Dogs

Leaving your dog home alone for the first time? keep this in mind!

Leaving your dog alone at home while you’re at work could make you imagine the worst scenarios possible and make you feel really guilty about it, especially if you love taking your best friend along with you everywhere. But unfortunately, going out to work daily or even to run errands requires you to leave your pooch home alone. While that thought itself makes you feel guilty, taking your dog to work isn’t possible and neither is quitting your job.

So here are a few tips to consider to ensure your dog is comfortable being home alone.

 

Determining a confined area for your dog.

First and foremost, avoid giving your dog free rein in the entire house and keep them in a restricted but comfortable area. Make sure that area is clean and dry and has enough room for them to move around comfortably. This would help with potty training, keeping them safe from house hazards, preventing destructive chewing, and also make them feel safe. Only when your dog is confident on its own and is not worried to be home alone, you can give access to more area in the house, but just one room at a time.

 

Taking them for a walk before you leave the house.

Canines are active animals. They need their regular intake of exercise to keep them healthy and active. If they’re confined for too long inside the house, they could get bored which would lead to destructive behavior. And this could end up being a negative situation for you if they decide to chew on the furniture or destroy your carpet. So, taking them for a walk or playing fetch a couple of times with the ball before you leave for work could tire them out and would drift them off to a peaceful sleep.

 

Using interactive toys to keep them busy.

Dogs being social animals don’t like being alone for too long. So, another method to keep your dog busy is by using interactive toys. Toys such as the Kong Classic Chew Toy, Kong Goodie Bone or Nina Ottosson Treat Dispensing Puzzle Toy could keep them mentally as well as physically active when you’re not around. These toys tend to stimulate the mind which means that it’ll take a really long time for your dog to get bored and will indirectly keep them away from causing any trouble.

 

Keeping sufficient food and water.

Like humans, dogs need water throughout the day. So make sure to keep a sufficient amount of water near your dogs area. Also, you can either feed your dog before you leave and place more dry food in a Kong toy or automatic food/water dispenser to nibble on later or you could place enough food in a bowl that is easily accessible to your dog, to keep them going anytime during the day.

 

Keeping a fixed place for dogs to relieve themselves.

Once you’re back home after a long and tiring day of work, the last thing you want is your dog to choose a place of its own to relieve itself. So to avoid unpleasant surprises, provide a fixed area for your dog in your house to go to the bathroom. A great way to train your dog to do so is by using washable pee mats or grass pads.

 

Taking care of separation anxiety in your dog.

Since dogs love being around people, sometimes leaving your dog alone for too long when they’re not used to it could cause separation anxiety. So keeping your television or your radio on could provide them company and also block out other distressing noises coming from the neighborhood. You could also use a pet cam to keep a check on your dog’s behavior throughout the day.

 

Spending some fun time with them.

Once you’re back home, dedicate some time to your fluffy pal and make them feel loved and secured. Just simply taking them for a short walk or playing with a ball or grooming them is enough to make them feel loved, happy and contended.

 

We know that pet parent guilt is a real thing, but following these simple steps could ensure a happy and stress-free time for your pet as well as you when you’re away.

 

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