BY CLARE BOYLE: Sometimes when we leave ours dogs alone, when we come home, we might a trail of destruction, or we find that the dog cries all day stressed out!
There are things we can do to to help pass the day for the dog without causing too much stress.
- Leave a radio playing so they feel the house isn’t totally empty
- For a period of 30 minutes before you are due to leave the house, pay no attention to the dog. Leave without making a fuss – a whisper of a goodbye
- Leave a kong for the dog stuffed with something tasty such as chopped carrots mixed with crab paste or the dogs nuts mixed with beef paste that was frozen overnight to last longer
- Leave other things to keep them amused such as nylabones or a bowl of finely chopped veg or fruit (not grapes) Rawhide is not really good idea due to the risk of pieces of chewed rawhide becoming lodged in there oesophagus.
- When you return, pay little attention to the dog – put on the kettle, take your coat off, go into a different room before you speak to the dog.
- Implement a calm, sit routine so when you do come to greet the dog, it’s in a calm manner.
There are many ways our dogs can be stressed out but if we begin to watch our dogs body language, we will really start to learn their moods.
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