Leaving a dog home alone for a couple days

Hello, yes I know the title of this thread most likely angers a lot of you, but I’m genuinely asking for advice for this situation, not ridicule. Hear me out. So my fiancé and I are traveling out of state for his 21st birthday soon and we will be gone for 3 days. We’ve traveled with our dog, Sara, before but she has a tendency to bark when left alone (currently trying to train her out of it and help her separation issues) and hotels usually won’t allow that. And the ones that do are way out of our budget. So we considered boarding or kenneling, but they require a shot that she hasn’t had yet and we cannot get a vet appointment in time, nor can we afford the vet costs + outrageous city boarding costs. So, I’m wondering if anyone has ever left their dog home alone for a few days? I’m not saying I’m going to do it, I’m just wondering if it’d be okay, just once. She is never left alone, ever. And this won’t be a recurring thing. We’d walk her right before we leave and as soon as we got back. We have an automatic feeder/waterer and puppy pee pads and we’d buy her a brand new huge bone and rope, she’d be downstairs with her crate door open and we’d put one of those live “dog relaxing music” videos on the tv. Would that be abuse? Would she be okay like that, just once? I’m really trying all options here, we just had unexpected medical bills so we’re struggling on money a bit. Please, please, don’t tell me I’m a bad dog owner. Trust me, this dog lives the life. This is just a sticky situation but I don’t want to do anything to hurt her. Sorry for the long post. Any replies are appreciated, thank you.

 

Oh, and she isn’t the type to tear things up when left alone. She’s never done that, ever. Also we don’t have any friends or family who are willing or able to stop by and check in on her or walk her. And we live in a tiny city where those care.com dog sitters aren’t a thing. Also, we can’t take her with us when we go places outside of the hotel because we’ll be going inside places and we can’t leave her in the car because it’ll be summer and she could get heatstroke. I really don’t want to do this, I am not a bad dog owner. I just want to know if she would be okay like this.

 

Sorry no. If you can't afford a shot and 3 days of boarding fees, you shouldn't have a dog.

Putting it bluntly.

Would you leave a child under the age of 10 home alone for 3 days? No, you'd get arrested by social services. Dogs are not kids - but they are our dependents, just as kids are.

 

You admit that your dog has separation issue. She can't be left one day, let alone 3 days.

 

You’re in such a bind aren’t you?

However, I don’t think it’s safe or kind to leave your dog alone. Your dog is likely to be very distressed if left alone and it could lead to difficulties further down the line; more barking, increased separation anxiety to name a couple.
If you have no-one to ask to care for her my view is you’ll have to miss out on the trip away unfortunately.

 

You need to cancel your holiday or find a way of taking your dog with you. What you are considering is abuse and would be very damaging for your dog.

 

You either find a reliable, responsible person to look after your dog or you don't go.

 

If it were me in this situation I wouldn't go on holiday. I have a similar issue where I can't board my dog as he's too anxious in kennels and has a lot of digestion issues which I wouldn't be willing to have someone who doesn't know him take care of him, we tried once and it ended with a trip to the vet. I take him on holiday with me now but that does mean no trips abroad as he'd get too stressed on a plane. I'm willing to sacrifice it for his wellbeing. If it were my dog I wouldn't go, leaving him would be much too stressful and anything could happen to him while you are away. I wouldn't take the risk if I were you.

 

Please please don't leave your dog alone,he'll be frightened and won't understand why you've not come home. This will make the already separation anxiety far far worse.

Losing a short break is far better than losing your dog as anything could happen

 

The stress of forcing a toilet trained dog to have to go indoors would be cruel, let alone if anything were to happen such as water runs out, etc. your dog would likely have much worse separation anxiety and barking issues. A dog is a responsibility, so if you have no money for a shot, you have no money for vacations. No question.

 

I’m not going to be as nice as the others - no you can’t bloody leave a dog for 3 days, who in their right mind would think that was acceptable?! ‍♀️

Your fiancés birthday is not as important as your dogs basic needs, so you make the sacrifice if you can’t get adequate care. Or don’t have a dog.

 

Aside from everything else mentioned above regarding the distress to an already admittedly anxious dog, this is the crux of the matter for me.

A toilet trained dog's home is their den. It will be distraught to be forced into going to the bathroom indoors. It will wait as long as it possibly can, risking infection, maybe destroying the house in an effort to get out and go outside. And then inevitably be very upset to have to go to the loo on the pads as a last resort.

And what if they are taken ill?

I can't stress enough how bad an idea this is.

You need to find a friend to have her for the weekend, or sadly to miss out on your holiday.

 

Hi there, and welcome to the forum.

The short answer to your question is yes. This would be abuse.

Apart from the awful distress caused to your dog as she tries to wait for your return without toileting indoors, how would you know if she were unwell? Even a dog that lived in an outdoor kennel would be checked at least morning and evening each day. This is the very minimum requirement for the care of any mammal in captivity. I don't know what the laws are in the USA but here in the UK you would also probably be in breach of the law.

It's good that you have come here for advice and are willing to listen to all these opinions. You are bound to be upset at the thought of losing your holiday. But if you cannot find someone to care for your dog while you are away, it really is the only course of action open to any responsible caring dog owner.

 

To some of you- you didn’t have to get angry, I am in a tough situation and all I was asking for was advice. To the rest who were moderately understanding, thank you. I’m searching for a place to stay that will allow her within our budget. I know a lot of you think that if a pet owner is in a bind it immediately makes said owner a bad pet owner, and means they shouldn’t have a pet but that’s not true. Stuff happens. I wish people were more understanding and would try to kindly educate rather than ridicule. Get angry at the people who do stuff like this, or worse. Not the people who ask for help in a situation like this. Thank you for the help, though. I’d never do anything to hurt my dog, that’s why I reached out.

 

Do you have any options for someone to pop in a few times a day? I wonder if a dog walker or similar might be a more cost effective option and will allow your dog to be fed, watered, toileted and exercised without breaking the bank.

I'd still be nervous as you did mention that your pup wasn't great when left on their own.

 

1. Why isn't your dog vaccinated?
2. Why can't you vaccinate your dog TODAY? I highly doubt a vet is so busy he can't spend 5 minutes to vaccinate a dog, and even if that is the case, there must be other vets in town.
3. Hire someone who can watch your dog while you are away.
4. There is no way I would leave a dog alone for a day, let alone 3 days! Seriously? I wouldn't leave a cat alone for three days for that matter. The question is ridiculous, it doesn't surprise me that some people reacted in the way they did. Dogs are a responsibility, if you can't find a solution for this situation, then don't go on a holiday.

 

There are dog sitters or dog walkers that can come to the house to let the dog out a few times a day but it would easier and kinder to get him vaccinated and kenneled.
If you imagine the amount of poop and pee in 3 days no amount of puppy pads will contain that then he will tread in it and sleep in it as he will carry it to his bed.
How can you even think it would be ok not to mention the other issues.
He will howl a lot and alert the neighbours and possibly the police will break in and cary him off to the pound then you will be faced with more expense than if you had kenneled him as you would be faced with a fine for leaving him alone the repair to your home the shots the pound will give and the pound bill also the expence when he come in contacts with the viruses the shots prevent.
Kinder to give him up to someone who can afford to look after him properly.

 

you need to give the dog to friends or neighbors, that's all.

 

I personally think it is very irresponsible to spend money traveling when you can't afford proper care for your dog.

 

Look, all other things aside you just have to put the dog 1st, it's really just as plain and simple as that. I don't judge you at all but owning a pet there is some sacrifices and it appears that this is one of those times.

Get someone to come round and sort the dog for 3 days if that's not possible for any reason "don't go".