Hi, My wife and I are getting a puppy in 10 days’ time. I am retired and my wife works part time so we’ll be able to spend lots of time with our Labrador puppy (Whisky). There will however be short periods when we need to leave the puppy home alone. We will train the puppy not to get anxious when this happens. We have read lots on information on the forum but can’t seem to find any advice regarding the pros and cons of whether to leave the puppy in its cage or whether to leave the puppy in the garden (we would purchase a kennel for protection etc if we were to do this) whenever we have to leave the house without our puppy. My sister lives out in the country and she never locks her property when she is out! Her dogs have the run of the house and the garden but they always seem to prefer staying in the garden – even when it is raining. My wife was originally adamant that the puppy had to be outside when we were not in the house but this has changed since I told her about cage training and therefore the puppy was less likely to destroy furnishings if bored when left alone. I feel that the puppy should be left inside in his cage whilst still a puppy and in time let him have access to the downstairs rooms and trust him not to chew everything in sight. So, in conclusion, what are the pros and cons of leaving the puppy inside or out? Thanks in advance for your suggestions and advice. Gordon
Re: Home Alone - Inside or Outside? Hi Gordon and welcome Personally , I would not leave a puppy or dog outside in the garden unsupervised and especially whilst you are not at home, main reason being that sadly, dog theft is on the up . When I lived abroad , I used to leave my dogs outside in a very secure garden, but they were all adult dogs and the subject of theft was not an issue, I understand that in the UK , thefts of dogs from gardens is at around 49% of all dog thefts so its not something I would do for this reason , much better to be safe indoors .
Re: Home Alone - Inside or Outside? Hi and welcome Personally I leave Harley at home inside. Until recently, she was in her crate. We moved her into the kitchen out of her crate last month (she is nearly 11 months old). The crate gives puppies a feeling of security and is their 'den' so they are less likely to wee or poo in it. Good luck on whatever you decided. Look forward to seeing photos and hearing all about Whisky
Re: Home Alone - Inside or Outside? I think that inside in a crate or puppy pen is safest, and your puppy will feel more secure that way When we're not at home our dog is inside our house. He's happy to snooze on the sofa or our bed (though he was in a crate while young).
Re: Home Alone - Inside or Outside? My dad has working gun dogs and they have a kennel outside with a run, however new puppies were always raised in the house and kept indoors when the humans are out. Their outside time was limited to day time and when someone in around to keep an eye on them. Safer for them to be inside as young pups for lots of reasons- including the dog theft issues, their own safety and for keeping them out of general puppy mischievousness. My own 3 month pup is inside and crated with a kong to amuse her when we have to leave - although she'd tell us the sofa with a remote control to chew would be her preferred choice if she could.
Re: Home Alone - Inside or Outside? Noise is a common issue that can arise with kennelling a single dog. Barking and howling is more likely outdoors, especially if the dog is able to see/hear passersby. And especially if the dog is only kennelled when your are away (as opposed to being his normal home) Like Kate I would recommend you consider theft too. My dogs all lived in kennels for many years, but I brought them all into the house last year as I was so concerned about theft. There seem to be more and more dogs stolen each year, and even chain link fencing and a stout padlock is no deterrent to someone with some strong bolt croppers
Re: Home Alone - Inside or Outside? We have a fairly big kitchen with a tiled floor so it was fairly easy to make Lola proof. Safety gate on the door way, bed in the corner with blanket and a few toys and she's happy as larry. She alone for just over 3 hours but isn't phased at all. My next door neighbour used to leave his dog outside alone pretty much all day and all he did was bark, whine and a few times escaped. Plus I would be terrified of someone stealing her :'(
Re: Home Alone - Inside or Outside? Him there,welcome to the Forum. I think if you are considering crate training in your plans for your puppy,this will negate the need for your puppy to be outside. Best Wishes Angela
Re: Home Alone - Inside or Outside? Hi, our pup is 5 months now when we got out we leave him in the kitchen with toys/ water and a kong and he's happy as anything especially when he gets his kong. He is on his own for about 3.5 to 4 hrs a day.
Re: Home Alone - Inside or Outside? Thanks for all your replies. Seems that the best way to go is to keep Whisky indoors, Gordon
Re: Home Alone - Inside or Outside? If you are crate training the puppy then there really is no need to leave it outside whilst you are not at home. Indoors is a much safer option. A crate will help you with housetraining and prevent destruction of furniture etc if the pup gets bored. As he gets older you might consider allowing him to spend time out of the crate while you are out, if he can be trusted. Personally I never leave Penny in the garden unsupervised even if I'm home. I would never consider housing her out there and my garden is pretty secure.
I have a similar question. Our puppy is 4 months old and we are getting ready to go back to school/work (I am a teacher). We have a secure, fenced yard and then we created a 12x12 pen for our pup with shade, an insulated dog house, access to clean water, and lots of toys. However, every time we have tried to have her out there she barks like crazy. We've tried to introduce in the same way we crate trained. She doesn't mind her crate at all. We just won't always have the chance to be home to let her out after about 4 hours. So unless we hire someone, she will be inside too long. We thought she would enjoy being outside but evidentially she doesn't like being alone. Thoughts?
If it were me, I would hire a petsitter to come in a couple of times a day or take the puppy to a reputable doggie daycare. That way you know she is being taken care of properly and won't have to worry about leaving her. I have never left a dog outside unattended. It really is too dangerous. You never know what could happen and besides you want her to feel secure and safe.
Hi @erinms and welcome to the forum. I guess a lot depends on where you live. In the UK most people would have a fit about leaving a dog outside unattended, pet dogs at any rate. In the US and the Antipodes I gather (from members here) it is not uncommon to do so. Although gun dogs who are working dogs would often be kennelled outside in the UK, but not usually alone. Labradors are very social and want to be with their owners and their belongings (I believe). Most UK owners would go down the petsitter route, not least because of security issues leaving your dog outside. jac
That's a real pity that she hasn't taken to her outdoor pen, it sounds like it would have been a really good option. But even if she didn't bark, it still wouldn't have been fair to her to leave her 8+ hours alone when she's so young. Lots of members here use home daycare, or hire a dog walker or similar to pee/play with their dog. You can even do a combination, it doesn't have to be all or nothing.
My friend, who lives around the corner, leaves her 2 German Shepherds in the house with the back door open so they can go out if they want. OH shouts if I even leave the back door unlocked, never mind open, so Coco is stuck in the house. I'd like to leave him with outside access in the fine weather, but I don't trust him not to attempt escape (we have one low wall behind the garage where he COULD get into next door's unsecured garden, and I don't trust him in the kitchen (where the back door is) - because the kitchen surfaces are untidy and tempting (I know, clean up woman!). We are lucky to live on a virtually zero crime island with no dog thefts.
I have no problem with dogs being left outside alone. Adult dogs. If it is safe, they have shelter from rain, heat, cold. They can't escape, they don't bark. You have good neighbours. Our family dog was always outside. Kids came in and teased him, hit him with a shovel. Threw things at him. In our village an older, nearly blind dog was killed most horribly by other neighbours' two dogs. The good neighbours who kept a lookout for her, the old girl, had gone shopping. Obviously their yard was not secure against other dogs though it was for their own. My Vet is pro outside as the dog can pee and poop when it wants, move around, enjoy seeing and hearing things going on around it. Some heavy coated dogs might be better outside in a shaded run if you don't have AC or must use heat in winter. My dogs are inside, NOT cramped in a crate but in a pen or gated in room till they can be loose in the house on their own. Still, they won't bathroom inside and if we are late away for some reason I bet they get pretty uncomfortable.
I'm from the US (California) and now live in mainly Germany and Spain. I would never ever ever ever ever leave my dog alone at home outside, even with a locked kennel or high secure fence. Dog theft is a serious issue in both California and in Spain - and what they do to the dogs after stealing them is not to be contemplated. In Spain, poisoning is also an issue (i.e. poisoned meat thrown over the fence to the dog). Personally, I don't really believe when people say "My dog prefers to be outdoors anyway". I've had various breeds, either through my own or foster, and I had precisely one dog, an American Eskimo foster, who actually preferred to be outdoors by herself for a few hours a day. All the others, when given the choice, vastly preferred hanging out indoors on their beds or the sofa. I know this because in California, when I was home, I would leave the large back patio doors open to the fenced garden. One of the reasons I bought the (tiny) house was its (huge) garden and yet...nope...the dogs mostly just went out there to have a wee and spent the rest of their time indoors. Heck, me too - give me a comfy couch with a view any day (not the 'wee' part - I didn't use the garden for that). Of course they got lots of outdoor time on walks and trips to the beach, but "home time" meant "sofa time".
The set-up you have for your pup sounds fab but she's probably too young to be happy out there alone, at least at the moment. My garden is enclosed with no access to it apart from through my house or over a garden wall. But I wouldn't trust my 10 month old to be out alone, I would worry she'd get spooked and bark a lot or eat stuff she shouldn't. When she's a fair bit older, and generally calmer, I might leave the backdoor open in the summer so she can come and go as she pleases. At the moment I use doggy daycare or a dog walker on the occasions I may be out longer than normal. I'm sure there are other members, though, whose pups spend time outside when they are at work and it's worked just fine (in warmer climes than the UK), perhaps they'll be along with their thoughts.
