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The doghouse

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Original poster

You can leave a dog for 4ish hours once in a while right...?

47 replies

YoureBreakingMyHeartCecilia · 28/11/2020 23:19

I work from home (this pre dates covid!!) and with our daughter school-age we are v v much home-based at weekends too.

We are in the early stages of planning to get a dog within the next year!

Though we are at home SO MUCH we do obv have to be out occasionally for roughly 4/5h... visiting family for lunch etc (my family hate dogs/are allergic so would never be an option to take dog!) for example. I (rarely) also have an occasional meeting (at least I will when life goes back to normal!!) for which I might be out for a morning.

This is doable right?!? You can leave a dog (not a young puppy) for a few hours?! I assume you build up the time with practice?

Or would we have to get a dog walker/friend to take DDog for a stroll or something?

What do you all do when you have to be out for a few hours?

Just getting all our ducks (dogs...?) in a row before we take the plunge... Smile

OP posts:
Frenchfancy · 29/11/2020 05:31

You can. But what I wouldn't do is be with dog 24/7 for months on end then suddenly leave them.

It needs to be built up, and you need a safe place to be able to leave them. Open plan houses are not great. And you need to exercise well before and after

Our old ddog could be left for 8 hours if she had had an hours walk beforehand, but we then needed to walk again when we got back. You can't go out for a long lunch then come home and slob on the sofa.

Girlintheframe · 29/11/2020 06:01

Think it really depends on each dog. Our lab we could easily have left for 5-6hours (with a walker in between). Our current dog 4 hours would be the very maximum he could tolerate. He wouldn't appreciate a walker and being left again.
We use daycare and family if we are going to be away for longer.
Our breed is known for being quite needy though so maybe bear that in mind when researching different breeds.

SelkieQualia · 29/11/2020 06:01

To an Australian, the "not leaving them for 4 hours" thing is quite odd. Dogs are routinely left alone all day here, so long as they have access to a backyard or pet toilet. Obviously you don't want to do it all the time, as they would get bored, but they don't turn into a pumpkin at the 4h mark.

GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman · 29/11/2020 06:04

Yes, of course you can, provided you build it up and the dog is okay with it.

Ours are left with access to a secure yard and (pre-puppy) we could go out all day now and again and they were fine - walk them, leave, come home, walk them and only then consider ourselves properly home again.

Skipsurvey · 29/11/2020 06:06

4 hours is considered the correct time yes.

FourPlatinumRings · 29/11/2020 06:06

My concern would actually be the allergies- since your wider family are allergic, there's a risk your daughter might be too (or that you might've developed it over time). I'd spend a few hours with dogs beforehand just to check.

@SelkieQualia Dogs are routinely left alone all day here too, sadly. It's just against guidelines because it's quite cruel.

SelkieQualia · 29/11/2020 06:51

@FourPlatinumRings

My concern would actually be the allergies- since your wider family are allergic, there's a risk your daughter might be too (or that you might've developed it over time). I'd spend a few hours with dogs beforehand just to check.

@SelkieQualia Dogs are routinely left alone all day here too, sadly. It's just against guidelines because it's quite cruel.

That's a huge sweeping statement - it really depends on the situation and the dog. My sister's lurchers clearly don't care.
eaglejulesk · 29/11/2020 06:57

To an Australian, the "not leaving them for 4 hours" thing is quite odd. Dogs are routinely left alone all day here, so long as they have access to a backyard or pet toilet. Obviously you don't want to do it all the time, as they would get bored, but they don't turn into a pumpkin at the 4h mark.

Odd to an NZer also. We've had dogs and they were alone while we were at work, or if we went away for the day - and they mostly slept. Different for a puppy, but older dogs are usually fine as long as they get plenty of exercise.

BiteyShark · 29/11/2020 07:00

It's a depends. It will depend on the dog.

The problem though is if you don't leave them often then actually leaving them for a long time could mean they are more stressed.

Mine is ok for around 3 hours but at certain times of the day because he is used to it. If I leave him that long at other times of the day he is up and down waiting for us to get back (I have a camera so I know). However he isn't destructive nor noisy but some dogs can be in that situation.

BiteyShark · 29/11/2020 07:03

In the uk, unlike some countries, most people don't leave their dog with access to back gardens because of risk of theft or more likely noise as a lot of homes are together in built up areas. Therefore the dogs are shut away in a home with no access for toileting and therefore people get upset if they have an accident or are destructive when stressed.

TheVanguardSix · 29/11/2020 07:08

It really depends on the dog. Puppy, as you rightly said, no, not at all. But dog, yes, should be fine. We don't do it often, but of course, there are days when we have to be out for a few hours and the dog is absolutely fine. I think he knows he'll be walked (we go on 2 hour walks daily, minimum) and he's a very relaxed, easygoing boy.
You'll have to read about the characteristics of a dog's breed(s)- mine's a cross. Some are more neurotic than others.

Groundhogdayzz · 29/11/2020 07:11

Leaving them alone for a bit for time to time is no problem, I don’t know anyone who never leaves their dog. I think problems only seem to come in when dog is left day in day out and doesn’t get enough exercise/interaction. Usually once they’ve had a good run they sleep most of the day. As others have said just get the dog used to it early on, then it’s normal and less stressful when the dog does have to be left.

speakout · 29/11/2020 07:11

Depends on the dog.
I have owned 4 dogs in my life- 3 of them would have been happy at being left for 4/5 hours, but that mean a good 2 mile walk and a meal before hand, they would easily then slum and sleep for several hours.
I have one dog who suffered severe separation anxiety one. would bark constantly when we left the house. He wasn't a solo dog, we owned three dogs at that point, and the other two were super chilled and very affectionate and friendly towards the nervous one.
We tried everything, building up time away, followed vet advice, had regular ( very expensive) sessions with a dog psychologist.
Our neighbours were ( rightly) pissed off with us and the police were called several times.
It got to the point where we couldn't leave the house without barky dog at all.
Luckily my OH had a job which meant he could take the dog during the day, but we couldn't go out for a meal or visit the cinema without having to pay a dog sitter.

I don't have a dog now. THankfully.

Mummyoflittledragon · 29/11/2020 07:14

I wouldn’t want to leave my current dogs all day. I could with my previous dog. A few hours, yes. As others say, build it up.

katienana · 29/11/2020 07:14

My dog is 11 months now and a poodle who are known for separation anxiety. I can leave her for 3 hours if I need to go shopping or anything like that. We built it up over time. I leave her a treat and the radio on. Sometimes she doesn't touch the treat till I'm home! She gets excited when come back in, but isn't bothered now I've just been out for 20 minutes. She just sleeps when I'm out.
You need to be confident about toilet training and that they won't destroy anything while you're out.

LyingDogsLie1 · 29/11/2020 07:24

Yes it’s no issue whatsoever.

I would advise being mindful of that in the beginning and making sure you’re leaving the dog/pup for increasing periods from the beginning. I think they’ll be a lot of new puppies with separation anxiety after lockdown!

MawkishHawk · 29/11/2020 07:26

Depends on the dog. My previous 2 dogs were fine being left; current boy has severe separation anxiety (we’re not his first home) and he can’t be left for long. Even dashing to the corner shop for 5 minutes I’ll sometimes hear him barking. We’re working on it gradually. In the meantime he’s never alone, comes to work, if we wanted to go to the cinema pre-covid he was dropped off with friends for the evening, we would choose dog-friendly pubs for meals etc, even my hairdresser is dog-friendly! He goes to kennels for daycare on occasion, infuriatingly he will sleep in a kennel by himself happily but not alone in his own home!

speakout · 29/11/2020 07:29

MawkishHawk

I agree.
It isn't all down to training/owner/environment.

Some dogs are just wired that way. I thought I had it cracked until my 4th dog who had general anxiety problems, and severe separation anxiety.
Unfortunately you don't know of the potential problems when you bring home a puppy.

borageforager · 29/11/2020 07:33

We have a lab/pointer, we can leave him for 5/6 hours. He has a thorough run first, & he just sleeps while we are out.

bjjgirl · 29/11/2020 07:43

I have 2 frenchies who would literally just sleep! They regularly get left 4 hours the max is 6 hrs on very rare occasions

They don't have accidents and are happy just to cuddle each other and sleep.

That's why we got 2 thou so they would not get lonely

vintageyoda · 29/11/2020 07:49

An adult, well trained and confident dog is absolutely fine to be left alone for 4 / 5 hours without any major change in their routine. If they usually have their walk in the morning then they just need to e let out into your garden when you get back as you normally would do If you were at home.

speakout · 29/11/2020 07:50

vintageyoda

Depends on the dog!!

ApolloandDaphne · 29/11/2020 07:56

You have to build up to leaving them for 4 hours. You can't just leave a puppy for that length of time. Our lab is 8 now and we can leave her for around 6 hours as sleeping is her favourite hobby and she has a strong bladder. But it's only recently we have done that length of time and only occasionally.

speakout · 29/11/2020 08:06

This thread reminds me of why I don;t have a dog!

BoudiccaD · 29/11/2020 08:06

Battersea leave their dogs in cages for 23hrs a day. I'm sure a loving home where they are sometimes left alone - with appropriate separation training - is a much better environment for them.