It's great news that we are all finally heading out of lockdown 3 and there is hope in the air that it will be the last. We have all had our ups and downs and experienced the pros and cons of this restrictive time. However, our canine friends for most, have been having the time of their lives. They have had their human friends with them almost every hour of every day!
The down side to this being that when we all start heading back to our more 'normal' routines what will happen to our dogs? Will they bark all day, will they howl all day, will they destroy anything in sight and/or will they urinate and defecate inside the house in places that were not to be expected?
If you have answered yes to any of the above-mentioned behaviours then a plan of action is needed to help our canine friends adapt to being on their own a little more once again.
For puppies and adult dogs that are known to struggle with separation anxiety check out the Flitting Game below.
The general idea is to make gradual changes over a few weeks. Start with leaving your dog for 5 minutes at first. For example, in a generalised way your plan may look a bit like the following.
Day1 / Step 1 - 5 minutes
Day 2 / Step 2 - 10 minutes
Day 3 / Step 3 - 15 minutes
Day 4 / Step 4 - 20 minutes
Keep increasing the steps by 5 minutes until the dog is content to settle by itself in another room. Once the dog can settle by itself the next stage would be to go outside of the home and gradually keep building the time up so as long as the dog can remain settled by itself.
*Please remember that each individual will need the example shown above adapted as some dogs will respond better than others and for them it is likely to take less time. You may need to keep repeating certain steps until your dog shows no sign of distress. This process is a marathon and not a sprint.
The purpose of this exercise is to desensitise the dog to the lack of human contact and therefore minimise or eliminate any social-separation anxiety that the dog may feel. I do not recommend that you do this process alone and therefore I introduce the amazing friend of mine Raychel Hill BSc. We became friends in the final year of our degree course in Animal Behaviour and Welfare. She runs a very successful animal behaviour and training business called Pet Peeves https://www.petpeevessomerset.co.uk/ which is (based in Somerset and Dorset) and is able to offer 1:1 training and group training both online and in person.
I asked Raychel what her 2 top tips are for dogs and their owners preparing for the return to 'normal'. Here they are:
START NOW!!!
Use the Flitting game
For those adult dogs who were unfortunate to encounter a lockdown situation in their first year of life may not have had the chance to learn socialisation skills necessary for encountering other dogs and animals. This may have led to behavioural reactions such as fear, aggression and/or excessive barking.
Use the Engage and Disengage game - Pictured below
Raychel also stated, that the most important tip in both the desensitisation of social contact (Flitting Game) and adult socialisation (Engage and Disengage Game) is to remain CALM throughout the process.
My final question was related to adult socialisation of dogs that were just puppies at the beginning of the first lockdown and perhaps lacked the necessary training in social etiquette. If you are curious and want to know how to go about this specific topic then check out a blog post that Raychel did at the end of the first lockdown in 2020 here; https://www.petpeevessomerset.co.uk/post/socialising-an-adult-dog?fbclid=IwAR33i_jpxm8eDfap0O9d7qAGAi9OOyr80C_Fqlz-K3_5cOgReFhw6Wqr3ek
Many thanks for reading this blog post. Any questions or queries then please do get in touch with me via email bethhayes@animals-for-life.co.uk or via mobile 07949299587.
For any specific dog training please give Raychel a message via email raychel@petpeevessomerset.co.uk or mobile 07715497542.
Paws Up!
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