How long do you leave your dog alone?

[HildegardeCrowe]

Just that really. I leave my rescue JRT alone for 6 hours 4 days a week and he seems fine. I’ve had him for 10 years and he’s old now and sleeps a lot.

@Cait73

All these people leaving dogs up to 6 hours saying "he's fine" how do you KNOW he's fine? Because he's not withered and died while you've been gone doesn't mean he's fine

Because I know my dogs, feel free to pop round and see them after they've been left for 6 hours and you will see that they couldn't give two hoots! My old girl was actually unsettled for the first few months of lockdown and WFH and the only thing I can put it down to was that we were all home 24/7 and disrupting her routine (she's never been a cuddly, lovey dog and will walk off if you attempt to cuddle her ).

However with Ddog2, as I said in my earlier post once Ddog1 dies we probably won't be able to leave her alone as much as she's the complete opposite personality wise and very needy.

My dog walker cancelled due to sudden illness as I was driving to work the other day Im out the house for just over 7 1/2 hours. No suitable neighbours (vert elderly) nothing I could do. I felt guilty all day came home to the same happy cheerful dog I always come home too. Dog walker guaranteed she'd be better the next day but text me that evening saying sorry she couldn't walk him still unwell, dog walkers are like hens teeth round here so again left him came home same happy cheerful dog. Im not saying I'd do it every time I go to work but its not the total disaster many will tell you it is. The second time I walked him for 1/2 and hour before going to work. He's 9 he's a happy well adjusted easy going dog and I know sleeps all day as he does this when I'm at home.

@Cait73

All these people leaving dogs up to 6 hours saying "he's fine" how do you KNOW he's fine? Because he's not withered and died while you've been gone doesn't mean he's fine

They don’t know...

This is without looking it up, so the figures aren’t exact, but roughly - in surveys about 20% of owners report their dogs aren’t stressed by being left alone, but when dogs are actually observed it’s more like 80%

Which means there are an awful lot of unhappy dogs with owners that think otherwise.

That’s are not aren’t - got to love a typo that gives the exact opposite, lol

I predict that people will conveniently gloss over that research!!

@Cait73

All these people leaving dogs up to 6 hours saying "he's fine" how do you KNOW he's fine? Because he's not withered and died while you've been gone doesn't mean he's fine

Because I know my dogs. Because I've asked neighbours if they bark or sound distressed and no one has ever heard them making a fuss apart from when the postman comes which is standard for them. Because there's 4 of them so they're not exactly alone. Because I've come home to happy dogs or indeed snoozing dogs disgruntled that I disturbed them by coming home!

Our old dog is 16 and we could leave her easily 6-7 hours after she has been out and she wouldn't have stirred off the sofa.

The younger dog we struggle with 2 hours as she whines and gets stressed so on occasions we have taken her in the car with us which seems to calm her down.

@KurtWilde leaving 4 dogs together for 6 hours is not the same at all as leaving a single dog alone all day. of course they don't really miss you if they are still with their pack but the majority don't have multiple dogs.

[quote Roundearth]@KurtWilde leaving 4 dogs together for 6 hours is not the same at all as leaving a single dog alone all day. of course they don't really miss you if they are still with their pack but the majority don't have multiple dogs.[/quote]
At one point I only had one dog, I didn't get 4 all in one go! And he was also perfectly fine on his own for 6 hours

@KurtWilde you assume that though, or more likely and evidenced through endless studies now its known stressed and depressed dogs also just sleep because there's nothing else for them to do and he can't actually tell you how isolating it is. as a pack animal it's a very unnatural situation to be forced into

more likely and evidenced through endless studies now its known stressed and depressed dogs also just sleep because there's nothing else for them to do
But how do you tell the difference between that and the behaviour of the many dogs who sleep all morning when the humans are home and doing nothing exciting?

[quote Roundearth]@KurtWilde you assume that though, or more likely and evidenced through endless studies now its known stressed and depressed dogs also just sleep because there's nothing else for them to do and he can't actually tell you how isolating it is. as a pack animal it's a very unnatural situation to be forced into[/quote]
I don't assume anything. Like everyone else on this thread I know my own dogs, yet you only seem to have taken issue with me for some reason.

@GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman
its know from heart & brain activity monitoring & blood tests showing increased cortisol etc.

but in day to day life I think its common sense to appreciate its a animal bread to be part of a pack, humans have made them see us as their pack rather than other dogs.. then we leave them alone for say 10 hours at the night 7 hours at day and x hours when we are busy doing whatever else we do on evenings. when you add it all up some dogs are getting a couple of hours "company" a day with an animal they can't even properly communicate with and the rest if the time in isolation.

@Cheesepuff1, I'll check that out.

We tend to have 2 or 3 dogs at any one time as company for each other. I suspect their needs vary by breed - we used to have a terrier who honestly DGAF, but our current gun dogs are much more needy.

We leave ours for 4 hours max, she is one. Our ageing staffie slept all day whether we were in or not and could be left a lot longer but only from about age 13+.

I've got two who are both young and I don't leave them alone long. Max maybe 3 hours tops once a week.