How to Prevent Separation Anxiety – Podcasts

During lockdown, I am constantly reminded that we are so fortunate to have all the technology we do. It has enabled us to keep in touch with loved ones and also for so many of us to be able to continue working from home.

We can also use this technology to help with our pets, including making time alone more comfortable. One of my lovely clients recently introduced me to a Podcast that is designed especially for dogs whom are home alone.

There are two 5hr sessions and each has a series of relaxing chat, stories, praise and soothing music – tailored and spoken to your dog in a way that soothes and promotes sleep rather than stir or excite. It begins slightly upbeat as if you’ve just returned from a walk and gradually slows and mellows helping your dog calm and settle. If you already use some form of noise as part of your leaving routine or if you currently leave them in silence, it might be worth considering giving this a try! It is completely free and made by pet psychologists and other professionals.

Check out ‘My Dog’s Favourite Podcast’ on Spotify – HERE

We’d love to know what you (really your dog) thought of this!

How to Prevent Canine Separation Anxiety – Importance of Rest

An adult dog sleeps around 12-14 hours a day on average, and if you have a very lazy dog like myself it can seem like he sleeps for even longer! Rest is really important for the physical and mental well being of all living beings, and that includes our furry friends. Without ample rest they too can soon become irritable, stressed and unwell.

The COVID lockdown has forced people to stay home and whilst it is lovely to spend so much time with our furry companions, it does mean that their rest and sleep routines have been hugely interrupted. Factor that with many dogs being taken on increased amounts of walks with bored household members and you have a recipe for some seriously sleep deprived pooches!

The easiest way to help your dog get the rest they need is to be aware of the amount of activity they are having and preventing them from receiving too much. Equally, if you have given your dog a large amount of exercise consider giving them a quieter day following so that they can recover.

It is really important to think about the amount of time they are able to rest or sleep uninterrupted too, you can help your dog get the rest they need by giving them a quiet space to sleep. If they have a designated sleep area such as a bed in the kitchen, help them settle there and try to prevent disturbing them. Linking in with what we discussed yesterday about encouraging independence, this is a really good way of keeping them feeling well and promoting alone time.

If you have children at home, encourage them to leave your dog to rest too. It is really important that they understand pets need quiet time too – this is especially important in preventing accidentally nips and scratches from overexcited and tired dogs.

There are other things you can do to help create a restful environment, noise therapy is a popular and easy one to try. It has been scientifically proven that classical music can have a soothing effect on canines, and many rescue centers use this to ease stress levels. Much like with babies too, creating a level of white noise can help them settle and reduce stirring. If you have a dog that is easily aroused by nearby sounds such as cars driving by, people talking outside or even hearing dogs on the TV, it might be worth popping a radio on – any channel that plays mellow music or has a lot of calm talking may well help them settle down.

How to Prevent Separation Anxiety – Encouraging Independence

COVID has meant that we have been able to spend so much more time home with our furry loved ones, and that has been great! However this has meant that some are now struggling to adjust to what used to be the norm of being left home alone.

It is really important that we try to maintain their confidence in our established routines, and this has been tricky whilst we have been restricted with the lockdown, but now that some of us are facing the prospect of returning to work (in whatever format that may be) it is crucial that we make sure they will be able to cope when left.

So what can we do?

We need to make sure we are reinforcing positive time alone and encouraging independence at home during the day, even if we are there. Many of us are working from home now and may well be for a long time; wherever it is that you work from – no matter if it is the sofa or a dedicated room – refrain from having them join you all the time. Shut them out of the room you are working in and give them time to rest or something to keep them busy; you may also find you are more productive too!

Whilst you are doing chores around the home or if you are busy pottering in the garden, consider shutting them indoors or out of the room you are in for a while. These small steps promote self-soothing and encourage them to rest independently, after all we do not need company whilst we are folding laundry and they do not need to ‘help’!

We spoke about the importance of routine yesterday, read more HERE, and how we should try to practice leaving them regularly to keep this part of their independence fresh. Now that we are allowed to exercise multiple times a day, it may be good for you to use this opportunity to practice leaving them for a short period each day. Even if you walk around the block or to the local shop, keeping this routine current will make leaving them for longer lengths of time much less stressful for both of you.

If your dog has become very clingy or is not coping with being left home, start off with small intervals and give praise when you return. It is important to not over-praise upon your return though, you do not want to reinforce that there was a reason to stress. Think about how you used to act when you got in from work, did you give them a quick belly rub, some verbal praise and then let them in the garden? If so, do this – keeping the routine will aid their transition back to what was once OK!

How to Prevent Canine Separation Anxiety – Routine

Creating, and most importantly maintaining, a routine is one of the most crucial things you can do for you pets. This establishes a series of dependable steps that help your dog feel safe and secure, by reinforcing that being left home alone is ‘OK’, and that you will always return.

Keeping up these routines has been the biggest challenge of the current COVID pandemic for dog owners, because we physically cannot leave them for very long, if at all. This has blown our existing and trusted routines and is creating a new one which has already caused so much unrest for pets and owners when they’re being called back to work.

So what can we do about this?

We can firstly make sure that we stick to as much of the usual daily routine as possible; starting and ending the day at a reasonable time helps keep you and their body clocks in check. It can be hard, especially as keeping motivated during this time is challenging with no definitive end in sight, but it will do a lot of good for yourselves and them.

Another big part of their routine is feeding and walk timings – try not to deviate from these too much. We have recently talked about how we can make feeding times more interesting and last longer on our Facebook page (see post HERE); any form of enrichment, so long as it does not cause too much frustration behaviour, is a great way to occupy them and get their brains and body stimulated. You do not have to be a scientist to achieve this either – there are lots of great ideas out there for scatter or puzzle feeding. These are proven techniques used commonly in rescue kennels and such like, it is an easy way to entertain and extend a positive part of their day.

Lastly, when you do leave your dog, do you have a set way of doing this? We have a very simple routine of locking the back door, closing windows and popping the radio on. By this point, our dog knows what is happening and often sits on his bed in the kitchen or lays on the rug in the living room. We then scatter a treat around the living room and ask him to ‘wait’ whilst we get our things together, and just as we are about to leave we tell him to ‘go on, good boy’. He then hunts out the treat(s) whilst we exit and lock the door. We do this every time we leave, regardless of whether we are popping to the local shop or heading out for a longer stretch of time. This has created a really secure routine for him with expectations that he knows and is comfortable with. If this is something that you do not have with your dog, or it is something that is not consistent, I would highly recommend starting here.

Beating Boredom: At Home

Boredom can strike whilst your dog is at home with company, or whilst home alone. In order to keep your dog from making poor decisions and chewing your belongings, you can create an interactive and engaging environment for him. Here are some ideas which cover games and activities you can do at home or in your garden with your pet, or set up before you leave them alone, to keep them busy and try to reduce those destructive tendencies.

1. Be imaginative and create your own games, why not try to make your own sock Octopus with old or odd socks? They’re super easy and quick to put together and you can hide treats in the ‘tentacles’. You can also try wrapping an old t-shirt round a plastic bottle, these make a cool crinkling sound which is unlike many other toys.
2. Buy interactive toys such as Kong™ or Havaball™ – these are stuff-able and can be hard work for them to get the reward, having to lick, nudge and paw/hold is mentally tiring which will prevent boredom and leave a content dog. You can also make your own treat dispensing toys, just make sure you choose these wisely especially if you have a very powerful chewer, or a dog that loves to shred toys.
3. Keep the fillings for the above toys varied, check out our recent blog for some recipe ideas.
4. Rotate toys; many people leave all of their pets toys out and wonder why they do not play with them any more. Keep them ‘new’ and interesting by changing their availability.
5. Play games such as ‘Find It’. You can use dry food or a favourite toy for this. If your dog does not know this game, start by hiding it in an easy place and lead your pet around the room until they find it. Once they locate it, give lots of praise and repeat. You can build up the difficulty and also get them to find multiple items. Your dog will soon understand the game, and will search a large area with just the cue word ‘find it’.

 

We would love to hear what your favourite boredom breakers are, why not share them in the comments sections for others to enjoy!

Beating Boredom

Boredom affects all of us; including our pets. Unfortunately this often leads to undesirable behaviours, such as destruction of your property which can be upsetting and frustrating. So what can we do about this, and how can we minimise these destructive tendencies?

Over the next week, we will be posting a two-part blog with some tips and ideas of activities you can try at home, and others you can do outdoors or in your spare time together. These aim to keep your pet engaged, stimulated and mentally tired – these should help your pet feel content and prevent them from getting up to mischief! These games may also be of help to those with dogs whom may be struggling with separation anxiety, these games can build confidence and promote independence whilst acting as a distraction from your absence.

Stay tuned for the upcoming blogs:

• Part 1: Beating Boredom: At Home
• Part 2: Beating Boredom: Games and Activities