^ good luck. Hope it works out and puppy is happy going there.
It has been our experience that dogs do know about the passage of time. While we don’t leave our dog(s) alone for more than 4 hours…the one time we left our newest rescue dog alone (she had lived with us for three years) for 7 hours (we had another dog at home with her) we came home to vomit and diarrhea and a terrified dog. They know.
I want to know how people have managed to not leave their dog at all for more than 2-6 or more hours!
I often think our dog is probably relieved when we leave the house for awhile particularly after a busy holiday or event - he wants to just curl up and have some peace and quiet!!
Hayden is right about the wisdom of introducing pup to doggie day care through a short stay…leave him there for a couple hours and come back. Where I live, the “pet resort” allows a half-day stay of up to four hours for $12 so it’s not too expensive to let the pup get used to the new smells and people and still get picked up by you.
If u have a chance to do this drop-off exercise a second time before u leave (I’m counting the 3-hour interview as first time) it will help him adjust to the new surroundings and be easier on you that he is familiar with the place when you drop him.
The other option if you are up against it and have to leave him home alone, is to see if your vet will recommend a mild sedative and let him sleep through your time away from him.
Does anyone have a dog door that opens to a fenced yard? Is that not done any more? My parents had a large screened porch later made into a 3 season room, shaded by trees. They propped open the door to the fenced backyard whenever they went out and left water dishes in the porch and on a brick patio outside. The family dog seemed quite content with the arrangement since she could chase away squirrels and enjoy sunbathing when the weather was cooler (this was in FL.) When I mentioned this to my DiL she got very upset and said it was much too dangerous because the dog might be stolen. We’ve always had shelter dogs (mutts) and never thought about someone wanting to steal them. Maybe for a costly breed this could be a problem.
My concern was always what, besides the dog, might come back in.
I would never allow my dogs outside unsupervised. If someone is looking for bait dogs, they don’t care if your dog is a mutt -just that they can take her. Don’t risk it!
i drive past two doggie daycares on the way to work. what can i say, it’s the burbs. the dogs look so happy to be out and freely playing with each other. good luck with your puppy, i think you are making a good choice here. no dog wants to misbehave at home, but sometimes they can’t help it if they panic being alone too long. we found that with our (now deceased) dog.
My dog is so stunningly gorgeous that if he were unattended, I’m sure he would be stolen because, really, who wouldn’t want him? (I’m making fun of myself here, in case it’s not coming through.) Hubby took him to the park and he is a real chick magnet. The puppy, not the husband.
We are going to check out the daycare and see if we can do something next week, otherwise my husband’s partner is going to look in on him. And if we can get him into daycare for the college visits, I am confident that I will be that rude woman fixated on her phone for the entire tour. It’s hard leaving a baby in daycare for the first time!
I’ve live in the city and I don’t believe it is legal to leave a dog in a fenced yard. In any case, anytime the dog heard a truck go by, he would go bonkers!
I would also worry about them getting out, being stolen( not a purebred, but a very attractive dog) or even being poisoned.
I would either use a dog walker, or leave at home, I think they are available most anyplace and Zooser, don’t you live in NYC?
But I wouldn’t use a kennel. Our pooch is a rescue, and still has a bit of anxiety, that originally came off as aggression, I would be afraid a kennel would be traumatic, although he did do fine, staying at my sister in laws, who has a set up in her garage for her three collies and guests.( she also has a large fenced run, much bigger than our urban backyard.) We have left him recently for about 4 days or so- twice, while we were on vacations. He did stick to us pretty closely when we returned for e few days, but he still is happy to go there and visit, so I don’t think it was traumatic.
I’ve also read, ( I think it was in The Genius of Dogs https://www.dognition.com/the-genius-of-dogs), that it isn’t that dogs tell time, but their noses are quite skilled, and they can tell when your scent has dissipated enough that they expect you to be arriving soon.
Some dogs take advantage when you are gone.
http://youtu.be/_jg2BK7vO8M
But others just miss you.
http://abc7.com/pets/pet-owner-records-adorably-sad-video-after-leaving-his-dog-home-alone/454388/
@zoosermom, I just remembered we live in the same area. Check out Buddy Sleepovers - I’ve been using them for my dog for several years - love the concept! You get to meet the family/person before deciding to leave your dog with them. You can get references from other clients with that pet sitter.
It may not be what you need for this time, but maybe it will come in handy: http://buddys-sleepovers.com/
P.S. I too would never, ever let any animal outside unsupervised, not a dog or a cat or a guinea pig or a bird, not in cage or without a cage. There are too many predators - humans being the most dangerous sometimes.
I would think that doggie daycare is something that would work if your dog goes there regularly and it is familiar, I know many working people who take their dogs to daycare during the work day.
Otherwise, a paid pet professional, a paid local trustworthy (references!) college student, high school student, or neighbor. I think the dog/pet attitude is more important than the age. I would have trusted D1 or D3 to do anything for any dog from age 12 on, i still would not ask D2 to care for my dog-she is a cat person 
Outer borough. The outerest borough!
Acollegestudent, thanks for the tip! Much appreciated.
That is one thing we did different with the pooch you see under my avatar, than the previous dog. When we had the previous dog, for most years, my girls were still at home, so even though I worked, and might be gone up to six hours, she was never alone for that period. But now that the girls are launched and opposite coasts, we decided to get this one used to staying other places. With the previous dog, when we were gone for long periods, we had someone we paid to stay at the house. We found that option to be somewhat limiting because many times you had to book out weeks and months in advance. Now the two options we use can, for the most part, be used in the last minute. I do take our current dog to doggy day care one day a week for a half day. Occasionally things have come up where we’ve needed him to stay all day, but since he’s familiar with the place due to all the half-day stays, we don’t think twice about leaving him all day if needed. We also use the guy who trained our dog for overnights. He does doggy day care, too, as well as overnights, but we tend to just use him for overnights. An added benefit… he picks up and drops off. So we now have two solid options to fall back on if we needed it. The most I leave him alone now, during the day, is 4.5-5 hours, max. But I no longer work outside of the home, so it’s no problem.
It was one of the best things we chose to do differently with this dog - get him used to others, outside of the home, who could care for him so we weren’t limited to people who come in the home only. I also know that our next door neighbors (who got a new rescue about the same time as we got our dog), who are both retired, also take their dog to doggy day care for a half day every week, just for the socialization. And in our suburban area, doggy day cares are everywhere!
We have a wonderful doggy day care in our area, and our 100 lb. Chocolate Lab/? mix goes there every week day. They offer nature walks (it’s out in the country) and play time with other dogs that are matched for size and temperament. It makes boarding our dog very easy when we are traveling. (We don’t travel a lot, but some.) We are away from home during the normal working day, and our dog could not last that long without walks.
Lol. In my neck of the woods, plenty of things.
For those of you who travel with your dogs (am only writing this because I know this is a dog-lover’s thread), if you have any reason to be in the Chicago area in the near future, please be aware that we are in the midst of a doggy-flu epidemic. Many doggy day cares have had to close down for a few days to disinfect. It’s not kennel cough, but doggy influenza.
After hearing enough horror stories, and being told to avoid dog parks, doggy day care, and really, any place where other dogs might have been, I called my vet’s office and was told they stock the two-shot vaccine that is pertinent to this strain of doggy flu. So we got the shots (two - taken three weeks apart), and I’ve been much more relaxed about taking our dog into these areas. I know it’s not 100% foolproof, but I feel confident with the protection.
Bait dogs? Yikes! That never occurred to me. That would be heart breaking.
As for what else might come inside, I’ve considered a RF-controlled dog door for our next dog(s) so that other animals couldn’t use it. Mainly, I’d want that option when I am at home but unable to take the dog(s) out. One reason we didn’t get another dog after our kids moved to their own homes was that I’ve had to recuperate from multiple surgeries without any help at home. Dh would leave a small cooler of drinks and yogurt by the bed and usually returned home from work well after the dog day cares have closed (6:00 p.m. here) so that wouldn’t help us. I’m also waiting until we move to our next house after dh retires. The large hawks and turkey vultures here have been known to snatch small pets.
OK… just read an article that the doggy flu strain (H3N2) in Illinois that has caused our epidemic has arrived in Texas now.
Zoosermom,your pup is ADORABLE!!!
Dog stealing from yards has been a real problem in our area for the last year or so. What a terrible thing for someone to do.