that leaving a dog for longer than 3 hours on its own is cruel??

Nope not at all. My dogs used to occasionally go longer than that and were lovely happy dogs x

Nope so long as they have water and a snack, warmth and a comfortable bed to lay on I think it's fine. I always left the radio or tv on low for my dog if I went out for a bit of company but tbh he probably just slept the whole time I was out. I would probably draw the line at 6 hours unless I had arranged for a neighbour or friend to pop in to let them out for a wee and give them company and a stroke for 20 minutes.

xx

I dint think leaving him for 3 hours is cruel. As long as he has his cage and is comfortable he should be ok.

I don't think it's cruel either. I used to work 12hr shifts and OH would work shifts too so Harry used to be left alone for about 6/7hrs. He was fine, he had food and water.. We'd leave the radio on for him (not quite sure why ) and he used to pearch himself on the chair and look out the window and watch the street go by

He got plenty of attention when we were at home, he got regular walks and was a happy chappy.

I was just reading some labrador forum and people are soooo ridiculous about it. saying if you expect to leavre ure dog longer than 3 hours then u shudnt have one and that its neglect and cruelty!!
i work 3 days a week. mondays are ok cos i have my cuz to watch alfie. Tues and wed are the issues.Today was the first time he was left alone for a longer peiod of time from 8-1 then i popped home from work to feed him and check he was ok. then back out till 5. when i came in each time he was fine and sleeping in his bed in the kitchen. i gave him toys, water, food and put the radio on for jhim
my mam always had a dog when we were younger and she was a teacher so out alot of the day and he was a happy dog? i mean at the end of the day people have to work?? x

This is why im not a dog owner. Im so dim I didnt even think about lengths of time you could leave them alone, id have thought alot of ppl leave them 830-530 so they can go to work???

My uncle only works split shifts of maybe 3hrs at a time but the dog is left in their huge conservatory and has access to garden. I wouldnt have thought anything if he went out for the day and did that, though he wouldnt - the dog prob gets more attention than my aunty

No not at all when me and OH are both on days (not very often once every 3 months) she gets left from 7:30-5:30.

Char

When lexi was a puppy I worked full time, I did the same as you came home at lunch to see her and feed her and make sure she was ok.
She's 3 now and so long as she's walked in the morning and when either of us get home she is left while we are at work.
Tbh I think most dogs in the country are in exactly the same routine!

No its not cruel...my dogs are fine all day if I go shopping all day, so long as they got food and water, they just go to sleep!

LOL. no its not cruel.

it is actually the law that as long as your dog gets two walks a day thats fine. a lot of people walk their dogs almost twice as much and would never dream of walking just twice.

so Im pretty sure 3 hours by itself is not against the law or in any way a form of neglect

We leave judy all day as we both work full time. She has water and food and gets out as soon as we get home and gets lots of attention at night when she is awake lol