Can Havanese Dogs Be Left Alone? 5 Ways To Prevent Loneliness
People are getting busier and busier. Between work, school, community activities, and running errands, owners of all ages have to leave their dogs home alone. Not every dog breed can handle having lots of alone time every day. A dog can get pretty lonely when they have been left behind.
Can you leave Havanese alone?
Havanese dogs are one of the dogs that don’t do well with being left alone. Too much alone time can hurt both their physical and mental health. These dogs are too social to be left alone for hours on end.
You shouldn’t leave your Havanese dog home alone for more than four hours at a time. At this point, the Havanese dog needs their physical and social needs to be met. Four hours is a long time to be alone without anyone to love and take care of them.
For some Havanese dogs, they will start to get anxious and upset after 2 hours of being alone.
Why Can’t a Havanese Dog Handle Being Left Alone?
The Havanese breed are small dogs with many needs. Being left alone for too long can cause their social and physical needs to be missed and this will end up causing behavioral problems in your Havanese.
The main reason why a Havanese dog can’t handle being left alone is that they are super social. These dogs love to be around their family or to hang out with other creatures. When they are left alone for a long time, they will get super anxious and lonely.
Havanese dogs are prone to suffering from separation anxiety, which can make these long periods of alone time even harder to handle.
A lonely Havanese dog can get frustrated and bored which can cause more problems. When any dog gets frustrated and bored, they are likely to become destructive. They might stick their noses into places they shouldn’t, destroy objects such as toilet paper or shoes, or might take their frustration out by using the bathroom inside of the house.
Speaking of the bathroom, another big reason a Havanese dog shouldn’t be left alone for too long is that their physical needs will be neglected. Havanese dogs are considered to be small dogs, and smaller dogs are known for needing to use the bathroom more frequently. If this need is neglected, two things are possible.
Either your Havanese dog will hold their bladder which can cause an infection if done repeatedly, or it will have an accident inside the house. Neither situation is good.
Your Havanese dog still needs to eat as well. If you are gone during their dinner time, you will have both a hungry and lonely Havanese dog stirring up trouble. An automatic feeder might help keep a regular feeding schedule. Automatic feeders can be found online or in pet stores and will be able to give your dog food at certain times of the day.
What Can I Do If I Have to Leave My Havanese Dog During the Day?
We get it, people still have to go to work or still have to go out and shop for groceries. You can’t bring your dog everywhere with you, most places don’t even allow dogs inside unless they are service animals. Don’t fret, there are still things that can be done to ensure that your dog has a good time even without you home.
Two Havanese Make a Great Team
To solve the problem of separation anxiety and lack of social interaction, you can have two dogs instead of just one. This way, your dogs won’t get lonely because they will have each other. This can be a huge help as it will prevent boredom and loneliness. When you leave the house, your two dogs will be able to play together and spend plenty of time around each other.
Though, make sure that the other needs of your dogs are met. Even though the problem of loneliness is solved, if you neglect the other needs of your dogs then you’ll have the mischief of two dogs running through your house.
Automize The Process
An automatic feeder was mentioned earlier, but it should be mentioned again as it can help with meeting the needs of your dogs. Not everyone can afford to get a dog sitter every day, which will be discussed in more detail later, so buying products that can meet the needs of your dogs is super helpful.
To take care of the bathroom situation for your dogs, you can buy potty mats. These mats are usually used for puppies that are potty training, but they have also been used by dogs who are being left home alone or dogs who have bladder problems. There are both disposable and reusable options, so choose a method that works the best for you and your dog.
Keep in mind that whenever you bring in a new device or tool for your dog to use at home, some training is necessary so that your dog can be comfortable using the new object. Spend time teaching your dog how the automatic feeder and the potty mat work so that they can use them when you’re not home.
Pair this solution with the buddy solution and your Havanese dog will be set to be happy and healthy even when you are away at work.
Give Them Entertainment
To make being alone easier for your Havanese dog, give them plenty of things for them to do. Having the tv or radio on can help your Havanese dog not feel so alone as they’ll be able to watch or listen to other people talking. Just make sure that nothing that can scare them will end up playing while you’re gone.
You can have plenty of dog toys lying around for your dog to play with. This will also prevent them from getting bored and therefore, destructive. There are plenty of toys that you can buy that your dog will be able to use themselves from puzzles to chew toys filled with treats. A toy that can both work your dog’s brain and its body are great for alone time.
Hire a Dog Sitter
If you don’t want to buy new products and spend time training, you can also hire a dog sitter for when you need to leave the house. A dog sitter will be able to keep your Havanese dog company while providing for their needs during the day. This is a super easy option and you don’t need to do any work, but it can get to be expensive.
The hourly rate of a dog sitter can range anywhere from $15 to $25. For a whole workday, you can be expecting to pay $80-$100 to have your dog watched. This can be a super expensive option if you are looking for a long-term solution. However, it is one of the easier options out there.
Doggy Daycare
If you need a low-effort option that isn’t as expensive as hiring a dog sitter, bringing your Havanese dog to a doggy daycare can be a great solution. A day at a doggy daycare will cost anywhere from $12-$40. While that can still get pretty expensive in the long run, it isn’t as much as hiring a dog sitter every day.
However, another con to this solution is that you will have to drive your Havanese dog to and back from the doggy daycare. This will also only work if you have a doggy daycare in your area. It is harder to find a doggy daycare than a dog sitter.
If you have a doggy daycare in your area and need a low effort solution, then this will work well for you.
Final Thoughts
If you can help it, don’t leave your Havanese dog alone for more than four hours. If you have to, make sure that you have done the proper preparations so that your Havanese dog doesn’t suffer from your absence. Continuously leaving your Havanese dog home alone without the right tools can be cruel and border on dog neglect.
There are many options to make sure that your Havanese dog’s social and physical needs are met while you are away. From dog sitters to having the tv on, you can make sure that your Havanese dog has a good time even when you have to work or run errands. These solutions also range in price, so use the solution that works the best for your budget.
Havanese dogs, like any other dog, deserve to have the best life that they can have. This includes making sure that all their needs are met and that they can still be social. Havanese dogs are so social that they need someone or another dog around to keep them company.
If you can make sure that your Havanese dog doesn’t get too lonely, then they will be an amazing dog to have in your family. They have so much love to give and they deserve that amount of love to be returned.
