How to ease your dog out of lock down

As we plan for life outside the work-from-home bubble. You may have to consider how your pets might cope with our “new normal”. Your dog will miss you, not so much your cat, probably happy they get to snooze without disturbance, although they will miss their extra biscuits 😉

These easing of restrictions after these last few months could have an adverse effect on our pets. I have been researching the possible problems that may come from us not being at home so much or being able to be as indulgent with our little furry friends.

Maybe install a webcam, just to see how they react when your gone. In many cases, they will probably pace a bit and then settle down. If however they do struggle, it is good to be prepared.

Separation anxiety – As we will need to leave the house for longer period of time, our pets can get anxiety from this separation, it can manifest itself in different ways and become a real problem. We will need to prepare our dogs for this change, by reintroducing old routines so they don’t struggle once this social distancing measures are lifted. It maybe you change into your office clothes pick up your keys and leave the house for 10mins, mix up the times and the length of time. When you return, don’t make it to exciting , wait for them to settle and then reward them.

It maybe that your dog will bark or become destructive when your gone, I suggest make some distractions for them, leave the radio on, make some Kongs with a favourite treat inside, this will also make them tired as the concentrate to get the prize. Give this to them as you go out the door, this will help them associate something nice as you leave. It may not work immediately, be patient and may try different treats or toys that they prefer.

Most of us haven’t been socializing our dogs as we used to, it will be very exciting for them to meet their buddies or new dogs off the lead, but boundaries will need to be controlled for them, keep an eye on the behavior signals and keep introductions in a controlled environment, it can become overwhelming moment and messages get mixed and this may come out as aggression or nervousness.

Hope this is helpful, I will be doing another post for puppies coming out of Lockdown. Thanks for reading. http://www.pawswalktailstalk.