8-9 hours alone if about the max a dog can take being alone and holding its elimminatory functions.
Small dogs can be litter-box trained. A friend of mine uses a low sided box filled with shredded newspaper as her dog’s bathroom. Her dog is getting older and has more trouble “holding it” so the litter-box is a blessing.
Most dogs sleep all day while their owners are gone, but it’s also good to give them something to do to keep them from getting bored. They’re perfectly happy in a crate, but I prefer to let my dogs choose where they want to be once they’re able to be trusted roam the house and not make messes. I took the door off of the crate so the dogs would have free access. Half the time, I come home and find them in there anyway. They also have the “job” of guarding the house, which I think makes them more comfortable with being alone.
I vote for crate training if you cannot provide a doghouse, water, and shade in the yard. I crate trained my cat when she was a kitten because I couldn’t trust her not to eat things (like electrical cords) while I was gone and she had some agression issues when she got to riled up. A crate is a den to a dog and they shouldn’t mind spending a day in a crate. Avoid a high strung or highly social breed, don’t get a little puppy unless there is someone home in the summer and you can get through puppyhood before the kids go back to school.
Or, if you have a retired or stay-at-home parent neighbor, you could trade noon walks for your kids gardening, leaf raking, or mowing for them. Then you could see how comitted to getting a dog the kids really are.
As far as what is fair, dogs don’t know fair. Dogs do know lonely. Someone made a really good point that you need to consider what your evenings and weekends look like…and what they are likely to look like in the next 15 years. If your kids are li’l’uns then they will only get busier as they get older. They may not play soccer this year, but they probably will in the next 15.
No, I’m not on the verge of homelessness because I don’t feel that I can afford two dogs. :rolleyes: As has been said, sure the food and supplies may not be a problem, but we all know that pets do sometimes have health problems and other such emergent expenses, and I’d like to be sure that I can afford those. I can’t be sure I could afford two dogs in that respect.
Seeing as how the dog would definitely have large amounts of shade and water, and probably a doghouse, maybe it would be okay to be outside during the summer. And the crate does sound like an excellent idea, also. The house is a rental, so putting in a doggie door is probably out.
I basically just wanted to get an idea whether getting a pet and then leaving it alone all day is morally right. Seems the answer depends on the dog and the situation. I’ll be looking for a pug or a dog with a similiar temperament if I do decide to get one.
Check out this air-conditioned dog house they made on the DIY Network show “Barkitecture.” Ok the AC unit is $500 but…it’s neato
There’s also these patio panel pet doors for sliding glass doors that don’t require any hole cutting or permanent installation. They’re about $130-180 I believe.
Doggy daycare is awesome…but it IS expensive. I actually work at home and my pooch is here with me all day…but she still sleeps all day. I can’t possibly pay attention to her other than to let her in and out. By the time she turned 3 she was used to the idea of sleeping all day and she prefers it. But still…every day at 5 she brings me a shoe and we do something fun together.
My advice is like others have said - if you’re gone from 8-6, make sure the dog has something to look forward to after 6 or it WILL lash out.
This is a little worrisome. Pugs, because of their flat faces, cannot take heat extremes. They very much need to live in a climate controlled situation. Some neighbors of mine had a Pug die of heat stroke when left outside during the heat of summer.
Any of the more ‘normal’ faced breeds would do fine, but Pugs, Bulldogs and the like definitely need the A/C when it’s hot.
Oh, okay. I did not know that. Is there a big difference between small dogs (I like min-pins) and large ones (I like labs) as regards to tolerance of heat?
My nephew’s 10-year-old Labrador died in his yard on a hot day. He had shade and water. Nephew made a point of leaving work at lunchtime every day to check on him, to keep him company for awhile and make sure he hadn’t tipped over his water dish.
I realize that doesn’t prove anything one way or the other about how much heat a dog can tolerate. The dog may have died of something unrelated to the heat. But my nephew grew up with that dog, and felt a lot of guilt about it. He said he could have left the dog in the house or the basement, but the dog liked being outdoors.
Doggie doors and shaded areas are great, but do dogs always know when they’re getting overheated, so they can take advantage of that? It seems kinda risky.
Thermodynamics dictates that smaller dogs should cool off better having a greater surface area to mass ratio. However, small dogs are also further removed from evolutionary ancestors that are theoretically heat tolerant. Whatever size, I’d look for something with a light colored, shorter coat. Or a furry beast that will get cut in the summer. Even if you aren’t leaving it outside all day, it will be more comfortable during walks and playing if it has shortened fur. I have two neighbors with pugs and they’ve never said anything about heat problems. They go out and run around in hot weather with no apparent ill effects, but Wisconsin isn’t a desert oven.
