Question about leaving dog at home alone

[orinoco]

I have 6 pound, 6 year old (very well socialized and well behaved) Pomeranian.

My question is.. for days when i have to be gone for longer periods of time (12 hour work day) or day trip somewhere, i have the option of either:

a) Leaving him at a close friend's apartment (without her) with her old diabetic cat, which isn't too fond of him but is harmless and they ignore the crap out of each other anyway. He's quite familiar with her home, and sleeps there comfortably in his own nook when i'm there.

or

b) Leaving him home alone, where he has his own familiar space, bed, bowls, etc. From my observation, he pretty much just sleeps the whole time we are away, which in my opinion can't be great.

i understand animals are more comfortable in their own environment ideally, but i was thinking the other day.. it can't be good to be that inactive for such long periods of time? maybe having the cat around as company is better than nothing? or is that just going to cause unnecessary anxiety?

 

[burnsmr]

I don't think animals just sleep all day. It may seem like it but if you look close enough you can see signs that they're up and about. At least I can with my cats. And even if they are asleep all day, as long as you're interacting with them via walks, etc once you are home, I don't see the harm.

 

[Ladybug09]

I wouldn't worry about leaving your dog alone. If he is used to being by himself alone.,I honestly think that he would be ok.

I used to have a Yorkie who I would leave home by himself for up to two days at a time. He was like a cat. One of my neighbors would periodically go in and check on him just to make sure he was okay and see if he wanted yo be walked or let out. He was paper train so I didn't have to worry about him holding his bladder. I found that when I would take him 2 other people's homes for them to watch him, he would go on hunger strikes and not be as comfortable as he would be in his own home.

I would leave enough food down, and leave the radio or the TV playing in the background for noise, and I would open up one of my curtains so he could look outside. I also had a lamp that had a timer so that when it started to get a little bit dark he wasn't left in complete darkness all day.

Unless you have major concerns about leaving him at home, I think that he will do just fine by himself. As long as he's not tearing up stuff in your home or getting into hazardous products you should be ok.

 

[L etoile]

We can leave our dog for up to 12 hours, but I try not to do it very often. I thought he slept upstairs all day and stared out the window, but when I installed a motion sensor security camera (for security reasons), my dog set the camera off 6 times in the first 20 minutes of me leaving the house! He was on/off the couch, on/off his downstairs pad, drinking water, looking out all the windows, etc. It was eye opening!

 

[hermes_lemming]

My first dog slept all day when I was gone at work. LOL he only did a hunger strike that one weekend I left him alone with my then bf (his original "dad") and went to Vegas with my friends. Since then he had no problems staying over at other people's places, etc

He did always accidentally set off my motion sensor kitchen garbage can. I miss that fella. He is in peace up in the pearly gates, probably about held up by the scruff of his neck by an angel - wondering whether or not to toss his *** out.

My current puppy stays home all day and probably sleeps in his crate while I'm at work. I'm not gone 12hrs. More like 8 hrs so he is ok holding it that long. Once I get home, I drop everything and tend to him.

 

[Poth]

I think it would be less stressful to keep him at home. Give him lots of treats and puzzle balls!

 

[orinoco]

Thanks everyone for your opinion! much appreciated

 

[orinoco]

I wonder... i should really get one of those security cameras... even if its just to see what he does all day!

We can leave our dog for up to 12 hours, but I try not to do it very often. I thought he slept upstairs all day and stared out the window, but when I installed a motion sensor security camera (for security reasons), my dog set the camera off 6 times in the first 20 minutes of me leaving the house! He was on/off the couch, on/off his downstairs pad, drinking water, looking out all the windows, etc. It was eye opening!