In a week I will have to leave for the day to go to the Dr., 3 1/2 hours away, so I will be gone all day. I have a secure fenced yard, a self feeder, and a garage with a walk in door that opens into the yard. My plan is to leave Moose in the yard, with a dog bed set up in the garage (which has been cleaned, and all chemicals locked away). For Milely (my chihuahua) I plan on setting up kennel panels in the garage, not letting her run loose with Moose. My reasoning is for Miley's safety; Moose is not a bad dog, he is just a 16 week old puppy, and I always supervise their play. Miley weighs all of 5 lbs. Moose is currently at 30 lbs, and his focus is play play play. I do not want to come home to find Miley injured. My friend says they should be fine and I am unfairly punishing :O Miley by planning to kennel her (it's a 4' by 6' kennel). He also went on to say that Moose is a behaviour problem because he does play too rough with Miley, and that he should take Moose home for a week and he'll learn. My view is that Moose is a normal 16 week old puppy, and no way would I leave Miley alone all day with any 16 week old pup unsupervised. I will be having a friend come to check up on them during the day and will be home that evening.
Personally I wouldn’t leave a sixteen week old pup any longer than two hours in one day. I never leave the two dogs alone together, that’s not fair on the older dog, they need to be supervised when together, until both are adults imo. .
I would not trust any puppy at that age to be outside all day. Puppies get into lots of stuff!! Plus, the older dog could accidentally injure the little one. My puppy was about 4 months when we started leaving him home alone, but he's also not a chihuahua and we left him inside (and he's never gets into anything he's not suppose to). I would never leave a dog outside for that amount of time. But that's just my opinion. Your chihuahua sounds tiny and that cage sounds pretty big in comparison. You can always have someone could over a couple times and let her out and play with her for an hour or so. Alternatively, you can check out to see if there are any dog daycares around where your appointment is and bring her with you. This is a long shot, but wouldn't hurt to check it out.
I am considering just taking her (the little one) with. There are zero doggy day cares here (we don't even have a vet anymore!), but I have a friend who will stop by and check up on the doggies while they are outside. And thank you! Miley is tiny and the kennel is one of those outdoor kennels where you put the panels together. I used it before my yard was fenced for my golden, Max.
And I agree that puppys get into alot of stuff. I have every chemical in the garage put into an old refrigerator that he cannot open, I have picked up everything I can possibly take out of the yard. There are zero solar lights, etc left out any more. I think it's safer this way for him than even in the house, where he is pretty handy at opening cupboard doors and possibly getting into some of my cleaning chems. The only further alternative I have is to take her, still set up the kennel, pop Moose into the kennel in the backyard, but that seems a bit much, even for the sometimes overly cautious me. I don't know why this makes me so nervous. My Max was outside everytime I had to take a trip like this. He was outside (weather permitting) when I was at work, and this will just be a few hours more than your average work day.
How many visits will your friend be doing? I'd be inclined to take Millie with me. Could your friend not just spend the day at your home? A box of beers (or drink of their choice), plenty of snacks, tv - that could work, and would be much better than leaving a 4 month old to potentially run amok in your yard.
Me, personally, I wouldn’t leave my lab in your proposed arrangement. I’d be too afraid of A) theft and B) what they could dig up in the yard. They find everything, and with my guy there’d be holes everywhere. Then there’s the garage. I’d never leave two dogs that age and size together but that’s me. There must be a friend who could sit for you like mentioned above. Even in a secure Arrangement I’d never leave my dog without supervision for 8 hours. We do it now but he’s almost two and had been trained to be on his own in the house tsince 6 months but also his Grammy lives in the flat downstairs. And I’d never leave my dogs with someone who says leave them with me for a week and I’ll sort them out. Lol
Hi, I really would advise you don't leave Moose alone for that period of time. He could hurt himself, or get distressed that you are not there. I would not be leaving a four month old puppy alone for any longer than an hour or two at maximum.
I agree with @Karen For the pup’s sake they need to build up to being left alone and, even then, for a couple of hours maximum after plenty of stimulation and exercise. You don’t want to set up possible anxiety problems. Imagine being alone with nothing whatever to do, no TV, computers or books. It’s awful. And dogs don’t play alone, even if left with plenty of toys - they play with people or other dogs as they are social animals. .
This is a very real possibility, something you want to avoid at all costs. A dog with separation anxiety is an unhappy dog that cannot be left alone...
I agree with YOU regarding Moose and Millie. But I would not like to leave such a young puppy outside all alone. Heck, not even an adult dog. You could come back home and he'd be gone. Unless you have worked up both dogs to the time alone while you are away then I think a friend to come in and sit with them would be a good idea. NOT the the friend who says Moose will learn if you leave him at that friend's house for a week. I also think a 4' x 6' kennel is fine, if they are used to it and it's inside, for Moose, assuming Millie is used to it for outside. But still, after having an outside dog all my childhood, I don't think I will ever do it again.
