How To Leave Your Dog Home Alone, 100% Stress-Free
Leaving your dog home alone can be a challenge for both you and your pup. But with a little planning and prep, you can help your dog learn that it isn't a scary experience - and that they've got plenty to keep them occupied indoors!
Leaving dogs home alone can be heartrending. Besides the good old puppy eyes, your dog might whine and cry or even engage in destructive behavior if they’re not used to it.
Dogs see us as members of their pack, but it’s not always possible (sadly) to spend all of our time with our furry pals – especially when you’ve got work.
- Plus, during holiday season, you might just not be at home all the time.
- And unfortunately, a dog sitter might not always be an option.
Which is why it’s best to teach our dogs while they’re still puppies that being home alone is not a big deal. That’s how they can learn to keep themselves busy without chewing up your slippers, peeing all over the house, or barking their heads off and becoming a neighborhood nuisance.
So how to keep your pup happy and safe when you’re not around? How long is too long to leave your dog home alone? And what do you do to escape-proof your home and backyard for an especially motivated pup? We’ve put together the facts and recommendations from the leading dog experts for you. Let’s get started.
How long is too long when leaving a dog home alone?
How long your dog can safely stay home alone depends a lot on their age, personality, and emotional and physical needs. But in general: try to keep the time that your dog is left home alone to a minimum. Even the most well-adjusted dogs may become distressed¹ if they are left home alone for too long.
Here are some general recommendations for how long you can leave your dog home alone, based on age:
| Age of the dog | Time spent alone | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Puppies | 2 hours a day is the limit. | Puppies in general aren’t used to being home alone. They need to pee more and can develop separation anxiety. |
| Adult dogs (over 18 months) | Can be left alone 4 – 6 hours a day. | These dogs might be more likely to adapt to being home alone. They might learn to sleep when you are not home. |
| Senior dogs | Can be left alone 2 – 6 hours. | It depends. Does your elderly dog experience health issues? For example, do they need to pee more frequently? Senior dogs might also be more likely to wander away from home. |
⚠️ And if you think your house is escape-proof, don’t underestimate your buddy’s resourcefulness when they’re particularly motivated! (Or just…really, really need to pee in their outdoors designated toilet spot.)
Even the indoorsiest of indoor dogs can end up sneaking outdoors if left alone for too long – especially if they’re anxiety-prone, hungry, miss you, want some company, or are just plain bored.
💡Which is why responsible dog parents around the world – just like you – are strapping GPS trackers to their buddies’ collars.
Because once you’ve set up your trusty Tractive device, you can:
- Monitor your dog’s whereabouts in real-time,
- …over an unlimited range,
- And even while on vacation – or 175 countries if you’re on a Premium subscription
All this, with just a glance at your phone.
What to consider before leaving your dog home alone
Before you head outdoors, keep in mind these factors that can affect how long you can leave your dog home alone:
- Age
- Health condition and issues
- Emotional needs, including whether they have separation anxiety
- Training and behavior
- Potty breaks – and your dog’s bladder control
- Feeding times
- Exercise and activity
- Socialization
- Other animals in the house
For example, your dog might not suffer from anxiety when being left alone, but what about:
- Potty breaks?
- Will they have enough food for the duration they are left alone?
- Or perhaps become restless or bored, and use your most valuable items as chew toys?
Take everything you know about your dog into consideration when determining how long you can leave your dog home alone.
What can happen when your dog is left home alone?
For some dogs, being left home alone might be no big deal. For others, it may lead to one or more of the following distressing behaviors, which might indicate that your dog is bored, anxious or stressed out by being home alone.
- Scratching
- Biting
- Chewing on furniture and clothes
- Binge eating
- Getting lost
- Whining, howling, and barking
- Urination
- Running away
Now you can replace clothing, slippers, and furniture – but do they compare to coming home to finding your buddy missing?
💡Luckily, you can just set up a “safe zone” around your home and backyard from your Tractive mobile app – which sends you an escape alert right away if your buddy tries sneaking past it.
No need to set up an expensive, cumbersome physical fence – and then spend even more time and energy maintaining it over the years.
(Besides, a particularly athletic dog could just jump over a fence. Or crawl or dig under it. Or even step over it, if they’re big enough!)
And the best part? You can monitor your Virtual Fence from miles away – even while on vacation.
2 things to do before leaving dogs home alone
When you leave the house for work or leisure without your dog, you should first do the following:
1) Avoid giving your dog free rein
Especially in the beginning, try to leave your dog in an area where they feel comfortable. Once your buddy gets more used to being left alone at home, they can then be on their own without any restriction.
⚠️ And if you’re worried your buddy will end up squeezing into some weird tight spot indoors, we’ve got you covered.
No matter how big or small your house is, there’s no end to the risky hiding spots they might run into – like, for example, the space between your bed and the wall. (Where you might not be able to spot them right away or hear them.)
So if you want to figure out your dog’s favorite indoor hiding spots, just use your trusty Tractive device’s short-range Bluetooth-powered Radar mode – built to locate your buddy in spots where GPS might not help. (Like indoors!)
Here’s how:
2) Exercise your dog
The best thing you can do before you leave your dog home alone is make sure your dog gets some exercise beforehand.
- Start with learning how to walk your dog. When you take your dog for a morning walk or exercise, it’s likely that your dog will pass out asleep right afterwards! This gives you the chance to leave the house without trouble.
- Invest in regular playtime, including some of these fun indoor games for dogs (if the weather’s rubbish outdoors.)
- Regular training can also help your dog get both a physical and mental workout – and keep their obedience skills sharp over time. Try a fun, practical method like clicker training for a change!
💡Want to stay motivated to your dog’s daily exercise? Try setting them daily activity goals or comparing how active they are to other, similar dogs!
Both of which your trusty Tractive device comes equipped with, besides indoor and outdoor location tracking.
With its built-in motion detector, your Tractive device logs in your dog’s active minutes throughout the day as they move around.
Which, with time, can help you figure out:
- What’s a normal level of activity for your dog
- Whether your dog has hit their activity goals for the day – or still need some more exercise.
- Where your dog ranks on your community leaderboard – compared to other, similar dogs from around the world
With all these bells and whistles, we get it if you’re worried about your tracker running out of battery – especially while you’re away!
So make sure to set up a Power-Saving Zone indoors – by connecting your Tractive device to a trusted network. (Like your home WiFi.)
This massively cuts down on your tracker’s battery usage, especially if you’re using it for Activity Tracking or Radar Mode for your buddy indoors.
Plus, with a Tractive Base Station, you can set up a Power-Saving Zone wherever you go!
Perfect for when you want to leave your buddy at grandma’s or a friend’s while you’re on vacation – but want to keep an eye on their whereabouts without compromising on battery life.
How to train your dog to be home alone
Proper training is essential when teaching your dog to be home alone – as early as when you first bring them home.
In these cases, practice the “Leave and return” scenario. This will help teach your pup that being home alone is safe and a-okay – and that you WILL come back.
Here’s how:
- Put your shoes on and go to the door.
- If you notice your dog panicking, try to ignore it, so they get used to it.
- Repeat this action at least 3 times every day.
- As soon as you come back home, avoid giving your dog a warm welcome immediately at the door. Doing this will send your puppy the signal that coming home is just a normal, business-as-usual thing. Not an event worth celebrating (though deep down in your heart, you know it is!)
- After arriving home, command your dog to “Sit.” After they follow your command and settle down, welcome them calmly and let them feel your affection.
“When leaving home, if I say goodbye to my dogs, they want to come with me.
So I just leave without saying anything – and they’re OK with it!“
– Marina Selinger, UX Designer at Tractive & certified dog trainer
Tips to keep your dog busy at home when you’re not around
Try to make sure your dog has fun ways to occupy their time. If your dog is not used to being home alone, here are some tips that can help make their time more enjoyable:
- Use food-dispensing toys instead of the classic food bowl. Some of these toys offer variable difficulty levels so you can make it a long-lasting project and keep your dog active and engaged during the time you’re away.
- Hire a dog walker or dog-sitter to keep your pup entertained while you’re away. Or, in general, get someone to check up on them periodically. (Especially for potty breaks.)
- Leave the TV or radio on for your dog if it may be soothing to them. Or try a YouTube video that’s designed for dogs – like this one below:
(Do try another video than this one if your buddy has a prey drive!)
- Leave your dog small tasks and fun toys to play with when you’re not around to avoid unwanted boredom behavior (like biting and peeing in inappropriate places). However, never leave your dog alone with a toy that could be chewed apart and swallowed.
- Consider adding a second pet to the family so your dog isn’t bored when you’re not there.
When you return home from leaving your dog home alone, dedicate some time to your pup and don’t hold back with the love and attention.
Remember: getting your dog used to you leaving and returning home is the best way to help them learn not to freak out once you do need to be away!
But like all things unplanned and in an emergency…
Especially one where your dog has spooked, gotten bored, desperately needs to relieve themselves, or has just caught on to some interesting scent outdoors…
(Or the thousands of reasons dogs run away from home…)
- Just hit “LIVE” on your Tractive mobile app and track your dog’s every step – as they make their every step.
Always know where your dog is
Follow every step in real-time with unlimited range. Get alerts if they wander too far. Keep them happy & healthy with Wellness Monitoring. And let others – like walkers or sitters – keep an eye on your dog too.
Want to leave your dog home alone safely but running out of ideas to keep them busy? Here’s a short, sweet video for some more inspo:
And if you’ve liked what you’ve read, share it with a friend or a loved one – and let’s help build a safer, kinder world for our furry friends together.
