At what age to start leaving puppy alone for 3-4 hours?

[NAMRATA KHANAL]

Hi, we have a chocolate lab and he turned 5 months old today. We have only had him for one month and we have pretty much never left him alone without us in his sight. His access is limited to the kitchen and the family room, but we hang out in the adjacent living room which is separated by a puppy gate. I was wondering what an appropriate age would be for us to leave him alone for a few hours in the day or in the evening either in the crate or out of it (within the barrier) with us out of sight, and ultimately out of the house.

Night time: He is very fussy before going to bed but is able to sleep through the night in his crate without waking us up for a potty break.

Potty training status: He prefers to go outside and 99% of the time lets us know by sitting by the door. 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there!

Welcome to the forums! This is a great question, but I am afraid I won't have an exact answer as to how long a puppy of this age can be left alone, in the sense of being left alone and being totally comfortable and fine with it. 

The fact is, there are many variables. In other words, while a 5-month-old chow chow can be left 3 hours alone with zero problems, that doesn't mean that a 5-month-old Labrador retriever will do the same. 

We will therefore have to keep in mind a dog's individuality and several other factors.

For instance, can a 5-month old be puppy be left alone for 3-4 hours without having problems holding it? That answer will vary.  In general, we expect a puppy to have full bladder and bowel when he's around 5 to 6 months old. More precisely,  we expect a 5-month-old puppy to be able to "hold it" for at least 8 hours when crated at night, and at least a max of 5-6 hours if crated during the day.

However, not everything is cut and dry when it comes to living creatures, and there may be variations based on individual cases. It's not unheard of for some puppies to still have accidents at 8 months or even up to a year! Smaller dogs are notoriously known for taking longer to be potty trained compared to larger dogs, but even here, there may be exceptions.  

Of course, in order to up the chances for success, it's important to ensure that the dog is officially "empty" before being crated, meaning he has peed and pooped prior. This is where training a dog to go potty on cue comes handy. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/advanced-potty-training/potty-on-command/

The use of a crate is key here as it helps the puppy "hold it" considering that, dogs who are introduced to the concept of a crate from an early age, instinctively avoid soiling the area where they sleep. On top of this, the crate restricts the pup's movement and makes them less likely to want to drink a lot or eat which are all factors known to increase the urge to potty. 

Keeping in mind your pup's age, his size, and the fact that you report that he is able to hold it through the night, it sounds like he'll likely be OK to hold it for 3-4 hours. Consider how he is doing throughout the day. Can he hold it for that length of time once he's peed and pooped and is therefore officially "empty?" If so, he'll likely be fine holding it that long during your absence.  

Having covered the topic of how long 5-month-old puppies can generally "hold it," the next question is how will he fair being left alone? This is where things may get more complicated. 

Even here, there are no ballpark figures considering individual factors such as the dog's breed and temperament, age, level of training obtained, and how much exercise and mental stimulation the dog obtains during the day. 

Breed-wise, according to research conducted by board-certified veterinary behaviorist Dr. Lisa Radosta, gun dogs like Labradors, Weimaraners etc. tend to suffer more from anxiety when left alone. This likely because of their genetics, considering that these breeds were being selectively bred for increased sociability, but it can also result from their upbringing, starting with the interactions with the breeders.

A Labrador retriever or Weimaraner is expected to be more likely to suffer from anxiety being left alone for some hours, compared to a more independent breed such as a Chinese Shar-pei or an Akita. 

Age-wise, at 5 months, pups start becoming more independent, especially if breeders and owners were diligent in fostering that in them starting from an early age. Starting at roughly 4 months, pups go through the flight stage period, a time where they are more explorative of their surroundings. 

Training-wise, dogs should be ideally trained gradually to accept being left alone starting from a young age. In a perfect scenario, breeders start introducing young puppies to a crate so that they feel more comfortable in it once they're sent to their new homes. 

Once in their new homes, once puppies appear to be more comfortable in their surroundings, they can be gradually habituated to us being out of sight starting with very brief periods of time, and then gradually increasing the time. 

This is accomplished by creating positive associations with being left alone (giving the puppy access to something they love like a durable chew or several treats scattered on the floor to hunt for, contingent upon our absence), but in a strategic way so to always keep the pup under threshold without experiencing acute stress.  

Puppies are also encouraged to engage in independent play and exploration at a distance from owners and games such as hide and seek. The use of a baby gate, can turn handy for several exercises. I am glad to see you have been using one. More about these exercises can be found here:  https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-to-prevent-separation-anxiety-in-puppies/

Exercise/mental stimulation-wise, on top of dogs suffering from anxiety when left alone, another common issue is dogs being destructive when left alone. 

This is often confused for separation anxiety, but in a dog who is destructive because of feeling bored, the anxiety element is missing, and these dog are more likely to focus on destroying things like pillows and remote controls versus windows and doors. 

If a 5-month-old puppy therefore needs to be left alone, it is best to ensure his needs for exercise and mental stimulation have been met considering that a bored and under stimulated youngster is more likely to act destructive. 

Keeping a 5-month-old crated is a win-win considering that it helps keep the pup safe, while also keeping your belongings safe from being chewed on and destroyed.

Now, if your puppy hasn't been left ever alone, without you out of sight, and you will be leaving him alone for 3-4 hours cold turkey, I would expect some reaction of some sorts, from barking (or being destructive if not safely crated) and then possibly settling in the best case scenario, to being stressed the whole time or even panic-stricken in the worst cases. So leaving him alone this way is sort of a shot in the dark. 

With the recent pandemic, and many dog owners working at home, there has been a surge in cases of separation anxiety.

 

Your best bet, if your puppy was never left alone before, is to take a step-by-step approach considering that you don't know how he may react. 

 

You may therefore want to start with very short absences and build from there. The tricky part is working at a level that doesn't cause your puppy stress. If you notice signs of stress, you need to take that as a sign that you have progressed too quickly. Take a step back and work on briefer absences, being careful not to progress until you have attained a calmer response. 

 

When progressing to going out of the door, and leaving briefly, it helps to use some type of remote monitoring system so that you can carefully gauge his emotional state. One of my favorites is the Furbo camera which even allows you to toss your dog treats. 

 

If your dog ever looks overwhelmed, decrease duration, if he seems OK, you can gradually increase it. Be careful though to mix in shorter absences now and then so that your puppy doesn't predict a pattern of increased difficulty which can trigger stress. 

 

More in depth protocols if you notice anxiety, are covered here: 

 

I hope this helps, keep us posted on how things go, and feel free to post here any additional questions or updates.

Happy training!

Best,

Adrienne 

[FrederykBlot]

Hi,

 

in our case, we did it officially late, but started training early, with direct training, like going in and out of a room while he's in the same room, for longer and longer timespan

but also in an indrect way : I explain : when young, we put our Loki into forced naps, as he would be able to settle alone, but young pups young sleeps for hours, something up to 4 hours if we had a big play / walk session

we worked with a little wifi cam to ensure he wasn't in distress during the training and the first several minutes out

 

One important thing is we always made sure it was after a big walk, big session of play : you don't want a just woken up dog / super excited dog being alone in your house

 

If you don't want him to sleep specifically I think the gate would be enough, with access to toys, so he can choose if he want to play alone, of sleep