Jump to content
BC Boards

How long can I leave a 13 week old BC Alone for?


Recommended Posts

We had an appointment on Friday and had to cancel because we didn't know how long we could leave our pup in a crate at home for. It would have been for over 7 hours and she has gotten car sick a few times, so a two hour drive one way wasn't happening. The longest she has been alone for is 2 1/2 hours. We re-scheduled for this Tuesday, but I'm just not sure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know this isn't exactly what you're asking about, but I was rather surprised to read these articles (below) recently. I know lots of people who leave their dogs 9-10 hours a day while they work. I used to too, though for the most part there were multiple dogs in my home. One with pretty severe separation anxiety was fine as long as he was with another dog. Separated by even a baby gate he'd destroy things.

What really caught my attention was that adult dogs shouldn't have to go without relieving themselves for more than 6 hours. I know that most dogs with working owners routinely spend those 9-10 hours without getting a potty break.

https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/21_5/features/Leaving-the-Dog-Home-Alone_21832-1.html

Based on previous article: https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2018/06/27/how-long-can-you-leave-a-dog-alone.aspx

Puppies will obviously require both more attention/interaction and more frequent potty breaks. How long will be dependent on the puppy's age and how long the puppy can reasonable and comfortably go between breaks, and that wo't be the same for all puppies of the same age. Some take much longer than others to be able to reduce the frequency of potty breaks.

I'm not sure there's really on easy answer to your question, but I think you made the right decision to reschedule your app't. Hopefully you can arrange for a friend or pet sitter to come in and give your puppy a break and some attention once or twice while you're gone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

this is not a one-answer-fits-all question, as every pup is different. Just experiment, slowly, and see how it goes with your puppy. It is good that you don't want to leave her alone for too long, but you can gradually increase the time and simply observe how she does with it and base your decisions on that. Over 7 hours would in my opinion be too long unless there were no option. 

Thanks for the articles, GL. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

43 minutes ago, D'Elle said:

this is not a one-answer-fits-all question, as every pup is different. Just experiment, slowly, and see how it goes with your puppy. It is good that you don't want to leave her alone for too long, but you can gradually increase the time and simply observe how she does with it and base your decisions on that. Over 7 hours would in my opinion be too long unless there were no option. 

Thanks for the articles, GL. 

 

45 minutes ago, GentleLake said:

I know this isn't exactly what you're asking about, but I was rather surprised to read these articles (below) recently. I know lots of people who leave their dogs 9-10 hours a day while they work. I used to too, though for the most part there were multiple dogs in my home. One with pretty severe separation anxiety was fine as long as he was with another dog. Separated by even a baby gate he'd destroy things.

What really caught my attention was that adult dogs shouldn't have to go without relieving themselves for more than 6 hours. I know that most dogs with working owners routinely spend those 9-10 hours without getting a potty break.

https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/21_5/features/Leaving-the-Dog-Home-Alone_21832-1.html

Based on previous article: https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2018/06/27/how-long-can-you-leave-a-dog-alone.aspx

Puppies will obviously require both more attention/interaction and more frequent potty breaks. How long will be dependent on the puppy's age and how long the puppy can reasonable and comfortably go between breaks, and that wo't be the same for all puppies of the same age. Some take much longer than others to be able to reduce the frequency of potty breaks.

I'm not sure there's really on easy answer to your question, but I think you made the right decision to reschedule your app't. Hopefully you can arrange for a friend or pet sitter to come in and give your puppy a break and some attention once or twice while you're gone.

Great info. I was finding a lot of conflicting articles before. TY :) It's a bit tricky. On one hand I don't want her to develop  anxiety, but on another we can't keep pushing it out. She has a 1 Y/O companion that roams the house and keeps a good eye on her, but I think we will bring her will and just stop 1/2 way for 20 min. and leave her in the car checking on her ever 30 min. or so. She has been getting car sick, but we have 4 miles of bumpy road before we get to paves, so I'm wondering if that's part of the problem. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, BarkyBarkandtheFunkyBunch said:

...She has been getting car sick...

That usually requires very slow introductions (or re-introductions) beginning with just approaching the car with lots of treats to create positive associations, then getting into the car with out turning the engine, then just sitting in the car idling and gradually working up to 1 minute, 2 minutes in a moving car, etc. all the time will lots of treats and play and not moving on to the next step until she's showing no anxiety with the stage you're at. Sadly, it's highly unlikely you'll be able to achieve that in just 2 or 3 days.

You might want to ask your vet for something to settle her stomach for this upcoming trip. Not only will it make this trip less unpleasant for her (and you) but the more negative associations she has with the car, the harder it will be to undo them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well my husband and I work full time, and brought our little guy home at 7 weeks old. He has been alone during the week days for 8-9 hours, with just a midday play/walk with the dog walker. He’s done fine. I mean I definitely think it’ll take us longer to potty train, since he gets to roam the kitchen while we are gone and so he just pees whenever he needs to <_< but oh well. I would say that for one day, a 13 week old would be fine for the day. It’s not ideal but it’s life, and it is what it is. She might pee in the kennel or room that she’s in but to me that’s not a huge deal.  If you have a friend that can drop in midday that would be great too. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  This is from the whole dog journal article:

Let’s consider the dog’s basic needs. While not all dogs are alike, most adult dogs should be able to go outside to relieve themselves about three to five times a day (more often if they are sick or elderly) and shouldn’t be forced to “hold it” for more than four to six hours at a time, on average. We know most adult dogs can hold their bladders for more than six hours, but they really shouldn’t have to.”

 

How many of you get up in the middle of the night so their adult dog does not have to hold their bladder more than 6hrs since their last turnout?  How many have healthy adult dogs that ask to go out in the middle of the night after 6hrs?

Do healthy adult dogs that are being inactive (sleeping/napping) really need (or ask) to relieve their bladder every 4-6hrs?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mark, I don't and I know that most of us don't.

But I also think there must be some sort of biological mechanism that slows down the production of urine while we're sleeping. I go to the bathroom to pass water easily 4 or 5 times a day, yet I rarely wake up during the night to go.

Perhaps they could -- and should -- have been more specific, but I suspect they were talking about needs during waking hours.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, Mark Billadeau said:

Our dogs sleep much more than us during the day and are not taking in fluids while sleeping which would need to be excreted.

I would say this as well. My dogs are not active while I am away from home and while they may occasionally be drinking water, they probably don't need to go out as often as that article says. At the same time, I am taking the article to heart in one way, realizing that unless I need to I shouldn't leave them as long as I sometimes do. I have had the attitude that since they do hold it they are fine holding it, but that is probably not really true and I am going to make more effort not to leave them for more than 8 hours.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Hooper2 said:

I was struck by the total lack of any evidence to support the author's very confident assertion. 

There are a number of assertions being made, but I assume you're referring to the one about how long dogs should be required to hold their elimination?

I suppose as The Whole Dog Journal's author is a mere trainer and behavior consultant whose two cents' worth could be questioned on medical grounds, but the second one in support of it is written by a veterinarian who should have some cred on those grounds.

Coincidentally an old friend who's been a practicing veterinarian for over 40 years mentioned her concerns about holding urine for extended periods of time in a conversation about a year ago. She was initially referring to herself and other humans who find their jobs require them to go for long stretches and then brought up dog who also have to do the same when they're left alone all day.

As for evidence, neither of these sources were medical journals. We rarely expect to find newspaper or magazine articles citing studies for ever assertion they make. It's important to consider the type of publication it is.

IIRC one or both of them mentioned that this would be controversial. I think this discussion validates that.

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This equally unsupported opinion website lists:

Normal Urination

In normal circumstances, dogs can go for 8 to 10 hours without urinating. However, all dogs need to be taken out after a meal or a drink, upon waking up and after a period of play. Generally, a dog passes 20 ml of urine for every pound of its weight.

https://www.vetinfo.com/normal-urinary-frequency-in-dogs.html

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎3‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 9:53 AM, GentleLake said:

That usually requires very slow introductions (or re-introductions) beginning with just approaching the car with lots of treats to create positive associations, then getting into the car with out turning the engine, then just sitting in the car idling and gradually working up to 1 minute, 2 minutes in a moving car, etc. all the time will lots of treats and play and not moving on to the next step until she's showing no anxiety with the stage you're at. Sadly, it's highly unlikely you'll be able to achieve that in just 2 or 3 days.

You might want to ask your vet for something to settle her stomach for this upcoming trip. Not only will it make this trip less unpleasant for her (and you) but the more negative associations she has with the car, the harder it will be to undo them.

We ended up bringing her yesterday and she did FANTASTIC! It was a great confidence builder and she received tons of positive attention from people + was able to see and try new things.  I thought she would go right into her kennel and sleep when we got back, but boy was I wrong as she was excited late into the night! lol. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Neither our Bruce, who we lost at christmas , or Bruin our new 3yo buddy are hearing any of this. Through winter neither would bother going out in the evening except right after their supper, 6,30 pm ish. Not scared of the dark, just prefer the sofa. If the weather was less than nice our Bruce would often not go out even after breakfast. He would drink noticably less to avoid having to go outside if weather particularly mucky. More than happy to go to the woods etc.

Turns out our chaps easily have 14hour bladders tho we obviously don't rely on this and encourage them to go more often. Bless them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...