Leaving your furry friend home alone can sometimes leave you feeling guilty. This is completely understandable because you see them as part of your family, and you don’t want them to get upset because you’re not there. So, to help you feel a little less guilty about leaving your pooch home alone, here are some tips.
How Long Can You Leave Your Dog Alone for?
You want to try and limit the amount of time that your pooch is home alone. When it comes to puppies, you shouldn’t leave them alone for more than 2 hours since they’re not used to being alone. Puppies need to go outside more frequently to go potty. Also, leaving them alone for too long can cause them to develop separation anxiety. For adult dogs, you can typically leave them alone for around 4-6 hours since they’ve probably learned how to be alone and will usually use this time to nap. Finally, for senior dogs, it all depends on if they have any health issues. Based on what you know about your senior dog’s needs, they can be alone anywhere from 2-6 hours. When in doubt, you can always ask Fido’s vet.
Wear Your Pup Out
One of the best things you can do before leaving your pup alone is to tire them out. Go on a nice long walk or play a round of fetch. Whatever you can do to get some exercise in and wear them out will help. A tired pup is a happy one that’ll probably nap for most of the time that you’re gone.
Give Fido Designated Areas
It can help to leave your furry friend in an area where they feel comfortable, especially in the beginning. Once Fido becomes more familiar with you being gone more, you can start to leave them alone without any restrictions.
Don’t Make a Big Deal About Leaving or Coming Home
If you make a big deal about leaving and coming home, then your pooch is going to as well. So, try to act normal and calm when you leave and when you come home. You’re more than welcome to cuddle and praise your pooch like you usually do, but it’s best not to make a giant show of it so that your furry friend doesn’t start to see it as something to get worked up over. If you’re trying to show your canine you care after you’ve been gone, take them on a walk or play fetch with them once you’ve come back.
It’s normal to feel guilty about leaving your furry friend alone. But, as long as you’re still getting their exercise in (especially before you leave) and don’t make a big deal about leaving, then your canine companion should do just fine.
