5 Best Practices for Leaving a Dog Home Alone

As much as it would be nice to cuddle up to our dogs 24/7, there are always times when we need to leave our dogs home alone.

Greyhounds most definitely can be left home alone for periods of time, providing their needs are met. Whether we are leaving for work, leaving a dog at home for the first time or otherwise, here are the best practices to keep your greyhound cheerful until you return home.

If you’re leaving a dog alone, or especially if it’s the first time. It’s always a good idea to make sure the space we’re leaving them in is comfortable, and promotes safety and positivity. We suggest:

Each dog will show different preferences towards different toys and food.

Dogs will often enjoy puzzle toys and slow feeders. This provides a source of something to engage with and keeps them occupied while their owner is absent.

We highly suggest testing each toy type beforehand to see what your dog enjoys. This will ensure what you leave is enjoyable for the dog. On the other hand, if you left something that was too difficult for the dog to access the food (and they’re hungry) - this may be a source of frustration.

Egg cartons, toilet rolls, cardboard boxes stuffed with treats, or simply a large treat scatter in the grass are all great ideas!

When you adopt a greyhound with us, we'll have given you feedback on the dog's preferences in terms of how often they are comfortable being left alone.

That should be used as a guideline to what your dog is comfortable with.

It should also be noted that especially when a dog's had a sudden change of environment, which can happen when a dog's going from kennels to a domestic household, they can be more uncertain as they're settling into the environment.

So simply because a dog is unsettled in the first couple of weeks at a new home, doesn't mean that someone needs to be home for a great portion of the day all the time. It just depends on what the dog is comfortable with, and then once you've identified that, you can gradually get them used to longer and longer periods alone.

We’re often asked: will my dog get anxious if I leave them alone?

Some dogs can get anxious or distressed when left alone. It usually depends on the individual and their temperament.

We try to set dogs up for success by matching them to people who are able to meet that dog's needs, so people who work full time we tend to match dogs who have demonstrated in our care that they are comfortable being left alone for longer periods.

If someone works from home and barely leaves the house, we can match them with a dog that does prefer having someone home more often than not.

Further reading: GAP Resources on anxiety and alone time

When you return home from some time away, we recommend being neutral and avoid amplifying the excitement by being overly excited when you return. You do not need to ignore your dog outright but it is best to avoid exciting games or greetings until both you and your dog are nice and calm.

At GAP New South Wales, we like to observe the dogs in backyard type or household environments to get a gauge on how comfortable they are being left alone in those kinds of environments.

We observe them, we see if they're able to eat, drink, and rest normally and engage with their environment when people aren't present. We conduct such assessments over consecutive periods and if the dog behaves consistently, then we can match the dog to people that are away for long periods of time (such as people who work full-time).

Want to enquire about adopting a greyhound? We’d love to hear from you, please check out our adoptions page to start the process.