How many hours are your dogs alone?
 

So the live-in mother in law took a 2-month trip to visit her sister, and we're in heaven having the house to ourselves. With one exception. We lost our full-time dogsitter. We've got friends, relatives and neighbors who can let Eddie out, but I'm wondering if I'm going overboard making sure he's not alone for more than 4 hours at a time. Here's a poll to see what you do.

Don't ask me - I'm the one that voted never. I need to deal with it but I can't seem to leave him alone. I worry too much.

I understand. I was a basket case today. We went to work at 4 p.m. I took a "dinner" break at 7 and spent a half hour with him. As I was leaving, a friend was stopping by to watch him from 7:30 to 9. Then my wife was home by 12:30.

Now we're talking about letting a friend move in for 2 months just to have someone here with Eddie.

That sounds like a plan to me but I'm definitely the wrong one to give advise. I'm grateful to have found YT but since joining I worry about liver shunt, him choking on his toys/food, hawks, someone stealing him out of the house or from the vet -the list goes on and on.

Does YT have a mental health section? :questione

Good point! :confused:

Never, ....I have reasons why

I can't believe it! We're in the same boat! My mom lives with us and when she decided to spend 5 weeks with her sister this summer, my husband and I too, rejoiced in having our home and privacy back.

My husband is retired, so he was still here with Rowdy, BUT...... anytime we wanted to do anything or go anywhere, WHO'S GOING TO KEEP ROWDY???? Now, we have a doggie door, a very secure fenced and locked yard - so when we were only going to be gone a few hours, it was OK because Rowdy could have the run of the den (and the company of our other older dog), he could go in and out to play and do his business . Even though I know the back yard is very secure, I still worry about him when someone is not here - but in reality, even when we are here, he is outside a lot of the time by himself.

Anyway, back to the story. Woudn't you know it, my husband got sick and had to go into the hospital - so now....... Rowdy is by himself several hours per day. Luckily at first, I didn't have to stay overnight with my hubby so I would go to the hospital in the morning, go home in the afternoon to be with Rowdy, then back to the hospital in the early evening. THEN however, my husband had surgery and I had to stay overnight with him.

My daughter took Rowdy home with her for those days, but she works and is gone about 9-10 hours during the day. We took Rowdy's metal pen and set it up for him so he could stay in it while she was gone and of course, I was so worried about him having to stay in the pen for so long. But it was the only thing we could do, since our live in babysitter was gone!!! He did just fine, of course!!!

I don't think that we would have given up our blissful peace and privacy to let someone else move it with us - but it is a problem with things like this crop up! I know some people have to work and be gone during the day/evening - we were in that boat with our dogs (before Rowdy) just a couple of years ago. These little babies adapt to our lifestyle and do fine - it's just that we worry about them so darned much!

I see we're not alone, RowdysMom. I used to leave my lab alone for 8 hours without even thinking about it, but I just don't feel right doing that with Eddie.

6 hours on Mondays, and that's about it.
I worry about it, but I force myself to get over it.
He doesn't like it, but neither do I. I would much rather stay home and hang out with him, but hey...someone's gotta go out in the world and earn the dog food.
He's in a penned area with a bed, food & water, and a place to piddle and poop. I just remove his harness so there's no chance that he'll get caught up on anything, and I hope that he's not barking the entire time (for the neighbor's sake...)
I would let him have run of the house, but he's not quite entirely house broken yet.
I'm really trying to keep it light when I leave and when I get back. I think these dogs are smarter and more perceptive than we think. We stress, they sense it, and so they stress. Maybe it's our separation anxiety? They just pick up the ball and run with it.

We hardly ever leave our alone for more than a couple hours at a time and that's just so I can run errands or we go out to dinner. We are ALL homebodies and I don't work and we prefer to just be at home :) I went to visit with my mom last night and she lives about an hour away and I couldn't wait to get home to see my four legged babies:) I don't even like to be out of the area if I am gone!

I try to leave mine alone for about an hour 3 or 4 times a week just so they are used to the experience and don't worry so much. Usually I use the time to go grocery shopping, do the dishes, etc. I'm not always gone from the house and they are pretty much fine with it now. Well, actually Krishna tolerates it and Kita will do anything if there is a cookie involved :)

I know its difficult because your baby has never been alone before. We leave the house at 6:30 am and one of us is back around 3:30pm. Sometimes my husband will come by at his lunch time. Esme has free reign of the house and we think she sleeps most of the day. Also, we leave the radio on for her.
Good Luck!!!

Pippa and Scout are alone from 8:20 till about 2:30 during the week. We have an old house (built in 1939) that has a kitchen that is in the back of the house that actually can be closed off with a door. I would rather have a utility room, but it works. We used to let Pippa have the run of the house when we were gone, but last May my daughter forgot to lock the front door on her way out to school and a thunderstorm blew open the door and Pippa ran away (sorry, I don't mean to add to your anxiety...LOL). Of course we didn't know how long she's been gone or anything. It was one of the worst days and nights of my life. It rained all night and she had never been outside for very long. I was up all night looking outside, sitting on the porch, crying. Of course we had canvassed the neighborhood, etc. She was finally found wandering by the English building at University of Arkansas by an English professor, who called the animal shelter-who hooked us back up...yay! Now it was one of the happiest days of my life...what a roller coaster.
Anyway, now the dogs are securely gated in the kitchen with everything they need. I believe they sleep most of the time we are gone, because even on the weekend 8-2:30 is their sleepy time, then it's party, party, party until 10:00 pm!

i could count on one hand the amount of times that we have left ours alone. I am too protective towards them. just this week my husband said "we are going to see a movie!" I might be wrong but i don't trust any friend or family with them. they will treat them like dogs. LOL
when we do leave them i also remove any harness or clothing they have on. and also leave the tv on for them so they don't get lonely.
i know i am way too protective and i know it is not good for them to be protected this way but the look on the face when they know i will not be taking them with me is more than i can take.

I work from home so my dogs are not alone during the day- except for 15 min in the am when I bring kids to school... and then once and awhile if I run to the store. I am planning on finishing my RN soon, so they will be home alone... I will have an area all set up for them, with food, water, pee pads ect... but with my sons school, he comes home at lunch... my husbands business is to the point where his guys do most of the work, so he is home more ect.... it will work out fine... I am not worried about it.

We don't stop our lives though, if we want to go out to eat we go- the dogs are in a kennel where they feel safe and they can't get into anything.

they come camping with us, and if we go out of town, they go to family homes.

I leave Stewie for up to 7 hours at a time (not everyday) I don't like leaving him, but I am not going to stop my life for him either.

Sammi would stay home alone (With the tv/radio on always) for 8 hours while I was at work...She would sleep all day...I never had any problems leaving her alone...Now that I am living back home someone is always here and she still sleeps all day...

She was never into anything (ie wires and stuff) so I was fine with leaving her...

Kodah & Stormy are left alone very little - I think the longest they have been left at one time in 6 months is about 3 hours! My son is getting married in Azul, Mexico in January & I am already stressing :eek: about what I am going to do with them for four nights! I hope to have a niece come & stay at our house with them.

My dogs may be alone 10 hours a week. Thats 30 minutes a day m-f when I go to the post office. And then a few hours on sunday for church and typically me and my husband go out on saturday on a "date". Other than that I am here all week at their service ;)

I'm home everyday, and my husbands office is here in our home. Added to that, we have five children 21,20,19,15,&14.So our babies almost always have someone here. We do try and go out for a family dinner every month, so they are left for a few hours.( I always bring home a treat :) )

I love that you go out on "dates" After being married for 25 years this March, my husband and I still go out on dates too, If the kids are going to be home that is. :) He's so funny, even if we just go to the store, he'll ask, if it counts as a date.
I tell him NOT! :)

I am a stay home mom and I take Gus with me where ever I go. There were a few times were we went out to dinner and have left him behind,,, but he is such a good boy about being quiet and staying in his bag,,,,,,,, I pretty much take him everywhere now.

If I could have my way I wouldnt leave them alone ever, but my husband and I work outside the home and the kids go to school Mon - Friday so we leave Missy & Max home together for 5 hours each day. We are gone from 9 - 2, they seem to do just fine. I am sure they sleep in till almost noon then have 2 hours of play time with eachother. I take a few days off of work a month and stay home with them and thats usually how their day goes ;)

I am a stay at home mom so my dogs are only left alnone when we go somewhere.

Mine are gated in the bathroom while we are at work, they have their food, water, beds,toys and wee wee pads, we are gone seven hours.They seem to just sleep and they are fine!

hmm there alone mabee 2 hours in a week when i have to go shopping and there in there cages

Ours are never alone, except if we go out for awhile...and I thought I was the only one in the world that went so overboard. Muffin had it made and so does Kacee. I'm glad to see there are some of the rest of you just like me! :p

I'm also a stay-at-home mom so Chewy isn't left alone much. During the day I'll take him with me to run errands around the neighborhood. He is left alone in the middle of the day when I pick up my son from school and take him to the park; it's usually between 2 -5, not long at all. During the weekend he is left for longer periods and we keep him in an xpen with a bed and all his toys - oh yeah - we also leave Cartoon Network on for him.

They are pretty resilient creatures. I've heard a bunch of people tell stories about leaving the dogs to go to work and their pups sleep most of the day!

I'm a substitute teacher so we leave zoe home alone for about 7 hours at a time. We do leave the T.V. on for her and she has the cats for company...she as free reign of the house and the only trouble we find is she likes to get into my daughters garbage in her room or the bathroom garbage...she lllloooovvvveeeessss to shredd up tissues....

I think of Schatzie as my child. Well, with this said....when my children were young I was a stay at home Mom but needed my time(s) away. Dinner with my husband, errands, weekends away, etc. I felt it was "healthy" to have that break and they always had great care when I wasn't with them.

Well, the children are grown now but I still do the same with Schatzie. She's like a two year old that will never grow up so I like my breaks away, the same as the way it was with my human kids. I am a "stay at home Yorkie owner" and I feel it's healthy for both of us to be apart now and then. :p

When I am away for short periods Schatzie has Annabelle to bug and keep company, longer periods we have someone whom I trust watch her.