2 minute read
PETS
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Dr Pauline Taylor answers your pet questions
Dr Pauline Pets Central veterinarian
With work from home less frequent now, how can I prepare my dog for me not being around so often?
Reorganise your schedule and do not make it the same every day. Dogs like routine and very quickly settle into certain time slots for food, walks, sleep and playtime. By alternating these you will alter their normal daily routine. Normally this is not something we want, but separation anxiety in dogs may lead to many other problem behaviours. These include barking, home destruction and indoor soiling, all behaviours we want to prevent starting.
Barking when owners are gone is one of the main reasons for pet abandonment according to many welfare shelter-groups. If your dog is used to you leaving by car, leave your car keys out of her earshot when you pick them up to go, change the times you go and instead of saying goodbye leave quietly by a back door. Another trick is to arrange some food toys or treats and give them as your pre parting gift that she soon begins to associate with a nice reward when you are not around.
It is important your dog’s daily needs are met. Arrange some extra walks and playtime for her even during your absence. Hopefully, things will be fine and soon your dog will have a ‘new normal’ routine without you around all day.
My dog growls whenever people walk near my house. How can I get her to calm down?
Without knowing more about your home environment the first thing I would suggest is to block off the sight of people walking nearby. This may mean installing a cover over a balcony so your dog cannot see out or stop your dog getting access to a window viewpoint.
Anxiety about the unknown is most likely the cause of the defensive growling you describe. In some cases, seeing moving things including birds, other animals, as well as people from a window, causes frustration in pets, which in turn can build up and lead to abnormal behaviour in other ways. For example, chewing the skin for no apparent reason. So, despite us thinking it’s nice to let a pet look outdoors we could be causing the problem ourselves.
If it is a sound that triggers the growling that is more difficult to control and usually people want their dogs to growl and alert us should an unwelcome visitor be nearby. When you respond to your dog when she growls, she is achieving her goal by getting your attention which is what most dogs want in their watchdog role.
