Dog o' Day
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How long is too long to leave your dog home alone?

By Kimberley Spinney

BATH, UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 18: A Border Collie mix sits on a sofa at his home, on October 18, 2023 in Bath, England. Recent figures show that there are approximately 13 million dogs in the UK, making them the most common owned pets with over a third of of households in the UK owning a pet dog. Dog ownership rose dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
BATH, UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 18: A Border Collie mix sits on a sofa at his home, on October 18, 2023 in Bath, England. Recent figures show that there are approximately 13 million dogs in the UK, making them the most common owned pets with over a third of of households in the UK owning a pet dog. Dog ownership rose dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images) /
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We love our dogs and if we could spend more time with them in a day, we would. But how long can your dog be left home alone anyway?

For a lot of pet parents, there aren’t many options when it comes to leaving your pet at home. After all, we have to work, we have errands that need to be run, and basically we have to get on with the every day tasks in our lives. That doesn’t mean that we don’t spend time with our dog, or even find things for them to do, however, there comes a point in time when you may just need to leave your dog at home. For some people leaving their dog at home every day as they go to work is just how things are.

But how long should a dog be left alone at home? That is a question that we were curious about, especially as more and more people become pet owners, and have to go back into the office to work.

How long can a dog be left home alone?

According to Newsweek, the length of time that a dog can be left, home alone is dependent on a number of factors. Not only is age an important factor, but even health and dog breed can play into these time limits.

A Chewy veterinarian explained that,

"An adult dog can typically wait six to eight hours between outside bathroom trips, and for puppies this time frame can be as short as one to two hours, and the interval gets longer as they grow older."

A big reason why we need to take care of our dogs and not leave them home alone for long periods of time has to do with the ability to take them outside and allow them to go to the bathroom. If they have to hold it for too long, it can lead to health issues, including urinary tract infections. And since our dogs are very dependent upon us, it is important that we do everything we can to help them live their best life.

And it makes sense that our dogs should not be home alone for too long. It’s not good for them and honestly it’s not good for us. We miss our pets when we’re not home. So, of course, we want to make sure that we are not leaving them alone for too long every day. It’s not fair to them.

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