Not sure what to do with your furry friend when you have to go somewhere...and you cannot take him or her with you? Have you ever left your dog at home all by itself before only to come home and find a mess? Now what to do when you leave your dog at home alone?

Sadly, not everyone shares a love for dogs and we cannot bring them with us everywhere we go. Some people just do not like them or are even afraid of even a small dog. Why? I really do not know how anyone can resist such lovable animals such as dogs, but I guess they do exist! Maybe they are allergic or had a bad situation happen with a dog in their past?

So, how can you trust your dog at home? Left to its own devices for awhile?

Five things you can do so your dog doesn't wreck the place

• Crate train your dog...the sooner the better.
• Keep your dog away from the things you do not want it to get a hold of and ruin.
• Exercise your dog before you leave.
• Teach your dog what is off limits.
• Give your dog something to keep it busy

Crate training

Sure, I know it does cost a bit of money for a crate, especially if you have to buy one for a large or even extra large dog. At first, you may think it costs too much or is not worth the money to buy a crate, or you have the crazy notion that your new puppy or dog will be just fine when it is left home alone.

Who knows? Maybe your dog will do just fine when it is left alone....the only way to find out is to try it right? That is what I thought many years ago...before I knew better. No matter how good they seem to be when you are home you do not know what they will do while you are gone and no one is there to supervise them. Oh, he is so cute! Just look at that little face! Such an angel..Hahaha! Well, maybe a devil's angel, at least when nobody is watching!

After learning my lesson, which was to never ever trust a puppy not to chew things up while we are gone, I went and bought our first crate. We still have it and it has been about 12 years ago now and has been used for all of our puppies until they became trustworthy. So, it has been well worth the money we spent back then, rather than replacing who knows what if the pups we have had were left to their own devices.

Properly crate training your dog and keeping your dog in a crate is probably the safest place for your dog when you are not home, and not to mention, it also keeps your furniture and whatever else your dog can get a hold of safe!

If you do not want it chewed up or messed with put it away!

I keep telling this same advice to my kids when they start complaining...all too often their stuff, especially my seven-year-old's, gets a little chewed up if they leave it just laying around on the floor. Although are dogs are getting better at not doing this, they tend to slip up once in a great while yet, especially our youngest one.

Maybe she thinks since he just left it laying there that she can play with it too? Well, why not? It was left on the floor along with her chew toys! So, if it is something you do not want to get ruined, anything at all, just take the time and put it away. Just in case.

Take the time to look around first before leaving your dog unsupervised at home and see if you can find anything it might be able to chew on. If your dog can reach it at all it is a possible chew toy for your dog while you are gone. Just to let you know.

Exercise your dog

If you are planning on going somewhere for a few hours such as running errands, shopping or whatever you may have to do it is always a good idea to give your dog some exercise a little while before you leave. This will burn off some of that extra energy dogs always seem to have and plus, it will help them feel more relaxed while you are gone.

It may not exactly tire them out to where they are completely zonked out, but at least it is a good way to keep them from being bored and stir crazy. It will not only help them physically but emotionally too. So, get out with your dog and go for a walk before you have to leave it home alone for awhile. If your dog enjoys playing something very active such as a simple game of fetch even, then do that if you want instead.

Teach your dog to leave your stuff alone!

It may take awhile, but eventually you can teach your dog to leave your stuff alone and not chew it to pieces. When you are at home watch your dog, especially puppies. Do not leave it go around the house unsupervised if you cannot trust it not to chew things up such as your shoes or socks.

Once you see your dog pick up something in its mouth that is not meant for it to be chewing on get its attention! Tell it NO! in a firm voice. Sometimes that is all it takes for a dog to drop it then. When your dog drops it then praise your dog! Say Good Boy! or Good Girl!...and make it sound happy! This way it will know that it did the right thing by dropping whatever it was that it was about to chew up.

Keep 'em busy!

If you plan on leaving your dog home alone for a few hours, whether in a crate or not, remember it may get bored just like we all do. Make sure to leave something that is safe for it to play with or chew on while you are away. It all depends on the breed and size of your dog on what may or may not be safe.

For example, you do not want to give a Saint Bernard a small ball that is meant for a small breed such as a Chihuahua or the other way around either! Poor little Chihuahua would get run over by the ball!

There are a lot of different dog toys and chew toys out there, so before leaving your dog alone with anything watch how your dog is with a certain toy. Another thing to consider is how much or how strong is your dog at chewing? If it is breaking pieces off of the toy take it away!

I hope this helps you out with your dog and what you can do to keep it happy while you are away from home!