Home alone.

[athompson702]

So, whenever we are not home, Sissy is in her crate. My boyfriend would come home for lunch to take her out, so she wouldn't be in there longer than 4 hours at a time. Well, he is going out of town for 6 days and 4 of those days I will be workout 8 and a half hour days and I only get a half hour for lunch. It takes about 15-20 minutes to get home so I wouldn't have time to come home, take her out to potty, eat, then get back to work. I feel bad that I have to leave her so long. She usually sleeps in her crate at night so I am going to let her sleep in the bed with me while he's gone so she has more time out of the crate. Today will be the first day and I'm going to worry about her all day!

 

[crystalclear1027]

Do you have a neighbor or close friend that could come and check on her? We have a big playpen we use in these cases. If not, she will to make due. At least you know she will be safe, so that should give you some comfort.

 

[sherlock]

When Watson was young (like up until 5 months or so) we would leave him in a playpen...since then there was usually at least one person home. When we weren't, he'd have to deal with being in his crate.

Now though, we've found that we can leave him in the living room (I block off the hallway to the bed/bathrooms, because he likes to go get into stuff.) He has to potty real bad if we've been gone for a while, but he's otherwise fine and mostly just sleeps.

There are other times that he does just stay in his crate for hours at a time...he's mad when I get home, but it keeps him from getting into trouble and he just needs some good playtime.

 

[athompson702]

Thanks everyone! I don't know the neighbors and friends were working too. But she did really well! After I let her out of her crate and after a little bit of belly rubs I took her out on a long walk and now she is chewing on her bone all happy as can be! I was so worried all day! But now I know she can do fine. She has to make it thru tomorrow and then Saturday I'm hers all day!

 

[natural curl]

If it was me I would sign up for doggie day care for those days. I am in an area with several possibilities, not that expensive, and I would visit first and just fit it into the budget. Professional dog walkers usually available too.
If that's not possible, like the above poster said, then a friend or neighbor. Are any kids or college students out of class yet? Lots of my friends hire a student to come in a couple of times a day.
Next I would create a larger but safe area: kitchen, bathroom or playpen. Add some new toys and things to chew on.
Ask around, do some research, and you'll be ready next time.
At my work we are flexible enough for a longer lunch for emergencies.
One gal kept her dog in the car at work for years and went out spend time with the animal on lunch and breaks. Not ideal, and eventually someone called the SPCA, but maybe better than a small crate and no contact all day. The end of that story is that the SPCA did not feel the dog was being abused, but one day the uncrated dog decided to eat the car's upholstery.
Oh, not to make this too long but Sissy might decide she wants to sleep with you forever once she finds out what it's like.

 

[athompson702]

I'm still new to the area so I really don't know anyone except for co workers. And the only close friend that I have here is out of town as well until Sunday. There is a doggie daycare here that is close to where I work but they need her vet records and I am still waiting on those from the previous owner, they haven't been very responsive on that. But we are definitely going to take her there when one of us is out of town again. Thanks natural curl!