Hi - I just wondered where you leave your dogs whilst you're at work.  We have a conservatory/lean it which I am converting into a "doggie sleeping area" cos my wife doesn't really want them to stay in the kitchen.  I've put a dog flap in, so they can go in and out to the fenced off garden.  Just wondered where you all leave yours??  Quite a lot of our friends leave theirs in kennels in the garden. 

I'm lucky in that i work from home so they have the run of the house.  If i do leave them to go to meetings then they have the front room (a cross between their room and the music room), the hall and stairs.

Sounds excatly like our set up

We have kitchen/dining area seperated by double bi-folding doors so we have a lovely big open plan area when the doors are open when we are at home :D

Now OH is home all day, we don't have a problem :) But when we were both at work or if we go out, the dogs are left in our big kitchen. Sometimes they have the run of the house if we aren't going to be out for long - but I prefer to leave them in the kitchen, just in case we are unavoidably delayed and they have an accident :) (I don't know why I worry as it has never happened :D )

Daisy

Our plan was for the dogs to be in the utility room while we are at work with a dog flap to let them out to the garden when they need to pee etc. In reality, they seem to prefer being outdoors (both big, heavy coated breeds) and rarely use the utility room except in really bad weather but it gives them to the choice to be indoors if they want. They have a wooden kennel each in the garden too and our garden is very securely fenced.

If we're only going out for a short while they stay in the house. Thankfully, they are not destructive so can generally be trusted to any room :)

When we go out the dogs have the run of the ground floor. I don't allow them upstairs anyway, and I won't consider a dogflap for several reasons, not least the risk of theft, either of the dogs or other property (if the dogs can get out, a burglar can get in) or the risk of the dogs either escaping or someone allowing them to escape.

Ours are just too noisy to be allowed out in the garden unsupervised :D

We changed house insurance recently and the new insurance company insisted that we had a security survey done :( The lady who came round on Thursday was most impressed by our noisy dogs and said that she didn't think that a burglar alarm was necessary :D :D :D

Daisy

So there is a benefit to having noisy dogs then :D :D

I was concerned about noise too but my retired neighbour very kindly keeps and eye (and ear) on the dogs and she assures us that they rarely make a noise (they aren't particularly barky dogs anyway...too flippin' lazy I reckon :rolleyes: ). She also has all our emergency contact numbers and knows to ring if she thinks anything is amiss (thankfully, hasn't been needed so far). Luckily the OH can work from home more often these days so the dogs aren't usually alone all day any more.

Ours have the run of downstairs,we do have a dog flap,a rather large one that we keep open if we are going to be out longer then 2 hours,however we do have a very secure garden with a tall gate with a padlock,we are lucky as we have a neighbor in the end cottage and he does not miss a thing also he has a key to check on the dogs for us.

Sheila,

mine have the run of the upstairs and the hall downstairs. Judging by the dents in our duvet, they spend the morning snoozing away on our bed!

Mine has the run of the house.  He normally sleeps on the landing.

snap monkeymojo!! mine has the dining room and our room! there is aways a nest in our bed when we get home!! she spends her time either asleep or watching the world go by at the window and waiting for us to get home!!! although when i came home friday night she had taken a dog book off the bookshelf and it was lying on the floor! i think she was choosing a playmate!!!

We worked our jobs round the dogs so the maximum they're ever left for due to work commitments is half an hour.  Hubby works days - I work nights.  They're left in the lounge and kitchen.

Debs

My business is based at home but my work is always on location. When I'm out (for whatever reason) Nips is left in our large kitchen which has the bonus of a cosy Rayburn to sleep in front of! I don't have a dog flap and, to be honest, wouldn't be comfortable knowing he could be roaming around a large garden which is shared by all sorts of interestingly chaseable wildlife!

I work nights, OH work daytime. The dogs sleep in our beds, quite happily sleeping both day and night when I'm working. (long off lead walks every day) If ever left alone, although given the run of the house, they tend to spend that time in bed too :-p .

Ditto RRfriend... are you my OH!! :)

Don't think so ;-) :-p
We seem to be similar examples of a schedule that works very well :-)

mine stays in the house and I shut the door to the cat room just in case, all he seems to do is sleep though as when i get home i can see him stagger up from his bed. Hes only left in the evenings when I work and he would be asleep if i was at home then anyway after a tiring day. I wouldnt leave him in the garden in case he discovered digging.

My pup<8months> ususally has the run of the hall and kitchen, but occasionally gets the lounge too if i know im not going to be longIn the hall she has her 'bedroom' (crate) that she can go for a snooze and relax at her leisure, and in the kitchen she has her water. At the most we have left her is 4hrs, this instance was unforseen curcumstances, but she was fine when we got back, just eager to toilet and get hugs. I certainly wouldn't reccomend any dog left alone for long periods without maybe somebody popping in to feed/toilet your dog. there are many 'dog walkers' out there plenty willing to do this for you. My friend has one, she doesnt have her dogs walked by them because she would rather not but her 'dog walker' pops in every lunch time to let the dogs out have a play and feed in neccecary for half an hour.

Our 2 boys have to be kept separate when we're not around, so one of them and the bitch have the kitchen and access through a dog door to the garden, and the other boy has the utility room. Then I come home at lunchtime and switch them over. Our garden is near-totally inaccessible - 6 foot high walls, and wasteland and a railway track at the bottom. If anyone fought through 20 years worth of brambles to get them they would pretty much deserve them!! One of our boys can be trusted alone in the lounge, but not the other. :-)

Outside in a kennel and fenced run.

Many thanks for all your replies.  However - just wondered - Lara - did you buy the kennel and run or did you make it yourselves??  Also how many dogs do you have in there??

Our's are in a kennel & run aswell which was home built. .2 dogs (Mal's), toys, logs etc..run area is half brick,half wood with mesh & roof, & the sleeping area is all brick & rubber matting  (beds dont get used, they get destroyed), & is lovely & cosy.. :)

flynn comes to work with me, my dads retired now so hes home allday with the girls,but if they are left they have the run of kitchen /dining room/hall/stairs/landing.
we shut them out of the living room & bedrooms as basically they will bark at the windows in these rooms of people passing. they tend to settle down on the stairs landing. nellie sometimes sleeps on the dining room table so she can see out of the window! (as shes quite disabled its amazing she can jump that high really)

Both come to work with me. If I have to leave them alone for any other reason they have the run of the garage, utility & kitchen. The pup is 8 months but very good (apart from his underwear fettish!).

our dog is left to go all downstairs-kitchen and lounge, then she can if she chooses to, to go upstairs to sleep on sheepskin in hall, our bedroom and cats room is shut off. She would be allowed in our bedroom but she cant get on bed so there doesnt seem any point in letting her in there!

she isnt left much at all, only when me and oh are changing over shifts. the cats are also good company, the dog has to behave like a 'lady' when the cats are in charge!

My 6 month old collie is restricted to the kitchen by a pet gate, unfortunately her poor Mum has to keep her company. When I'm sure she's finished chewing they'll have the run of the whole house (minus the gebils bedroom) with the other dogs.

My last GSD used to come everywere with me. I am a gardener , which  is great. My dog plays in other  gardens, not only my own.
Hopfully my new puppy will be able to do the same.
As I tell clients love me & my dog or get someone else in.

Our 8 mnth Dobe is in the kitchen behind a child gate, with the telly on for company. When she's older and wiser, she'll have the the downstairs. She sleeps all morning while I'm at work and good job too, as she doesn't stop for the rest of the day! We used to kennel our Greyhounds though, they loved their cosy deep bedded kennels and always asked to go out to them at bedtime.

I have one who is left in the (empty) utility room (door open) with a safety gate on, I think this stems from when she was a pup I put her in there to keep her out of mischief etc while I was out and now it just seems normal to put her in there if I'm going out, she has her bed in there and water and that's generally where I feed her.  She's not a chewer or anything though- she has the run of the whole downstairs at the minute since she has a litter on and I've had no problems what-so-ever :-)  Another bitch is kennelled outside in a 6ftx6ft kennel with access to a 10ftx6ft covered run. 

Stacey x