Hey there, hoomans! It’s Mozart here. You probably don’t need me to tell you that the past month or so has been one of the best of my life! George feels the same way.
Why?
Because our whole family has been with us all day, every day! No huge hound could ever ask for anything more exciting than that. A whole month of snuggles, romps, snacks, and more snuggles.
Sure, we can tell our hoomans are a little worried about stuff. We hear the words “social distancing” and even the scary-sounding “quarantine” a lot. It’s hard to be nervous ourselves, though, because it all just means more time with YOU. But now they’re also starting to say things like “separation anxiety.”
See, the stay-at-home orders won’t last forever. Some states are planning to lift several restrictions at this end of this month. That’s going to change a lot of things for a lot of dogs that have just now gotten used to having you around all the time. There’s a very good chance that many will suffer separation anxiety after the COVID-19 restrictions are eased and you start going back to work. Here are some steps you can take to prevent separation anxiety in dogs due to covid-19to ease the shock of getting back to normal—whatever that new normal might look like.
Reschedule the Walks
If you’ve been at home with your pups for several weeks now, you may have gotten into a willy-nilly schedule for the walks—as in, you may not have stuck to a schedule at all. Somewhere in the backs of our minds, we remember the morning walk before breakfast, the afternoon walk when you came home for lunch, and the longer walk with added play time after you got home from work.
Believe it or not, we liked the old routine because it was that: routine. Anything that messes with our structured life can throw us off balance. In fact, you may have noticed us doing some odd things for a while after you started staying home all the time. That was during a new adjustment period. When you go back to work, we’ll have to readjust all over again. These are signs of dog separation anxiety. Watch for them.
We just won’t understand all the alone time we’ll have. This will be much harder the more time we’ve spent together during the stay-at-home orders. You can start getting us ready for that eventuality by at least getting us back on a walking schedule that’s somewhat familiar to us.
Start Spending Time Apart
Oh, man, we really don’t want you to do this. If you don’t, however, we could have a bad reaction after all this together-time we’ve had lately. Dog separation anxiety is a very real thing that can affect dogs at any point in their lives. Once these restrictions are lifted and you have to go back to the office, we’ll get lonely again.
To get us used to the possibility sooner rather than later, start spending small amounts of time away without us. Take yourselves for a walk, or do your grocery run together (but just send one person into the store until we’re all clear), or maybe even separate us from the family for a bit with a dog gate or closed door.
We’ll remember how to get by on our own eventually. Just don’t throw us back into the deep end all at once. Start with five minutes here and increase to fifteen minutes there. By the time you’re ready to get back out into the world, we’ll be better adjusted.
Watch for Signs of Dog Separation Anxiety
With the changes we pups have already experienced added to the changes that are coming down the road, there’s a good chance we’ll have some anxiety—just like you hoomans do. Keep an eye out during these transitional times for any unusual behavior. Are we hiding under furniture more? Do we make strange noises now? Have our eating habits changed?
Most of us are pretty happy being home with our hoomans all day long, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get nervous. If you see signs that we’re getting anxious, hold off on some of the changes for a bit before trying again. Also, toys and treats can go a long way toward normalizing our new situation.
Above all, stay safe out there. Even though restrictions may be lifting soon, the danger isn’t over yet. When you use wisdom out in the world, you’re more likely to come back home to us Huge Hounds.
Come share your thoughts about how to get your pups ready for the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders to end on our Facebook page. We’d love to hear what you are doing to help your dogs with separation anxiety during this time!
Expect big things,
