Leaving your dog on its own - tips and tricks

Dogs are pack animals and don't like to be left alone. They have to learn this first. The best time to start is when they are still growing - with puppies. With the right training, almost any dog can be left alone temporarily without any problems.

The dog is descended from the wolf, which is a typical pack animal. Each member of the pack makes sure that it always stays connected to its pack. If you are left alone, you run the risk of not getting anything to eat or being attacked. The greatest risk here is for puppies, which are unable to survive on their own. This applies to the offspring of both wolves and dogs. The advantage of wild relatives is that the pups grow up together in a pack and remain in the pack until a certain age.

With dogs, you should bear in mind that most puppies are separated from their mother and siblings at the age of ten to twelve weeks. This loss is not easy to cope with. The puppy now needs a replacement (pack) that it can trust and rely on in the future.

When can puppies be left alone?

Many puppies come into a new home at around ten to twelve weeks of age. During the first few nights, they miss their mother and siblings very much. They now need to be close to their new humans. During this sensitive phase, you should spend as much time as possible with your new family member.

The acclimatization process varies from puppy to puppy. It is therefore important to determine individually how the puppy behaves in the first few days. Some puppies thaw out very quickly and feel at ease within a very short time, while others are more reserved. It is therefore impossible to say in general terms when a puppy can be left alone for a short time. This depends on the character, the breed and how the dog is handled in everyday life.

How do I practise leaving the dog alone?

Whether a puppy from a breeder or an adult dog - everyone has to learn to stay alone in their new home. The conditions for this are first created within the home:

1. Occasionally leave the room for a few minutes and ask your dog to stay in the room. He should internalize that it is not a problem if he stays alone in the room for a few minutes.
2. Increase the amount of time and test how the dog reacts when you close the door behind you.
3. Go out onto the balcony or into the garden so that the dog can still see you without being allowed to join you.
4. Now leave the apartment through the front door every few minutes and listen to how the dog reacts. If it starts barking immediately, wait until it has calmed down. Otherwise, there is a risk that he will quickly learn to call you back by barking. If he remains calm, enter the apartment after a while as if nothing had happened. Only greet him briefly as you pass by.
5. Ideally, you should continually increase the amount of time you are away. After a few months, many dogs have no problem being left alone for a few hours at a time. It is important to practise with the dog on an ongoing basis. You should also make sure that the time intervals between being left alone are continuously increased.
   
   
   

How long can a dog stay alone?

No dog can or should be left alone for eight hours a day. If you work full-time, you either need a dog sitter or you should make it possible for your dog to come to work with you. More and more employers are open to this. If you have a part-time job, however, the dog can stay at home.

As a general rule, four to five hours is the maximum. It is important that the dog has learned to be alone at home. Until this is the case, it is important to constantly train the dog to be alone.

4 tips on how to leave your dog alone

Most dogs don't like to be left home alone, but sometimes this is unavoidable. The following tips will help you to do this.

1. Start exercising your young dog inside the home. Leave your dog alone in the room from time to time.
2. Slowly extend the phases of being left alone. First just a few minutes, then longer and longer.
3. If you are away from home for a longer period of time, take your dog for a long walk beforehand.
4. Surprise your dog with a special toy to keep him occupied while you are away. This could be a chew bone or an intelligence toy filled with treats. The more variety, the better your dog will be occupied.

Ultimately, how they react to being left alone and learn to deal with it varies from dog to dog.