How long can a Puppy stay alone ?

Welcoming a furry member to your family and warming them to your home is an exciting journey marked with love, compassion, and a lot of patience. Caring for a puppy requires several adjustments to your routine as they require plenty of care, exercise, and interaction.

With these considerations, the question arising in the mind of a new pet parent is “can I leave my puppy alone?” And the answer – to your relief – is, yes!

It's common for puppies to suffer from separation anxiety, especially when their parents are away for days together. Sometimes, this anxiety is so extreme that puppies may not want their owners to leave, even just for a few minutes. To deal with their distress, parents can use tactics like –

• Make the arrivals and departures at home discreet and subtle without creating any noise. Basically, the quieter the better!

• Try giving them a treat before leaving so that the associate departure with happiness.

• Try to make them familiar with the clinking of keys throughout the day. So that while leaving, they do not fixate on the keys and are calmer or more relaxed.

Several experts state that leaving your puppy alone for short intervals helps them learn how to be away from you. Yet, while you need not be with your bundle of joy for every second of the day, you will still need to give them a considerable amount of time so they don’t experience separation anxiety.

When you think of leaving your puppy alone the most important thing to consider is pee time. Puppies can’t really “hold it in” for very long and it isn’t healthy to push the limit on this either. The usual pee-holding limits for puppies are: -

 Less than an hour for puppies between 8-10 weeks.

 As much as two hours for puppies between 10-12 weeks.

 Between 3-6 months the limit varies based on age. The younger ones can hold it for lesser and the older ones for longer.

 After six months, the maximum your doggie can hold it in, is up to six hours.

Although it is not recommended to leave them alone for so long. New pet parents must bear in mind that puppies are extremely social. And so, even when you leave them with chewy treats and distracting toys while you are away, they will need to be showered with love and care when you return to them.

Puppies can resort to whining when they have extreme bouts of separation anxiety. Usually, people give in to the whining and start petting their dogs. And this will only increase their whining as a tactic to get attention. How does one stop this whining or reduce it? Here are some pointers to keep in mind –

• Turn your back and ignore the whining.

• Fold your arms and look away rather than making direct eye contact with them.

• Leave the room to reduce the whining.

Once the whining reduces, parents can pet or play with their dogs to appreciate their nature.

Loving a pet is much more complex than feeding them the right food and being affectionate. Just like parenting, caring for dogs is also about paying attention to their smaller idiosyncrasies. All this to provide a healthy and happier lifestyle for them!

If your work is demanding you can rely on Snouters to look after your puppy with utmost care and affection. Whether it is boarding with a loving family while you travel, daily dog walks to burn off some calories, or daycare to mingle and make friends – we have you covered. Thankfully, with those puppy eyes and bouncing gait, loving a dog is the most effortless thing to do!