Do you leave lights on for your dog if you go out at night?

I leave the lights on for my doggies :-) Unfortunately, they both have to be put into a crate whenever I leave to avoid accidents in the house. Luckily I am home with them 90% of the time since I am currently unemployed at the moment.

I just feel bad leaving them if I know that we are going to be out late. My husband thinks that I am crazy for leaving a light on. I just don't want them to feel scared in the dark! I also try to leave the TV on! I even put it on the animal channel for them! Okay well maybe not that last part, that would just be crossing the line and weird!

The dog does not seem to care if the light is off or on. He goes off to roam the house dark or light. I do however leave the TV on the music channel when he is home alone. He sometimes suffers form separation anxiety and this channel keep him calm.

My husband laughs at me because I turn the lights on outside when it is dark, when our dog goes out to use the bathroom.

I realize that he doesn't need the light to see what he is doing. I think I use it more to see what he is doing and why it is taking him so long to come back inside!

I also think that leaving the lights on when we leave is more for us so we don't have to come back to a dark house!!

We always tell our dog not to have any parties while we are gone!!! LOL

My dad seems to think that it's super important and will leave a light on, usually just a lamp. I've heard that dogs can actually see better in the dark, and while I don't know if it's true or not I'm pretty sure they don't need a light left on I do however leave the radio playing quietly so he has some company if everyone's out.

This is something I have never done, I always leave the outside light on when I go out so I don't trip up the stairs however, I am pretty sure that dogs can see well in the dark, not as well as cats, but pretty well. Of course if your dog is getting older, and his or her eyesight is going, then I would definitely leave a light on for the dog.

They make a device that is supposed to simulate the appearance of you being at home watching TV. I guess this would be more to deter burglars than help your pets in the house, but I would be curious to see how the animals would respond to it as well:

http://www.faketv.com/

I would always think that if we left the lights and TV on, perhaps the our dogs would feel like we were coming back soon, and not get so stressed.

When I had a dog he was not often left alone, but when he was we always left lights and the TV on.

I read recently that each time you leave a dog on its own it thinks you are leaving for ever and does not expect you ever to return. It is possible to train a dog to understand that when it's left alone the owner is going to return. Otherwise the dog will spend its time alone feeling unhappy and rejected.

I have two dogs, one in England that lives with my parents and one in Turkey that lives with me. My dog in England is a rescue dog, so she is a pampered pooch, whenever anyone goes out we leave the lights on for her and my bedroom door open. When it is the firework season the television is always turned on high and we take her to a neighbours if we are out for a long time. My dog in Turkey could not care less if the lights are on or off, he prefers to be outside sat on our balcony ledge watching the world pass by.

I do like to leave lights on if I go out because I figure if I were a dog and my owners left me alone I would not want to be in the dark by myself. I have not always done that because the first dog I had (Smokey), I was young, like 8 or 9 and I do not remember if my parents would leave light on but I am pretty sure not.

Pets like to be loved and if you leave at night they may feel like they are being abandoned and that is not good at all. So even if it is only 30 minutes or so at least leave on the TV or something so they feel like someone is there especially if they are young like my dog is currently.