Everyone has a busy life and can't be there 24/7 with their precious ones.
For puppies however, I'd find someone to look after them if you plan to be gone for more than 2-3 hours.
For adults, if no one is in the house try not to leave it alone for over 4 hours... or at least have them pad trained as well so they do whatever on their pads only.
Leave plenty of water. Our dog tends to drink quite a bit occasionally so we leave her 1 bowl and half another bowl of water which is usually more than enough.
Make sure to leave them in a dog proofed area and not to leave them alone with any chews.
Before you go out through that door try to take it out to the bathroom one last time to make sure they atleast urinate.
If you are indeed planning to be longer than 4 hours, maybe hire a dog sitter or have someone to just check up on them every couple of hours(i.e. to walk them, make sure their water bowls are full, make sure that they're ok, etc).
Don't leave it caged though, just pick an area you feel comfortable leaving them in. Preferably somewhere with tile floors in case of accidents, dog gates work wonders to keep them from going into other rooms.
Good luck to you on whatever you decide. |