Tips for leaving dog alone for most of the day?

[SamG93]

My Labrador (9 months) will need to be left alone for most of the day on Friday next week as I go for a scheduled c-section. Luckily we are able to arrange his 'training trek' he usually has to that day which usually lasts 2 hours so that'll break up the day a bit. We are leaving at about 6:30am, the trek will last around 2 hours and starts sometime between 10am and 12pm then he'll be alone until DH comes home from the hospital, we don't know what time that'll be but should be before his dinner time at 6pm, if not we'll have to get someone to come and feed him. He's house trained and NEVER goes in the house anymore but of course we're usually there to let him out in the garden during the day so hopefully DH doesn't come home to any accidents!

Anyway I'm wondering if anyone has any tips to keep him occupied while we're gone? He's generally not an anxious dog and copes well being left alone when we go out shopping for a couple hours but this will be the longest amount of time he's been left so I'm not sure how he'll feel about it! He'll also be confined to our kitchen, lounge and conservatory as we don't yet trust him alone with our indoor cat I was thinking I could get him one of those antlers which seem to last a while. Probably worrying too much to be honest

It sounds like too long to leave a dog that young in my opinion.
How long have they been left alone before? That will make a difference to your options.

Mine are older and I still only leave them for 3 hours and that's after gradually building their alone time up.

With a planned section though any emergencies go before you. I ended up having mine after lunch. We were meant to be at hospital for 7am but had actually gone into early labour that day so was there by 5am but they had lots of emergencies so gave me gas & air and I think I went down at 1 in the end.

@Pickledpenguin

You should have thought about this beforehand and you really should NOT leave that poor dog alone all day. Get a minder. Poor dog :(

🤔 she is thinking about it...

Well done on recognising that a whole day is far too long for your dog to be left alone and taking steps to support him.

Ideally someone who will come to your house to let him out around 9am before he goes for his walk and then return about an hour after he gets back to keep him company, and let him out for toilet, until you return. There are lots of home boarders and dog walkers on FB who would be willing to help you out.

Is there a family member, neighbour, teenager you can ask to pop round, once in the morning and again in the afternoon, to let him out and play/sit with him for a while?

Personally I wouldn’t leave him with any chews or kongs unless supervised. Putting him in kennels should be a last resort.

[quote SamG93]@tabulahrasa that's what I'm thinking.. I just feel bad as I'm not sure it's 100% necessary and I don't know how he'll react to being without us for 2-3 days rather than just a few hours.. we've never put him in kennels before.

I really don't know what to do now! [/quote]
That's why I said daycare tbh, they could potentially have him til 5/6pm if you talk nicely to them so he would still ultimately be in his own home for most of it but only alone in the evening til your partner gets kicked out of hospital.

I guess as well if you do get bumped down the list you'll only be sat there waiting so DP could go home in between but I do think the peace of mind would be helpful for you
Having said that the idea of a trusted teenager going round also sounds good if you can explore that option as if you get further delayed they are more likely to be available as hoc to pop in the next day and you've got time to build up a bit of a relationship there too.

Ask the people who take him for they trek if they can have him for the day. Even if they usually don't, people tend to rally round when it's something like giving birth!

Even if they really can't, they might be able to recommend a local dog walker who does home boarding.

I agree with posters that events on the day can be a bit unpredictable, so I'd be arranging a day of doggy day care so his timetable doesn't have to be a concern for you. And if there's time, you could send him for a short 'taster'

@cheeseismydownfall

Hi OP,

At this time of year there are literally thousands of 16-18 year olds at a loose end! Could you arrange for a local teenager to come and keep the dog company for the day? My DS(13) has a couple of ad-hoc dog-sitting gigs going in our local village. He loves it.

I think that would be my preference, simply to avoid having any additional stress on the day. The last thing you want to to have something extra to worry about!

I think this is a very good idea. Ask all your neighbours and people you meet when you're walking the dog if they know a family with teens with some dog experience

I'd say you definitely need to plan for the birth potentially being delayed. My third CS was scheduled (first two were unscheduled) - in at 7am but didn't even get into the theatre until gone 6pm because I was placed last on the list of the four planned CS for the day, and they had two emergency sections in the afternoon.

Just be aware that any dog walker (or anyone who is helping who the dog doesn't know) will probably want a few visits first so make sure you build in time for that. I have 2 dogs who would happily be left at home for longer periods, but even I would consider kennels/dog walker in this case. I wouldn't want the worry of having to get back for the dog. I once left dog1 (12 months) at home alone for longer than expected due to traffic jam and when I got back she had chewed through an entire bookcase (having never done anything remotely similar before or since!).

@Iheartmysmart I think that's what we'll do as we have people that can help if needs be. He will be occupied with his Kong and tired from his trek with the other doggies and we can always get someone to go give him fuss/feed/walk him in the afternoon anyway
Even if I'm in hospital longer than planned my DH can't stay overnight with me and has to abide by visiting hours, so it's only the actual op date we really need to worry about due to delays etc.. and we'll have help if we really need it on that day anyway.

Thank you 😊 haha that must be a fun story to tell about the home birth!

I'm having to leave mine for a similar length of time and have found a lovely local dog boarder. He will just be with her in the family home and can stay overnight if necessary. I wouldn't have been comfortable leaving him in kennels just because I know he wouldn't cope well in that sort of environment. There were lots of dog sitters that would have come and checked on him every few hours but I feel better knowing he is being cared for for the full day and I don't have to worry.

@LolaSmiles longest he's been left is about 4 hours when we've gone to a family member's house and he was fine then as he was well exercised beforehand.. didn't chew anything think he just slept the whole time!

My word, the batshittery is strong in this thread.

It’s a dog, leave him with a Kong and he’ll be fine. Have a mate on standby in case things run longer and someone has to let him out to pee.

How the fuck do some of these posters cope with leaving their kids when they can’t leave a dog for more than a few hours…

@Sisisimone I will see if I can find something similar to that as that sounds great, I'm waiting to see what the training lady says as her team are amazing and she also has other links.. if not I'll leave him at home as I know we can get someone to visit if we need to!

My issue would be with the unknown element of the c section, you could be bumped and bumped. I'd get a homeboarder.

Have you set up the park and all the baby kit so he can get used to it? Everyone will say you are mad but We got ddog when I was pregnant and it was the best thing we ever did.

@Strokethefurrywall I know.. I was starting to feel guilty about the whole situation but now I realise I'm just being a responsible dog owner and people are just seriously ridiculous and OTT. It's a one off!!! My dog is happy, well trained and sleeps most of the afternoon anyway after his walks! If he chewed anything or did a wee/poo on the floor whoever goes in in the afternoon to see him will need to deal with it, it's not a whole day it's a few hours.

Some irresponsible dog owners get puppies then go to work and leave them for 8+ hours every day. I wouldn't dream of doing that!

I’m not sure what people are being nippy for. You’ve said it’s for an operation it’s not as if you can help it so I’d leave him with his trek in the morning and have someone to come in at 2/3 to let him out have a play etc and be on call to go back if your dh is longer. Use the kong, some things to play with too.

This isn’t a dog who will be left a lot, op you sound very caring re the pup, I have a pup of a similar age I had to go for an MRI On Tuesday and guess what...puppy slept the full time - they can he left alone otherwise how would you ever go shopping or take kids to school etc. They sleep alone? My boy sleeps in the living room all night not a peep, he can be left to roam if I go to the shops or pop out. I don’t leave him for ages but dogs need to be able to be left otherwise you’ll end up with a dog with terrible separation anxiety and you can never go anywhere. I have a 20 year old son who can come and sit with my boy or take him out & 16 year old who comes home for lunch etc if needed.

Hope all goes well op & you’ll be home with new baby soon, hope pup enjoys his new sibling. Pup will be fine don’t worry

@idontlikealdi I know but either way DH can't stay overnight, so if he couldn't make it home for 6pm we'll get someone else to go round to walk and feed him anyway. We're covered

Yeah I've started slowly moving the baby stuff around the house! I heard that was a good idea!

@Crappyfridays7 I think that's the best idea to be honest and that's what we are pretty set on doing unless the trek people can have him for longer! Exactly he will just sleep, as he does whenever we leave him unless I leave him with his kong then he'll be going at that passionately for a while, then sleeping he sleeps downstairs at night as we let our cat have free roam of the house, so he's used to being shut in one part of the house (which is still quite a lot of space, 3 rooms!) and that's usually from 10pm til 8am.

Thank you for your kind words 🥰 I think he'll be a great sibling once he gets over the initial excitement!!

Sounds like having someone on stand by is the best solution so there isn't a big panic. I'd maybe say that if they don't hear from you to go round - ie your dh can call when he's on his way joke to say they aren't needed rather than rely on being able to get away to call and say they aren't! A 2 hour training walk is substantial and tiring and if your dh gives him a good walk before leaving in the morning then 2 4 hour blocks when very tired is definitely not the end of the world for a well adjusted dog . Not like it's every day! And the good length walk and company in between will mean he's probably forgotten about the previous alone shift before the next one starts. I'd not leave him with anything edible as could be a choking worry. Maybe leave the radio on low

It might be different because of covid procedures...

But not staying overnight does not mean he’ll be sent home, it means he can’t sleep there if you’re at that point just going to bed and nothing is actively happening - which some hospitals used to allow.

If you get bumped to evening, he’s very likely to still be there for most of the night.

he sleeps downstairs at night as we let our cat have free roam of the house, so he's used to being shut in one part of the house (which is still quite a lot of space, 3 rooms!) and that's usually from 10pm til 8am

This also makes it even less bad as he'll be women and walked at a time he's usually still alone and sleeping anyway

@cocoloco987 thanks for the helpful tips.. I'll probably leave the tv on for him and DH said he'd be happy to walk him in the morning as well even if it has to be at 5am! I think I'm worrying too much (as usual) and creating this thread has actually left me more worried and confused haha. I think also with him being an older puppy he can adjust a lot easier than say a young puppy or an adult that's never been left before.

You know your dog best OP so sure he will be fine with whatever you choose. I found my dog boarder from recommendations on Next-door so it may be worth asking on there if you feel like going down that route. Just a case of finding which is the least stress and worry for you on the day!

Have you got any nice neighbours who might pop in during the afternoon? If I lived close by I would do that for someone.