I have a ten year old miniature dachshund. She is pretty self-sufficient for a dog and has never torn anything up in almost 7 years we've had her - so she's allowed free rein of the house all day while we are at work. She spends most of her time chewing on toys and napping. Her food and water are out all of the time and she's surprisingly well-disciplined, we can put out 2 days of food and she'll eat half and then half the next day. She is pad-trained so there is really nothing to worry about most of the time, I just take her out before & after work when possible for a short walk.
Now that she is a senior pet, her health is still fairly good but she is sick a little more often (say 2-3 times a year compared with NEVER when she was younger). When she is sick I sometimes take a half day so that I can get her to the vet and/or be with her. Other times my husband does it instead...we just decide based on how busy our work schedules are.
As she has aged, storms are a lot more stressful for her (and we have a LOT of storms here in southwest Missouri) - so I just keep a Kong toy in the freezer filled with treats and peanut butter and that keeps her busy for several hours at least.
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