We are preparing to add a Golden puppy to our family around Easter time. Having owned one before, I am really looking forward to having a new best friend but I am anxious about leaving the dog at home alone.

I work shifts so most weeks, the longest he will have to be left is about two hours but there are odd days when no one will be home for about 6 hours and this seems like a long time for a dog to be left especially as a pup. We have a friend who is a dog walker and I my mum has said she will baby sit but I am worried about occasions when there is no alternative.

Can a pup / dog safely be left for this long? Would it be better to leave him in a kennel outside (with the run of the garden) or confined to a couple of rooms in the house where he will normally reside?

Some experienced advice would be appreciated.

I would personally say that 6 hours is too long to leave a puppy if no-one will be letting him out etc.

I would definitely opt for the baby sitter if your Mum is happy to do it, at least while he is a puppy. There will be people who say that you should never leave any dog alone, but we live in the real world and people have to work :) I leave mine for 8 hours a night and they're absolutely fine, but they do have each other for company (4 dogs). When I get a new pup I leave it confined to the kitchen, with a pet gate in the doorway simply for practical purposes - it's easier to clean up mess on the lino. My current youngster is now 2 1/2 and was let out the kitchen to have the run of the house with the adults at about 4 1/2 months. By this time she was clean through the night and not so much of a pest to the others :)

As yours will be an only dog they can get lonely very quickly, so having someone to pop in for an hour say to let him out/play/cuddle him in the middle of a 6 hour stretch would be great. I would restrict the pup to one room, usually the kitchen where there are no wires to chew and the floor is easy to clean in case of accidents. Leave plenty toys and chews down too :)

Thanks,

I must admit that the plan is for the pup to have access to the rest of the house (downstairs!) when we are at home but the kitchen will be his space when we are out for the reasons you stated. We are using child gates to block off the door - I assume they are exactly the same as a pet gate???

Great plan Pet gates are just the same as child gates but higher, you can get them at argos for around £20 I think :)

There have been incidents in dogs trying to jump the gates, getting the leg trapped in between the bars and suffering serious injuries. I think for a pup a crate fir a short time ( with no collar on the dog ) or a safe room with closed door is safer imo.

I agree with what's been said we do have lives to live and this can sometimes we have times away at work or other functions where we can't take the dog/s with us. Providing they are adequately exercises physically and mentally and trained to be left without anxiety then there really sometimes is no other option. 

I would rather leave mine home alone for the odd time rather than trust someone else with their care because I think it is safer and they are fine. When I had one dog he had no problems either with being let alone from time to time.   And even if you are home all the time or have more than one dog  it is sensible to leave the dog alone at times so they don't freak out when a time arises where they need to be left so it is good for them really to be used to their own time alone.

But as a pup I think 6 hours is too long so it is good your mum and dog sitter will help out and this way the pup will not get stressed so is more likely to be settled when left for longer when it matures.

There have been incidents in dogs trying to jump the gates

Yep, my male GSP can very neatly jump over a liindam pet gate, so what I did was to get a Lindam baby gate and position it upside down above the dog gate. Works a treat - no houdini escape artists any more!  :-)

I was in a similar position to yourself when i got my puppy about a year ago. My OH was expected to change jobs so she would be rarely left but due to unforseen circumstances this didnt happen and hes still working shifts. However, this ties in nicely with my job as a teacher because she is never left more than a few hours due to my OH's shift pattern plus she gets undivided attention during school holidays! If she did needed to be left all day I would either take her to my parents or get somebody to call in during the day to walk/play with her. We gradually increased the time she was left and restricted her to a couple of rooms in the house (which we still do now). I have never left her in the garden as her breed in renowed for escaping even though the garden has been 'dog proofed'. We always walk and play with her before she is left so shes tired and spends most of the time sleeping. We also leave her with a chew and some toys and apart from a small accident when she was teething shes never chewed any of the furniture because shes had her toys to occupy her. She did have a crate but we left the door open and she used it more as a bed. This has worked for us and she has been great, she shows no sign of separation anxiety and we've had no complaints from the neighbours about her whining/barking/howling (by the time we are ready to leave her shes prob too tired to make any noise!) I'm glad we did it this way because although she loves company and we spend as much time with her as possible I do not have to worry if we need to leave her for an hour or two - I know she'll be fine.

Can I ask if you have any other dogs? We didn't but company for the puppy would definately keep them occupied while you are at work. Hope this helps, it may not work for all dogs but it did for ours and your circumnstances sound similar to my own.

I'm glad I'm not the only one! We haven't got any other dogs as until recently, both me and my wife worked normal office hours. I had a Golden several years ago in a previous life but that was much easier as there was always someone at home. Unfortunately I lost Harry as part of the divorce settlement but always longed for another and having recently changed to a shift working arrangement I thought it would be straightforward.

I think the replies have confirmed what I knew anyway but it's good to hear from others how they manage. I think with a bit of careful planning we should be OK.

I wasn't keen on the garden idea really as I do have a "free range" rabbit who takes an unhealthy interest in all things green and beautiful and although it would provide company of sorts, I'm not sure he would be ready to share his space with a four legged friend!!!:rolleyes:

Hi,
Im mom to 5 goldens and they do stay quite happily by themselves for periods of time. Have you looked at getting a Crufts puppy pen?? Its similar to a cage but with no roof really and you can add panels to make it as large as you like. i used one for a litter brother and sister i kept from my last litter. They spent a fair bit of time in there while i worked...........(i work from home though so i was always in and out to see them). It was a great investment for me and probably the best thing ive bought for puppies for a while!

Just noticed that you'd asked about crates before. I'm not a fan of cages at all and really don't think you should use one when leaving your pup for so long. I hope you've discounted the idea now as you asked about restricting it to certain rooms?

It's quite confusing really as for every ten people who think crates are a great idea, there are another ten who disagree. I've never thought it fair to keep any pet in a cage but I do see the benefit in providing a pup with a secure space of it's own. If we do decide on a crate, I would probably use it more as a bed and certainly won't be locking it up when we're out.

I don't really agree with crates. I can see they have their uses but I would'nt want to shut a puppy in one all day. I hope everything goes well with the new family member :) Good luck

I don't think there's that many people who are against using a crate correctly.  Opinions change dramatically when it's abused though - and quite rightly so.  I'm glad you won't be locking when you go out all day.  6 hours is, IMO way too long for ANY dog to be left let alone a puppy - and in a crate it would be so much worse.

Debs

:) I am convinced about the 6 hours and we will definitely NOT be leaving our pup for this long. We are looking at soft crates but won't make a final decision until we have discussed with the breeder. Ultimately what we want is a happy pet!

I wouldn't use a soft crate with a puppy as they can be chewed &/or escaped from, get stuck etc. My puppy has a crate that he is fed in & sleeps in during the night. The rest of the time he is out with my other dogs. I also pop him in there if I have to go out & can't take the dogs with me, which doesn't happen very often

Ooh you brought up a topic I was thinking about! I don't currently work full time but I will shortly. The intention is to get a walker in if I cannot get home for lunch (I have a dog currently) but are reputable breeders so ready to part with puppies to full time workers even when arrangements are made?

GOldens IMO, aren't a breed that do well on their own for long periods of time, even in adulthood. I never leave my Golden for longer than 4 hours, and even then I prefer not to leave her unless I have to.

I have recently bred a litter, and would absolutely not have sold a puppy to anyone who worked full time. In fact, I turned one family down after they had travelled for 4 hours to visit me, as it turned out the woman worked two days a week, and expected to be able to leave the pup all day with just someone to let it out at lunchtime. I also turned someone down because there was somene out of the house for 4 hours every weekday morning. Maybe that is a bit excessive, but I had my pick of homes, invested a lot of time an deffort into my pups, so why shouldn't I be fussy? I don't disagree with people who work full time having dogs, but not puppies, and I think other breeds may suit it better than Goldens.

Could those that were at home all the time afford to care for dogs?

It looks, to me, like a Catch 22! How many people at home not working can afford to care for a puppy properly? Would you not consider those that had arrangements to put the pups in a creche?

Could those that were at home all the time afford to care for dogs?

I am at home full time and we are more than able to provide for our dogs :)

Excuse me Messyhearts, think before you speak !!!!!!

I have 3 dogs, do not work, and had a litter of pups, if I could not afford my dogs I would not have any, and I am a pensioner now. !!!!! So I am on a limited income but still manage.

It was a question, not a statement. I do not know how that would offend.

marguerite i am totally confused by your post???

Messyhearts is not implying you are not looking after your dogs! I work, and find dogs expensive enough. Were I to lose my job and go on benefits I know I would not be able to afford to keep them. I agree with messy hearts....I don't know how someone with no income other than benefits would be able to afford food  and vet bills. (other than if you had a partner who works)

I work full time, as does my husband.  I have five dogs :)  BUT - I work nights and he works days so the dogs are never left.  I don't go to sleep when I come home from work (unless I'm working the next night and then I'm only upstairs for 3 hours max just to get a power nap in :d ).  It's not a job I particularly like doing but, IMO, when you have animals you have to put their happiness and welfare (physical and mental) pretty high up on your list of priorities.  So working full time can be done!  No-one is forced to have a dog and I look on it as a privilage to share my life with them rather than a right ;)

Debs

There is no doubt that this is a common problem. The reason I have waited so long to get another dog is because up until recently I had been working similar hours to my wife and it just wasn't possible (or fair) to consider owning a dog in those circumstances.

My new shift pattern will mean that other than a couple of days a month our new pet will never be alone for more than a couple of hours and the reason for my original post was to gain a better understanding of the provision we will have to make before taking on the additional responsibility.

Having spent a long time researching reputable breeders in the area I hope we will be able to demonstrate our commitment and they will be happy to let us have one of their pups.

I would probably not want a puppy from a breeder who didn't at least ask some relevant questions about the future welfare of their offspring!

In an ideal world one of us would be around for the majority of the time but I imagine there are many owners in the same position. The debate has certainly raised some interesting food for thought. :)

What about getting a puppy walker, or someone to come in and play with your pup for an hour or half an hour whenever he is left longer than 4 hours?

Don't leave him outside in a kennel, there are lots of ways dogs/puppies can escape or even be stolen.

I'm not really in favour of crates but I think a crate inside would be a safer option and keep him safe when you are not around.

Just to add that pet gates are higher than child gates and are much better for dogs.

Have already discounted the Kennel outside idea. Thanks

There have been incidents in dogs trying to jump the gates, getting the leg trapped in between the bars

just to say my dog when a pup got her mouth suck on the bars of the crate twice and had to be pulled off yelping. i dont know what would have happened if we hadnt been there

I have refused someone a puppy - they were ONLY going to leave it 10 hours!!!  Why have one?  Think we've all had this discussion before.  I wish I could stay home with my dogs, I really do, but, as the magic fairy doesn't pay the mortgage, I have no choice about working full time.  I live alone, and have an arrangement with someone who works shifts, and doesn't start work until 4pm, and it's very close to where I live, so suits just fine.  He probably watches TV a lot, and kips on the sofa, but the dogs have human company, get let out to play in a huge garden, and the large breed dogs get taken for a walk. The dogs hardly know they've been alone by the time I get home.  I agree with one of the previous posters.  I choose to have these dogs, and I am totally responsible for their welfare.  If I'm not going to make the right provision for their needs, then I shouldn't have them.  I think the OP is very responsible, thinking all the options through.