dog owners...

[rh71]

It wasn't a big deal when my brother and I still lived at home and our dog wasn't alone so often. But now since times have changed, he's there alone (kept in the bathroom) for the entire workday that my parents are gone... I feel even more guilty because I live 15 minutes away (1 way) but don't go pick him up and "dog-sit". I used to do it once a week at least, but the 30 minutes round trip doesn't seem worth it... I bring him here and take him out for a walk for 20 minutes and feed him human food and that'd be it... the rest of the time he usually just sleeps... obviously he can just do it there.

Anyway... is my guilt in not hanging with him at least once a week founded ? Would you do it ? How many of you know dogs who are left alone during work hours the majority of the week ? I guess in a way I'm asking about the psyche of a dog... they need/like sleep too, don't they ?

 

[kaymin]

Well I'd be guilty for locking him in a bathroom provided it's not the size of a standard living room. The poor dog prob can't even get any exercise and just spins around.:|

Maybe you should bar off a room for him or something.

Anyway, we have a dog and we leave him to roam the house all day and the house is empty from 6-6 usually. And everytying is good. Dogs do a lot of things in private so a little private time is probably even beneficial.

 

[Patt]

Fortunately my wife works in town, only a couple minutes from home. I work about half an hour out of town, so she heads home for lunch and takes the pup out for a walk, or a romp in the yard. When she has been away on business we have a friend come in and let him out.

Now that the weather is nice, we leave him in the yard, as he hasn't shown any inclination to bark all day. I hated crating, or restricting him to an area of the house, but we did do so during the winter because we haven't got him to stop chewing everything in sight.

I realize that dogs sleep a lot of the day, but they are also social animals, and I really hate to see them cooped up for long periods.

My pup ... Ace!

 

[StrangeRanger]

I felt so guilty about leaving my dog alone all day that I got another one for him to play with. And then another one. So I have 3 large dogs that get the run of the entire house while the family is gone all day.
I'm not saying you should get more dogs, but dang, at least let it out of the bathroom! Get some of those collapsable baby gates and block off the kitchen or something. Does the dog chew things or is it not able to hold its bladder all day? Why lock it in the bathroom? That aint right.
j

 

[kaymin]

Yeah, puppies typically need more love and attention. If you get a puppy there should be someone to be around him all day and you should have prepared for that.

However, we did leave our puppy alone all day too and he turned out like a champ. Depending on the breed of dog that is...

 

[Hannover]

I've got 3 dogs that are inside all day but they have access to most of the house and plenty of toys to keep them busy.

 

[tfinch2]

My dog is left alone for 7+ hours during the day, and she doesn't even leave the porch even though we have no fences or anything on our land.

 

[flot]

Originally posted by: rh71
It wasn't a big deal when my brother and I still lived at home and our dog wasn't alone so often. But now since times have changed, he's there alone (kept in the bathroom) for the entire workday that my parents are gone...

Dude that is awful. I leave my dog alone in my house all day, but at least she gets to sleep on the couch and bark at people walking by outside. Do you really have to ask if it is wrong to lock your dog in a bathroom all day!?!?

A lot of people say that dogs like being in crates. I personally find this bizarro, but it kind of makes sense if the dog starts to identify it as being "his space." Somehow even that sounds a lot better than locking him in a bathroom.

 

[Mayfriday0529]

My almost never alone, there is always someone around the house and he gets two walks before i get home. He is a lucky dog but of course we can't every really all take a trip somewhere and leave him alone or at a doggy hotel.

 

[meltdown75]

We have a German Shepherd on the farm that spends most of his days inside a 20 x 10 kennel. When he gets out, holy mother of -- he's the most hyper dog you'd ever want to try to control. He's crazy, strong, fast and fun.

 

[eyecandy86]

There's always someone home to watch my two dogs, but they don't really get much attention from us. They play with each other or just sleep. -shrugs-

 

[Brackis]

Two golden retrievers are usually home alone on and off for about 4 hours a day at my family's home. Even when people are home, if it is hot out, they will hide in the shade outside alone.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Pop back at lunch and take him out for 30 mins at least.

Mind you, depends on the size and activity level of the dog. My dog was hyperactive.

God DAMMIT I miss him...

 

[NuclearNed]

I'm all for dogs having plenty of space to roam and play, and I don't like owners who keep their dogs in 6'x6' pens all day.

That said, while I'm at work my dog is tied to a long lead in our yard. She has plenty of room to stretch her legs, and I like to pretend that all the noises and sights of being outside keep her entertained.

Also, I've heard that on average most dogs sleep around 20 hours a day. Your dog is probably zonked out the whole time you are gone to work.

 

[TwoBills]

Dogs are den animals, so he probably considers the bathroom his den. As long as he gets plenty of exersize the rest of the time. A cage would be a better option, tho. I wouldn't want to spend my days in the bathroom.

 

[rh71]

Well it's like this... before our house was burglarized, he was kept in the kitchen because he does have to #1 & #2 during those 7-8 hours. Our kitchen has tile floors, not carpet so it's all good. Then after the burglary, we installed a motion sensor alarm system so the entire downstairs is out... we have to keep him upstairs (alarms on windows only)... and the only area without carpet upstairs is the tile bathroom which is 15' in length but narrow. Can't really keep him anywhere else. We tried to let him roam the upstairs but the carpet smells now for good reason. I guess I'll just make trips over there more often...

 

[GrouchyLadybug]

My pup (8 months old) stays in her wire crate while we are at work (with soft fleece blanket to lay on). She is just fine with it - sleeps all day, as many have mentioned. We also put a fleece blanket over the top of it to make it more den-like for her; she seems to like this better than just having the bare top of the crate. Yes, dogs like to have their own place, preferably small, where they can escape to. She is also still a pup; she is much safer in a crate where she cannot escape and start chewing on electrical cords and the like. Baby gating your dog in the kitchen works for some, but I also know many dogs who can leap right over them. Still others (like my parents' "senior citizen" pekingnese) are just fine with full run of the house all day. Just depends on your dog's personality!

All dog owners should be required to read The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell. We've learned so much from this book about how dogs really think, and how we can understand their mannerisms better.

 

[Anonemous]

My mom's dog, who's 6 years old cries and wails like crazy when my mom is not present. Now that is a very attached dog. He's such a baby even the cat smacks him from time to time when he's wailing.

Even then, we still leave him alone sometimes with the whole house available for him to roam. He'll usually wail and cry the first few minutes but after that he calms down and falls asleep or either that digging up the trash...

 

[GasX]

Unless your dog is in the chew everything phase, he shouldn't need to be locked in a room.

My dog is rarely left alone, but he can handle a 7 hour stretch if need be. He will be pretty needy for a few minutes when we get back to him though...

 

[shimsham]

i wouldnt keep him in the bathroom. thats way too small an area.

is the dog trained to do his business outside? if not, they need to train him. he will hold it and not crap and piss everywhere once he knows only to go outside.

our dog stays alone from 9am until around 3pm while we are at work/school. its not that bad, as all he does is sleep in our bed. we just make sure to get him plenty of exercise and play time when we get home, to balance it out, and hes fine. dogs can handle it. but i would think being stuck in bathroom would make him stir crazy, tho. our dog cant stand to be locked in any room.

 

[radioouman]

Let him roam the house, or put up a fence and install a dog door so he can go in and out.

 

[LeadMagnet]

Our golden retriver is home all day ,and he has full run on the entire house, never had a problem - except when he is sick and cannot hold it. We also send him to doggie-daycare 1 day a week, he playes with 70 other dogs on 3 acres of land for 9 hours. He comes home exhausted he sleeps for 2 days.

 

[Coquito]

My chihuahua was probably beat sensless as a pup(we received her when she was 2), because she will hold it in till someone gets home to let her out. She loves just sitting on top of the couch & barking at the people walking by.

 

[Reel]

I have a crate that I keep mine in but I am rarely gone for a full work day. I am usually gone about 5 hours maximum in a row. Some days I am home all day. She sleeps most of the day whether I am there or not.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: shimsham
is the dog trained to do his business outside? if not, they need to train him. he will hold it and not crap and piss everywhere once he knows only to go outside.

Training-wise - he does his thing in the garage - and knows to. He knows the command and reacts and runs down there if we think it's time for him to go. He does his thing and we reward him for it.

But he's a small dog who simply can't always hold it in. He's had quite a few accidents... he sleeps at night in my parents' room and has accidents from time to time. Can't trust him to keep it clean on his own... there's a gift for us in the bathroom everyday. It's quite a long time to ask any dog to hold it in anyway. So in short, we need to keep him somewhere (indoors) that's easily clean-able.