# How long to you leave your pet(s) alone?



## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

Routinely 4 - 6 hours. My 8 month old mpoo is crated and my fiance's 6 yr old golden is loose in the house. 

Rarely 8 - 9 hours, if we can't get home from work at lunchtime. That's just 'cause our dogs are spoiled. Don't most people work 8 hour (or longer) days?


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## sarpoodle (Dec 26, 2011)

How old is Bobbi?

You know, it's funny. It's so easy to project our emotions onto our pets. We love our dogs so much, that we fall into the trap of interpreting what they do the same way we read emotions of our friends and family. As hard as it is, try to keep the perspective that Bobbi is a dog, and he doesn't necessarily think and feel the way you do.

I'll give you an example. I got Saydee as an 8 week old pup for the express purpose of being a working dog first and a pet second (but that will come way down the road). Well, she was really my first dog. My wife has imprinted on our other dogs the most. She is the one they hang out with. Whenever I bring them home from a walk or some activity, the first thing they do is tear through the house in order to find her. It didn't take long with Saydee before my mentality started to shift towards treating her more like a pet. Unfortunately, that was detrimental to her training given a whole bunch of factors. While she is undergoing her initial training for her job, she simply needs to live in her kennel, and only come out for work and to potty, etc. (of which she does a WHOLE lot mind you, not to potty, but to work, lol). In the beginning of this change, I felt really bad, REALLY BAD, like what was she thinking, did she think I was mad, etc (poodles being sensitive to their people and all). Well, truth be told she didn't think any of that stuff. She's a dog. When I brought her out to work, she kicked butt for me (which was the whole reason why she needed to be in there for the time being). It didn't take too long for my attitude to shift to where it needed to be. The fact is, Saydee has a great life. She is well loved by everybody who sees her. She is taken to a huge variety of places during the week for training, and is consequently exposed to an enormous amount of stimulating situations. Her training is fun (if it weren't she wouldn't be doing it). Because she is a service dog in training, I take her into stores and places with me from time to time. She has it good. The only difference is, she spends time in her kennel when I can't work her. In other words, it hasn't hurt her.

Now in your case, Bobbi is a pet. But people have to work, and be away from their dogs for extended periods of time. A well adjusted dog who is being brought up properly can handle this. It's no big deal to them. It's really us, their owners, who have the hard time with it. If you can leave the emotions out of it, make sure the dog's physical needs are being met (water, food, bathroom breaks if required), in no time, you won't be feeling any anxiety over it. As for specific lengths of time. Well, you'll develop a feel for what he can tolerate. If he isn't being taken out to potty in the middle of the night, and instead sleeps, then he can certainly be in a crate for an extended period of time. Just need to make sure he has fully done his business before being put up.

Greg


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## LoveMyDogs (Jun 13, 2012)

Most of the time we try to take our puppies every place we go. However, sometimes that isn't possible and we crate them. We try not to leave them longer than 3-4 hours at a time. 

Most of my friends that are still working have dogs and cats. They seem to do just fine being left alone 8-9 hours a day.


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## LoveMyDogs (Jun 13, 2012)

Bobbi is so adorable. I smile every time I see his little picture.


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## Lily's-Mom (May 31, 2012)

We leave Lily for about 5 hours, then home for lunch for a potty and play break, then go back to work for 4 more hours. We do crate her so she stays out of trouble. And I also leave on the radio for her, I feel like it's company for her.  I don't think 3 hrs alone is anything to worry about for Bobbi.


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

My dogs have the run of the house. I am usually gone 3-4 hours a day.


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## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

Usually for only 1-2 hrs...I have a large family, someone is almost always home. The only time they are truly alone is when the whole family goes to church. In some ways it's good, lots of supervision and potty breaks, but with the poodles it tends to set them up big time for SA...so we practice "alone time" too. And right now Raven spends a good part of his time crated, since he still isn't trustworthy potty training wise. As sarpoodle said, it hasn't hurt him one bit. He's as happy in his crate as he is out. Although he's not training to be a working poodle.  Wouldn't that be something....a SAR toy poodle? Lol.


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## Lily's-Mom (May 31, 2012)

_"Wouldn't that be something....a SAR toy poodle? Lol."_
I remember reading about a Chihuahua doing it!


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## Bobbi (Apr 20, 2012)

Sarpoodle,Bobbi is 7 months old,he was neutered about 2 weeks agther than a bit of play biting his temperament is really good.It's just when we look at his little face we feel so bad walking out the door and leaving him alone... I know it's all in out head..but still... :afraid:


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## Ms Stella (Aug 16, 2010)

Mine are both standards and they are home alone 4 days a week for 6-8 hrs. They are not crated and all they do is sleep  They are both adults and have bladder control to manage for that time. My 2 yr old has had a couple of "accidents" in the last 2 weeks which is think is due to her being in season. She usually does very good. Our floors clean up easily so its not a huge deal.


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## sarpoodle (Dec 26, 2011)

Bobbi said:


> Sarpoodle,Bobbi is 7 months old,he was neutered about 2 weeks agther than a bit of play biting his temperament is really good.It's just when we look at his little face we feel so bad walking out the door and leaving him alone... I know it's all in out head..but still... :afraid:


I know, it's hard. You love the little bugger. I understand. Just take it on faith, from the rest of us, that he will still be your little man, and when you get home he'll be jacked to see you, and not give it a seconds thought about having been in a crate. Just think about what fun activity you'll do with him once you're back home, and not a sense of dread for putting him in there. Remember, these dogs are smart. They can smell what you're stepping in, so they will pick up on your emotions and body language. Keep it positive. It's all good.

Greg


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## lrkellly (Jan 6, 2012)

Hi Bobbi,

Sometimes its the owners who get separation anxiety!! Do you give him a kong, or something similar, as you go out the door? I've found that this has eased my own anxiety of leaving Sprout alone. And we crated him until we knew he could hold it for an extended length of time (until he was 8 months). 

I have to say that its a lot easier now that he is no longer crated, a lot easier for me that is. We still give him a kong (or similar) as we head out the door so that he always associates us leaving with something good .

What also helps me is if I give him a really intense exercise session before leaving. That way I know he'll be tired while I'm gone and will likely sleep the whole time.

We both work from home so we're not gone that often, but sometimes we'll be gone for 8+ hours, probably once or twice a month. He's totally fine!  But, I remember feeling the separation anxiety, particularly the first time I left him for 6 hours. It was so hard (for me!).


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## Poodlemama99 (Feb 12, 2010)

normal workday the kids are left for 9 1/2 hours. I have webcams to watch them and can attest to the fact that they do indeed sleep the entire time. Once in a while someone will stand up and stretch and then go back to sleep but Omar usually does not move for 6-7 hours. Of course he is 13 so he is getting to be an old man. LOL.


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## Lily's-Mom (May 31, 2012)

Poodlemama99, I always wanted to set up a video camera to watch what the dog(s) did during the day, LOL. Very cool.


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## Joelly (May 8, 2012)

Charlie is home-alone 8-9 hrs M-F. I walked him everyday after I got home from work. That's our time. In the weekend, DH and I played with him in the park. We would let him run around off-leash. This park is a school yard that left open for the public but it is fenced up nicely and most ppl don't know that it is open for public so most the time it is just DH, Charlie and I, which is cool!

During this 8-9hrs home-alone, he will be in his crate with access to his play pen and almost always he pee and poo on his wee wee pad. Few accidents had happened of course. I left dry food mix with his favorite Stella Chewy, just in case he is hungry.


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

I am with lrkellly on this one, I think if they are really well exercised beforehand, and left with some time consuming chewys and other toys, they're fine for a while. Ours are rarely crated during the day (just for nap time after their morning run, for training purposes because they might need to be crated sometime!) because there are a few of us living here and someone is usually home. But our old pit bull and border collie, both awesome dogs, were also crated in the morning after a rambunctious run and romp session when they were young dogs, and they were fine with being alone for a couple of hours too. They get used to going to their crate for a nap after a big run if that's your usual routine. The beauty of it is that as adults, they probably won't have to be crated at all when they're alone, and they'll just sleep and loaf until you return.


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## momtymztu (Mar 27, 2012)

Bobbi,

One word of caution I have as far as leaving or not leaving your boy for extended periods...I learned the hard way that having someone always with the dog can lead to big issues if that schedule ever changes. When I first got my Aussie girl (she's 10yrs now) I was recently out of college, unmarried, and working limited part-time hours. She was rarely left for more than an hour or two at a time and even more rarely crated. Of course with that much time and attention potty training was a breeze and she was a happy girl. However, about 8 months after I got her, I opened a business and my work hours changed drastically and I couldn't take her with me. I went from very limited part time to 10-7, 6 days a weeK...with in the first week Miss Gracie Mae ate 3 kitchen chairs...hello separation anxiety!!! 

So my point is, if you foresee leaving your baby for extended periods of time in the future (particularly on a regular basis) it may be beneficial to train towards that end now. Of course, even if you don't plan on it, you just never know when your circumstances will change your schedule. 

BTW. He is adorable...love that little face! I can certainly see why you wouldn't want to leave him.


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## Poodlemama99 (Feb 12, 2010)

I highly recommend the webcams. Ours are axis models and were installed by our security company but there are many online to choose from for those who are more tech savvy. It is truly the best money I have spent. The security of being able to check in on them while I am away has totally eradicated my guilt at leaving them. I also have sound on one so that i can listen in and also talk to them if I need to.


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## Lily's-Mom (May 31, 2012)

OMG you are so funny to talk to the dogs too! With Lily, she is in the crate when we are out, so no need for the webcams at this time. I used to call the house on my way home at lunchtime to wake up our dog and tell him I was on my way home, LOL. He was older and it took him a while to get up, stretch, and get going.


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## Marcie (Aug 2, 2011)

I generally leave them 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the afternoon. I close off the family room (it has wood floors) and leave pee pads in certain spots, in case they just can't hold it. I leave toys out for them to play with but most of the time they just sleep in their beds on the couch. I come home for lunch and let them out, run them around and talk to them about Animal Planet while we are having lunch. Yes, I do share my lunch with them. When I leave I always tell them I am going to work and they never make a fuss. If I don't tell them I am going to work, they run to the door and bark and whine like I am going away forever! I have left them longer and they do fine. It is me that is a wreck if I leave them too long.


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## Jacamar (Jun 2, 2012)

The reason Im just now getting my first dog at age 45 is that dogs are social creatures, and I never thought it was right to leave a dog home alone all day while I was at work. Now Im in a place financially where I can put a dog in day care to play all day, so thats the plan. (I dont have my pup yet.) On weekends I guess I will leave him for up to 4 or 5 hours, but dont want to do that often. I dont plan to leave him crated once he is old enough to be house broken and trusted not to each the couch or something. I certainly dont agree with keeping a dog locked in a box for 8 hours or more every day.


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## Poodlemama99 (Feb 12, 2010)

My kids are crated when I am gone too and I made sure I have webcams so I can see them inside the crates. You never know when someone might get sick and soil the crate or get upset and decide to shred the dog bed or have a medical emergency. I became paranoid of something bad happening and coming home hours later to find that someone passed away and their crate mate had to stay with them for hours. Yuck. I know that is unlikely to happen but since Lila did drop dead of a heart attack with no advance warning I started to panic about it. Thank goodness my hubby is all for my craziness with the kids. LOL.


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## Jacamar (Jun 2, 2012)

I like the webcam idea. Do you folks with webcams have streaming video, or does it just take a still photo every so often?


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## dcyk (Nov 30, 2011)

I leave for work with my wife at 730am, Brother in law around 10am, then we get back around 730pm.

Long hours and traffic jams. 

Mack has a section of the living room penned in with water and toys and pee pad.

Lots of fetch and play when we get home.


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## Poodlemama99 (Feb 12, 2010)

The axis webcams I have are live streaming video. I can see the dogs running around the room. Way super cool.


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## Jacamar (Jun 2, 2012)

Poodlemama99 said:


> The axis webcams I have are live streaming video. I can see the dogs running around the room. Way super cool.


Thats awesome Poodlemama, I'll look into doing that too. My "good" computer is a Mac laptop. I dont want to use that if I dont have to. I have my old Windows XP computer next to it. I'll use that if the webcams they sell these days are backward compatible to XP.


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## Jacamar (Jun 2, 2012)

Poodlemama99 said:


> The axis webcams I have are live streaming video. I can see the dogs running around the room. Way super cool.


Thats awesome Poodlemama, I'll look into doing that too. My "good" computer is a Mac laptop. I dont want to use that if I dont have to. I have my old Windows XP computer next to it. I'll use that if the webcams they sell these days are backward compatible to XP.

To see the stream, do you have to go to your computer's web address? I know you can do it that way, or you can have your computer stream to a site like Ustream, then people hit your page on Ustream. I think the advantage of Ustream is if you want people other than yourself to have access, its less work for your computer, plus you arent giving out your computer's address so you are less likely to get hacked.


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## Poodlemama99 (Feb 12, 2010)

Each camera has it's own IP address so you do not need a computer in your home. The cameras are wireless and are configured to your wi fi internet router. You can access the footage from any computer by typing in the IP address. I also have an app on my ipad and my iphone that is even better than logging into a computer. I can view the cameras at the same time on the app.


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## Jacamar (Jun 2, 2012)

Wow, thats cool. I really want "poodlecam" in my home. I plan to have my pup in daycare during the week, but on the few occasions I leave him at home for awhile on a weekend, I want to know if he's doing well, eating the couch, or using my computer to visit Petsmart.com.


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## caroline429 (Mar 5, 2012)

I'm retired so the amount of time Cali is left alone each day varies. Some days it's none, others it can be up to six hours. 

Since she's 8 months old and not 100% safe to leave loose in the house yet, I put her in an xpen I have set up in my basement when I'm out. When she was a younger puppy, I had the xpen in my kitchen and would pop her in it when I was busy and couldn't keep an eye on her. She's in a crate at night.

I like the xpen instead of the crate during the day because she is safely contained, but can have water, food, something to chew on, a bed and newspaper to pee on if need be. 

Cali loves, loves, loves peanut butter. The only time she gets it is in a Kong when I go out. As soon as I bring out the peanut butter jar to put some in the Kong, Cali runs to the basement and puts herself into her xpen. She doesn't even look at me when I leave! When I come back, she's always asleep on her bed.


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## annadee (May 15, 2012)

caroline429 said:


> I'm retired so the amount of time Cali is left alone each day varies. Some days it's none, others it can be up to six hours.
> 
> Since she's 8 months old and not 100% safe to leave loose in the house yet, I put her in an xpen I have set up in my basement when I'm out. When she was a younger puppy, I had the xpen in my kitchen and would pop her in it when I was busy and couldn't keep an eye on her. She's in a crate at night.
> 
> ...


Aww, that's so cute! :cute:


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## Poodlemama99 (Feb 12, 2010)

yes it is awesome. The place the kids go to get groomed and where they dispatch the pet sitters from when we are out of town has daycare and they have webcams set up so people can log in the see their pets during the day.


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