How long is "TOO LONG" for doodles to be home alone?

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Up to this point we have managed most of our dogs days to be spent with one or the other of us being at home, or the 1-2 days a week that we both work the same day, to have a dog sitter come in about 1/2 way through the day for potty break and playtime. Since she has our Murphy's brother, she has brought him over to play or even brought my two to her house to spend the afternoon.
DH and I are gone from 6:30 -7:00 am to 6:30 pm on the days we both work. The sitter would come between 1:00 to 4:00 pm. So some days they were alone and unable to potty for 7-10 hours. They have always seemed to do fine with that schedule, and it most likely bothered me more than them to have them wait so long,or at least that is what my family says.

So next week my sitter is working full-time, and I can certainly find a new sitter, or even do day care occasionally, or have the kids come by to help let them out, but DH insists that they would be fine all day home alone and waiting 12 hours without going potty, that there is no need to be making all these arrangements.
I am just not comfortable with this but I don't really have a reason to give him other than it just doesn't sound like it would be good for them to wait that long.
Besides the fact that it sounds like its just "TOO LONG", are there any known risks or detriment to having them alone so long? Other than the obvious that they may get bored and into trouble, and I certainly can expect and plan for that, my concern is their health, or having to hold their bladders that long. Anyone have any information to share?

[Chelsie]

Gavin sounds like my 2! When I am gone for an extended period, from 3-8 hours, I leave treats around the house of them to find and they touch nothing! Also shortly after I come home they snuggle down for a nap. I always said they were on a security watch while I am gone! I will say though that I have left my 2 home alone for 12 hours a few times and they do just fine. Also when we traveled in the car for 2 days, the goldendoodle would never pee on rest stops. He would go before we left around 7 am and not go again until 12 am or later after we had stopped for the night and were in the hotel sleeping! (Never pottied in the hotel, just woke us up to go out!)

[DJ & Chance]

Sue, I am siding with you.  I am sure the your doodles can "hold it"--for me it is about the quality of their day.  

[Joanna, Zoe & Bender]

Mine are usually not home alone for too long because dh has random hours and works from home too. The longest they have been home alone is 9 hours and they were ok. Dh did say that those are the times he comes home and they are not greeting him at the door w happy faces and wagging tails... Those are the times they are waiting by the back door saying "let me out let me out already! need to go potty!"

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Lol. But not really funny, just picturing them talking! So in your case you do notice a difference and possibly even stress or anxiety to get outside. Yes, that would bother me if they were like that when I got home. I'd feel guilty.

[Joanna, Zoe & Bender]

Yes I think 9 hours is long for them but they are still young so maybe it's different when they get older

[Camilla and Darwin]

Hm, I wouldn't leave Darwin for more than 7-8 hours without being able to go out. I know that he could hold it for longer but I wouldn't want to make him..

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

But why not Camilla? How do we pick these random amount of hours? It's anywhere from 4 to 9 for different people and dogs. Does Darwin seem uncomfortable if he has to go longer than 8?

[Camilla and Darwin]

No, he doesn't show physical signs of discomfort other than being extra diligent in walking between us and the door (this is his sign that he has to go). Although we have noticed that when we let him out after that long he'll pee for a LOOOONG time. I know that Darwin COULD hold it for longer, and he has for a long time. I simply just don't want to make him go for longer than that. He will go as often as every 3 hours if we let him out that often, so I know that over 8 would probably be uncomfortable for him.

However, we do have a lot of freedom with his schedule since we are students, so we haven't had to leave him for longer than 7-8 hours, we are lucky.

The two concerns that first crossed my mind were:

-during the night they don't drink, therefore they don't have to go. They will be drinking during the day, so it may be too long.

-isn't it really bad for people to hold their pee for too long, especially if you are a girl, as far as causing urinary tract infections? Could it be the same for dogs?

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

That was my first concern, are UTIs a problem for dogs when forced to hold it longer? And yes you are correct, it is very unhealthy for humans to hold it too long. Mine don't really drink much at all when we aren't here though, which always surprises me. Once I get home after probably only 4-5 hours since someone has let them out, one of the first things they do after potty is drink a ton.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I thought about UTIs as well. But I doubt anyone has studied this.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jack's dermatologist once told me that he was "not doing himself any favors" when he would regularly hold his urine for 14 hours and more, which I took to mean that it could be harmful to his health.

 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

As far as we can tell Luna doesn't drink while we're away.  I guess she has learned that if we are gone it could be a long while before she gets a chance to pee.

I imagine it's not good for her bladder to hold it for a long time on a regular basis, but thankfully it's usually only about once a week.