Longest time you leave your dogs alone in a day?

Just curious the max length of time you leave your dogs alone for in a day? And is that in one go or throughout the whole day?

Alfie hardly ever gets left on his own, and even then it's only usually for 1-2 hours.

The longest ever is maybe up to 4-5 hours in a morning, but he just sleeps anyway and isn't worried!

I am aware when I get a second dog things will be different, as I will have moved out, but I was just curious what your "time scales" were, and if that was in one go, or "at a time".

For example would you say 2-3 hours max in a day, or 2-3 hours, then a break with people, then another 2-3 hours....

Just curious!

I could leave Chloe and my late Pei M'boi for as long as I liked although usually it was only for around 3-4 hours. There were times though when it could be up to 12 hours and when I was rushed to hospital, apart from a neighbour who came in once a day to feed them and take them for a walk they spent 3 days alone in the house until my son arrived. I was SO proud of them when he told me there were no puddles or poos in the house only a few scattered rugs and ruckled duvet on my bed where they must have spent most of their time.

So far I haven't left 17 week old Georgina, but I'll find out on Tuesday how she copes as I have to go out for a couple of hours. I'm not too worried though because Chloe's quite happy to be left alone (I think she enjoys it) and i'm sure she'll have a calming influence on the puppy ..... but I'll only find out when I get back.

Around 4 hours, occasionally 4-5 hours. But only immediately after taking her out for a long walk as that's when she sleeps for that amount of time anyway most days. So if I need to 'get a few things done' that's when I do it - as soon as we've returned home from the long walk of the day.

I built up to that length of time by leaving her a little longer each time and checking with neighbours either side that she wasn't crying, barking or howling while I was gone.

Mine are left for 2 hours each day as our work patterns no longer quite match, but occasionally it has been longer twice this year 8 hours when I had to go to hospital. Our previous dogs were rarely left just once when my husband had a stroke I had to leave them for nearly 24 hours I just couldn't get back and worried all the time only to when I got home be greeted by sleepy dogs who needed a pee but otherwise seemed completely unworried by it all LOL

Lacey is very lucky,not left alone very often.I'm at home all day so wherever possible running errands etc,she comes with me.If we're out for a night,mum is here with youngest Weekends she might be left 2-3 hours if we're shopping or out for Sunday lunch.Occasionally we take her to the shopping center with us and pop her in for a groom.pick her up when we're done
Know not everyone is lucky enough to be in that position.Some dogs have to be left alone every day while their owners work.I think if they are well exercised and provided for,most probably manage the best.Thats their routine and they get used to it.Every dog is different and so is what they can cope with.
I think now if I had to go out to work 9-5 it would have a huge impact on Lacey,not sure she'd do well with that

Technically I leave mine for 8 hours a day with an hours break in the middle. So it's two, four hour stints. Sometimes it can be longer if something has gone wrong.

On my days off I rarely leave them. I take the view that my days off are their days off to. I have left them for up to 6 hours when I've had a hospital appointment any longer than that I drop them off with my Dad or, like this weekend coming, he comes to sit with them at my house.

I used to leave mine for up to 10 hours a day when I was still able to work and they did very well. Now that i'm home most of the time they've adapted to me being here and when I do have to leave them for a few hours Pearl will scream at me and the others bark when I get home until I sit with them for a few minutes even though my room mate is usually here when i'm not. They don't make any noise until I get home and my neighbors wouldn't care if they did as we all have multiple dogs. Also most of us are on 1/3 acre lots and that's far enough away that dogs barking inside can't be heard.

We seem to have two threads about this runing in parallel at the mo with this one having been revived too.

Who works full time and lives on their own with a dog/dogs?

I've done a variety of things over the years as work patterns and lifestyles vary. I've worked all day in central London and the dogs have been fine with it. I've taken my dog to work with me and he dossed under the desk all day. The current lot have me at home all day but they have still been accustomed to being left as I believe it's for their own good to be calm if and when I can't be here for whatever length of time. I'm not sure I actually spend any more quality time with the current lot than when I worked all day if I'm honest. That doesn't mean I ignore them, just that I actively made time and effort when I worked all day where as now they tend to fit around whatever I'm doing.

I work for six hours on two days per week, four hours the next and five the next and then I'm off for three days. If you take travelling into account, it's probably nearer seven hours on those two days but they are fine and are well used to it.