Even for the most homebound individuals, there comes a time when they have to leave or travel away from home, leaving their dog alone. Some pets handle the separation from their owner without any issues regardless of its duration, others entertain themselves with whatever they can find, and some test their neighbors’ stress tolerance even if left alone for just half an hour. Sometimes, our four-legged friends are so attached to their owners that they might refuse to eat or fall seriously ill if their beloved owner is away for an extended period. If your dog struggles with being alone, how do you train them to handle separations better? How dangerous is loneliness for them? Read more about this and much more in the article below.
Why Dogs Don’t Like Being Alone
There are many reasons why dogs might not like solitude. It could be a breed-specific trait, character features, temperament, phobias, negative experiences from their puppyhood that have left a mark on their subconscious, and so on.
Pet Feels Lonely
If a dog feels bored and, by temperament or age, is curious and active, then without its owner, it will start looking for entertainment. Owners, aware of such tendencies, often put away any items that might tempt the dog out of its sight before leaving. If left in a room without toys, the animal might howl in frustration or whimper from boredom.
It should be noted that in most cases, it doesn’t reach the point of howling. There’s always something in the house that can attract the dog’s attention. For instance, some pets are very curious about furniture, a piece of foam sticking out, baseboards, pillows, and other items. It’s nearly impossible to anticipate and protect everything from a curious dog.
The Dog Feels Desolate
In their puppyhood, pets might yearn for their mother, especially if they were taken away from their family too early or lost her for some reason. In such cases, the role of the mother is usually taken over by the owner. Thus, when the owner leaves the house, the puppy might whimper, howl, or sit near the window or door waiting for the owner’s return.
Similarly, adult animals with “childhood” trauma, dogs “from the streets” strongly attached to their owners and grateful for the kindness shown, can behave this way. Dogs adopted from shelters and representatives of some particularly sentimental breeds often experience such feelings.
Sense of Fear and Phobias
Dogs don’t understand how long a person has gone for or whether they will return. The uncertainty can trigger panic and a fear that they’ve been left alone forever. Some pets are afraid of the dark, while others get scared of unfamiliar sounds. Without the owner nearby, who serves as a symbol of security, the animal ceases to feel safe.
Natural Needs
No matter how well-behaved a dog is, if they haven’t been taken out to relieve themselves on time, they can’t hold it in indefinitely. After a long absence, one shouldn’t be surprised by “surprises” on the floor or in other spots. Moreover, some pets might deliberately choose the owner’s bed or shoes to make a mess “in revenge” for being left alone.
The same goes for food or water: when leaving home for an extended period, one must consider the possibility that the dog might go hungry. It’s important not just to feed the pet beforehand but also to ensure they have access to food and water in case of a delay in returning. Otherwise, the likelihood of finding scattered garbage from a bin, as the dog searches for food, significantly increases.
Breed Affiliation
Canine experts have noticed that representatives of some breeds cope well with solitude, while other dogs, on the contrary, struggle with the separation from their owner even for a short duration. Among the first group, one can note breeds such as the Shar Pei, Basset Hound, Pekingese, Newfoundland, and Chow Chow. The second group includes the Labrador, Chihuahua, Pug, Border Collie, German Shepherd, and French Bulldog.
Consequences of Frequent Loneliness for the Pet
If a dog is often and for extended periods left alone, it negatively impacts both its physical and mental state:
- activity levels decrease
- appetite diminishes
- there’s a sense of apathy and listlessness
- digestive issues and irregular stool arise
- increased drowsiness is observed
- breathing becomes rapid
For especially sensitive dogs, there might even be a rise in body temperature.
How Many Hours Can a Dog Be Left Alone?
There’s no specific duration for which you can leave a pet alone. One should take into account the specifics of the particular dog: its temperament, age, health status, breed, and other nuances.
Dogs are highly social animals, and interaction is as essential to them as air. However, this doesn’t mean that a pet should never be left alone in an apartment. Generally, a calm adult dog can comfortably stay alone without negative consequences for its health or surroundings for an average of 6 hours. If the dog is well-trained and disciplined, the duration of separation from its owner can extend to 8-9 hours or more.
Experts recommend not leaving puppies younger than six months alone for more than a couple of hours. Moreover, it’s advisable to be around them constantly during this time, taking time off work or coordinating the puppy’s move to your home with school holidays or vacation. Longer trips may have to be postponed.
The maximum allowable time of solitude for an adult dog is 10-12 hours. Of course, some pets may withstand even more extended periods, but it’s not advisable to test their patience excessively. If you need to be away for more than a day, ensure you arrange human company for your four-legged friend in advance. This could be neighbors, friends, or relatives.
In their old age, dogs find it challenging to hold in their urges to urinate or defecate. With such pets, it’s essential to walk them more frequently. It’s best to enlist the help of close ones or arrange for acquaintances to walk your dog for a specified fee.
The Right Way to Train
For a dog to comfortably cope with being left alone at home, it’s preferable to start training from an early age. Several points need consideration. Firstly, you shouldn’t leave a puppy alone in the first two weeks after bringing it home. The little one needs some time to explore, get used to the surroundings, and bond with its owners.
Secondly, the acclimation process should be gradual. Start by leaving your pet alone for fifteen minutes or half an hour. Dog trainers recommend doing this after a good walk, playtime, and meal, when the puppy is tired, and the desire to rest outweighs its vigilance.
Thirdly, do not rush back home if you hear barking, howling, whimpering, or other distress signals. Returning at that moment will signal to the dog that its calls were understood, meaning it’s okay to behave that way.
Do check out the 3 Tips to Choose the Best Dog Training
An Active Walk Before Leaving
A long and active walk before parting significantly reduces your pet’s energy reserves. To regain strength, the dog will need to sleep for a while, so it won’t be preoccupied with anxiety and searching for its owner. Moreover, the fresh experiences from the walk will divert the dog from thoughts like “what can I do for fun?”.
The Proper Way to Say Goodbye and Greet
Your departure shouldn’t be dramatic or emotional. Avoid making your exit from the home an event. Emotions, hugs, and other expressive gestures will only make the dog anxious. Act calmly. It’s acceptable to wave, pat your pet on the neck, stroke it, but then turn around and leave.
The same goes for when you come back home. Over-the-top emotions upon your return might cause the dog to eagerly anticipate your arrival even more in the future. If you hear long, whining noises from behind the door when you return, don’t scold your pet. It’s better to ignore the bad behavior and act as usual. On the contrary, if it’s quiet behind the door, that’s a reason to reward, especially during the training period.
Don’t Forget About Toys
Dogs love to play at any age. Your pet should have plenty of toys, not just rubber balls, but also soft ones, and special toys that the animal can play with without human interaction. When purchasing, ensure the safety of the materials – certain types of plastic or fillings might be allergenic or injure the mouth.
For many dogs, watching television has become a good pastime recently. Turned on at a low volume, the device creates a sense of human presence in the home and reduces the anxiety that often strikes pets in complete silence.
Food Provision
Before leaving the house, you should feed your pet. If the dog eats on a schedule, consider getting an automatic feeder that dispenses food at specific intervals. If you don’t have one, make sure to leave a bit of food in the bowl in case of unforeseen delays.
Indoor “Restroom”
When leaving home for an extended period, care for your pet’s physiological needs, especially if it’s a puppy, an elderly, or a sick dog. You can lay an absorbent pee pad on the floor, provide a tray for a small dog, or place a cloth. Of course, you should also train your pet for such “walks”, otherwise, they won’t understand what to do with it.
What Not to Do When Training
In their eagerness to train a dog to stay alone, some owners make mistakes. Let’s look at the most common ones:
- Too much emotion — leaving after a long sentimental farewell causes anxiety in the pet.
- Rushing the training process — it’s essential to consider the dog’s individual characteristics, age, the time since it arrived at home, health condition, and other factors; habits form gradually, so haste can only be harmful.
- Punishing for barking, howling, or damaged items— if none of the mentioned events were witnessed, there’s no reason to punish the pet. The next time you leave, simply secure items, and approach the howling with patience.
- Following a ritual — dogs quickly pick up on a specific sequence of actions. For example, if you usually perform certain tasks before taking your pet for a walk, repeating them before leaving the house for other reasons can confuse the animal. The pet is left bewildered (thinking it was time for a walk, yet left alone), leading it to protest.
- Feeling guilty towards your four-legged friend — don’t assume that by leaving your dog alone for a while, you’re automatically a “bad” owner. Love your pet during your free time and push away feelings of guilt when you’re away for other reasons. Animals are sensitive to their owners’ moods, leading to their own feelings of anxiety and unease.
- Scattering all toys around the apartment — if all dog toys are continuously spread out on the floor, the interest in them quickly fades. Distribute the toys one at a time, hiding the majority. This maintains a sense of novelty and interest. When leaving, you can simulate a “protruding” rope or soft toy from a closet so that extracting it consumes a considerable amount of the pet’s time and effort.
How Long It Takes to Train a Dog to Stay Alone at Home
The period required to train a dog to stay alone depends on many conditions:
- age
- temperament
- how long the pet has been with you
- health condition
- breed
- genetics
- the nature of the relationship between the pet and the owner
The average training duration is about a month. It’s crucial for the sessions to be regular, at least 3-4 times a week, and ideally daily. Sporadic attempts won’t yield any results.
Will a Second Pet Help?
On the one hand, if there are other animals in the apartment, loneliness isn’t an issue. Together, they find joy not just in playing, but also in simply being in each other’s company. On the other hand, pets need to relate appropriately to each other, both in the owner’s presence and in their absence. If they aren’t yet accustomed to living together, compete for food and attention, or if one has an aggressive temperament, situations could escalate into conflicts or even severe fights. Moreover, often dogs that are friendly and cheerful by nature can together swiftly turn an apartment into an uninhabitable mess. Therefore, the question of whether to get a second pet as a companion for the first remains open.
