How Long Should I Leave A German Shepherd Alone? Check Out!
How long should I leave a German Shepherd alone? Can a German Shepherd stay alone? Read here.
Most people have a lot going on. People have known for a long time that living a busy life can start to hurt almost every part of your life.
After a while, you might start to forget about your partner, your kids, your pets, and even yourself.
People can usually take care of themselves, but your pets might need help.
When you have to leave a German Shepherd alone, it can be very hard.
It can make you feel bad and even afraid that something bad will happen to it, kind of like when a mother leaves her child alone.
There are a lot of things you can do to teach your German Shepherd how to deal with this and keep bad things from happening, like German Shepherd Separation anxiety.
Your German Shepherd is a tough, self-reliant animal.
It can be left alone for a certain amount of time, which is different from some other breeds.
But even strong breeds can’t be left alone for too long before it starts to affect how they feel.
What Can You Do If You Have to Leave a German Shepherd Alone?
None of the tips below will be easy for anyone to follow.
These are just some ideas and alternatives for you to think about.
They all depend on how much money you can spend, how much time you have during the day, who will be involved, and a lot of other things.
1- Ask your boss if you can work from home.
This depends on the field you work in and the type of job you have, of course.
Try telling your boss about this idea if you have a job that is mostly done on the computer or is similar to a desk job.
If not, you can always try to find a new job that you can do from home. So that you won’t leave a German Shepherd alone.
Even if you’ve never done it before, working from home is pretty easy.
Margrethe H. Olson says that people who work from home are usually more self-disciplined and responsible than most people.
2-Try bringing your German Shepherd to work.
If you can’t get a job that lets you work from home, ask your boss if you can bring your German Shepherd to work instead.
This could be even better, but you still need to think about the kind of work you do.
You don’t want to bring your German Shepherd to work so that someone else can watch it.
Make sure you know your German Shepherd behavior like how he acts around strangers, children, and other things.
Maybe your coworkers like to make a lot of jokes and laugh loudly, or maybe the workplace gets busy at certain times, which causes a lot of problems.
Your German Shepherd might not like this, and as a result, he or she might act up.
3- Go home when you have a break
If you work close to home and have long lunch or break times, try to go check on your German Shepherd during some of that time.
You can even spend your whole break or lunch with your German Shepherd to reassure yourself that everything is fine.
4- Do you know anyone who works from home? Ask them to take care of your German Shepherd.
It’s worth a shot, but you probably won’t be able to switch to a job where you can work from home.
If not, ask any family members who work from home or stay at home if they could take care of your German Shepherd for you.
Make sure you ask them if they like dogs and if they have enough space for him.
5- Take your German Shepherd for a walk.
Ask someone you trust if they could stop by your house when you aren’t there and take your German Shepherd for a walk.
This could be a neighbor, a friend, or even one of their children.
You can also try to give them a reason to help you. For example, you could pay them a fee or do them a favor in exchange.
6- Talk to a trained dog walker.
Try having a professional take your German Shepherd for a walk.
This may be the better choice anyway, since they have more experience and can probably make it more comfortable.
You could also ask them to take it to a park for a while or on a special walk so they can spend a lot of time with it while you’re gone.
If you decide to hire one, make sure you do your research and choose a good one.
7- Take your German shepherd to a daycare
Even though this is your last option, it might be a good one since most dogs like to be around other dogs.
This can be one of the best things you can do for the dog in general because the dog will get a lot of interaction, care, and attention.
Make sure the daycare you’re looking at is clean and run by professionals.
How Long should i Leave a German Shepherd alone?
No matter what you do to stay close to your German Shepherd, never leave a German Shepherd alone. You should never be away from him or her for too long.
Based on the dog’s age, here is a simple rule to follow:
German Shepherd puppies: Try not to be more than 2 hours away from your German Shepherd puppy every day.
German Shepherd puppies aren’t used to being alone for that long and aren’t ready to be by themselves for that long.
They have to go to the bathroom a lot more than an adult dog does, which can lead to separation anxiety.
AVMA Journals says that this is 2.5 times more likely to happen to dogs owned by a single adult person.
Adult German Shepherds: You can leave a German Shepherd that is an adult alone for up to 6 hours a day.
At this point in their lives, they are used to being at home by themselves and usually just sleep when you aren’t there.
Senior German Shepherds: There is also a maximum of 6 hours for senior dogs.
This is because as dogs get older, they slowly start to have the same problems as puppies.
They have trouble with their bladder and have to go to the bathroom more often. They may also hurt themselves by accident, among other things.
What Could Happen If your German Shepherd Is Left Alone?
While you leave a German Shepherd alone, a lot of things could happen. They can start to do things like scratch or bite.
They can also start to bite the furniture in the house and eat a lot more than they know they should, or even start to eat the food of your other pets.
Just like a child, it is more likely to do something bad if it knows you won’t be there to correct it when it acts up.
Your German Shepherd could also get lost in the house.
It’s easy to deal with broken furniture and clothes, and it doesn’t take long to get new ones.
But if your dog gets lost, that gives the dog a chance to get out of the house.
You can buy GPS devices that will help you keep track of it while you’re away.
How to Train Your German Shepherd to Be Home Alone
The best thing you can do to stop feeling guilty and afraid when you’re not with your dog is to teach it how to handle being alone for hours at a time.
You should start practicing this as soon as you get a new dog.
Start showing your German Shepherd that it’s okay to be home alone and that you’ll be back soon.
Follow these steps and write down what happens:
Step 1: Get ready to leave and go to the front door.
If you see that your dog is getting scared or anxious, just ignore it so it gets used to it.
Do this at least three or four times a day to help the dog remember.
Step 2: The first thing you should try not to do when you get home is to greet your dog.
When you do this, you show the dog that your return is nothing to get excited about; it’s just a normal thing that it doesn’t need to get excited about.
Step 3: Tell your German Shepherd to go to bed or lay down when you get home.
After it goes to lay down, you can be nice to it and maybe give it a treat for being good.
You might also want to remember that if you try to say goodbye to your German Shepherds as you leave the house, they might think that you want them to come with you.
Try leaving the house without saying anything. This might also help it get used to you not being around.
Science Direct also says that you could play a game with your German Shepherd in the first 30 minutes after you get home.
This will make it less likely that your child will get separation anxiety.
More things to do to help your German Shepherd get used to staying home alone
There are two more things you can do before you leave for work to help your German Shepherd get used to your absence.
The first thing you can do is find a comfortable spot for your German Shepherd.
When it gets used to being alone at home, it will be able to stay there without being watched.
The second thing you can do is make sure your dog is tired out before you leave.
Start the day by taking your German Shepherd for a walk, and learn all the ways that walking is good for both of you.
If you take your dog for a walk in the morning, it will likely be tired by the time you get home.
This will make it less likely to bother you when you want to leave the house.
Tips and Tricks for Your German Shepherd
Leave toys, treats, and other things out for your dog so it can try to keep itself busy when it has nothing else to do.
Here are two great suggestions you can think about:
1- Make food easy to get at all times
You can buy machines or toys that automatically give your dog food or treats when he or she does certain things.
When they are home but busy with a project, work, or something else, most dog owners take advantage of this.
This will help keep the dog busy while you’re gone.
This study found that dog toys with jerky on them can help strengthen the jaw.
2- Pick large toys
Trying to leave a German Shepherd alone with things to do will be great so that it doesn’t get bored or worried. It can also stop it from getting into trouble around the house.
But you might want to spend money on toys that are bigger.
Also, pick ones that don’t have a lot of little pieces. This will help keep your dog from choking on something by accident.
Advice for When You Get Back Home
If you love giving your German Shepherd love and attention when you get home, it might be hard to just ignore it when you leave or come back home.
If that’s the case, you can always play games with your dog or take it to places where there are other animals.
That way, your German Shepherd will get as much interaction as possible.
Also, don’t forget that your German Shepherd needs to stretch and get some exercise after being alone in the house for so long.
It will help your dog burn off all the extra energy it had while it was inside.
Also, don’t give treats or rewards to your German Shepherd every time you come home, or it will always expect them.
Always keep in mind that it depends on the German Shepherd.
Plos One says that a dog’s behavior can be different depending on its genes.
Since you own a German Shepherd, you know that this breed of dog usually does well when left alone.
But that doesn’t mean you should be less strict about your routines and habits.
Do you leave your German Shepherd alone? For how long do you think it’s okay to leave a German Shepherd alone? How does your German Shepherd react when he’s left alone?
Share your experience with us in the comment section below.
