Buddy get an half hour walk in the morning, I leave him at 8.10 and come home at 1, all I need to say to him is go for a wee and I open the door and he goes for a wee, 20mins later I have to leave again for work till 5 and I get home at 5.10, he has free range of the whole house including our bed, if he does have an accident, I totally dont care, he always makes his way to our bathroom which is tiled and has his accident there. He has access to the front room window where he can watch cars and people go past and I made some steps for the back bedroom window so he can watch the birds there, this keeps him totally entertained whilst I am away, but he also loves it when I put his favourite treats in a box and he has to work at the box to get his treats out.

Ok thank you! I now don't feel so very strange, thank you! We rarely leave Mia alone. She typically goes everywhere with me. She goes to work every day and keeps us all safe... But if I can't take her (it means somehwere is prejudice) I try to leave her with a sibling since she has grown brothers and sisters. There are rare times she must stay home that we let her have run of the kitchen with potty pads, food and water, and is there maybe a max of 3 hours alone. My husband says she is why I couldn't stand a week out of the country without her. I would be constantly calling and checking on her even with siblings. You know, he is right.

Hello, newbie here. Had to add my 2c. I retired due to illness a few years ago. Met my Yorksoul mate last year. I am glued to my baby. We go out together so much, my girlfriend gave me a goochie poochie for Christmas, so now we step out in style. She'd (TicTac) probably be fine if I left her home for several hours, but I would be a basket case!

Jackson has had free roam since 5 months old, really. He's always been trustworthy when home alone (or with my dads dogs). He is now a little over 2 years old and the longest I generally leave him is 6 hours. However, usually it's only around 4 hours. I just feel guilty if it's any longer than 6 hours, lol. Especially when he's all by himself (I don't feel as guilty when I'm staying at my dads house, since he has their 2 dogs to keep him company). With that said, he has gone 8 hours before a few times perfectly fine. He is exclusively outdoor trained and he holds it.

My partner and I are fortunate in that we are both able to telework a fair amount, but at least once a week (and sometimes twice) we both have to go into our offices. When that happens, our dogs are alone for about 8 hours. We try to stagger our schedules to minimize their time alone, but they appear to have no issues with being left alone that long, provided they get a good walk in the morning and evening. They do sleep most of the day, except when they bark at the door when the mail is being delivered. I know this because I have a network camera that I can watch them on when I'm not at home. It makes for some good entertainment at work, although I think my coworkers think I'm nuts :-)

Glad I came across this thread it is very interesting. Our baby Kinder is nine months old and she goes where we go. Usually my mom will watch her for my husband and I if we have to go somewhere for a day. If we can't get my mom we put her in her bigger crate with the food and water dish bolted to the door.She has a nice blanket for her to lie on and a new bully stick to chew on. The longest she was in there was five hours but she did fine and did not go potty. We let her out and she is pee pad trained so off she went to go potty. We want to let her roam the house or at least start with the kitchen. She likes to get into trouble trying to pull those plastic things out of the electrical sockets and chew on wires also.She also likes to pull the fuzz off the carpet and we can't let her eat that. Our vet recommended to crate her if we have to leave her alone.He had just showed us a puppy that chewed through an electical cord a couple weeks ago. The poor little pup still had neurological problems with her head. We are hoping our little mischief will grow out of this soon ;she is an angel for everything else. As I said before she is with us always I even put her in a dog purse and sneak her in the clinic with me. Sometimes you can't take them so at least I feel safe she is in her crate. Thanks for posting this and hopefully soon I can let my baby run free in the house when we can't take her.

I leave mines for about 8 hrs mon-fri and I hate it :( . She's only 4 months and I feel like she likes her time alone lol just because she's lazy and loves to sleep only plays for a bit.

Now I don't feel like a lunatic. :D Max spent 90 minutes alone once, and Max and Teddy together have only spent 20 minutes alone. My father always babysits for me. I often worry that this is in some way bad for the dogs, never being alone.

Unfortunately my Auti is home all alone M-F for at least 8-10hrs but I leave her with plenty of food and water and she is pad trained so she uses that while I'm at work. I usually walk her before work and right when I get home and before bedtime that way she has her "breath of fresh air". I really want another dog so she doesnt be lonely :(. But lucky those that can be home for only 4hrs ;)

Before when Charlie was younger I would just keep him confined to our living room/kitchen area. Eventually he learned how to push open the gate and get past it so I just let him be out wherever he would like in the house. We keep all the doors closed though, except for my room since one of his beds are in there as well as my bed which he likes sleeping on from time to time. I think if your dog isn't having any accidents or causing huge messes while your gone leaving her freely should be okay. All Charlie does is sleep while he's home alone. maybe she does the same?!

LOL! I've always thought it was the cutest thing when dogs are the ring bearers and flower girls =]

Yes, me too!

On occasion, about 2 - 3 hours at the most. This is when I have routine doctor or dental appointments. These occur once every several months.

I bring Tatiana with me everywhere, like some posters here. Also, she travels with me (airline flights, car trips, etc.).

Truthfully, during our separation, Tatiana is just fine. I'm the one with the separation anxiety, wondering and worrying about her. LOL