5 Dog Home Alone Safety Tips

5 Dog Home Alone Safety

Whether you are going out of town for a few days or just going to be gone for a double shift at work, leaving your pet home alone can be a scary thing. After all, pets require a great deal of love and care and when you are not there to give it to them, it can make both you and your pet nervous. Avoid home alone anxiety and take a look below at some helpful tips for home alone safety for your dog. You don’t have to go to extremes to keep your dog safe when he is home alone, you just need to plan ahead. Whenever Davinia and Indiana are home alone whether for 20 minutes or 10 hours they are always in their crate. They prefer to stay together in the same crate but if your dogs are going to be left for mulitple hours on a daily basis we suggest that everyone has their own crate meaning their own space so they don’t get annoyed with each other (visit our post about separation anxiety to learn how to crate train your dogs).

5 Dog Home Alone Safety Tips:

1. Notify a neighbor.
It never hurts to let a neighbor know if you will have a pet alone in the house for an extended amount of time. Notify a neighbor so they can keep an eye on things, and possibly give them a key (if they are familiar with the dog) so they can come over and let your poochie out and give some special TLC. If you know that a neighbor is a stay at home mom or works from home it never hurts to have her in the know in case she sees strange cars near your house or something happens and they can alert you at work or vacation.

2. Turn off lamps.
Leaving a lamp on can be a fire hazard since an excited dog may knock it over. If you need to have lights on, leave only overhead ceiling lights on. You will still get plenty of light and there is no risk of it getting knocked down. You should also never leave oil burners, scent plug in, or other heated scent products plugged in while not home as they can be knocked over and pose a fire hazard. Even if you know you aren’t going to be home until after dark your dog will be fine without the lights on. It will help them sleep until you can get home to take them potty or to feed them dinner.

3. Tie up loose cords.
This tip is especially important if you dog is given free reign of the house while you are gone. Keep electronic cords as well as the cords to your blinds tied up where your dog can’t get tangled in them. These can be a strangulation hazard, so by keeping them neatly gathered and up high you are avoiding a huge risk. A bored dog even one that has never shown interest in wires might see them as a new game.

4. Place trash cans up high.
When Davinia was younger and before she stayed in a crate there were days I would come home to garbage messes all over the floor. Not only do you not want to come home to a huge mess, but you don’t want your dog to find something in the garbage that can hurt him. Bones, sharp cans, and other dangers lurk in garbage cans. The smell of food the can gives off makes it appealing to dogs, so avoid the temptation by emptying trash or placing it up on a counter top.

5. Find some free fire safety stickers.
Your local fire department your local shelter special stickers notifying firemen that there are pets in the house as well as how many. Find one of these stickers and place them in windows and doors where fire fighters can see them in case of emergency. This way should a fire break out, help will know exactly which animals are inside. Depending on how big of a city or town you live in you can even go over to the local fire station and let them know exactly where your pets are located in the house in case of emergencies.



When you give these safety tips a try, you can make sure your dog enjoys a peaceful and relaxing time home alone. You want to be able to return and find a happy tail wagging for you, not an accident that has occurred. Make a note to try these safety tips and see what a difference they can make for you.

If there was one tip you could give new dogs owners about Dog Home Alone Safety, what would it be?