home alone.. how long is too long

[Jaegergirl]

with the holidays approaching, i've been thinking about what we are going to do with our pup, maverick, when we are visiting family. luckily, all of our relatives live within an hour's drive so we won't have to put maverick in a kennel. we usually leave the house around 10 or 11 am and don't return until 10 or 11 at night (we have 2 stops to make in order to spend the holiday with "both sides" of the family). we could take maverick with us when we visit my family but wouldn't be able to take him to my husband's family because they have a small dog and think maverick will try to eat him.. of course, we all know he won't but they aren't "big dog people". there is no way, because of logistics, that we can bring maverick back to our house before we head off to the in-laws.

he will be almost 8 months old at thanksgiving.

i work from home but go into my office 2 days a week.. he's in his crate 6 hours while i'm gone and he's crated at night and when we're not home so he's used to being in his crate and won't have the run of the house when were visiting family.

is 12 hours too long to leave him alone? my sister had a GSD and left her alone for long periods of time and didn't seem to have a problem. but i don't know how old her pup was when she'd leave her.

thanks!

[babydungeon]

personally, i think 12 hours is too long. can you possibly have a friend or neighbor let your dog out while you're away? you could also bring maverick and the crate along, when you visit the in-laws crate him at their house. this may be a good time to put them at ease that he won't "eat" their little dog.;) -kevin

[Jaegergirl]

yeah, i agree that 12 hours is too long also. unfortunately, there is no one who can come over to let him out AND i know they would frown on him coming over...my mom-in-law comes to babysit and can deal with maverick when she's at our house but won't appreciate him at her house.l.. an neither will my sis-in-law who is a "dog snob" anyway. i do have relatives that live close to my in-laws so i'm almost thinking of taking him to their house before we go to my in-laws...my relatives won't be home because they will be visiting family but at least maverick can be in his crate there.. and it would only be a couple hours that he will be alone.

or, we can just shortened our holiday visits..since we have to divide one day between both families, or visits are already short enough.

thanks for your reply.

[RottiMomCT]

Speak to the 'non big dog people' and find out if Maverick can come along. Assure them that he will be crated, and you will be 100% responsible for him if he is not crated (on leash even in the house).

Has Maverick met small dogs before? If so, what was his reaction?

Unless you feel that having him at the 'small dog house' would be a very very bad thing for the small dog ;) , try to find a friend or neighbor that will take him out for potty time and play for a while with him while you are gone for the day. Make sure that whomever does this is rewarded with a yummy treat like a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant, passes to the movies, CASH - this will make them more likely to be avalable the next time you can't take Mavericak along :D .

[babydungeon]

Make sure that whomever does this is rewarded with a yummy treat like a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant, passes to the movies, CASH - this will make them more likely to be avalable the next time you can't take Mavericak along .

funny you say that, that's exactly what we got when we watched a friend's dog for 3 weeks. movie passes and gift certificates to Outback. it was nice of them. we really appreciated it.
i know this is selfish but you could what i do sometimes, if they are that snotty over your dog (ignorant is more like it) don't visit them if they won't let you bring your dog. my family and in-laws know just how important dungeon is to us so they make the choice, he comes or we don't! period. our last trip of 2 weeks to visit fell short at 5 days because of people acting stupid over him. i'm not going to make myself and my dog feel uncomfortable and leave him crated for the entire trip because of someone else. I am coming to visit YOU, if you have a problem with my dog, see ya later! after a while they just accept it or they don't. so far it has worked and everyone has fallen in love with dungeon and "can't wait to see him". sorry i kind of had to vent on this. -kevin

[Jaegergirl]

how does maverick react to small dogs? well there's only one in our obedience class. he isn't bothered by it unless it yaps... it started yapping a bit at class last week and it made him a little anxious. but i was able to distract him. any other time i don't think maverick even notices the dog.

as for having a neighbor come over.. that's a great idea if you have good neighbors. first of all, the people that live on either side of us have never talked to us (we've been in this house for 2 1/2 years). the only time we talked to the one was when the stray cats they feed kept crapping in our flower beds and making our yard stink to high heaven. my husband went over to tell them he was going to call animal control if they didn't keep them out of our yard... soon after that we got maverick and the cats haven't been a problem! : ) our other neighbors, the ones that live across the street are weird and aren't too thrilled that we have rottweiler. so as you can see, i've struck out there.

i would LOVE to tell my in-laws that if maverick can't come, i won't come. but unfortunately, i think i'd tick off my husband. don't get me wrong, he's a great guy and he likes our dog, he just doesn't love him like i do (he never had animals growing up so he and his family are not really an animal lovers. i, on the other hand, had horses, dogs, cats, gerbils, hamsters so my family is more understanding). the only reason his parents even have their yappy dog is because it was the grandmother's and when she died last year, there was no one to take the dog.

i think my best bet will be to take him to my relative's house enroute to my in-laws. i'll only have to do it twice (once for turkey day and once for christmas). thank goodness.

[RottiMomCT]

Originally posted by Jaegergirl

i think my best bet will be to take him to my relative's house enroute to my in-laws. i'll only have to do it twice (once for turkey day and once for christmas). thank goodness.

Do what I do - SPLIT the holidays - Turkey Day at HIS parents house, Christmas at YOUR PARENTS - next year, swap holidays...we've done it for four years and so far, so good.

It's ludicrous for you to drive all over the place to see everyone on the holidays...that's not what holidays are about! YES, its about family, but not about spending the day in the car to go see them!

Thanksgiving weekend is usually a long weekend - can you have an EXTENDED Turkey day? Have the actual Thanksgiving meal at one home and go to the other that weekend?? That might make for less stress all around...

Many Christmas weekends are extended as well...any chance to do the same thing??

[Jaegergirl]

It's ludicrous for you to drive all over the place to see everyone on the holidays...that's not what holidays are about! YES, its about family, but not about spending the day in the car to go see them!

amen to that!! we've been trying to get my side of the family to celebrate the holiday either the weekend before or after the actual day because so many of us have more than one place to go... my brother was murdered in 1996 so we tried to do christmas that year on a different day.. didn't go over too well so we decided not to "mess with tradition." some day it will eventually happen but not now, not while my grandmother is still alive.

[Carina43]

Can't you just bring him along & leave him in the car, assuming the temperature won't be too extreme? That way you can go out & take him for a quick walk around the block (help work off some of that big meal!!) every couple of hours.
That's what I would do.

[Jaegergirl]

hmmm... never thought about leaving him in the car. luckily the weather on our holidays haven't been too extreme (even living the the snow belt) so that may very well be a solution. thanks for that idea.

[Judi W]

Sorry, but cars can heat up quickly even in lower temperatures. It is the sun on the car that creates the heat and the dog's respiration in a closed area. Bring your crate, set it up in the shade and check on him frequently enough to see that he doesn't lose the shade but don't be so obsessive about it that everyone notices.

I agree that 12 hours is much too long for that young a pup.

I also agree that your husband and his desire to spend the time with his family is important. You can bring the dog and his crate and be discrete about it. What you do not want to do is cause resentment but still properly care for the pup. It is possible.

[Judi W]

PS.
If using a car, get reflective shade sheets and hang them over the windows using magnets to secure them to the car. Have all windows open as far as possible for ventilation but so the dog can't stick his head out. This is better than thinking you are parking under a tree as shade moves with the sun.

[Jaegergirl]

this may sound silly but i have to ask it.. how cold is too cold for an indoor dog to be outside in the car. obviously, if it's below freezing, it's too cold. but at what temp. would you draw the line?

we have an extended cab truck. the dog rode in the back seat with the kids this summer when we camped, but now he's getting to big and will have to ride in the bed (in his crate, of course). we don't have a cap for the back yet but plan on getting one soon...hopefully before the holidays. if the dog gets left in the back of the truck for a couple of hours (in his crate), what temp is too cold for me to do this? if you say whatever temp. i'd be willing to sit outside with a coat on, i'd tell you anything lower than 50 degrees F would be too cold for me (i'm a freeze baby)! i can put blankets over it to help keep his body heat in.

[Judi W]

If it is a VariKennel which is small and pretty much enclosed, the dog will (as I mentioned about a car) generate his own heat which is retained in the enclosure.

[Jaegergirl]

i don't have one of those. i have just a regular wire crate.