have a contradictory opinion. Personally, I read your thread and wondered why you have a dog. I know that sounds harsh and I don't mean it that way, but I have a very different approach. I don't believe your plan will actively harm your dog.

@dudsville

Wondering why I have a dog from one post?

We rescued, we gave up work, we put him in daycare when unavailable and because I'm worried about leaving him for one evening (the first in over 6 months) you think I shouldn't have a dog?

We've just scheduled a holiday to allow us to take the dog!

I shouldn't have one single evening off for potentially the next 10+ years?

When I get back around midnight I would let him out for an hour before going back in crate.

That's still a long time for him to be left in his crate. I know he's at daycare all day but he'll still be in his crate for over 11 hours. That's a long time for a 10 month old dog.

Personally I would arrange a sitter. Lots of dog walkers offer sitting in the owners home - they could feed him, play with him and just generally keep him company.

@Wolfiefan

Overnight isn’t the same. The dog will sleep overnight. During the day that’s too long to shut a dog in a crate.

19.30- 00.30 is not during the day by any stretch of the imagination.

The bottom line is that if he's happy being alone, he'll cope fine for 5 hours alone. If he has separation anxiety then 20 minutes alone will be too long. The imaginary 4 hour rule is based on basically nothing except possible toilet comfort, but as it evening/night and he'll have eaten/toileted beforehand, he'll likely be fine.

It's worth getting a cheap baby monitor with a camera and phone app to check on him remotely - then you can see if he's settled or stressed and change your management appropriately to prevent further problems.