How old should a Staffie puppy be before you can leave it home alone?

Question

I left my 7 week old staffie alone once, whilst i went to work, my girlfriend even looked after the dog at lunch time for half an hour or so.

When i got home my neighbours complained that the dog was crying and did not sound happy, when i checked on the dog it had done a dirty protest!.

My dog is from a large family with mother and 9 puppies in total, my dog cries as soon as i leave it alone to go shops/toilet, etc

At the moment i take the dog to either my brothers house or my sisters house at 8-9am too 5-6pm who play with the dog whilst im at work but she sleeps most of time.

I was told by the breeder that the dog will be ok alone, or at least once its 10-12weeks old, after vacinactions and a good run around before i leave the house.

Answer 1

It just sounds like the puppy is lonely - Very common when pups are first separated from their mother and litter-mates.

Try doing things like making her a comfy bed (Or crate) with lots of blankets and toys (So it can cuddle up like it would with it's litter) and leaving the radio on so it has "Company".

Answer 2

If you're out to work every day you should reconsider dog ownership. At under a year old (real years) it needs companionship to develop and bond with it's owner(s). If it doesn't get this it may develop destructive habits, obsessive behaviour, and will almost certainly become a problem dog. If well trained you can try regular short periods of isolation later, and build up to a full am or pm. All day will always be too long. Regarding the protest, remember that wherever you are, you can choose when and where to go. A locked up dog has no options, and at 7 weeks won't have learnt the house rules.

Answer 3

Leaving pups alone should begin as soon as you bring them home,the later you leave it the more attached it will become to you and there for hate you leaving.If your pup sleeps down stairs while your in bed then thats the beginning of getting the pup used to beeing on it's own,also try leaving it in seperate rooms for 5-10mins then re-enter and praise.Pups do cry when left alone and it can be difficult when you have neighboors the best advice is that your meant to ignore the pup while it's crying otherwise the pup associates crying with someone always coming to it.Is it possible you can have a word with your neighboors and explain your trying to train the pup.If it's not late or early morning then really your neighboors have no right to moan anyway.Also while leaving the pup alone get some good toys for it to chew on and before you go out make sure the pup is tired,you could play with him to tire him out.Good luck

Answer 4

Whilst you can't of course take your dog with you everywhere you go, it's not fair to leave it alone all day anyway. I have a border collie and we leave her alone for no more than 3 hours at a time, no more than once a day. Dogs are family pets and need company - imagine being stuck in a house for several hours on your own, with nothing to do. Dogs aren't very good at entertaining themselves. Perhaps you need to find a permanent dogsitter or something.

Answer 5

You should leave the dog with someone if youre away all day. Or at the least get someone to go round 2-3 times to let it out etc.. Why did you get a dog if youre away all day? The breeder I got my Rottie from wouldnt have given me the dog if I was going to leave it all day long.

Answer 6

i have a staffie he is 5 years old we never leave him alone for more than 3 hrs at any one time I'm lucky because my other-half takes him to work, but they are people dogs and they have to be around you all the time. its like having a kid

Answer 7

my staffy is 3 and he is the mardiest dog ever, he hates being alone but any staffy owner will tell you that staffys crave attention even if it's just a finger on their head, as long as they're being touched. we crate trained our staffy as a pup so he couldn't chew the house to pieces, leave lots of toys around for him and lots of fuss when your around, all pups cry when they're taken away from their mums, they soon grow out of it, dont worry, your not cruel.

Answer 8

The breeder is right it just because he still hasn't got use to being alone. But if your not comfortable them I would recommend a doggie daycare.

Answer 9

MY STAFFIE IS 2 YEARS OLD AND HE STILL HATES BEING LEFT ALONE THEY ARE JUST LIKE BABIES IF I WHERE YOU I WOULD CAGE TRAIN HIM WHILE HE IS STILL YOUNG THEY ARE VERY DISRUPTIVE DOGS

Answer 10

why not try a crate to be his home, bed etc, he will be happy being left in ther eventually. put his food in their to begin with so he associates it with nice things.