Leaving a Labradoodle at home alone

[Glen]

My wife and I are considering getting a Labradoodle but need some advice about leaving the dog at home alone whilst we are at work. It would be left alone for up to five hours, four days a week. Do you think the breed has the right temperament for this?
We wouldn't be getting a puppy so I was also wondering what sex and age of dog would be most appropriate for spending time on it's own. Thanks for any replies.

[Daisy'sMom]

Well, first off I do believe every dog is different and you just don't know what you're going to get, there are no guarantees unfortunately. But with that said, we have Daisy, she's a medium sized Labradoodle, about 36ish lbs. We started being able to leave her for up to 5-6 hours when she was about 9-10 months old with free roam of the house (except we closed the bedroom doors). She has always done great with that, she doesn't have any separation issues and is never naughty when we're gone. She saves the chewing and garbage digging for when we are home Although that's pretty minimal these days anyway. I'm a FT stay at home mom so I come and go from our home all day everyday, but there's definitely days I have to leave her for 5-6 hours and she does great, but it's not every day and for multiple days in a row. However, if I did do that I'm still confident that Daisy would be just fine. I think she mainly sleeps while we are gone, otherwise she is my shadow around the house and also likes to follow the kids, so there's many days where the only rest or nap she gets is if we leave the house! Anyway, I do believe Labradoodles are a great temperament to be left for the time you said but again, just depends on the dog. We feel so fortunate that Daisy is such a good girl and easy going

[Glen]

That's brilliant. It really does put my mind at rest. I hope we are as fortunate as you with the dog we get. Thanks for your time, much appreciated.

[lindamarie]

WELCOME GLEN!

Do you already know from whom you will be purchasing this doodle? If so, hopefully, they will be able to answer your questions with honesty.

I would be sure to get the doodle during a period of time when you are sure you WILL be home....giving him/her time to get use to the surroundings and things that are on/off limit. In other words, I think any dog would need to feel "at home" before leaving them. It would also give you time to survey the situation and a clue as to whether the doodle would be trustworthy.
I, personally, would not just bring a dog into the home and assume all will be well after a day or 2.
Usually, people break the dog in for being alone. For example, the leave the dog alone for maybe 5-10 minutes and gradually break him/her in.

I hope this helps!
Doodles can be pretty laid back. If they have been exercised before leaving, chances are they will sleep most of the time you're gone.
As our motto is here......"A good doodle is a tired doodle".
They are such GOOD dogs and so willing to please. Yet, as Daisy's Mom points out, each have their own personality.
You need the help of the owner and your own intuition to determine when the time is right to leave them alone.

She saves the chewing and garbage digging for when we are home

That really cracked me up!!!

[Ace's Place]

Daisy's mom...lol....same here. Everything is untouched while Ace is home (also bedroom/bathroom doors shut), and when we are home - the sneaker looks good, the paper towels are attractive, a cardboard box is heaven - lol.....

But seriously, like Linda said, we phased Ace into his schedule and his access around the house. First he was crated. Then he was in the kitchen with baby gates. Now he has run of house. We found out he was ready when we accidentally left one of the kitchen gates ajar and the dogwalker came at noon and he was elsewhere. The dogwalker looked around and said everything looked fine, but Ace had a little red and white peppermint candy stuck to his chin- we laughed and laughed.

We also phased him in according to hours spent alone. Started with only 2 hours at a time. He is 9 months old now and is home from 8 - noon and then 1 - 4; four days a week (that is max). He is well exercised a.m., noon and after work. But I'm glad he has run of house. I wouldn't want him crated for those hours. Just my opinion. He has access to his water, couches, can stretch his legs, look out the window.....

Not sure if sex of dog would make any difference...

[deepnite10]

the longest i ve let the dogs alone at home is 10 hrs..having 3 helps, as they keep each other company..and there s a alpha that take s care of the house when im out..

the little mini-pin pretty much keeps the others from getting into too much trouble..just have to remember to feed and leave water out for the time im gone..

having a doggie door help s alot..i don t have to worry about them leaving a present behind for me..

[Daisy'sMom]

Originally Posted by Ace's Place

But seriously, like Linda said, we phased Ace into his schedule and his access around the house. First he was crated. Then he was in the kitchen with baby gates. Now he has run of house. We found out he was ready when we accidentally left one of the kitchen gates ajar and the dogwalker came at noon and he was elsewhere. The dogwalker looked around and said everything looked fine, but Ace had a little red and white peppermint candy stuck to his chin- we laughed and laughed.

We also phased him in according to hours spent alone. Started with only 2 hours at a time. He is 9 months old now and is home from 8 - noon and then 1 - 4; four days a week (that is max). He is well exercised a.m., noon and after work. But I'm glad he has run of house. I wouldn't want him crated for those hours. Just my opinion. He has access to his water, couches, can stretch his legs, look out the window.....

Not sure if sex of dog would make any difference...

I guess I forgot to mention that we did the same. We slowly phased Daisy into having total run of our home. We have a decent sized office/den with french doors which in fact is where he kennel always had been. Therefore, we started out leaving her out of her kennel and having free roam of the office w/ the doors shut. After she proved herself there, then we let her have free roam everywhere with all doors shut (bedroom, bathroom, basement, etc). Then after we trusted her with that now she has free roam everywhere except the kids' rooms. The doesn't chew when we're gone but I don't want to risk it with some of the kids' favorite toys, etc. So yes, we had to work at this over time but she quickly gained our trust and she now has full access to her water, looking out the window, etc. And we also did this by slowly increasing the hours left. I recall leaving the house on many occasions and saying to my husband "well, this is another test. Let's see how she does!" She always did great, she's a good girl. She basically has taken over our rectangle leather ottoman in our front living room. She lays there and watches out the front window. I don't think she really leaves there.

[Nikkiey]

The longest we have left Juneau was 10 hrs also, but we only have one dog. Juneau doesn't get to wander our house while we're out. We actually built him his own area in the garage. We have a larger garage so we built some gates around the side door in the garage and put in a doggie door. This way Juneau had an inside area with a bed, toys and bowls and an outside area that is 4.5 feet by the length of our house. We never make it a habit to leave Juneau for 10 hours, but because my husband and I both work full time and occassionally I'll have a meeting that runs into lunch we wanted the option to leave Juneau for longer and still know he's comfortable. Usually I come home for lunch for 20 minutes to 1/2 hour Monday to Thursday and he's alone for 6 hours on Friday.

He doesn't stay home everyday either, we take him to doggie daycare twice a week, usually Monday's and Wednesdays but it changes.

Like most people have mentioned, every dog is different and you have to base your 'leave them at home plan' on the individual dog!

[deepnite10]

though i feel very fortunate to have 3 dogs to keep each other company..

but, i don t think i d ever leave any of them home alone..each of them are something special to me and im afraid it s just not in me to leave any one of them alone..

[sidney11]

the neutered male is less neurotic than the un-neutered male and the female so the neutered male suffers from less seperation anxiety.

you need to be the alpha male to prevent seperation anxiety