How To Ease Separation Anxiety Between You And Your Pup: Three Easy Steps
Let’s face it; as much as our dogs depend on us, we depend on
them just as much. Love, companionship, and playtime are all
things that people depend on their dogs for just as much as
their dogs may depend on them. For this reason, leaving your dog
home alone for extended periods of time while at work or on
vacation can cause a variety of problems for both pet and pet
owner.
Separation anxiety is real, and it affects our four-legged
friends too. The difference between you and your pet in this
instance is that while you know that the two of you will soon be
reunited, your pet probably doesn’t have this type of
forethought and so it is important for humans to be as
accommodating to their canine companion as possible in this
aspect.
Pets experience separation anxiety on a variety of levels. Some
pets are perfectly fine with being away from their owners for
extended lengths of time whereas other pets may fall into a deep
depression. Even worse, there are those mischievous little guys
out there who seek to tear up everything in your home that is
important to you, perhaps in the hope that you will rethink
leaving them alone ever again.
If any of the above sound like the situation between you and
your pet, it is time for you to take action. Even though it may
not seem like it at times, there is a way for you and your pet
to handle separation in a much easier, more constructive way.
Here are a few tips on how to help your pet handle his
down-time.
Provide Them With a Comfort Zone
Providing your pet with a comfort zone is one of the most
successful ways of making sure that they are as comfortable as
possible when you can’t be together. For every pet, this comfort
zone is different; for some, it may require the confinement of a
kennel or dog crate in order to be successful. Either way,
having a place for them to call their own might help in the long
run.
Make their area as comfortable as possible, even if it is a
form of caging them to protect your home. Old pillows, a dog
bed, their favorite toy, maybe even a tee shirt or something
that smells of your scent—these are all things that could help
them to feel a bit more at ease in their area, and perhaps make
the hours until you come home that much more bearable.
Keep Them Entertained
A bored pet is a bad pet, plain and simple. If they don’t have
something of their own to keep them busy, chances are that they
will find something of yours to accommodate their interest. Stop
a disaster in its tracks by making sure that your pet has plenty
of their own toys and items to entertain them while you are
gone. This doesn’t mean using old shoes and things of yours as
it just confuses the difference between what items are okay for
them to have and what are not okay for them to have.
Keeping your pet entertains not only gives them something to
keep them away from your things, but something to help them pass
the time while they don’t have you around to keep them company.
Consider Getting Them a Pal
While this may be a big one for some households, sometimes the
only surefire way to cure separation anxiety between you and
your pet is to give them a playmate. If your household cannot
handle two pets, by all means do not get into something that
your family may potentially be unable to handle. However, if you
do have the means this is a great way to get rid of otherwise
seemingly incurable separation anxiety on the part of your pet.
These are just a few ways to help keep the time your pet spends
alone as pain-free as possible, and you are encouraged to think
of some of your own. Now that you know your pet will survive
without you, now it is just a matter of handling yourself when
the two of you are apart.
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