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

[YoureBreakingMyHeartCecilia]

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...

@BoudiccaD

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.

You'd think, but no good rescue centre will re-home to a setting where it'll regularly be left alone for more than four hours at a stretch. Presumably because the setting they're re-homed to will be where they are for the rest of their lives, while they'll hopefully only be in kennels for a few months.

Yes its doable.
Some dogs are more anxious than others but usually fine. If you are going out for a very long day then I'd get a neighbour to let them.out at lunchtime but for 4-5 hours they will be fine, walk them beforehand and when you get back.

My dog is 4 now and finally calming down and very occasionally (once every few months) we leave him up to 7 hours. We always make sure we have made him super tired the day before so that he just wants to sleep.

However, in his first 2 years 4 hours alone did result in some damage (shredded cushion).

It's fine. If you're a good owner who is mostly about and have a confident happy dog, it's absolutely fine to leave them for 4 hours or so on occasion.

@SelkieQualia

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.

Same here in the USA. Before I retired I left mine M-F from 7am-5pm. I had three, who kept each other company. Food and clean water were left available. Toys were rotated for stimulation. The dog door opened to a secure, locked garden for exercise and elimination. The house heating/air conditioning was left on as needed. They lived a good life. They were glad to see someone come home for cuddles and snuggles but they only were ever upset at being alone during a thunderstorm or fire-works.

We've got 2 pointers and they're fine to be left all day on the odd occasion that it's necessary. I generally work from home, so usually it's fine, and if we know we're going to be out all day I tend to book a dog walker to come in and take them out for an hour, but if we're out for an unexpectedly long time for whatever reason (flat tyre/caught in bad traffic/some other external factor) then they're always fine and perfectly happy. They just snooze all day and they're fine house training wise, in the same way they're fine overnight too. They're pleased to see us when we get back, but not super hyped up or desperate for stimulation or anything. My parents' dog, another Pointer type, is the same, as have all the dogs we had during my childhood (also Pointers, who are notoriously clingy and tend to suffer from separation anxiety).

We built it up gradually, and I wouldn't leave a puppy for that long, or leave a dog crated for that long, but otherwise I do tend to think people can overthink these things a bit. My dogs get walked lots, lots of attention when we're home, and I do my best to ensure that they're not left for too long, but the 4hr thing is a pretty arbitrary number, really. The dog isn't watching the clock thinking oh, it's been 4 hours, better start getting anxious now" the moment the minute hand ticks over.

Our dog is sometimes left for up to 4 hours (not often as I wfh) and regularly half an hour or an hour. He has Sky Nature on tv downstairs or if he wants to lay on the bed, his Spotify playlist is on in the background "relaxing music for dogs ears". These two things he knows we are going out and we come back to him either snoozing on the bed or the sofa cushions rearranged so he can chill by the TV

I got my dog at the beginning of the summer holidays and planned to spend the 6 weeks toilet training etc. I was then going to get a dog Walker to call twice a day during the 6.5 hours we were all out at work/school.

My dog was not up for this at all. To start with the dog Walker would come 20 minutes after we left and would keep her for the day with a view of building up the half hour to being just a lunchtime walk.

In the half hour between us leaving and the dog Walker arriving the dog had barked constantly messed in her crate and got in a right state.
She’s now 18 months old and goes to daycare every day. We’re now (just over the last month or so) able to leave her in the house for an hour or so and she settles down with a treat. We’re hoping we can build that up to longer but she’s not been ready until now.

Does obviously depend on the dog.

When you say allergic to dogs many people look at getting a cockerpoo or labradoodle.

Both dogs especially the cockerpoo can hava a high rate of separation anxiety.

What about getting two dogs so they can keep each other company.

It's possible but it does depend on the dog and you need to build up to it.

Some breeds are prone to separation anxiety and don't do well on their own no matter what training you do. Others will be fine from day one and not remotely fussed when you leave.

You can always get a dog walker or sitter to come in and break up the day.

You will need to train your dog to be left. Start when he's a puppy. Say firmly, "Won't be long", leave the room, shut the door. Count to ten, then if it's all quiet go back in and give lots of fuss and praise. Over a morning, repeat with longer times until the puppy can be left quietly for five to ten minutes then build up from there. Never go back in while he is making a noise; wait for it to stop, but ideally get the timing so it never starts. Don't set him up to fail and you do need to put the time in.

Of course you can!

Got to be careful as well as prior to lockdown Ddog was happy enough for a few hours snoozing on the sofa when we were out. DH lost his job last November( has got a new wfh one in Feb) and since then Ddog has scarcely been on his own. Realised this yesterday when he got a bit distressed as DH out playing tennis and I needed to go to the shops.

I agree with starting as a puppy, but don't tell the dog you are leaving nor make a fuss when you go back in. Go in and out of rooms without interaction. Don't make a fuss to reassure the dog when you leave the house and ignore the dog for 5 minutes when you get back, otherwise the dog will think it is a big deal and might start to get anxious.

What you’re describing in your OP - leaving a fully grown dog at home while you go to lunch with family, go to a meeting or etc is completely and utterly normal I’d say.

We've hardly needed to leave our 10 month old but make sure she's left own a few hours a day. We started when she was younger an hour a day. We were planning to reorganise our routines around her but she's so relaxed we wont need to. A really good early walk and a dog walker for longer days and she is fine, just snoozes onthe sofa.

I’ve lived with dogs all my life and know they are a huge tie. However, all the dog owners I know manage to have normal lives.

Surely people take their kids to the theatre and have meals out. We’ve always had family days at zoos, museums, gone to events.

I think the dog we had as kids was glad of some time to herself without us brats in her house.

With my current dog I plan when I’m going to be out eg like a long walk in the morning or a day at daycare so she’s happy to lounge for a few hours. She seems happier than when I have a lazy Sunday of short walks and want to lounge with her.

I’m glad she’s used to being left as when I’ve had to spend unplanned time recently at hospitals or prolonged stints in A&E with other relatives I’ve known she’ll be fine on her own.

Taking on a dog is life-changing and not for everyone but there is a balance. Perhaps I’ve been lucky but dogs can be left alone sometimes.

Do your home work as some breeds are more tolerant than others and as already mentioned bid it up gradually

Our dog is 9 now. She’s fine being left. She just sleeps. She prefers to be in her crate as she gets anxious and barky but if in her crate with a toy she’s fine. Never all day but for a few hours every now she again it’s fine. We WFH permanently so it doesn’t happen much.

Our dog is happy with that! but as others have said, you will have to make sure your build up to it! My husband works from home since before COVID and I work out of the house, two kids and usually it's for the kids football on a Sunday when he's left as most grounds don't allow dogs. Sometimes I think he's actually happy to have some time on his own ;-) now we're always home ....

Our dog doesn't mind being left. Usually 3-4 hours is the most but very occasionally it's 6 hours with a half hour walk in the middle. He's pretty chilled and just sleeps. He's 13 months and has a bladder of steel. No matter how hard we try and get him pee before bed, most nights he won't go!