Is it a bad idea to leave my dog home alone who has congestive heart failure ?

Other than giving your dog whatever medication your vet has prescribed, there isn't much else that can be done. CHF is a progressive disease. Some of the symptoms can be treated temporarily (such as if your dog develops fluid in the chest), but when your dog's heart completely fails, there is nothing that can be done whether you are at home or at the vet's or at work. Enjoy the time you have - which could be days or years.

There is nothing irresponsible about leaving your dog at home alone for a few hours. You have to keep living your life.

Obviously it would be best to have somebody with him, if not you, most of the time, but we all have our lives to lead, things to do, work etc. I think you have to get on with your life and if he's used to being at home alone for periods, go with it.

As long as you leave the toilet seat down your dog should be fine , you just have to limit the amount of water it drinks to whatever amout the vet has recomended per day

As I see it, you have no choice. You have to work, you can't afford to stay home with the dog. When it is his time to go, he will go. You nor I can predict when that will be. Just know that some day you may come home to find he has passed. I cannot stop your worrying, you will worry til he passes.

I, too, am worried about my female Dalmatian who has skin cancer with eruptions all over her stomach. Don't know is it travels to other organs, I am just waiting for the cancer to take its course. She is 15 & still very active but I got blood all through the house from her eruptions. Some of the eruption just drip blood & trying to bandage a stomach is very difficult.

We just wait & see. Don't know if it is harder for them or for us.

Not at all. I had a male rottweiler with CHF that I often left at home alone for a few hours on several days.

Nope..................................................