I just want to say THANK YOU for this response. People so often get hung up on this. If people who worked could not have dogs a LOT more dos would get euthanized.

I guess the question is how long does or can your dog hold it? My Mom's dog (as an adult) was left alone every day for about 9 hours or so and she was left inside where she was comfortable. She never had an accident in the house. She still doesn't when she's left home.

My older dog would occasionally get left that long when my husband was out of town and she did just fine. This is a dog who can hold it for 12-14 hours (we know this because we've had days where there were a lot of storms and she refused to go out until she was SO BAD that she couldn't stand it anymore, so this is not a NORMAL thing for her). My younger dog is really energetic and so I always get my mother to let him out and throw some balls if he has to be left alone all day. So it really depends on the dog.

Dogs are LEAST active during the mid-day hours and more active in the morning and evening, so it works well that that's when they're most often left alone.

I agree with River_Dog post! If you leave your dog on crate all day it would affect the behaviour of your dog! Its better if you leave him in a large room area and set all the things before you leave like water, food, toys or everything that he can use while you are not at home.