How Long Can a Havanese Be Left Alone?

The Havanese is a gorgeous dog breed that is loved by many across the world. The breed is originally from Cuba and is a part of the Bichon family.

It’s small enough to be suitable for apartment and studio living but large enough to be more sturdy than some of its other relatives. It’s a great companion breed, but can it stomach any time alone when its owners are off at work?

Can You Leave a Havanese Home Alone?

The Havanese, much like its cousin the Bichon, has a predisposition to developing separation anxiety. As a very sensitive breed, they find time alone very difficult to withstand. They can sometimes be trained to cope with it, but would likely find a whole day alone hard to manage even after training.

If you do need to be able to leave your Havanese alone, it is important to ease them into it. Allow your Havanese to slowly adjust to the alone time bit by bit. This will better the chances of your Havanese being able to cope when you need to leave them alone in the future.

How Long Can a Havanese Be Left Alone?

How long a Havanese will be able to be left alone will depend on a number of factors. It will mostly depend on whether or not you’ve worked to help your Havanese adjust to spending time alone, but also on whether they are in a familiar environment, whether they’ve got toys and things to keep them occupied, and whether or not they’re nervous anyway.

On average, a Havanese will be fine left with around three hours alone. This is without any training or adjustment, and assuming that the home is set up for the Havanese to be able to eat, drink, use the bathroom, and play whilst you are gone.

There are some Havaneses, however, that may struggle with even three hours. Nervous Havaneses, such as those from shelters, may find anything longer than about 30 minutes difficult to cope with. Alternatively, some Havanese may be absolutely fine and may be able to do longer than three hours before becoming distressed.

4 Ways to Make Your Havanese Comfortable Staying Home Alone

If you do need to leave your Havanese at home for a few hours at a time, there are things that you can do to ensure that your Havanese won’t get distressed in your absence.

Crate Train Your Havanese

Crate training your Havanese can help to make them adjust to being left alone. This involves making sure that your dog is happy to be in a suitable dog crate and providing them with their own safe space. You can use this when you travel, when you need to leave them alone, and even for things like bedtime.

This process can be really beneficial to Havaneses as it provides a safe space that they feel is theirs. They can efficiently guard the area and will know that no threats are likely to find them. Place a blanket in the crate and some toys nearby and they’ll be much calmer and more occupied whilst you’re away.

Leave Items That Smell Like You

Your Havanese struggles to be left alone because they miss you. If you’re planning on going away for a few hours (or longer), leaving something at home that smells like you will help them to remain calm. They won’t miss you quite as much, making your absence easier on them.

Leave the Television or Radio On

The Havanese is a social dog breed. One of the things that it misses when you go out is human voices and presence. Even if your Havanese doesn’t want to play, having you in the home makes them feel safer and more comfortable.

One of the ways to simulate this feeling whilst you’re not home is to leave the television or radio on. The sound of voices and chatting will help them to feel included and happy while you’re out.

Provide Interactive Toys

There are a number of toys that you can get for your Havanese that can keep them entertained all on their own. Things like slow feeder toys or toys that move around on their own are great ways to keep your Havanese’s mind busy whilst you’re out. This is an especially good tool for a pooch that is food motivated.

3 Things to Consider If You Need to Leave Your Havanese Alone for Longer

If for whatever reason, you need to leave your Havanese alone for longer than just a few hours, there are things that you can consider to make both your Havanese and your life easier.

However, these should not be used as an excuse to leave your Havanese all of the time. If you do need to regularly leave your dog at home, consider getting a permanent dog sitter or, if you have yet to get the Havanese, consider a different dog breed.

Get a Dog Sitter

You could hire someone or ask a friend to pop into your home once or twice whilst you’re away from home to play with your Havanese and give them attention, a walk, new food, and water. This can really make a difference to a Havanese when left alone and can be fairly simple to arrange.

Exercise the Havanese Before Leaving

As well as separation anxiety, a Havanese left alone too long will have excess energy that it needs to burn off. You can solve this by ensuring that before you head off, you wear your Havanese out as much as possible. This can help to calm them, but also prevent things like destructive behavior.

Get An Automatic Feeder

If you’re going to make a habit of leaving your Havanese home alone for lengthy periods of time, it may be worth investing in an automatic feeder. These are not cheap, but they can ensure that your Havanese is well fed whilst you’re away so that even if you don’t get a dog sitter, you know that your beloved pet has enough food.

What Will Happen If You Leave Your Havanese Alone for Too Long?

The Havanese is a very intelligent and social dog breed, and they require plenty of social interaction to be happy. Because they were bred to be companion dogs, they simply don’t handle independence very well. When left alone too often or for too long, they may start to develop the following issues.

Separation Anxiety

As mentioned above, Havanese that are left alone are likely to develop separation anxiety. This can lead to the breed becoming very nervous, sad, and scared when left alone, and very needy when their owner returns.

Barking

Bichon breeds are known for being particularly vocal, but the Havanese is likely to bark excessively when left home alone. They do so to demand attention and express their sadness. This can become really disruptive for neighbors.

Depression

If left too often, separation anxiety can develop into depression. This can cause the breed to experience complete personality changes. The Havanese may become lethargic, withdrawn, and quiet. They might also lose their appetite.

Shyness

The Havanese is a natural extrovert. It is a companion dog that just wants to love everyone. If left alone too long or too often, though, the breed could become more and more introverted and shy. This can result in the dog showing aggression toward other dogs and people.

Destructive Behavior

In addition to all of the mental health issues that being left alone can cause, the Havanese will often fall into destructive behavior if left alone too often for too long. This could manifest in the breed chewing things and forgetting to go outside to use the bathroom.

Destructive behavior can be trained away again, but it can be distressing and difficult to manage for both you and your pooch.

Summary

Like many of its Bichon relatives, the Havanese is not a breed that can cope well with being left alone. Even with training, the breed can only manage a few hours on its own before becoming distressed.

There are things that you can do to make alone time easier on a Havanese, and these are highly recommended in order to prevent your Havanese from becoming isolated or unwell.

Failing to do these could lead to your Havanese developing a number of mental health issues as well as becoming shy, aggressive, and destructive.