How long do you leave your bullies alone?

CristianL · Mar 3, 2015

Hello everybody!

We are interested in how long do you leave your frenchies alone at home and how do they cope/how do you make it easier for them?
My girlfriend is about to get back to work and we will be away for about 8-9 hours a day and our 6 1/2 month old Pepper will have to stay home alone. Any advice you can give is greatly appreciated.
She used to stay home alone between the time we got her (2 month old) until she was about 4 month old but only for a maximum of 4 hours or so(my girlfriend was able to swing by our house and feed her, play with her for an hour or so and then she would get back to work for another 3-4 hours until we got home).
This is no longer possible so here we are asking you guys for some advice and insight on the issue. Thank you all in advance

Chan Kai Cheong · Mar 3, 2015

the main problem you will face is that even your frenchie know where is the toilet, they may step on what's on the toilet because for the a 6 months puppy, the maximum toleration would be around 6 hours, and it will cause you a mess
I would suggest before you leave, you can take your frenchie for a walk, consume its energy. After the first meal, make sure he went to poo
prepare some toys, some for chew, some with hidden treats, provide it with a comfortable bed
I dont recommend you to let it to use all your apartment, isolate it at the area with less risk, e.g. away from cables, fragile stuffs

MaplesMommy · Mar 3, 2015

Hm..Is there any way you can hire a dog walker or have a neighbour swing by?
I find 8-9 hours quite a long time. Maple is usually alone for up to 5 hours and then either my boyfriend or I come back home.
The longest I have ever had her alone was 9 hours. I got stuck due to a storm and because of the bad weather nobody could get to our house either. When I finally got home I felt sooo bad but Maple seemed fine. The couch was all warm so I am sure she just slept all day. She didnt use the washroom inside (but she is also 1 1/2 years old).

I also have 2 cats that Maple loves to play and cuddle with. I think you have another dog/animal they keep each other company and being alone doesnt seem as bad anymore.

Like already suggested, I would definitely try to power her out in the morning and provide lots of safe toy and keep her confined to a play pen etc for now until you know she wont chew on furniture or potentially dangerous items.

Tgirl · Mar 3, 2015

That is a pretty long time for a dog that age. Maybe try to find someone that can come and walk her once during the day? Or maybe a doggie day care.

shortstuff · Mar 3, 2015

The longest we've ever left Bisou is a little over 5 hours. Our shepherd mix has amazing bladder control and she's been left for 8-9 hours before, but I definitely wouldn't trust Bisou's little bladder for that long! My fiance works from home and I take Bisou to work on the days he won't be home much, but I know we're incredibly lucky to have that. Like others have mentioned, I would suggest canvassing your neighborhood, looking for a stay-at-home pet owner that wouldn't mind coming over once or twice and letting Pepper out or even taking her back to their house for a couple hours.

Squishy Walnuts · Mar 3, 2015

We leave our dogs for 8-9 hours a day. When Wally was a puppy he was confined to the kitchen so it was safer for him and less destruction on the house for us. He had Uma for company even though she was on the other side of the kitchen barrier. Then when he got older he was crated, and eventually he had the run of the house with Uma. I know if he was an only dog he wouldn't have developed as quickly. Uma is smart and he follows her lead a lot, thankfully!

I never had the money to pay for doggy day care or have someone come to my house every day to take the dogs out so we had to do it this way. It worked great for both dogs. I think she will do better with another animal in the house but if that's not possible definitely run her ragged in the morning and confine her to a safe area.

2bullymama · Mar 3, 2015

Right now, 4 hours at a time... we have a pet sitter come mid-day for lunch and potty break. Prior to getting our new puppy, they were home for about 8-9 hours a day

eeturk · Mar 3, 2015

Until recently, Hudson had never been home alone for more than four hours. Now that I work outside of the home, we leave him between 5-6. Any longer than that and my boyfriend comes home and lets him out and hangs out with him midday. He just sleeps all day and couldn't care less but it puts my mind at ease! But he's an adult and it was a very different story when he was a puppy. I second the dog walker idea. Do you live in a college town? Most colleges have a job posting site, I bet you could advertise there and find someone to do it for very cheap if you paid in cash.

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CristianL · Mar 4, 2015

Thank all of you guys for your input, greatly appreciated

Unfortunately the doggie day care idea isn't viable since we don't have that in our town (there's an idea for a start-up!

). Also a "pay for" doggie walker would be hard to find (small town, not college town) but I think my girlfriend's mother could help us by swinging by midday (she loves Pepper and vice versa) to take her out for a walk.
Thank you all for your time and opinion. Have a nice day!

Cbrugs · Mar 4, 2015

Jax is left alone for about 8 hours during the week while everyone is at school/work and he does fine. He just sleeps all day. He is confined to the kitchen and rarely has any accidents. He was about 6 months old when he started to get left alone. We do send him to daycare a few times a month.

Jakeyjake · Mar 7, 2015

I think if your girlfriend's mom could swing by mid day that would be great. We try not to leave our dogs longer than 4-5 hours and will use a dog walker if that is the case. Good luck and hope it all works out.

davidh · Mar 7, 2015

Our adults can last 8 hours or so, but a pup that age will not. We have a pet sitter come by at lunch to let them out and give them a little attention. That helps some. If you don't have that option, then you might get an X-pin and attach that to her crate, so she can get out to potty and not soil her crate. We do this with very young pups until they get old enough to be in their crates for longer periods of time.