Leaving a staffy alone

Heya folks, been reading the forum for months but thought I'd get involved.

My gf an I are looking to get a dog from a rescue centre and having always loved staffs it would be my preferred breed. My only concern is that I work shifts while she works a flexi scheme. As it stands the dog would only be alone max 4 hours, 5 days over a 3week period.....

But there's rumours around work that we may be changing to a 4x4 shift instead. It would mean I would be gone 12+ hours 4 days but home the next 4 days, so in essence the dog would be alone sometimes for 8 hours possibly 4 days in a row, depending if I was working midweek or weekends!

I asked at a rescue home and they said that they don't give dogs out to people who work 8+ hours a day but it got me thinking about as 90% of people work in office, 9-5, surely dogs must be left for that period! Admittedly it's down to the individual dog but.... Ah well!

So that's the basis of my concerns, Age old question I know but would love to hear people's opinions, how long do you find it acceptable to leave your staff alone?

Logan wouldn't be able to deal with being left that length of time. But my last dog was happy enough as she slept basically the whole day, only really got up for walks/food. She was alone for most of the mornings as my family all worked early. As long as she had water, warmth and a nice walk in the evening she was happy.

The only way it would work in my eyes is with the right dog so take your time in choosing one. Staffords need a lot of attention and they really need a human companion. Would it be posible to have a friend/relative pop round and let the doggy out to go to the toilet and run about at some point during your shift?

Hi & welcome to the forum.

Personally I think that 8 hours is too long. There are some members here who leave their dogs for that long, but have someone who can come in at least once during the day to give the dog some fuss & maybe a walk, or at least a toilet break in the garden.

Could a family member do that for you, or maybe a dog walker who has good references?

Ah believe me, I'd never want to leave the dog alone for 8 hours a day! This is purely a worse case scenario. I've been reading about the breed for moths and know they live human contact but just haven't seen anywhere about the dog being on its own.... Hence just speak to the people who own them already :-)

It just got me thinking about how other people manage who own dogs and work. Unless I'm to assume you can't work and own a dog?? 0_o

When both of us worked full-time we had a walker come in around lunchtime to give him a walk, change his water and give him some fuss. Previously I had a chow who could handle 8+ hours alone easily, but that's a very independent breed compared to staffys.

I'm very lucky in that my Mum has retired now and only lives 5 minutes down the road from me. So Logan stays with her when I work. I'd be afraid to leave him if I'm honest. There is always a chance of dogs being stolen. There is a fair few dog fighting stories not far from where I live and a dog like Logan would be a prime target for those scumbags.

My wee mum can handle him better than anyone on this earth could haha! Don't tell her I said that though

The dog walker ideas above might be an option you could look into.

A dog walker or a neighbour if you can trust them, just to let the dog out for a wee or a poo. Personally i don't think there is anything wrong leaving a dog for 8 hours as long as they have the run of the kitchen or house, NEVER in a crate. With lots of toys and a good long walk before and after work then they will sleep a lot of the time. But only if the walks are strictly before being left, no dog should be left alone unwalked.

We have only ever left Rocky alone for a maximum of 4 hours and no longer. Luckily my hubby is always at home so is there if need be.

When I am on nights Ledger stays home alone but only as I found that he would sleep for 10-12 hours anyway. I don't think he even moves off the sofa most of the time, its a bit different during the day as he has his routine of walks so he can go for a wee. We were matched at dogs trust as his previous owners had left him for long periods and when I am on days he can stay at my parents. I am looking into doggy daycare and dog walker options though

Can only offer the same advice as above , ours are left no longer than 2-3 hrs but our lives dictate this can happen ok . If you can sort out some altrnative care arrangements (neighbour , dog walker or doggy day care ) for these longer hours then great , go for it but if you can't then I would seriously reconsider . My OH now will not take a full time job as it doesn't fit in with the dogs care , we give up a lot to make sure they get the best we can offer them

I work full time, had to make the change from Moo coming to work 24/7 to a normal job where she couldn't come anymore. I am lucky as my mum and best friend help out, but otherwise I have a dog walker.

Personally I couldn't have left Moo for 8 hours because I was shattered! Up at 5.30 to give her good walk before work, luckily able to pop home in lunch. Finish work at 6, quick dinner, back out with Moo for another 1/2 hours, and by then I was completely shattered time for bed and to do it again! Dog walker is a must for me & her!!

Im lucky as most days the most Blue is left is about an hour as people are always in and out.
Have you asked them if they would concider it if you had a dog walker come in. Not sure how much they are. Maybe Janey can tell you the approx cost

at first romeo couldnt handel being alone, because i was always with him 24/7 as he came to my work place. but then a coworker became allergic to him as he got older. so he was alone for 6 hours a day. i then feel on money difficulty so about 2x a week he has to stay alone for 8+ hours. it was pretty rough to start with, but now he's pretty relaxed out it. i leave him a huge chew bone, fill up his kong, take him for a walk and then leave with out making a fuss of him, Romeo is always swimming in toys. he's pretty cool with it now days, no damage done and all.
but i try my best not to let those long days happen if i can. that and he has free roam of the whole apartment and we walk before and after work... alot

Maddie copes great with being left but I am lucky I am only part-time so she has never been left for more than about 5 hours. I have a training day coming up and will need to leave the house by 8am and not return until 5-ish. I think OH will have to take the day off work...

The odd time here and there is probably fine. It's obviously best, though, if your dog doesn't have to hold on to wee or poo for 8 hours! I mean, could you go 8 hours during the day without having a wee?

Caryll wrote:The odd time here and there is probably fine. It's obviously best, though, if your dog doesn't have to hold on to wee or poo for 8 hours! I mean, could you go 8 hours during the day without having a wee?

after a night on the drink i don't go for about 3 days until i top up my water levels

........I don't think Lexi goes on the booze, though, does she?

Max,Debo stays alone is 6hrs. And we always make sure that he's tired before we leave. Long walk with me,then with my OH and a game with my OH,a lovely staffed kong and toys. He's used to the routine now.

We have left Suki 8 hours on a few occasions and she was okay. We simply don't have anyone we trust to walk her so if we both have to be gone she is on her own. We take her for a 2-3 hour walk before we leave so she sleeps most of the time. We haven't done this on consecutive days though. We also built up to that amount of time alone over the last 2 years very slowly

A dog walker or family member really are the best options.

My dog is very spoiled as we never leave him on his own not even for an hour lol.
But I do honestly think he wouldn't be able to cope being on his own, because if I go to the toilet he'll come to the door and start crying lool like I said very spoiled lol

Caryll wrote:........I don't think Lexi goes on the booze, though, does she?

Wouldn't know, sometimes she's up the walls and some times she's a right moody cow like she's got a dreadful hangover haha

i think the thing here is that, when you have no other options and its not a daily thing then its probally going to be ok, just as long as the poor pooch isnt alone 8hrs+ a day 5-6 days a wek every month all year.
its cool for a some times thing, not an all the time thing.

like yourself we got spike from an animal shelter who said the 4 hours a day max rule so i used to come home at lunchtime to see him and leave 30mins later, this caused him to be more anxious and he NEVER went for a wee or no2 in that time so i delayed going back an hour every few days until he was at home solid for 8hrs a day 5 days a week. he gets a walk in the morning with the OH and when i get home he is straight out on another walk and he loves it. i play a little game of spot where he was sleeping as thats all he seems to do. spike has full run of the house with exception of the kitchen and he is a happy pooch with that. i guess it depends on the dog as we were very lucky as his bladder control is amazing.

Our two get left for 8 hours a couple of days a week. They have the garage as a kennel (with lots of straw, soothing music and lights) and an outside area to play/relieve themselves. It wasn't ideal but they are happy little dogs!

Today I handed in my notice at work (wooohooo!!) because I wasn't happy with leaving them for so long. Although selfishly its because I want to see them more! End of Feb our walks will be amazing, at the moment they are pretty functional during the working week 45 mins evening and night...

Can't wait to enjoy the mid week walks! I do need to get another job but luckily I have enough money to tide us over to find the RIGHT job, preferably one that I can work from home.

Clearly the lesson I have learnt is.....dogs rule my life lol but I love it

Sorry 'we' (being he) have the money to tide us over hehe my partner corrected me

cesca1 wrote:Sorry 'we' (being he) have the money to tide us over hehe my partner corrected me

Im not to sure about 8 hours. Personally, i can speak from experiance.
My old girl was brill ( she was a staffy). She was quite a lazy girl, so she didnt really notice if i was there or not lol.
When we got Kenny, I wasnt working, but my hubby was. So Kenny had me all day. When Kenny was 12 weeks old, a family member was taken to hospital in Birmingham, which meant Kenny was alone most days until hubby got home ( i had to be in Birmingham). This wasnt ideal, but there was no other way as all the family was there with me. This as left Kenny a very clingy dog. He's anxious when Im out. This isnt very nice for him.
My advice would be to take it slow, plan ahead. Staffy's really do need human contact. Im sure you'll make wonderfull staffy owners, just think it through. Some dog sitters/walkers can be fairly priced, so this could be something you could arrange. ATM, I work evenings and hubby days, so Ken allways has some1. Good luck and keep us posted