what dog is happy to be left alone

Question
I was planning on buying a dog, specifically a beagle and I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I have heard in the past that Beagles tend to howl when they are left alone for too long. Could I prevent this? If not are there any other dogs that would fit the beagles size that I could buy?

Answer
Hi Daniel,

Seven or eight hours is a long time for any dog to be left alone on a consistent basis.  Dogs get bored, sometimes they tear things up, they howl, they howl, they dig and scratch - because they need attention and social time with their "person".

If you get a puppy, he or she will need care every 2-3 hours for the first month, then 4-5 hours and so on until the puppy has mastered control of being able to go pee outside, etc.

Once the puppy is old enough that it actually can control, then you can start thinking about leaving it alone. I'd keep the puppy in a crate initially though, because there are a lot of things that can hurt a dog around the house and being housebroken doesn't stop a dog from chewing wires, or eating things that make it sick. Until you know your house is "dog safe", crate the dog when it is not specifically with you.

However, if its going to be left alone all day, you might want to start with an older dog, already trained. And, if you do that, you still need to increase the 'left alone' time gradually, and watch and see how the dog does. What you can't do is get a puppy dog and just leave it alone all day. That will lead to a lot of frustration for both you and the dog.

Hope this helps!