Dear Lonely: You made a wise decision to get an adult dog as a pet since you are away from home for so long during weekdays. Most likely he is already housebroken and can hold himself for 12 hours between pit stops. If you had purchased a puppy, you would have had to deal with a more frequent schedule of feeding and potty breaks.

Even so, 12 hours seems a long time for the dog not to have a break, especially if you are concerned he is getting lonely. If a dog gets bored or lonely he may start to act out and start some undesirable behavior such as chewing furniture or barking. One of the best ways to ensure that your dog is getting needed attention during the day is to hire a pet sitter for an afternoon walk. This walk will break up his day, allow him to exercise and give him something to look forward to.

Two organizations, Pet Sitters International (www.petsit.com) and National Association of Professional Pet Sitters (www.petsitters.org) have locator functions on their websites to locate professional members in your area code.

Establish a Routine

There are some other things you can do to help. When you leave the house in the morning leave the radio or TV playing. This will give him some sounds with human voices rather than silence or listening to everything going on outside, which just may make him bark at every passing person or vehicle. This may sound silly, but also call the house maybe once or twice a day so the phone will ring to add to house noises.

I’ve recommend this routine before, but it works like a charm. Hide little bits of his morning kibble around the house. He will spend his time investigating the usual hiding places to see where you have left him a treat today! This will occupy him when you leave first thing in the morning. Then have safe toys left for him to play with, such as a hard rubber Kong filled with peanut butter or frozen vegetables, a Nylabone or other hard bone to chew on. Keep soft toys or ones with parts to play with only under supervision.

Make sure that your greeting in the evening is fun-filled. Create a routine for him that he can look forward to, just like hiring a midday pet sitter to walk and play with him. He’ll soon catch on that once you walk through the door he can expect quality attention, playtime, maybe a long walk and definitely dinner!

Second Dog

Another option – if your home is equipped and you are emotionally and financially ready – would be to get a second dog. Dogs are pack animals. They can entertain themselves for hours without human intervention. Think about putting a human in a world where there are only cats. That human would miss the interaction with other humans after a while. And although dogs live to please their masters, they too miss the interaction of fellow members of their species after a while.

I’d wait a while before you get that new dog until the first one is well settled. Then you can introduce another “mutt” into the mix. Your best bet would be to get a female for your male. Having one of each sex is a safer alternative than trying to have two boy dogs in the same household, especially since they will be alone for most of the day. Males, even neutered ones, can exhibit dominance and aggression towards each other, especially if they think that one is trying to get the attention of “their” master or try to weasel in on their turf. Plus, they tend to have “pee wars” marking territory in the house.

And remember that having two dogs is twice the food costs, vet bills, and license fees, but if you are able then head back to the pound and find your best friend a best friend of his own.

Lisa Peterson, a long-time breeder of Norwegian Elkhounds, is the Director of Club Communications at the American Kennel Club. Contact her at ask@lisa-peterson.com  or Dogma Publishing, P.O. Box 307, Newtown, CT 06470.