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.

[TheBodyPiercer]

We do have a camera that's how I know he just sleeps in there usually. If he started showing any signs of distress I would come home.

Unfortunately it's too short notice for us to arrange a sitter that I don't know.

[Floralnomad]

You can have as many evenings off as you want , you just need to make better arrangements for the dog like a sitter or a night at a boarder . That’s the point when you have animals you can’t just take a night off without organising in the same way as when you have children .

[Pikachubaby]

It’s fine

But ultimately you’ll have to start letting him out of his cage, so he gets used to it

What breed is it?

My rescue lurcher just sleeps all evening anyway, but she likes to wander around a bit and do her yoga stretches she’s ace at downward dog

[TheBodyPiercer]

If I was leaving him overnight I would of course arrange boarding.

Surely people who work leave their dogs alone for longer than a couple of hours?

This is not a regular occurrence it is a complete one off.

[FAQs]

Sounds like he will be fine!! I’d leave a hall light on and maybe low level TV or radio if that’s what you usually have on in the evening, enjoy your night out.

[Medievalist]

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

Of course you can. But why do you have to cage your dog in order to do it (and overnight for that matter)? What do you think will happen if you don't lock him up?

[TheBodyPiercer]

He's an english bull terrier.

If I don't crate him he will likely chew my sofa cushions, like he does when I'm in the kitchen, or something of the like.

He does not nap unless in his crate, he causes mischief, he is getting better but he had a very troubled start in life.

[doodleygirl]

Why does a 10 month old dog need to be in a crate?

My girl was out of her crate at 6 months, we would leave her in the downstairs of the house with a stair gate.

[Medievalist]

He does not nap unless in his crate, he causes mischief, he is getting better but he had a very troubled start in life.

Does a dog that's had a troubled start in life really need to be locked up?
If he's chewing cushions it's because he's bored. Yes you can put him in a cage so he can't chew the cushions. But that doesn't mean he's not still bored.

[FAQs]

I don’t create my dog but her sisters at my friends house are crated all night and perfectly fine, it’s what they get used to and they feel secure in their crate.

My dog sleeps on my bed, my friend thinks that’s awful.

Honestly OP your dog will be fine! Some posters are being very dramatic!

[WildAboutMyPlanet]

@TheBodyPiercer Please don’t leave him alone with a Kong! They are amazing toys but must be supervised as they can cause problems. Freeze some food or get a lick mat if you want to leave something, but not an unsupervised kong, just in case!

[TheBodyPiercer]

@doodleygirl

Surely you understand all dogs are different? We rescued him and he was completely feral.

He puts himself in his crate at night and doesn't wake at all (I have a motion camera). So I'm unsure as to why I would leave him out all night where he would instead cry to get upstairs to us.

[WildAboutMyPlanet]

I never created our dog, we tried and she didn’t like it. When we restricted her (kept her in the kitchen) she caused havoc. When we let her have the run of the house she was perfectly well behaved. However, some adult dogs love a crate, it’s their safe space and it makes them feel secure. Usually though, destruction is boredom or frustration, so might be worth addressing that long term.

[TheBodyPiercer]

He chews the cushions to get us back in the room, he knows it works. He isn't bored trust me.

I get it some of you are against crates but he is crate trained, its his safe space, hes in there now with a toy of his own free will.

I leave a hole through the kong so no suction risk.

[Medievalist]

I get it some of you are against crates but he is crate trained, its his safe space, hes in there now with a toy of his own free will.

You're not wrong there. Absolutely 100% anti cages. Loathe them.

Tell me, if he's there of his own free will, do you leave the door open?

[BiteyShark]

OP I don't think it's too long (and this isn't something you are doing every evening) but I would be staying up with him for a bit after you get back so that he has time to stretch and settle again.

My dog is happy to be left on his own for a few hours in the day but isn't as settled in the evening. He isn't distressed but is more alert and 'waits' so you might find yours is more alert than normal as it's not his 'usual' time alone.

[doodleygirl]

I’m sorry I wasnt being judgemental just a genuine question. You must do what is right for your dog.

[TheBodyPiercer]

@medievalist

Yes he's in there now, door open, completely ignoring us.

@biteyshark noted I will stay up with him a good hour or two or until he settles himself again.

[Corrag]

I also have a rescue EBT.

I think he'll be fine in a crate for 5 hours, as he's used to the crate already. Safer than leaving him out of the crate unsupervised for 5 hours, I know what mischief those little buggers can get up to. Having said that, do think about weaning him off the crate. Ours was crate trained before we got him so we continued with the crate for a few weeks but gradually weaned him off it.

P.S...can we have a pic?

[Medievalist]

Yes he's in there now, door open, completely ignoring us.

So if you never close the door then he's not really being crated is he

[TheBodyPiercer]

@Corrag

We will be weaning him off the crate when we return from our holiday with him. Didn't want him destroying the air bnb.

[TheBodyPiercer]

@medievalist I never said I never close the door. If we're out or at night its closed.

My comment was to state he chooses to go in there of his own free will.

I just called him into the living room with his yak chew and he's still in the crate.

[Medievalist]

So if it's such a good thing why do you want to wean him off it?

[BiteyShark]

On the crate argument ours naturally stopped going in it around 1 year of age.

It was when he was an adult, past the teenage stroppy phase and also when he could be trusted not to destroy things and the problem with destroying things is that it risks ingesting something that becomes an obstruction. For that reason I think leaving him in a place like his crate that he is used to and feels secure in is the right thing to do in this situation.

[Corrag]

We will be weaning him off the crate when we return from our holiday with him. Didn't want him destroying the air bnb.

Ha! And he certainly would. We went on holiday 3 weeks after we got ours, needless to say the crate came with us. Not needed it for any subsequent holidays though, he's fine now.