When you have a dog or you are thinking about having one, you will wonder how your dog will manage when you’re at work. You might even hear people say you shouldn’t have a dog when you work eight hours a day.
Maybe you also worry about the damage your dog might make or having neighbors complain about howling or barking.
These are all normal things to think about and heard from others when being a dog owner.
How your dog acts when left alone depends on your dog’s breed, personality, and training. Other dogs do very well when left alone and they will mostly sleep until their owner comes home. Other dogs need more training, more exercise, and things to keep them busy. To avoid separation anxiety, leaving the house should be a normal thing for a dog.
Because dogs are so dependent on their owner, they might get restless when the pack leader leaves.
Training your dog
Most of us work around eight hours a day so we need to teach our dogs to get familiar with our routines. The sooner the better. Dogs sleep a lot in a 24-hour period so there’s no need to feel bad when you need to go to work.
Dogs will most often be active or semi-active for the first 45-60 minutes when left alone so if your dog is destroying something, it’s done 90% of the time during this time. If this is happening you can use my puppy bucket method below.
My puppy bucket method
Before I had my bucket of special toys my dog would be restless and destructive for the first 30-60 minutes. Then he would settle and sleep until I got home from work. At that time I didn’t fully know why some dogs destroy toys.
I made a bucket of special toys that my dog would get only when I left for work. This was when my dog was under one year old and he still had energy left after his morning runs. My dog knew he would get his bucket when I was putting on my shoes and jacket and fiddling with my keys.
I would put his bucket on the floor, make him sit and wait on command, and then said “Okay, go ahead”. He would lunch to the bucket and I would just calmly and quietly leave the front door. No howling, no crying, no destructive behavior. He would tire himself with the bucket of toys and then fall asleep.
That was fun and heartwarming to watch through the dog camera.
My special bucket worked perfectly. I used it with our other dogs as well and can’t stop talking about it when someone says their dog is being destructive when left alone!
Training your puppy being left alone
If you have a puppy, it’s good to start training being alone as soon as possible: have your puppy in one room and calmly leave and come back just seconds later. Don’t say goodbye to your dog and don’t give affection when you come back to the room.
Just leave and come back. Continue this by staying a little longer each time. If your puppy starts crying, you were gone too long.
It’s easier for your dog when you don’t make a scene when you leave and come back.
If your dog gets anxious easily, ignore your dog when you come home. Let your dog settle down first and then give all the love you want. This part can be tricky though because most of us want to cuddle our dogs when we come back home. Try to control yourself and you are doing a service to your dog in the long run!
You don’t have to say goodbye to your dog when you leave but you can try something small, like saying calmly “Be a good boy, I’ll be back”. Focus on your tone of voice, be extra calm and move slowly. Notice if it calms your dog or makes your dog more anxious when you close the door behind you.
Your dog will sense your feelings of restlessness so don’t leave in a hurry.
Because dogs are different, you might need to figure out through test and error which things will settle your dog more quickly. That’s why I frequently suggest a dog camera to capture what’s really going on when you leave the house.
Things you can try with your dog
Try one of these or a few of them at once to see how your dog reacts:
- Leave the radio on so your dog has some background noise as there would be when you are at home. There’s music for dogs on Spotify too.
- Leave curtains open if your dog likes to look outside. If you notice that your dog barks easily, then leave the curtains closed so there aren’t any extra distractions.
- Make a bucket of special toys like the puppy bucket above.
- Make the space where your dog stays bigger or smaller depending on your dog’s needs.
- Try to say goodbye to your dog when you leave as a cue that you will come back. If your dog acts anxious, try to distract your dog with a toy before you leave.
- Notice what sounds trigger the anxiety and try to change it. If the trigger is your keys, put them in your pocket early on before leaving.
- Contact a dog walker to ease and shorten your dog’s alone time.
A tired dog is also a happy dog. When you tire out your dog before you leave they have less energy to be destructive and will settle down more quickly.
Training yourself when you leave your dog alone
When you are trying to understand what’s going on in your dog’s mind, be aware of how you are feeling and acting around your dog.
Dogs are little experts on reading our body language and our other non-verbal signals.
In severe cases, your dog might develop separation anxiety. This happens when your dog is super-attached to you and your dog’s world seems to collapse when you leave. It’s a serious condition that goes beyond a little whining when you go.
Be ready to train yourself and your dog to do things differently. It’s possible to get over separation anxiety with consistency and have a confident dog!
How long can your dog be alone
If you have a puppy, the puppy’s bladder is still very small, the puppy has a lot of energy and needs a lot more attention than an older dog. Older dogs who are less active may feel comfortable alone for longer periods of time.
How much time alone is too much for a dog is a scientific question, but also an ethical one.
Jessica Pierce Ph.D. in Psychology Today
Pierce also states that despite the lack of focused research into the question, there seems to be a loose consensus among trainers and veterinarians that about four hours is a comfortable range for an adult dog. This is a target range, which then needs to be individualized. One dog trainer also told Pierce that “My unsatisfactory answer is that a dog should be left alone for the least length of time possible.”
Final thoughts
Start to teach your puppy or a rescue dog early on that they will be left alone. Your dog should get used to the fact that when you leave the house, nothing bad isn’t going to happen and you will come back.
Start the training by going to a separate room for just a few seconds and come back. Don’t make it a big deal. Just leave and come back without paying any attention to your dog.
If your dog has already developed separation anxiety, you can help your dog with training to get past it. It takes time and consistency but you can do it!