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Cavies Home Alone

A

Anji

Member
I'm closing in on my first Cavie (and first dog), and getting cold feet because I'm not sure if we are the right fit. I want to be sure we can provide a happy home for a little darling. Here are the things that are keeping me up at night:

1) Can you leave Cavie home alone for 6 hours, say 1 day a week? All the other days of the week you'd either be home all day or gone 3-4 hours maximum. Of course, outside of those 6 hours, you'd feed and walk the dog, but will the dog flip out during the 6 hours alone? I know all dogs are individuals, so I'm not looking for blanket statements, rather your individual stories and experiences.

2) What do you do if you're going out for the whole day? (Not a regular occurrence, but say you're taking your kids to the theme park for the day). Board the dog? Leave dog with a neighbor? *confused*

Thank you!
 
your dog will be fine left a few hours during the day. dogs sleep most the day away, as long as your dog has a safe spot he will be fine.
 
I leave mine occasionally for a workday stretch. Six hours for an adult with a safe setup should be fine. A good idea is in the kitchen (with no access to cupboards etc -- with water, bed, safe toys, a stuffed kong :) -- and if they do have an accident it is n issue to clean up. We out in a tile floor in the kitchen to accommodate the occasional accident of elderly dogs, puppies or fosters :D. For puppies, long stretches alone are not a great idea and can greatly lengthen the housetraining process but people can and do work effectively and responsibly with work hours. I would never crate a dog even if happily crate trained for more than a couple of hours max. But a safe room or alternatively, a puppy xpen set up in the kitchen, say, is good -- but remove collars to be on the safe side and make sure the pen is high enough. We also have a couple of these and they are one of the best investments you can make, so endlessly useful!!

These days most cities and towns will have proper doggie daycare services with the ability to drop off a dog for a few hours or a full day. Ypu can also sometimes work out swapping daycare with someone else who has a friendly dog. My only reluctance is if I don't know how careful the person is in minding/walking dogs etc...

If you go to www.dogstardaily.com you can download free books called Before You Get Your Puppy and After You Get Your Puppy which have lots of great advice (for new dogs of any age, not just puppies) and they show a useful set-up with a pen and crate inside. There's also great advice at www.positively.com on getting a new dog etc.

It can always seem overwhelming at first but things quickly become the norm! :)
 
Thank you for your replies.
I have read the dogstardaily, intend to do something like it. I have a tiled foyer area that can be gated off from the rest of the house, and will use that instead of an xpen. Right now I'm "in talks" to get an adult, completely trained. I know all the books say crates aren't cruel if used correctly, but why confine doggy to a crate if it can have a safe room?

If I do get this adult, would an xpen be unnecessary then?
 
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