Puppy Alone?

[Mil]

I'm just wondering how long it is ok to leave a puppy alone if he has access to the laundry and outside and fresh water etc? (basically so I can stop worrying. )

[First Time Puppy Owner]

Hi There

I'm a first time mum to a dog, so I am certainly not an expert. But what I have found that seems to work for Benson my 8 wk old Golden is playing vigorously for at least 30 mins before leaving, making the puppy run and dig (if you have a sandpit set up) then make sure he has two fluffy toys that he/she can sink it's teeth into, a lamb shank a pigs ear, a tennis ball and somewhere safe to sleep and water of course and then I suppose whenever you get home repeat the running around lilke crazy thing. See I got Benson at 7 wks and had one week off work with him and taught him that I would be coming back eventually by using the same phrase mine is "see you soon" even though I might have been going to the shower or out to the shops etc. Now I am away from the house for about 8 & 1/2 hrs mon-fri and I think he sleeps alot then as well chews on his bone and pigs ear.

Hope this helps!

Susan & Benson

[kermat]

My partner and I hesitated for a long time before getting a puppy, because we both work full time we thought it might be cruel to leave one at home by himself during the day. Because my partner has an RDO during the week, our puppy Judd is home by himself for about 8-9 hours 4 days a week.

But we do the best we can, and to be honest Judd doesn't seem all that worried about it - I haven't seen any signs of separation anxiety and he doesn't whine or howl when we leave him. We make sure we play with him and walk him in the mornings before we go to work, then we play with him for at least 20-30 minutes when we get home as well as taking him to the park for a run and to interact with other dogs.

A lot of people say that if you work full time you shouldn't get a puppy, but I disagree - we provide Judd with a warm loving home and give him the absolute best care possible. Obviously leaving him home by himself 4 days a week is not ideal but both of us need to work to pay the mortgage so its the best we can do.

We do see some signs of boredom when we get home, which is to be expected - usually nothing more than a few holes in the garden, and he's chewed a few of our sprinklers. Make sure you get your puppy lots of toys, keep some aside though and rotate the toys daily so he's got different toys every day. We got a doggie door installed in our glass sliding door in our laundry so he's got access to the laundry if its cold or rainy, plus we give him bones, pigs ears, and other chew treats as well as lots of fresh water.

I think Judd sleeps most of the day while we're at work because when we get home he's got a LOT of energy, so we just make sure we play with him lots and take him for lots of exercise - if you do the same sort of thing your puppy will be fine

[peibe]

My dogs where both left alone for up to 4 hours at a time from 9 weeks

You need to get them used to being alone so they do not fret when you are not there

I do not like pups left alone for 8-10 hours at a time, as they are naughty little buggers and need a lunch feed

But the dog is yours, get the puppy into your routine now

ETA, everyone has to work, how are you going to pay the vet bills when they are needed?

Edited April 18, 2007 by peibe

[Mil]

Thanks for answering. Actually I am home quite a lot, and sometimes when I'm at home I need to be able to keep him in the laundry/outside by himself for a couple of hours, but he can probably still hear me moving around inside. Is this worse than just going away and leaving him, because he is wondering what he did wrong and why he can't come inside with me? Do you think that it is confusing to be left alone when I'm out and also when I'm at home?