Can Husky's Be Left Alone

[Ben]

Hi guys and gals. I'm new to this forum, the name's Ben.

Please don't hate me for asking this, I know you are all passionate Husky owners. I love animals, mainly dogs, I have had 4 in my 25 years (3 of them at the same time) unfortunately, 2 of them died last year, and the other one is actually my parents, so he lives with them. When I had them, my parents lived around the corner, so they looked after them whilst I was at work, now unfortunately, they live 50 miles away. So here is me query;

I miss having the dogs around and I really want another one, I have wanted a husky since I was 5 years old, however, I leave the house at 7.40 and get home at about 4.30, meaning he/she would be left alone for most of the day. My cousin lives 5 minutes from me, and she said she can nip round and take the dog for a long walk every day, and of course I would walk him/her as soon as I got home. From your experience, are husky's ok to be left alone for 4 hours, to then be taken for a long walk, before being left for another 4 hours? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I love dogs too much to just get one because I want one, unless it's ok to do what I mentioned above, I will not get one because it wouldn't be fair to the dog if not.

[lebe03]

I don't personally leave Polee alone during the working week as I work from home but I know there are several members who do work full / part time. I'll leave it to them to comment on your question as they have more experience than I.

Welcome to the forum

[Saffmonster]

Mine gets the run of most of the house when I'm at work and I know a few others leave theirs out too. It depends on the dog as some of them can be quite destructive when left alone

[mydiamond]

As long as you can tire the dog out I think it's alright to leave your husky alone. But ofc it all depends. Every dog has different personality and energy level. I think u've to learn how to identify submissiveness in the dog you're going to take home bcoz obedient dogs are much more easier to house-train

House-training + enough exercise = a good dog that won't destroy anything even if you leave him for 4+ hours

[SarahNukka&Shadow]

Hey Ben, of course we wont hate you, your asking a very valid question before you get the dog, you will find people who love their dogs always prefer someone to ask questions before they dive in, as that saves them finding the breed isnt for them and dumping another one on an already full to bursting rescue system!

Now to answer your question.. this kind of depends on the dog itself... I have two and my girl really couldnt care less if you go out and leave her all day (not that I do this mind but I could if needed) my boy on the other hand would scream bloody murder if I leave him longer than an hour max!

But I dont see a problem with your propsed plan as long as you get the right personality, although you might find you need to walk the dog before you leave aswell.. the saying a tired husky is a goodf husky is really very true! From what I know of huskies I would say a female would more likly have the personality you are after as most of them tend to be a little more independant than the males. If you go down the puppy route then ask the breeder which pup they advise as they will know their personalities best.. if you go down the rescue route (which I would very much encorage, as there really are tons needing loving homes!) then again the rescue should match a dog that doesnt have any seperation issues to your lifestyle. Hope thats helped and any more questions shout up!

[mydiamond]

Two thumbs up for Sarah!

If you go down the puppy route then ask the breeder which pup they advise as they will know their personalities best.. if you go down the rescue route (which I would very much encorage, as there really are tons needing loving homes!) then again the rescue should match a dog that doesnt have any seperation issues to your lifestyle. Hope thats helped and any more questions shout up!

And right, I also recommend you to go down the rescue route. If you don't mind, try to look at HIN (husky in need) or SHWA (siberian husky welfare association) before you go to the net and start searching for breeders btw the "husky rehoming" page can help your search of a furry friend too!

[PnkFlyd204]

Viggo has the run of my house (most of it) from 5:30 - 3:00 when I am at work. I try to keep him well-exercised (tired) so he does not become destructive in the house. He is fairly trustworthy, but once in a great while I will come home to something out of place or chewed. If you are going to let your dog run free, I recommend Husky-proofing, lol. :-)

[PnkFlyd204]

Oh and !!

[proximity]

I leave at around 7.45 am, and my wife gets home around 4pm. When we had just the one, this wouldnt have been viable for us, my girl really hated it. Once we got the second though, they became so attached to each other, and so satisfied in each others company that now they really don't care that they are left during the day. I've set up a camera before, all they do when we're gone is sleep the entire time anyway, and save their activity for when we're back home, so I really don't feel bad knowing that they don't seem to pine for us in the least.

[Austinville]

I leave each morning about 7:30. Most days, Ryn and I head out for a two mile hike before that - somedays it doesn't happen for whatever reason. Fortunately for me, OH works just across the road. He comes home at noon and lets Ryn out for the hour. I typically get home about 5 p.m., make supper and then it's off for our walk.

Each husky is different. My first was content to be alone all day, most of the time. He had run of the house and fortunately we lived in a home with a screened in deck which came off a second story balcony. Most often, the sliding door was left open and he could lay and play on the deck watching birds, traffic and our cat.

Ryn is more active and needs to be in a crate when we are not home (as she likes to chew up things). She isn't good with longer periods of being home alone. Though, I must add that she has adjusted well.

On Fridays, she comes to work with me, sleeping at my feet under my desk and laying in the window, watching the people go by my office. Her favorite is to look pathetic-ly bored so children (and adults) will come in to the office and pet her. Some days are too long for her and she'll get bored, but most Fridays she does fine. We take walks over my noon hour and there's a small 'park' across the street for her to relieve herself if needed.

[James]

Like others have said it depends on the dog.

some suffer quite badly from seperation anxiety.

It might be worth getting 2 and take a week or 2 off work when you do, and gradually leave them alone for longer and longer periods of time so they get used to it.

A morning walk would also help alot!

and games or bones or something to keep them occupied.

Kita and Guss (the old king charles spaniel) are left alone of periods ranging from only a couple of hours to 7-8. She's been really good, I think Guss has a calming effect on her though.

[nkientoff]

It depends on the dog. Jewell is 5 1/2 months old and I just this week started leaving her alone for 4 hours and go home and feed her then back to work, then my OH comes home 3 hours later.

I have worked hard at teaching her what she can and cannot get into before I considered leaving her alone, before now she was in a crate while we were away. I have also dog proofed the house as best as I can by removing anything I suspect she would consider chewing so that just leaves the furniture, and so far so good.

I think we are pretty lucky with her, she listens pretty well and isn't real destructive(doesnt' sound like a Husky does it??? LOL). She gets plenty of love and attention when we are home so I believe that has allot to do with it, so yeah, with plenty of walks and attention while you are home will probably keep her content when you are away. Oh, and lots of toys! LOTS of toys...

[achelow]

Like everyone has said it depends entirely on the dog and of course on how it is raised. We made sure we got Nadia used to staying alone during the day as a puppy so that if ever our circumstances changed she'd be OK. I made the hall in to Nadia's room and when we're out she stays there. She never makes a peep and there are times when I'm out of town for work that she has to stay alone from 8am-7pm while OH is at work. I have a webcam to watch her but to be honest it gets pretty boring, all she does is sleep Choose the right husky, give it plenty of excercise and make sure it is used to spending time alone as a puppy and it'll be easy.

[Ben]

Many thanks for all the replies, people, they're greatly appreciated. This is a huge dilemma for me, and your replies have somewhat put my mind at ease. The Husky's in question are 2 month old pups, do you think taking 2 weeks off work would be enough time for such young pups? I am unable to take more as I have used the rest of my holiday days. I will be viewing the pups on Friday, but I already know I will want to take all 4 of them! I won't be able to ,of course, at £500 each I think I may have to limit myself to one.

For those who recommended rescue dogs, I considered this, but I love raising them from being puppies and that's the reason why I want a young one.

I still haven't decided whether to get one or not, but your help is greatly appreciated =)

[KSNS]

Simple answer an not a slong as others lol it depends on the indvidual dog some yes others no it is like saying can I let my dog off lead it don't matter what peoples views are it is the same answer it depends on the dog and how willing you are to risk it

[achelow]

When we got Nadia as a 3.5 month old we didn't take any time off work, we spent the entire weekend helping her adjust to being indoors (she'd never stepped foot indoors before we got her) and then got on with our routines, she didn't know any different so she just slotted right in - sleeping all day and playtime all evening. It might not to the best way to do it, but it worked for us. It'll be more difficult with a 2 month old especially with toilet training so it's good that you can take time off to deal with pup but even during those 2 weeks you shouldn't get him/her too used to you being there 24/7 IMO. You don't want poor pup to miss it's mother, get used to being with you and then miss you! Just my own opinion again: choose a laid-back pup, I know the most playful cheeky ones are cute at 2 months but even a quiet husky still takes plenty of energy!

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

mine are only left for around an hour maximum sumtimes 4 hours but its not often so im not sure - i know when my girl was younger n the parents went on holiday i went to work (only for 2 hours in the morning n hour n half in afternoon) she would chew EVERYTHING so i had to crate train her so she wouldnt hurt herself - but i wouldnt reccommend crating for long periods ov time

[Arooroomom]

Generally as long as you can keep them well exercised and take precautions (crating them or gating them off) it is doable. If you can commit to a walk in the morning and most definitely someone to let them out in the middle of the day, I think you should be fine. I would definitely crate them throughout the day though. I don't even trust my own dogs to be loose for that amount of time. Be prepared for a very energetic happy Husky when you come home though!