# home alone for 10 hours



## tinycharlie (Aug 16, 2005)

Hi everyone, we're newbies here and new to chihuahuas as well. We just got Charlie on Saturday, he is 8 weeks old... and we're forced to leave him home alone for 10 hours due to the fact that we both work.

Currently, he is locked in the bathroom with a crate (which he has not been trained to use as a "den") and a weeweepad (which he has also not been trained to use)... 

Our question is if this will cause some sort of a long term devastating trauma to Charlie if we kept leaving him alone at home for long periods of time. And if it will create a sort of incurable behaviorial problem later on. 

We do know that he cries the whole entire time because we keep him in the crate at night as well. When we come home and let him out of the bathroom, he continues to cry and whine (even if we're holding him) for about 5 more minutes until he forgets about it...

Do you guys have any suggestion on a better set up for lil Charlie, ruling out the possibility of a pet sitter or kennels? 

Thanks.


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## Cooper (Jun 15, 2005)

I don't know what to tell you. You may try leaving him with a kong when you leave - fill it with food and treats - so he's got something to occupy his time. Also some chew toys might help.

Try putting a wind-up alarm clock under his bedding so he can hear the muffled ticking noise - that might intice him to stay in bed more, and since puppies sleep a lot, it probably won't cause a problem with him not sleeping while you are.

Also, walking dogs before leaving them for long periods of time is really good for them. It gets all their energy out first thing in the mornings before they are left. I understand he's young but you might start walking him once he's had all his shots and has been cleared for ground contact by the vet for about 15-20 minutes every morning. Also, giving him a good walk either after you get home or before bed wouldn't hurt either.

The doctor tells me it's good for the human too... maybe that's why I don't do it. LOL


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## Pismo (Aug 2, 2005)

Do they have doggie daycare in your area? I have no idea how expensive it is...others on the board may know.

Ten hours is a long time, especially for a young puppy. I use to leave my Keeshond alone for about 8 hours, but we had taken two weeks off when we got her and she was completely potty trained by the time we went back to work (she was a fast learner, and we had a doggy door). She also had a cat for company. Now I only work part time, so it is not a problem, but I also find that my dogs keep each other company. Mo doesn't seem to have any separation anxiety, but he always has two dogs and a cat around (although he is physically separated right now) He can still see them through the doggy gate.

Best thing would be if you could stagger your work hours so he isn't alone so long...but I know that is not easy to do. You may also consider getting him a friend, but you need to arrange time off to stay with them and train them.


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## LuvMyChi (Aug 8, 2005)

Hi & Welcome!

I know how hard it can be for ppl who work. I am lucky in the fact that I am a stay at home Chi Mom right now. I've read on different sites and such that Chi's should not be left alone for more than 4 hrs at a time. I've left Hershey (7 wks old) for up to 5 hrs at a time. He does really well in his pen though. Maybe you will get some helpful advice from the wonderful folks here. Good luck and congrats on your baby Chi!


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## 2pups622 (Apr 17, 2005)

10 hours is way to long especially for that young of a puppy hes bored how much playing can he do by himself..hes in a crate to long hes in it all day then all night how many hours is he with someone mabee you can get someone a couple times to go over to your house to play with him you should have gotten a old dog from a shelter


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## tinycharlie (Aug 16, 2005)

2pups622 said:


> 10 hours is way to long especially for that young of a puppy hes bored how much playing can he do by himself..hes in a crate to long hes in it all day then all night how many hours is he with someone mabee you can get someone a couple times to go over to your house to play with him you should have gotten a old dog from a shelter


Thank you for your advice and comments. We do have our preference and when we made a commitment to get a puppy instead of an older dog, we know we would do anything to make it work. That is why we are asking other's opinion on the board, to get different options and ideas that we can try. Giving him away or trading him for an older dog are not things we're considering, so the focus for us right now is how to better the situation. 

I believe we will try to adjust our schedules so that we could lessen the hours we are away and I may take some time off to properly train him to use his crate as a den and also paper train him. 
We are even considering a doggy sitter for daily visits. 

I really do appreciate everyone's suggestions so far and would love to hear more!


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## 2pups622 (Apr 17, 2005)

that great the daily sitter seems like a good way to go if there someone you trust that much 

mabee if you have a bigger room where you can put a xpen so it would be alittle more room and lot and lots of toys theres also the stuff dog called snuggle pup something like that where it has a heartbeat and warmer in it its great for young pups you should look into that


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## Rachael Polachek (Feb 19, 2005)

I have no idea how to train a puppy but I just wanted to say that you sound 100% committed. I know you'll make it work. Can we see some pics of the little guy, please? :wave:


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## Cooper (Jun 15, 2005)

If you're friendly with your neighbors, you might see if a teenager that you trust would come over after school and play with the pup, help train him, etc. That might be cheaper than a dogsitter ... but it would definitely have to be the chess club president or someone you trust in your home. :lol:


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## jec582 (Jun 17, 2005)

Where are you located?? I too have to work long hour days. Right now Pixie lives with another chi that belongs to my roommate and since my pup is litter box trained (most of the time) and we live in a small apt. we are going to leave them home alone while we go to work. I have not been locking her up for short periods at a time and she has been doing really well...not causing any trouble or having accidents. This way they can play all day and have access to their food and toys. I am still nervous about it though and have looked into some doggie daycares. I doubt if you live near me but if you do I can give you the name of the reasonably priced dogsitters I have come across.


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## JOLIE'SMOM (Jul 15, 2005)

I believe that 10 hours is way too long for a little puppy to spend alone. It sounds like he has very little human contact so it's no wonder he cries. I have to work too so i know how hard it is. I would love to stay home with mine but that just isn't possible. I do however, come home around noon, let the grown chis out to potty and let Jolie and Boomer out to play and to cuddle/love on them. After around 30-45 minutes, everyone is ready for another nap. This is what is working for me right now. It may not be possible for you to come home during the day. 
Maybe you could hire someone who lives close by to come in and play with Charlie for a little while during the day. A few years ago i hired a company to come in twice a day to check on, play with,feed and water my chi when i went on vacation. Maybe there's something like that in your area? Good Luck!


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## Chico's Mama (May 22, 2005)

I know how hard it is to leave them home a lone for so long...when i used to work at a doctor's office, i'd have to leave chico home alone for about 7 hours every day and i hated it...both me and my hubby worked. but, my kitties kept him company, which is why i think he adapted to it so well. but now, i'm a stay at home "chi and kitty mom." 

i do agree, maybe you could see if someone you trust can come into your house everyday and play with and walk your chi? that would be the best option if theres no doggy daycare around. i hope you do work something out.


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## tinycharlie (Aug 16, 2005)

Thanks for all the advice everyone, we do have two cats who seem to be taking very well to Charlie so hopefully they will help keep him company when we are away. I also was able to find a friend who works very near by, about 2 minutes, he is very trustworthy and we are working out the details but he has his lunch from 12:00 to 1:00 every day. We both feel horrible leaving him home alone all day and hopefully we will make the best of it. Thanks again, more pictures to come soon...


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## lisa_1018 (Aug 16, 2005)

when i got my first chi i was also working long hours, and i was single so i know what your going through. she was older, but had always been with someone all day and was misserable home alone. i would consider getting a playpen if charlie doesn't seem like he'd jump out of it, and set it up near a tv or radio that could be left on (on a sleep timer even, so hears voices, and doesn't feel so alone) also, pheobe loved stuffed animals, especially one my sister gave her that was the "taco bell dog" . if your friend can come visit even for an hour it will be a big help. these are things that worked for me. my sister had to come and sit with pheobe for an hour after school every day and trust me, it made a very big difference. luckily now i'm a stay at home mom, so it isn't a problem for us anymore. i'm sure it's difficult for all of you to adjust (who really wants to go to work and leave such a bundle of cute at home? lol) but you sound like you're really willing to do whatever it takes to make it work, i wish you the best of luck!


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## star (Apr 18, 2005)

hello and welcome  

everybody has to work and there dogs have to be home alone...i know loads of people who work a 9-5 job and leave there dogs home all day...they have there friend or family to pop in at lunch and play and walk them  

I myself think 10 hours is way to long for any dog or pup to be left alone..
I stress when i have to leave tyke alone for 3hours on wed/fir...
like people are saying if you can find someone you trust to pop in and play and take him for a walk  

a few things that may help your pup feel more chilled out is leaving the radio on..lots of toys.. and chew chews 

when im gone i tape tyke on my webcam  this way i get to see if he getting stressed out or just chilling!
for the first half hour he goes a bit mad crying etc..then he just chill on his blankie buy the door till i come home! when i get back he gets hyper and crys for a bit!

i dont know anything about having a pup as i got tyke when he was about a year and a half..
i think somebody else said this :? you could get him a bigger like play pen, so hes not always in his crate and his got more space to play..walk around.. 

isnt a crate just for sleeping in :? 

good luck i hope it works out for you 
have you got any pixs of your pup??????


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## tinycharlie (Aug 16, 2005)

Hello again everyone! We really appreciate all of your many helpful advise and support. I think the webcam idea is great! Why didn't we think of that? This way we can see how he's doing and have a better idea of how to make best of the situation. Also we love the radio idea and will definitely be leaving one on, so that there are noises around. I can't believe we didn't think of that either. 

Another thing we're doing is taking shifts in the middle of the night (2-3am)to let him out and do his business and play with him for an hour until he falls asleep again. Then we wake up at 6am to play with him for another hour and we leave at 7. Hopefully we can make definite arrangements to have someone come over from 12-1pm so that at least he has little human visits every now and then before we return home at 5.

Last night we finally got him crate trained so he voluntarily sleeps in there now, and he's enjoying his peanut butter filled kong very much. He still has a big anxiety issue, so we have to find some way to help he overcome that. I will be taking Monday off to spend a bit more time with him.

We have some pictures but they're sort of blurry! Nevertheless, here's Charile:























































Thanks again everyone.


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## OzzyAndLilysMom (Mar 9, 2004)

hi and welcome 

what a cutie pie he is - I bet it breaks your heart every time you leave him.

For a start I would get rid of the crate, they arent designed to keep dogs confined for that amount of time, if he is in it 10 hours all day then Im presuming 7 8 hours on a night that is 17 hours out of a day he is crated which i bet feels a bit like been an animal at a zoo - he needs socialisation etc, if it was me I would put him in a larger room where he cant get in trouble with pee pads, food , water, toys and blanket .

I had t leave ozzy for a maximum of 8 hours a day when he was younger (12 weeks plus) and I usded to feel so guilty I got another chi lily lol and they keep each other company, play together , sleep together and I dont jhave to worry when they are home alone as they have each other :wave:


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## Pismo (Aug 2, 2005)

Thanks for the extra pics. Charlie is a real cutie!


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## 8batch (Mar 11, 2005)

Pad or litter training is a must if you don't have a doggy door and fenced in yard. 

Also would look into another chi for company, cats are not chis and therefore are not the same as your baby. I give all my babies their shots and worming and it costs just a little more for two and they will benefit each other. 

I also leave the TV on for them but I really don't have to becasue there are 3 of them (babies) and two grown one in my room. I would also suggest not locking in crate during the day but at nite if you need to. 3 sleep with me every night two in their pen with the door open.

P.S. Welcome!


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## hnj22 (Jul 14, 2005)

Hi! Your baby is so adorable!!

My husband and I both work full time but luckily our schedules allow Corky to be in and out of his crate throughout the day. My husband gets up about 3 am and lets Corky out to play, eat, potty then I let him out about 7 and he is out for about an hour. We crate him from 8-12 then I come home for lunch and he is out from 12-1. Then my husband is home by 2 or 3 in the afternoon and he is out for the rest of the night until about 9-930 when we got to bed. We always leave a radio on for him when we are not home. He also has his cat brothers who talk to him and stick their hands in his house to say hi.

We also have a big crate for him since he is too little to be out in the house without us being home. He has a bed, food and toys with plenty of room to play. I know some would recommend not to give him a big crate but when it is his second home so to speak I want him to be able to play and sleep comfortablely. WHen he gets a little older I think we will babyproof our spare bedroom and let him have that room while we are gone and crate him at night.


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## tinycharlie (Aug 16, 2005)

I think the crate is very helpful for us because we can't keep him constantly supervised. However, we do leave him out during the day in a fenced pen area in the kitchen where he has his chew toys, water and his weeweepad. We only keep him locked up during the night. 

He is very sweet and we'd hate to make his first few months here a traumatic experience. Maybe we will look into getting him a friend.


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## Cooper (Jun 15, 2005)

Oh you posted pictures of that cutie patootie without a cute warning!! LOL He's adorable!!

My only advice about the crate would be that they're "designed" to sleep in, so you may want to confine the little guy to a bathroom or small area in the kitchen and put the crate in there, pee pads, etc... and just leave the crate door open so he's got a place to sleep. You may do that already; I'm a bit goofy (okay, a lot goofy) and might have missed it.

The cats will probably provide great entertainment for your chi... I don't necessarily agree with those that have said to get another chi because cats aren't great companions for them. That being said, MY cat absolutely hates my chi, but she hates everyone. :lol: But if your cats are getting along well with the puppy, they will probably entertain him very well once he's old enough to leave out in your home without worries of potty accidents. I've had plenty of cats in my lifetime that were my previous chi's best friends.

I commend you on your quest for suggestions... I'm sure your family will make a great chi family, especially since you seem to be willing to go to any length to keep your chi happy! I hope he realizes what a lucky little guy he is!!

I'll stress again that once he's able to go outside, lots of exercise will help him with boredom while you're gone... especially if you aren't able to cut down work hours, etc and he has to stay home with the kitties for extended periods of time. Puppy classes or general obedience would help as well. I learned a lot of information, not only in how to train my dog, but how to keep him entertained, even when I'm not home. It was also great socialization for him since you are unable to be home with him as much as you would like to be.  

Good luck with the little guy... he's adorable!! And give your kitties extra love during this time - you don't want them to turn on you like mine did. LOL


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## paint my world (Jan 26, 2005)

Hey

Your little guy really is cute. My boyfriend and I both work. I leave about 6.30ish in the morning and sometimes my boyfriend does to.. but then sometimes he'll stay in bed with Zola til 9 pr 10am. It really depends on what hours he does that day. I am working 8-4s at the moment so Im back in my house for 5 ish. SO Zola is left most of the day. Lucky for me tho I have a neighbour who I trust and is totally in love with Zola. They fed him his lunch and sometimes take him into there house for a few hours to run about and play with him. 
I have never crated Zola. At night he sleep in a big baby play pen and when he cries to get out in the morning I take him out and he sleeps in my bed. Id have him in bed all night only he might need to poo or pee and I might not wake up. Also I never sleep deeply while he's in bed cuz Im paranoid he falls out or something.
Anyway... while we're at work we give him full run of my kitchen. Its not square its more like long ways, if that makes any sense. So he can run the whole lenght or it. Also there is nothing on the floor like wires, etc for him to be in danger of or chew on. Everything like my dishwasher and dryer has the wires pushed up against the wall so that there is no way possible he can get to them. He's left with plenty of toys, water, and chews and if he has any left over breakfast he gets left that to. Then fed at lunch. He is left pee pads as he is trained to them.. So there always a nice poop on it for me coming in. haha. He goes crazy when I come in, jumping at my face, kissing me and crying. The he calms down about 10 mins after that.
He;s really lazy in the mornings so I think he probably just goes back to sleep once we leave for a good few hours then my neighbours come in then not TO long after Im home. So... thank god for my neighbours.
My advice to you tho would be to leave the crate door open for him, like someone else said so he can come and go as he pleases and if there any room you can leave him in for the full run of it that would be good. Being left alone that amount of time they nned lots of space. I was gonna leave Zola in his babypen at first but thought.... not way thats no way big enough... even tho he was tiny

Good luck and keep us posted on how it turns out for you


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## OzzyAndLilysMom (Mar 9, 2004)

oh sorry my mistake I trhought you said in your first post you kept him in the bathroom with a crate for 10 hours during the day and then he is crated again at night :wave:


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## 8batch (Mar 11, 2005)

Sorry, I guess I am guilty of not reading the first posts real well also. i do believe you are doing the best that U can as we all try to do. And that is all anyone can ask. Your baby is beautiful and it will work out for you. :wave:


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## chimom (Apr 1, 2005)

I think it is great that you are willing to make an extra effort to make things easier on your baby, even to re-arranging your work hours if necessary. I wish all chi owners were that committed. 

You've been given some excellent suggestions. I'm fortunate as I'm retired and could spend plenty of time with Jazzy when I got her last year. Earlier this spring, I did go back to work for 3 months on a temporary basis and I was really worried about how Jazzy would adjust, but she did great. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that I was able to be with her 24/7 for the first 6 months. 

As suggested, if you can puppy proof your kitchen and block it off from the rest of the house, that would be the best place for him with his toys, food, puppy pads and crate. It would be even better if your friend or neighbor could stop by a least once a day to play with him for a few minutes.

Your Charlie is an absolute doll - what a sweet little face. 

Welcome to the forum, and good luck. :wave:


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## ksoliz (Mar 15, 2005)

First I have to say Charlie is soooooo cute!!! I feel bad for you because you have to leave tiny Charlie home for that long. It's very sad when owner's don't think about consequences before buying a pet....however I'm happy to hear that you are doing everything you can to help Charlie!! I did'nt have time to read what everyone's post that replied to you, however when I had to start leaving Bago home alone he was somewhat potty trained so I left him in a little bit of a bigger space than the bathroom - I left him in our kitchen with LOT"S of toys! his bed and a big blanket food and water and his wee wee pad's and he did just fine! I also had a close retired neighbor come in and check on him. And soon he was able to stay in our room. I would'nt get another chihuahua until Charlie is fully trained so that way he can help the other, I think you may have said you have cat's sooner or later Charlie will be playing with them and you won't feel so bad leaving him home. Bago is very spoiled and get's to sleep with us but if you have him locked up all day and then crate him at night it's not very fair to him he need's lots of socialization, you may want to try sleeping close to him until he stop's crying I also used a plastic heart that had a beat and put it in Bago's bed at night and he loved it!! Well good luck to you - it will work out!!! Charlie is such a cutieeeee pie!!!!


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## Rachael Polachek (Feb 19, 2005)

He's absolutely adorable! I love the pic where he's looking at the bone like, "Mommy, do you really expect me to eat that thing???" :lol: 

I must add a note of caution. If that's rawhide please be very careful as it can pose a real choking hazard if he bites off a piece. Please, either watch him the whole time he chews on it or find a less dangerous alternative. :wave:


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