Leaving dog in evening

[Melsy88]

My dog goes to doggy daycare - they pick her up about 8am and drop her home between 4.30 and 5pm. I am generally out of the house between 6.30am and 7pm so she has a bit of time alone in the morning and evening.
I have been invited to a work social one evening, which means getting home around 10-11pm.

Although it's longer than I'd normally leave her, I think given she's going to have been active all day and will be very tired, it's fine as a one off.

What do others think?

I think it's fine.
Mine goes to daycare once a week, 7.15 to 4 and when we get home he eats his tea and goes to sleep.
He's not fit for anything else afterwards. He will cuddle up on the sofa if I'm there, but if I do jobs etc, he just takes himself off for bed and doesn't get up until the morning. He doesn't even have his 9.30pm wee on those days 😂

It’s absolutely fine . Dogs , like children, don’t need to be entertained every hour of the day.

I think is ok as one off.

Absolutely fine, I wouldn’t worry at all.

Yeah i think fine, i feel better leaving him at night as after 8 hes sleeping anyway. Especially if he's been active during day.

Mine would be absolutely fine as long as he had been given his dinner.

Do dog owners never go out in the evenings?

Sure it'll be fine! She will probably be glad of the rest!!

Definitely fine after being busy all day.

Ah thanks all. Was expecting a flurry of 'you must never leave dog for more than 4 hours' replies!

Will she be home alone from 4.30 until 11pm, or will you be coming home from work first?

It sounds like the former which I think is too much personally - won't she need the toilet? And what about her dinner?

She'll be home alone. Dinner will be left for her in a timed feeder. She doesn't tend to go to the toilet often, even when I'm home!

Personally I would get someone to at least pop in halfway through to make sure she's okay - 6.5 hours alone is quite a long time.

Mine would definitely need a 💩 after dinner so it's not something I would do. I aim to never leave for more than 4 hours, which in reality might sometimes mean they get left for 5 if I get delayed.

Personally as a dog owner yes, of course I do. Not usually for 6.5 hours without anyone else in the house being around at some point of the evening though. We aim never to leave her entirely alone for more than 4 hours at a time. Apart from anything else, dogs need to go to the toilet.
Back to the OP… ours wouldn’t manage 6.5 hours without toileting (especially after eating dinner) but only you know if yours would manage.

Yeah, I'd never normally leave her this long either. But... even when I'm home she won't want to go out to the toilet in the evening. She'll regularly go 9pm to 10am without going to the toilet (she does have the option to go but doesn't seem to need to go often!)

I do have a neighbour who has a key and would happily pop in. But I think it might be worse to have her disturbed and get excited then for her to leave again.

I wont leave a dog from 4.30 - 11. A long time to leave a dog without the option of going out for a wee especially if they have had their food and still no option to go to the loo afterwards.

It would not work for me or my dogs

If your dog isn't used to that time then they may struggle.

If we went out for a long evening then we'd ask a neighbour to pop in, let out for a wee and give our last dog a biscuit mid evening. We used to do the same for her dog if she needed it.

My dogs would be fine for 6 hours or so, as long as they were fed.

I'd get the neighbour to check on her, let her out to the toilet and give her some treats. I think 61/2hrs is an awfully long time to leave a dog alone when you don't need to.

I think you need to get someone to check on her - even if it's just to let her out for a quick wee or to take her for a walk around the block.

6.5 hours alone when she's only used to being left for 2.5 is a big jump imo, and many dogs would struggle.

I'm not one of those people who doesn't think you should ever leave your dog more than four hours, but you do have to build up to it if you don't want your dog to be distressed or confused.

She's left for 4 or so hours when I go out in evening at weekends or when in working from home. She seems absolutely fine, but I don't usually leave her for quite as long as this.

As a one off it sounds fine. Let daycare know so they can make sure she has a wee before drop off. Or see if they could keep her on after hours. If you have a kind neighbour can they pop in to feed her/ let her out.

I'm sure she'll be fine but I do just think it's worth getting someone to pop in and check - to put your mind at rest if nothing else.

@Melsy88 ask your neighbour is she can pop in & let her out for a toilet break & maybe give her a treat. Also mention that if she's not busy your dog would enjoy a friend to cuddle, watch tv with.

i have 'date nights' (as well as sleep overs/holidays) with my friends dog (& sometimes her sisters dog joins us too) sometimes he sleeps on his bed a lot and it feels like a bit of a waste of an evening, but other times he's on the sofa continually nudging for a fuss or bring me his toys etc.

im sure he'd be 'ok' if I didn't go, but he generally seems to enjoy the company!

& in reality I'd only be 'wasting' the evening at home anyway 🤣