Where does your pet stay if you're at work?

Right now we don't have a problem since my husband and I don't have the same working hours but soon it will be a problem. I'm not so sure about leaving our dog alone at home if we're both out and our kid is at school. What do you recommend?

My dog stays at home, she is only alone for about an hour because I work from home for one job and do the other job part time, so when I go out someone else in heading home. I think dogs should learn to stay home alone as long as it is not for excessively long periods.

She stayed at home but she was only alone for a few hours.

Before I retired, my dogs always stayed at home with free access to the entire house while we were gone for at least 8 hours or more. If your dog doesn't chew and is house trained, I see no problem with just leaving him alone in the house. Most likely he will sleep all day anyway. Don't make a big deal out of leaving or returning (no long good byes or overly excited return home). Just come and go calmly like its a natural thing to do.

This is where crate training can be wonderful. A dog that has been well crate trained will be happy to spend the day in the crate (even with the door open and unlocked). Dogs learn to see the crate as their own personal space or bedroom. They enjoy it and look at it like a private zone. So I'd say that if you're worried about leaving your dog home alone then consider some crate training.

I think it is important that dogs learn to stay in the house alone, it makes life much easier for them and for their owners.

My dogs always remained at home, either outside or in the house. The current two rarely are in the house alone though (there's a reason for that), but with all of my other dogs, I would come home and find them looking out the window.

I am cautious about giving my dog access to outside, because in doing that I am potentially giving others access to inside (she has a dog flap). We have an enclosed garden but I still worry about her barking if there is anything unusual happening next door, in fact I even worry about the possibility of someone getting into the garden and harming her in some way. She has the run of the house and I know that she is safe and secure.

My dogs have always been crated while we are gone. Keeps everyone out of trouble. And yes, their crates are their "bedrooms and dining rooms" lol They sleep in there and are fed in them. Also, they will very often get in the crate just to lay down if I am working in the same room. Heck, my cats love to huddle in open crates! I NEVER leave my dogs outside when not at home. Sure yard is fenced, but that is leaving them unprotected. For peace of mind, crate train. Especially young dogs and puppies. Testing them as they mature with extra time out of the crate can often lead to them being totally trusted out all the time, but that is a privilege earned, imho.

As for a doggie door, if I had a very secure kennel area outside the door, not whole yard access, plus secure area in house, not whole house access, I might leave it open at times. Small doors nothing is going to get in and bigger doors well, who would be dumb enough to go into a house with a door large enough for a Rott, Wolfhound or other large breed. Gotta remember, if it ain't outside, it will be inside.

Who would be dumb enough to go into a house with a large dog flap? I hesitate to answer that, there are some surprisingly dumb people about and sadly some dangerous people too.

Thieves have been known to enter homes through dog and cat doors. It's amazing what they can do. At any rate, my current dogs are used to me being home. I usually leave them outside in our backyard. They love it. As I said before, though, my other dogs in the past were often left to roam the entire house anytime we left, especially when it was raining.

A number of years ago I did sometimes leave my dog with access to the (well fenced) garden, it worked fine except for two occasions, once when the neighbour had workmen up ladders at the back of the house and it made the dog bar and once when I came home to find her stuck outside wearing the dog flap - it had broken and got stuck around her body. As I did not want her to get hurt or to be a pain to others I stopped allowing her access to the garden when I was out.

We just leave Boston at home because we don't have any problems about chewing, nipping, etc. He stays inside the house for 8-10 hours daily and I guess he didn't mind being left at home.

I have a litter box for my Yorkie. She loves it, and goes there, when I am not at home, or if it rains or snows.
I watch her a few times with a surveillance camera. When I leave the house, she goes in her bed and sleeps, and rests,
to be ready, when I come home. Then she is full of energy when I return tired from work ;-)

I suspect my dog sleeps for most of the time when I am out.

Meg used to sleep when I was out. If I had to pop back into the house because I had forgotten something I would find her curled up in my chair.