# How long do you leave your dog home alone?



## squishmike (Sep 15, 2012)

Hi everyone

We have a nearly 1-year old Boston and we've had him all through his puppy days, but now that he's almost an adult we're trying to adjust our lives to make it a little easier on ourselves. Since we got him, I've driven home every day at lunch and/or my girlfriend has taken days off, or we've stuck him in daycare, in order to ensure he wasn't home alone for longer than 3-4 hours max. As you can imagine this takes money, coordination and time to make this work.

Both me and my girlfriend are now working 8:30-5:30 so that's 9 hours he'd be home alone (and without bathroom breaks) if I don't go home at lunch. So i'm wondering what all you regular working joe people do with your pups while you're at work for 8-9 hours? How long do you typically leave him/her alone for? I feel bad leaving him for long stretches, but is it just a normal thing to leave them during the day?

Thanks!


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## Flaming (Feb 2, 2013)

Well before my recent unemployment we worked odd shifts so Manna was never alone more than a few hours at a time, maybe 4 with the odd 8 as a puppy. Though once we hit 8 hours we had friends, family or neighbours potty her real quick during lunch as we work too far away to make it there and back in time. Now she's not a full adult but I will try to continue the lunch potty break as an adult after I find a job because I can't hold it for 8 hours comfortably so I don't expect Manna to.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

My pup is 10 months old and I still come home for lunch. I only work 10min from home, and I kind of like getting out of the office, so it works for me. He's also still in a crate when we're not home, so I like to give him a chance to stretch his legs every 4 hours or so. A couple times he's been alone for 7-8 hours.

Once he's not in a crate anymore, I probably won't come home for lunch every day and he'll be alone for 8.5 hours a day.

I do know plenty of people who work full time and their dogs do just fine home alone. None are crated all day though (they are older and non-destructive), but many are kept in a dog proof room or area.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

9 hours on workdays. 
My adult dog is not crated and has free roam of the house (non-destructive and very trustworthy and calm inside). He rushes outside when I get home but then half the time he spends at least 10 minutes leisurely sniffing around the yard before he even bothers to pee. 
The current foster puppy is 6 months old and is crated in an over-sized crate. While not ideal that he is crated all day, it is safer than allowing him to chew dangerous items and he hasn't had any accidents in his crate. All previous fosters were either crated or in a dog-safe room (minimal furnishings for minimal destructive potential) and none of the adult dogs had any issue with being home all day.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

When Shep turned 3 yo, I left him alone all day. He's 12yo and he wanders from spot to spot, but sleeps nearly 20 hours a day.


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

Most people work full-time and need to leave their dogs alone for a certain amount of time (~8 hours/day). My husband and I have slightly staggered schedules, so Katie is probably alone less than many dogs.

From the time we got Katie at about 5 1/2 months to about 8 months, she stayed in a large crate during the day and I went home at lunch time to take her out. I gradually extended the time she was left until it was the entire workday. From about 8 to 10/11 months, she stayed in the crate, but she was alone the entire day (~6-7 hours). 

She just turned 2 and is still confined to the bedroom. Typically she is left for ~6 hours, and very occasionally, she'll be left for closer to 8-9 hours. If she's going to be alone much longer than that, we arrange for her to have a mid-day break.


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## Gogoclips (Apr 27, 2013)

Kidogo is 5 almost 6 months and we leave him alone in the crate 4-5 hours at a time. I am a full time student and work part time and my husband works for the university. One of us will go home during lunch to let him out but he doesn't usually have to potty immediately. When I am on lunch duty he has to go back in the crate for another two hours but if the husband goes home at lunch he usually stays and finishes his work at home. We are moving soon to a place further from campus, and expect kidogo to be alone for a little bit longer, about 8 hours. We are planning to put him in the bathroom with a baby gate or in an expen, just so that he has more space to move. We have been leaving him free roam of the house for about 10 mins at a time, and so far haven't had any incidences, yay.


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## SDRRanger (May 2, 2013)

When the BF is sailing (he's in the navy) Ranger is crated for 8.5hrs a day while I am at work, sometimes 9. I throw in some treats and when I get home he is no less excited than when I am home after running to the store. When the BF is home, the longest he is alone is when I have the 9-5 shift and he's in the crate about 7, sometimes 8. I either work from 9, 10, or 11 and the BF is home by 430 at the latest. I would block him in an area of the house, but he has shown his ability to leap baby gates if needed and I don't want to come home to a sick dog if he got into something (he's not a chewer/destroyer, but definitely a counter surfer and litterbox digger.


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## Kayla_Nicole (Dec 19, 2012)

Roughly 8.5 hours M-F. We went home at lunch, like yourself, for the first 8 months or so. Now she is a bit over 10 months, we don't go home at lunchtime and she does fine. Gets lots and lots of play time, attention, and training time all evening though


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## squishmike (Sep 15, 2012)

Hey all, thanks for the replies, glad to hear our strategy thus far has pretty much been the same as yours. I guess leaving him for the 8.5 hours should be ok now that he is nearly 1. We too give him a section of the house for more freedom and make it puppy proof; so far he's chewed a few minor things but doesn't really destroy anything. And no potty accidents yet. So I guess i won't feel as bad now.


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