How long should I leave a 12 week old puppy alone?
Dasia O'Reilly
2025-10-05 03:31:50
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Puppies of different ages have varied time limits in which they can and should be left alone.
As dogs get older, they can be alone for longer.
How old your dog is generally correlates with the amount of time (in hours) that they can be alone.
Under 10 weeks: 1 hour
10-12 weeks: 2 hours
Dogs between 10 to 12 weeks old can usually hold it for around two hours.
Once your dog reaches 3 months old, they can usually hold it for an hour for each month they’ve been alive.
However, even adult dogs shouldn’t be home alone for much longer than six to eight hours without a chance for a bathroom break.
When you first bring home your puppy, it’s likely they’ve never been alone before.
To teach your dog how to be alone, start by teaching them how while you’re still home.
Once they’re more comfortable at your house, you can leave them at home in their crate for an hour or more at a time.
Denis Abbott
2025-09-23 06:42:26
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He has been left alone in the crate a few times for about an hour when we have popped out and has been fine. I am worried about leaving him over the two weeks. I have arranged a puppy visits twice a day at 10am and 1:30pm and my SIL who is on maternity leave is going to see him at 12 every day. He is not used to the playpen but I still have all next week to get him happy with it. It is only 2 weeks but I am massively over thinking it all. There are 2 weeks before he is fully vaccinated and can go to daycare, so he will be left in the house between 8:30 and 3:30 when my DC come back from school.
Lori Blick
2025-09-23 01:09:03
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8-10 weeks: 1 hour or less.
10-12 weeks: Bladder capacity is increasing, but 2 hours is still the longest that most puppies can hold it at this stage.
Puppies this young simply can’t hold their urine for more than an hour, and even that is pushing it, sometimes.
You might start crate training at this age, but you can’t leave a young puppy in a crate for long periods; he’ll wet his bed (a lot!)
11–14 weeks: 1–3 hours
Before leaving your puppy alone for any period of time, make sure your puppy gets a brisk walk or play session of at least 20 minutes.
Then, a midday romp (with you or a dog walker) will help break up the day.
Puppies will miss you when you’re gone and are prone to destructive behaviours or excess barking if they get lonely.
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