Dog Alone too long- any tips?


  #1  
Old 05-04-03, 06:26 AM
chancetla
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Question Dog Alone too long- any tips?

Okay pet owners- before you yell at the alone time- this only happens when my fiance travels- normally Chance, my Staffordshire Terrier is alone 8 hrs during the week M-F (7:30am-4pm). I always walk him right before I leave and he normally never has an accident. Now that Tom is away- I am leaving him 12 hrs (I work in the city- 1 1/2 hr commute). He is soiling a little- I can not be mad at that- but he also is NOT eating- since Tom left (W)- no food- he is drinking water and will eat treats but no dog food.

My question is can he get malnourished or sick from not eating his dog food- and what are some options on his alone time during my work day? No friends, family or neighbors to help out.
Live very far away from inner circle of support.
 
  #2  
Old 05-04-03, 07:55 AM
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Try looking in the paper for a sitter?
 
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Old 05-04-03, 01:56 PM
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Poor little guy, he misses his daddy.

How long is he going to be out of town? Since Chance's schedule has changed, it might be a good idea to leave paper down in an appropriate spot, only while you're gone. I'm not sure why he's not eating, though. It might be missing you guys, or just the schedule change for him.

Maybe, while you're at work, leave the tv on with the volume low so there is some human sounds in the house. A poor substitute I'll admit (just make sure Springer doesn't come on LOL, wouldn't want to traumatize the little guy) but comfort comes in small ways. I do that with my husband's cat when he's out of town, and I have to be gone during the day. She will sit and watch tv. Keeps her out of mischief, and also she is less moody when I return. The other cats, personally, they don't care whether we're around or not until it comes feeding time .

Watch for posts, there may be some more ideas. A pet sitter is a wonderful idea, just check references first.

Kay
 
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Old 05-04-03, 03:20 PM
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how old is the dog? Is he crate trained? Does 'daddy' call home and talk to him?

As a general rule a dog can withhold urine and feces for one hour for every month of age. So your dog may be able to do this for 12 hours if he is 12 months old.

Leaving a dog alone for a long time is not necessarily a bad thing. My Aussie stayed 13 hours regularly when I was living in an apartment. She was in a crate.

It is helpful to take him out to go potty as close to the time that you leave as possible. Don't leave water for him during this time. Crating the dog would be a solution.

If he will eat, try to give him something different. Say mix some of his food with the treats and feed it to him a little bit at a time the same as you would a treat.

Do you play with him the same as 'daddy'?

Hope this helps.
 
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Old 05-05-03, 12:48 PM
MsChip
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This may sound rather silly but maybe your dog is sad or depressed from being left alone for extended periods, or when your fiance is out of town. Our dog gets really bummed out and refused to eat when either of us go out of town. So what we ended up doing is made arrangements with one of our neighbors (who's retired and home all day) to let our dog out around noon time. As a bonus, our neighbors also have a dog so they let the two dogs play together in the yard for awhile before locking our dog back in the house until either of us gets home.

And as chfite commented, jump start eating with treats most times works. When our dog has her "moments" of not eating I'll mix in a small amount of grated mild cheddar cheese or pieces of American cheese in with her food because I know she loves the stuff, therefore she eats her entire bowl and then usually go back a few minutes later to lick the bowl afterwards. *LOL*

As far as soiling in the house, the crate idea, or limiting the dog to only one room, may be your own recourse if you can't find someone to tend to the dog while you're away.
 
  #6  
Old 05-05-03, 02:49 PM
hking44
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Doggie Daycare

It sounds crazy but Doggie Daycare is great. My year and 1/2 yellow lab has been going since he was about 6 months old 2-3 days a week and it's great for him and us (he comes home exausted). I drop him off in the morning and hubby picks him up. When he is home and alone he's crated. If that's not a possiblity I would look into hiring a dog walker during the day. They usually charge about $10-15 per 1/2 hour but my Doggie Daycare charges $15 for the whole day!
 
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Old 05-05-03, 03:35 PM
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Doggie Daycare! That does sound like fun for the little guy! If you can't do it every day, then maybe once or twice a week until things get back on schedule?

Kay
 
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Old 05-08-03, 06:43 PM
chancetla
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Smile Daddy's Home

Thanks for all your great suggestions and ideas- just hearing that it has happened to others made me feel more comfortable- Tom came back from California last night- 8 nights, 9 days and Chance is like a new puppy again. He ate for the 2nd time last night and all the toys I had bought that he did not play with- are being ripped and tugged tonight! Chance loves to play with Daddy- a litlle on the physical side for me- I am his snuggle buddy.

I would love to look into doggie day care- I do not know my neighbors and Chance is not crate trained or around other dogs for a neighbor to let him out. Any idea if there is dog care in South Jersey?

Chance also ate for me when I mixed in some home cookin a co-worker gave me- seems he was only hungry for soem comfort food- mac-n-cheese.

Thanks again for your support- this board is really helpful.
 
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Old 05-08-03, 06:54 PM
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I'm glad everything is good now. Its hard not to worry about our little guys especially when we can't explain to them what's going on. I'm glad that Chance did eat even before daddy got home. A very well loved dog!

Kay
 
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Old 05-09-03, 07:56 AM
hking44
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Doggie Daycare

You can search here and it will give you a listing of daycares in your state www.doggiedirectory.com
 
  #11  
Old 04-15-06, 07:26 PM
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I have always been told get a pet for your pet. We have two German Shepherds and I have no problem with "accidents", chewing or other behavioral problems. We have two cats and two birds. No problems. If you can afford another dog I would strongly suggest you get one. I would get pretty bored if I was left alone and had no buddy to hang with!!
 
 

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