Leaving your dog home alone
Discussion
Does anyone leave their dog alone for 10 hours, twice per week?
The wife and I (more I) would like to get a dog but he would be left alone for ten hours twice per week, maybe even the once but most likely twice.
They would obviously be walked in the morning and on return.
Breed would likely be a golden retriever but would be open to suggestions for something more suitable.
Let me know your thoughts.
The wife and I (more I) would like to get a dog but he would be left alone for ten hours twice per week, maybe even the once but most likely twice.
They would obviously be walked in the morning and on return.
Breed would likely be a golden retriever but would be open to suggestions for something more suitable.
Let me know your thoughts.
When the MIL couldn't look after ours due to going into hospital for a spell we did a deal with one of the local kennels for £6 a day.
She was dropped off at 08:30 and collected between 17:00 and 17:30 had an indoor area and a large run outside i think she quite liked it to be honest.
She was dropped off at 08:30 and collected between 17:00 and 17:30 had an indoor area and a large run outside i think she quite liked it to be honest.
While not ideal, dogs can be left that long. Mine have been, and with careful exposure they're fine with it. A dog flap is a great help though. I often used to come home and find my dog asleep in the sun in the garden.
Dogs have evolved as crepuscular animals so active at dawn and dusk, so leaving them during the day can be done.
Obviously better to not do it, but it can be done.
Now I'm retired my dog is rarely alone more than a few hours
Dogs have evolved as crepuscular animals so active at dawn and dusk, so leaving them during the day can be done.
Obviously better to not do it, but it can be done.
Now I'm retired my dog is rarely alone more than a few hours
The max we leave our Westie for is 3 hours and that is only very occasionally. The 2-3 days I am in the office, he goes to daycare which he seems to love. He races in through their door in the morning and never looks that keen to see me when I pick him up later ! We pay £20 per day (0700 - 1630), whereas dog walkers locally charge £15 for an hour long walk. Whatever you choose, go by personal recommendation if at all possible.
Depends on the age as much as the breed. We have 2 GSDs, one is 9 years, the other is 11 months. Bit of a difference....
If the old dog has a really good walk the day before (10 miles/2 hours or so), and a short walk before leaving, she is quite happy being left 5 hours. Judging by the reaction when we get in (oh, you’re back, I’ll go back to sleep), she would probably do 10, but 5 is the most we would ever leave her.
The young ‘un? We wouldn’t have a house left if we left her for 5 hours. She does a 10 mile walk, and then wants more.
Find a local dog walker - they’re normally good and not that expensive. However if getting a puppy, I’d be really worried about it learning bad habits unsupervised. Takes a lot of work to train them well.
If the old dog has a really good walk the day before (10 miles/2 hours or so), and a short walk before leaving, she is quite happy being left 5 hours. Judging by the reaction when we get in (oh, you’re back, I’ll go back to sleep), she would probably do 10, but 5 is the most we would ever leave her.
The young ‘un? We wouldn’t have a house left if we left her for 5 hours. She does a 10 mile walk, and then wants more.
Find a local dog walker - they’re normally good and not that expensive. However if getting a puppy, I’d be really worried about it learning bad habits unsupervised. Takes a lot of work to train them well.
I would have said 7hrs absolute max if just once a week with a very occasional twice a week and even then definitely not fair on a young dog but not 10hrs. I only ever did that long once with our last dog because I locked myself out of the house! But really it should only be 4-5hrs in one go.
It would be harsh to expect them to hold their bladder that long and not really good for them to, and tthen there would be the boredom factor esp if young.
However there are ways round it as already mentioned. Either a well run doggy day care or a trusted dog walker or a friendly neighbour who could pop round for half an hour to break the day up. Obviously neighbour may not be so keen if the dog ends up being a vocal one when left alone!
So don't give up as plenty of options there but don't leave them for 10 hours in one go.
It would be harsh to expect them to hold their bladder that long and not really good for them to, and tthen there would be the boredom factor esp if young.
However there are ways round it as already mentioned. Either a well run doggy day care or a trusted dog walker or a friendly neighbour who could pop round for half an hour to break the day up. Obviously neighbour may not be so keen if the dog ends up being a vocal one when left alone!
So don't give up as plenty of options there but don't leave them for 10 hours in one go.
Edited by bexVN on Thursday 30th May 13:47
sc0tt said:
OK all, thank you for all your input. Looks like no dog for now then.
I don't understand why you couldn't still have a dog. Why not use the other options suggested on the long days, yes there is a cost factor but tbh if you are looking at a golden retriever sized dog it won't be that much more on top of what they will cost anyway and you will get used to the extra outgoings, it becomes the norm when you get a dog 
. I agree that 10 hours is too much
Most we have done with our 2 year old boy is around 5-6 hours and that was exceptional, normally we'll leave him for around 4 hours max.
As others have said - get a walker.
We have one come in twice a week who charges £11 for an hour walk. The dog absolutely adores her and £20 a week is not a bank-breaker.
Most we have done with our 2 year old boy is around 5-6 hours and that was exceptional, normally we'll leave him for around 4 hours max.
As others have said - get a walker.
We have one come in twice a week who charges £11 for an hour walk. The dog absolutely adores her and £20 a week is not a bank-breaker.
As I said earlier, my dogs have been left all day 5 days per week. They didn't care. They had a dog flap, and food and water. They got walked before and after.
It's quality not quantity of attention that counts. Lots of people have dogs and are around 24x7 but ignore the dogs, whereas mine had everything they neededand lots of attention when I was there
It's quality not quantity of attention that counts. Lots of people have dogs and are around 24x7 but ignore the dogs, whereas mine had everything they neededand lots of attention when I was there
As most have said, depends on the dog and there's easy solutions where the dog can't handle it.
I used to have an old collie - got him at middle age and he was fine being left for a whole work day. If he'd had his way, his day would have been 23 hours and 50 minutes of sleep, with two 5 minute pee breaks and a feed morning and night. I had a hard limit on leaving him for anything more than 8 hours routinely, and never more than 10 on the odd occasion we had something on, like a wedding. We adopted him with fairly ingrained aggression issues with strangers and other dogs which ruled out most dog walking services in our area, but we could rely on friends to go round and look after him.
The young spaniel I have now really lets us know if he's not had enough stimulation throughout the day, and gets really mischievous so we have a dog walker who comes and takes him out for at least 90 mins a day, 3 times a week, £10 per walk.
My observations are that dogs get into a habit routine. So if the dog is getting lots of exercise routinely for 4 or 5 days a week, chances are on the days when they are getting left, they'll just fall into the same sleep pattern as the busy days, and would handle being left no bother. I see this on the odd weekend if I'm totally burst from a hangover. The dog just lazes around all day as if he's been out for a good run, but in reality has just been out for a pee in the garden. But if I take the week off to spend with him and cancel the dog walker for the week, after the first couple of days he'll be torture because the routine is broken and he's used to me being around all day, knowing he can get a bit of fun from winding me up.
I used to have an old collie - got him at middle age and he was fine being left for a whole work day. If he'd had his way, his day would have been 23 hours and 50 minutes of sleep, with two 5 minute pee breaks and a feed morning and night. I had a hard limit on leaving him for anything more than 8 hours routinely, and never more than 10 on the odd occasion we had something on, like a wedding. We adopted him with fairly ingrained aggression issues with strangers and other dogs which ruled out most dog walking services in our area, but we could rely on friends to go round and look after him.
The young spaniel I have now really lets us know if he's not had enough stimulation throughout the day, and gets really mischievous so we have a dog walker who comes and takes him out for at least 90 mins a day, 3 times a week, £10 per walk.
My observations are that dogs get into a habit routine. So if the dog is getting lots of exercise routinely for 4 or 5 days a week, chances are on the days when they are getting left, they'll just fall into the same sleep pattern as the busy days, and would handle being left no bother. I see this on the odd weekend if I'm totally burst from a hangover. The dog just lazes around all day as if he's been out for a good run, but in reality has just been out for a pee in the garden. But if I take the week off to spend with him and cancel the dog walker for the week, after the first couple of days he'll be torture because the routine is broken and he's used to me being around all day, knowing he can get a bit of fun from winding me up.
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