Separation Anxiety in Dogs after lockdown
- gosdogwalking
- May 1, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: May 2, 2020
Whilst the current situation is a bit strange for most of us, it is probably a very good time for our dogs. They have company all day long, get lots of extra attention and enjoy their best lives with their favorite humans!
This is all great, but it might be a bit challenging for some of our dogs once all goes back to normal and they are left alone at home again. To experience separation anxiety is very stressful for your dog and can present itself in various ways such as barking, howling, destructive behavior, toileting in the house and even self harm.
If your dog is not really interested if you are there or not and is quite relaxed, they will probably be fine once everything goes back to normal.
If your dog is living its best life, following you around all day and enjoying your company very much, it is more than likely that once everything is back to normal they will suffer from some form of separation anxiety.
There are a few things you can do to make this transition easier for your best friend.
If you work from home, staying in routine in lockdown can be of great benefit for your dog.
- If your dog normally goes for a quick walk before you head off to work, try keeping at it.
- Taking them on a midday walk, even if only short, will help them staying in the routine of going on group walks.
- During morning and afternoon let your dog rest, if possible in a different room to your office.
- Keep on feeding them at their usual times and be careful not to overfeed them on food and treats to stay in good health (do we not all have this problem).
- If your dog needs some down time at any time during the day make sure they have their own space to retreat themselves to if they feel like it.
If you have to go shopping, get prescriptions or do your daily exercise, try doing this in a time your dog would normally be alone. You can leave them with a Kong* toy filled with treats/peanut butter to keep them entertained if they need to. Sniffing and licking will also help to make them tired and they might just sleep whilst you are out.
If you are currently not working and your routine is very different from a normal workday, implementing the routine training a week or two before going back to normal will greatly benefit your dog getting used to ‘normal’ again, rather than going in cold turkey once it is time.
If you feel like your dog is already not OK with being alone, you can slowly train your dog to be comfortable with you leaving. Try leaving them in a room and close the door for a few seconds. You can also leave the house and close the door (you don't have to go anywhere) and enter the house again. Doing that, there are two important things to pay attention to:
- Your dog must not get stressed during this training. Start with one or two seconds and observe your dogs reaction, gradually increasing the time. You should come in before your dog has a chance to get stressed. If you have a camera* to watch your dog from your phone, this exercise can be done very sensibly.
- When you come back in, ignore your dog completely and go about your day. By doing this, your dog will understand that you can leave and return safely without any incident and they will learn that there is absolutely nothing to worry about.
The more you do this exercise, the more your dog will get used to it. Remember to gradually increase the time based on what your dog is comfortable with and to ignore your dog to show him that nothing special is happening here.
Once your dog gets more comfortable with being alone, it is a good idea to also follow some kind of routine that will be happening once you go back to work.
It might also be a sensible idea for the first few days of ‘normality’ to leave toys out and to not to leave anything laying in reach of your dog that is important or valuable to you. Hopefully not, but if your dog experiences some sort of separation anxiety they might chew things to release their stress, even if they usually don't do this.
Lastly here are some links to a good and affordable camera and also the different sizes of Kong toys mentioned.
By clicking on these links you will be supporting us if you buy anything on Amazon within 24 hours through the amazon affiliate program.
Comentários