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Puppy Home Alone

Posted June 3rd, 2007 by cpatte7372

Hello, I have recently registered with a view to finding out how others
deal with leaving their puppies at home alone while at work. My girlfriend
and I are thinking of getting a Weimaraner. However, for at least two days
in the week we will not be able to be home for at least 8 hours while
we're at work. I understand the Weimaraner (like most puppies) need a lot
of attention and I was wondering if you or someone could advise on how
they dealt with leaving the puppy alone. Training the pup to be alone is
one thing but leaving it with food the last until we got home is another
concern as we believe it would eat the food out of boredom, pass the food
through and then be hungry until we got home.

Your help will be greatly appreciated in this matter.

Carlton

Comments

food dispensing toys

On June 3rd, 2007 pos4015 says:

Hi Carlton, if you have a look at the blogs you will see one of my favourite dog toys - an empty plastic milk bottle with the cap and ring removed. You simply put some dry food in it and your pup will have lots of fun trying to get the food out. It takes longer than you might think, they inevitably squish the bottle and the food gets harder and harder to shake out.

You can buy more sophisticated versions of these in the pet stores. Clicker Training.com have some on-line.

I wouldn't worry too much about leaving pup without food for 8 hours twice a week though. For a start, it will only be something like 6 meals missed, depending on what your breeder or vet has recommended for a feeding schedule and the age of pup when you bring him or her home.

Nevertheless, food dispensing toys are great for exhausting some of that puppy (or adult dog) energy, and even pups enjoy working for food.

Another good toy, particularly if you feed raw, is the Kong. Moist food can be frozen inside a Kong and pup will have hours of fun trying to lick or chew it out. This is great when pup is teething.

If you haven't already, then sign up for the e-course Secrets of Positive Dog Training for Real Results, there are more ideas in there, particularly for training.

It's very important for pups to learn to be left alone. Leaving them with something fun to occupy them is a very smart move.

Regards,
Aidan

Home Alone

On March 31st, 2010 gcpets says:

My question is in relation to leaving the puppy home alone for longer than 5 hours at any stretch:

If the puppies are left home alone and only have a small area (within or outside of the home) to "play" within (as well as poop/pee within)... would it be advisable for their well being to have someone (professional pet sitter or dog walker if no friends are available) to come by some time in that period to "break it up" for the puppy ?

Would one hour be more than enough time for the puppy to have some exercise (mental and physical) as well as to just "stretch its legs" etc ?

I'm also thinking from a safety perspective as many people do not realise they need to "puppy proof" their home (and yard) just they would "baby proof" their home (and yard).

Re: Home Alone

On April 1st, 2010 pos4015 says:

Hi gcpets, if you look at studies of wild, stray or pet dogs you will see that they spend the best part of the middle of the day sleeping. I encourage my own dogs to sleep during this period, and give them things like food-dispensing toys and things to destroy when I'm home but not able to pay them much attention.

Pups, on the other hand WILL find ways to make mischief if you don't give them things to do while you're out so it's best to give them some options, a recreational bone or a safe toy to play with or to chew. All this in a safe, puppy-proof environment as you have mentioned.

A skilled dog walker can be a great investment in the future by providing positive and beneficial socialisation experiences and maybe even a little training. An hour would be far too long and you would get your money's worth in much less time than that even if you have to pay them for the full hour. I would not say it was necessary just because a pup only has a small space to live within, but if you don't have the time (or the skill) to provide enough of these experiences on your own then I would definitely recommend outside help for your sake and the pup's.

The same would be true of "doggy daycare" so long as the operator recognises the sleep demands of a young pup and isn't just aiming to send pup home exhausted to satisfy a well-meaning but ill-informed owner.

Regards,
Aidan

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