# Leaving 8 week old puppy home alone in crate?



## welovejuno (Jul 27, 2013)

Hello,

Our puppy is 8.5 weeks, we just got her on Thursday. Is it too early to leave her home alone in her crate for 2 hours? We're still getting her used to her crate, but typically don't leave her in there for longer than 30 mins. 

Thanks.


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

Personally, I think it's OK to go out to dinner or run a few errands being gone a hour or two at that age. I'd take puppy out to potting right before leaving and when returning.


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## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

I think 2 hours is fine.


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

I would personally slowly increase the time in the crate until she is completely used to it. Since you are already at 30 minutes I think you could take couple days and increase the time from 30 min to 45 min to 1 hour, .....up to two. 
I would also make sure she had enough exercise and potty time before you leave.


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## dezymond (May 3, 2012)

Did it to Maverick the second day we got him, but we were gone maybe an hour and a half. That night he whined in his crate for 30min before falling asleep and did the same thing at 2am.

I thought us leaving for lunch played some part in it, but they gotta get used to it eventually. I rather have it started at 8-9wks when they can knock out after 15-30min of whining rather than him being older and having a bit more energy to continue whining throughout the night. 

Don't feel bad, it's a small break from being a puppy parent. Also it's beneficial to their growth and them knowing you may not be there all the time, it'll pay off in the long run.


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## goldlover68 (Jun 17, 2013)

I have read a general guideline is to leave a puppy for a maximum of one hour for each month of age, up until 6-8 months.....


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## Kylie's Mom (Jun 23, 2013)

I think 2 hrs is fine. The puppy will most likely sleep the whole time you are gone.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I wouldn't do it in the first few days you have her. You run the risk that she'll panic and give herself an awful experience that will set back her crate training. I'd build slowly from 10-20-30-40-etc. minutes for a week or two before trying a two hour stint. Unless, of course, it's at night, but I don't think you're referring to that.


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## Ripley16 (Jan 26, 2012)

2 hours will be fine as long as you make sure that she goes potty before you leave. The general rule I stuck to with our dog was we could leave her in her kennel for one hour per month old she was maximum (so for 8 weeks, 2 hours). I wouldn't leave her in any longer than 2 hours at this point though, seeing as you just brought her home, she will be anxious when you leave.


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## Karoline&Monty (Jul 30, 2013)

I agree with tippykayak. During the first days/weeks the puppy is still recovering losing its puppy family, and everything is new. Giving him/her even more stress than they already have could result in an insecure dog, separation anxiety is a common problem. So I would spend a bit more time with home alone training before, I did, and it was worth it


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## tbarb169 (Mar 15, 2011)

Our dogs have been left for hours within the first day or two of getting them. We both work, so we have a neighbor kid come over and let the dogs out 2x to break up the day. As the pup gets older, it will get to 1x with a walk around the neighborhood. Our first two dogs did just fine with that. A little crying at night to start, but they settle into the routine.


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## welovejuno (Jul 27, 2013)

Thanks everone! She was fine in the crate, we just made sure she had enough water and went to the bathroom before getting into the crate. She's getting much better about being in the crate, she even went into her crate voluntarily yesterday.


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## Care54A (Jul 15, 2013)

Bailey took to his crate right away and didn't seem the slightest bit nervous about his new environment. For the first couple of weeks, I put him in there throughout the day for naps - even when we were home. I pretty much followed a '1.5-2 hours out/1.5-2 hours in' sort of schedule. He's now 12 weeks old and I no longer force him to nap in the crate because he will go into his ex-pen on his own to rest.

Long story short, I think two hours is fine


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