How long is too long to leave a dog alone?

DanMach

I adopted a dog a while ago, but I was at work too much.. so I spent a lot of time and found her an amazing home(little kids that are very sweet, and parents who were cool as can be. And they got along great). However, I have always wondered since.. just how long is too long to be away from a dog? I work 12 hour shifts, but am gone about 14 hours a day normally.. 4 days a week or so. This has always kept me from getting another puppy..

How long is too long? If I could drive home at lunch, they'd be home alone about 6 hours maybe.. I was thinking maybe two dogs together could maybe make those 6 hours far more bareable? I do understand, it varies heavily upon breed.. but lets say.. "weiner dogs" ?

So, how long is too long?

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DanMach wrote: »

I do understand, it varies heavily upon breed.. but lets say.. "weiner dogs" ?

So, how long is too long?

Approximately 14 inches. Any more than that and you're asking for lower back/hip problems and vet bills.

I think two dogs is an agreeable compromise. Even a dog and a cat together, when properly socialized, can effectively sustain a united campaign against boredom.

onceling

Depends how old the dog is, under one year its like 1 hour for every month they are old, plus 1. So a 3 month old puppy can probably last 4 hours.

Realistically, 6 hours and more is not reasonable for a young dog.

I personally do not feel that an adult dog should be alone or even alone with another dog more than an 8 hour work day. Dogs are pack animals and definitely need interaction. I would say 8 hours is pushing it. Remember that you sleep for a further 8 hours, making it more than 65% of the time that your dog is alone.

Then you start to include date nights, going out with your friends, shopping late after work, overtime... you start to see that your dog spends like 80%+ of its time completely alone or with another dog and not able to go out and do anything. The yard or house is interesting to a dog for about 2 minutes, then its not new. This is really miserable for the poor guys.

My personal opinion is that unless you have multiple people in the house on different shifts/always home or work part time, unfortunately a dog is just not for you.

Other animals do much better with solitude. Cats, obviously. I know some people have pre-conceived notions of cats but they can be great companion animals.

TexiKen

2 dogs can, from my experience at least, go to 10 hours being alone. Anything more and it's just not fair to them. They have someone to nap with, play with, and not make them become way too attached to you (as in, never leaving your side when you're at home, not being friendly to others who come to your residence, purposely doing things they aren't supposed to to get attention).

It also depends on how much space you have for them to move around in.

PeregrineFalcon

Without getting too far into it, 14 hours is way too long to be leaving a dog by itself. Hell, that's long for a cat.

Personally, I'd recommend you don't get anything other than fish.

Buttcleft

Seconding the fish comment.

All you need to give them is a minute a day to feed them, plus 15 on the weekend to change some of the water.

and they, frankly, don't give a fuck how long your gone. You're just that big annoying thing that taps on the glass in the " outerverse "

RUNN1NGMAN

Even disregarding the 14 hours alone, that still only leaves you 10 hours each day to walk the dog (legit walk, not just a hop outside to do business), take the dog out in the morning to do his business, do whatever it is you do for fun, and sleep. 1-2 hours each day of social interaction is not enough for a dog.

Manda

My two dogs were able to handle ten hours in their crates, but I wouldn't recommend it if you can avoid it (going too long without peeing can cause bladder infections). You could give them free reign of the house but be prepared to pick up after them when you get home. Also, be aware that you'll have to walk them immediately after you get back. They'll be pretty active for the rest of the evening as well, so you won't get a lot of quiet time.

In your shoes, I would wait until I had better hours or could find a dog-friendly roomie.