how do you leave your dog when you (and your SO) leave for work?

[ldivinag]

i'm about 2.5 weeks from getting my dog from the shelter. he's 3.

first time i tried to leave him alone, i leashed him to some barbell weights. well, that didnt work too well. i found out he likes to chew through network cables. fortunately, he didnt go through electrical ones.

so far, i have been unable to leave as before getting him.

(un)fortunately i am "in between" jobs so i am home 24/7.

i tried to get my brother to watch him by letting him free to a couple rooms but fenced in to prevent other areas. but my brother reported he was whining alot, vs whining and barking LOUD when i would leash him and leave.

so, my question is... how do you leave your dog more than 8 hours?

i have a crate for him that he's getting used to and can/will be putting in a doggy door for him to go in and out as needed...

 

[Wandering Man]

The first thing we did was to get him a "brother." Before they earned our trust, we would confine them to the kitchen, with a doggydoor for the backyard. Now they have the run of all of downstairs and the back yard while we are gone. Everytime we leave the house we give a treat, cookie or a couple of kibbles, as our promise to be back.

 

[vizzla]

Our dog cant be home for more than 3 hours. Thats Alfs limit. Al dogs are different some dogs cant be left alone at all. Have you tried to leave him in one room while you go into another? Fence between. Leave him with something to chew on? Like a raw bone. Go back after a few sec and slowly go for longer times, up till like a few minuts. THis can take days or weeks for some dogs. It is most important that dogs are calm and feel safe when you leave.

In sweden its illigal to leave a dog for more than 6 h a day because of the dog needing company. Most reseches shows that the dog sleeps most of the time when the dog is alone because of us breeding them to needing us for activitys. I wouldnt feel good about leaving a dog sleeping all night and then sleeping all day. They sleep trough their life...

We leave our dogs at my parents in laws when we both work days. My husband sometimes work evening and I come home before or just after him leaving.

Hope you find a way to make it work.
Good luck!

 

[Wandering Man]

In sweden its illigal to leave a dog for more than 6 h a day because of the dog needing company. Most reseches shows that the dog sleeps most of the time when the dog is alone because of us breeding them to needing us for activitys. I wouldnt feel good about leaving a dog sleeping all night and then sleeping all day. They sleep trough their life...

Interesting laws that you have in Sweden. I think you treat your dogs better than WE treat OUR kids ...

 

[HilyBee]

Very interesting laws in Sweden! I really enjoy hearing about the differences.

We have crate trained our mini. He stays in a crate while we are gone. We are very fortunate right now though. The longest he is alone is 3 hours. My hubby can work from home most of the time, so we don't have to leave little Yosuke alone for long. When we are both gone, and if it is ALL day then we have a friend of ours come check on him, take him out, etc. I would start training him to be in a crate or an closed off room. Just pick up anything he can chew on and give him all his toys to play with while you are gone.

 

[amparra]

Lily is crated for about 3 hours a day on most day while I'm in class. On my long days I will come home for lunch and then back to class for 2 more hours.

8 hours is a long time for a dog to be left alone.

 

[Penny]

i'm about 2.5 weeks from getting my dog from the shelter. he's 3.

first time i tried to leave him alone, i leashed him to some barbell weights. well, that didnt work too well. i found out he likes to chew through network cables. fortunately, he didnt go through electrical ones.

so far, i have been unable to leave as before getting him.

(un)fortunately i am "in between" jobs so i am home 24/7.

i tried to get my brother to watch him by letting him free to a couple rooms but fenced in to prevent other areas. but my brother reported he was whining alot, vs whining and barking LOUD when i would leash him and leave.

so, my question is... how do you leave your dog more than 8 hours?

i have a crate for him that he's getting used to and can/will be putting in a doggy door for him to go in and out as needed...

I'm confused about what you wrote. Is your dog in a shelter? Why?
Why would you leash him to barbell weights?? My goodness. Please don't leash him inside the house when you leave.

The best thing would be to give him the kitchen with pee pads put down and his kennel set up with a nice warm blanket. Baby gate the door or close the door to keep him from the rest of the house. Exercise him before breakfast for 1/2 hour, let him settle down, and feed him. Outside to potty. A kong is a nice toy to leave with him, maybe smear a bit of peanut butter on the inside, plus a couple of kibble. A kibble can be stuck in the smaller hole of the kong so he has to work a bit to get it out.

Here is the kennel I have..It has a double fleece pillowcase that I sewed and added 2 fabric tabs so it can stay open when a dog goes in...There's a blanket underneath too for added softness and it is easy enough to wash.



It's winter here, we don't do walks for months. We always exercise them 30 to 40 min inside by putting them behind a door, hiding their ball, and opening the door for them to run around and find it. Repeat for 40 min. They are ready to eat and relax. Don't forget, I have a 13 and 11 yr old doxies! All the more, a younger dog needs to get some steam out!

Here's a short video of the release of the hounds to go hunting the ball..14 seconds..
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtSMjRxGUlM]Hide the ball - YouTube[/ame]

At our old place, hiding the ball, 38 seconds long...
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JL3EkxWIN0]Game: Hide the Ball - YouTube[/ame]

Here they are with a beach ball outside
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hyxc89jhAE]3 insane doxies with big ball - YouTube[/ame]

A dog that's tired and had your attention before you leave will be able to settle down better and less inclined to get into mischief. If you aren't working, it's a great time to get them into that routine! I always give them a good run and feed before I leave the house and with a full tummy, they get sleepy. Don't you? lol

If you leave a pee pad down or know you will be back in a couple of hours, put some water in with his kibble and microwave 9 or 10 seconds so it's nice and warm. The warm water will swell the kibble and give an extra full feeling. Actually, warm water with kibble is the best way to keep them hydrated.

Hope you enjoyed the videos and that they gave you some good ideas on getting your dog tired and ready to relax when you go out. Good luck!

 

[ldivinag]

I'm confused about what you wrote. Is your dog in a shelter? Why?
Why would you leash him to barbell weights?? My goodness. Please don't leash him inside the house when you leave.

this was the first 3 days before i got the crate...

i picked him up from a local shelter.

The best thing would be to give him the kitchen with pee pads put down and his kennel set up with a nice warm blanket. Baby gate the door or close the door to keep him from the rest of the house. Exercise him before breakfast for 1/2 hour, let him settle down, and feed him. Outside to potty. A kong is a nice toy to leave with him, maybe smear a bit of peanut butter on the inside, plus a couple of kibble. A kibble can be stuck in the smaller hole of the kong so he has to work a bit to get it out.

i tried one night putting him in the laundry room. he ended up chewing the door jamb.

and i must have the only dog who hates the kong. first time (i got the smallest one) i stuffed it with like 4-5 pieces and he finished in like 20 minutes. so much for the "hours of fun..."

i tried squirting some peanut butter and freezing it. he doesnt even touch that. i guess the kong branded peanut butter is something he hates.

 

[Penny]

Before you put him in the laundry room, did he get plenty of exercise?
How long was he in the laundry room?
It takes time to settle in a routine and exercise is very important if you want him to settle for a period of time.

 

[vizzla]

Interesting laws that you have in Sweden. I think you treat your dogs better than WE treat OUR kids ...

I find it interesting you are so ok with leaving them at home, sleeping all day. A dog has the cognitive skills of a 3 y old child, and you wouldnt leave a child home in a cage?


Beeing alone for to long has great damages on a dogs mental health. Very much like people beeing isolated. Beeing crated is to limit their chanse of moving around, and their body can get stiff and sore.. So we have different way of looking at it.

Our laws are made to watch out for what the DOG need, not what the humans owning the dog find most conveniently...

We wanted to get a dog for some time, but we didnt have the alone-part solved. Then my parents in law got the idea that we could share the dog, they have them when we work! Problems solved! Some people I know use dog-walkers or look for older people that stays home all day and pay them to be with their dog. I find that a better dog-life than beeing home alone all day. It is of course down to individuals, some dogs are fine beeing alone, and some, like our cant be left alone whitout high anxiety. I would never leave a dog that feels so bad about beeing alone at home.

I really hope our laws spreed worldwide, for the sake of the dogs.

 

[amparra]

Yes but dogs are not children. In the United States, it is illegal to leave a young child at home alone. You also would not let a 3, 4, 5 or even 6 year old child just wander around the entire home with no one supervising him. Thats what play pens and cribs are for. The crate is a functional equivalent of a play pen.

Crating a dog is not for "convenience" its for safety! I've known dogs who have eaten socks, cabinets, baseboards, mattresses, you name it! Obstruction surgeries are not cheap. I'd rather my dog be crated for few hours while i'm away than dead.

Not everyone has the luxury of being home all day, and not everyone has luxury of having someone to watch their dogs or share dog duties with them. Within reason, that doesn't mean that they shouldn't have a dog!

That being said, OP, you are gone for a long time. The play area set up that Penny described might work a little better in your situation. The crying while you are away will eventually subside. It does help if you do let the dog spend some time in the crate while you are home so that he does not associate being crated with you leaving.

 

[vizzla]

Its interesting that you dont hear a lot in sweden of dogs eating the house up if they are left in a big house.

Some people leave their dog in one room only if they feel more safe. But limit the dog to just laying in the same spot, or sitteing in the same spot like in a crate for HOURS I think is animal cruelty!

I think we have different way of looking at it. You look at it from the HUMAN perspective, "its my right to have a dog", in sweden we look at it from the dogs perspectieve "If I want a dog, can I make sure it has a good life?" If not then dont get a dog.

I have a job where I can be order out on urgent travels. I dont have the time to call someone to take care of the dog. So I need to have that backup. I dont have to run home on my lunch and the dog doesnt has to wait for me to come home if I get delayed. So I can relax more, knowing my dog has a good time all day.

One of the problem with what you descirbe as behaviourproblems like eating walls or whatever can come from the dog beeing so stressed out of beeing alone. If you have someone taking care of the dog during working hours, the dog doesnt have those problems.

 

[vizzla]

I do believe that a play pen or some kinde of fencing is ok! That can even be necessary for safty, but I can not accept keeping a dog in a crate, Thats to small for a dog laying down for hours...

 

[amparra]

LOL! Maybe dachshunds aren't as destructive as other breeds but in addition to our dachshund we have a lab.

Labs can be very destructive when they are bored. The destruction isn't always a behavior problem. It can be, but in our case it wasn't, she just needed a little more exercise and mental stimulation. I left my lab ONE time for less than thirty minutes confined in my bedroom when she was around nine months old, when i returned she had chewed a 6 inch hole in my mattress!

She is 3 now, we don't crate her anymore because she doesn't destroy things anymore. But the dachshund isn't quite ready for free reign while we are away because she still has accidents.

I agree that a crate for many hours is just too much and is cruel. My dachshund is a mini (7lbs) and her crate is designed for a 20-25lb dog so she has plenty of room but if I'm going to be gone for many hours I gate off a safe portion of my house.

 

[vizzla]

Ive heared about a pointer that had in a short time chewed from one room into another and eaten the bed! But that dog was just so understimulated. They thought they could have a pointer as a "companion dog" and they are just so hight energy dogs. I think they soon after sold him.

Crazy labs They can eat anything a hear..

 

[Inkeri]

I've heard about that swedish law about the 6hours. I think it's kinda ok, but if we had the same law in Finland many ppl couldn't own a dog, I'm afraid. I've heard that you guys in Sweden have lots of doggy day-cares also? Those would be cool to have!!

In Finland it's actually illegal to keep your dog in a crate during the day. The crate is only for temporary transporting etc... I just read an article about this few weeks ago.

We have our dogs together in our livingroom/kitchen during the day. And they do sleep all day, I think. Although they have their toys and bones. They're home alone 4-8 hours a day and they're fine with it. We both work irregular hours, so sometimes they get more ppl-time and sometimes less.

 

[vizzla]

Yes doggy day-care is a growing buissness. In Luleå (a city of 75 000 ppl) we have at least 4 if not more.

 

[gpmum2]

I hope you are getting into a routine with your daxi now.

I think I must have been really lucky with Bernie, In the early days I left him in the kitchen with access to the summer room. Every day I would throw a heap of different toys down with him to play with..some with food/treats hidden in them.

After a while I noticed he didn't really play with them when we weren't in. He now has the run of the whole of the down stairs, with a bed in every room. I give him a biscuit which he takes to his bed and I tell him he is in charge! He always get a big playtime when I get back or a walk. I would consider a doggy day care if he really didn't like being left spoilt rotten