COVID-19: WILL MY DOG GET LONELY WHEN I GO BACK TO THE OFFICE AFTER LOCKDOWN?
With lockdown turning us into constant companions for our canines, how are they likely to react when we start leaving them home alone for most of the day?
Dogs love to spend time with their human family. So much so that we usually have to actively teach them as puppies that it’s really going to be okay if they’re not with us every minute of the day. Now that our dogs have got used to us being around all the time during lockdown, how will they cope
when we go back to the office? Will they have
unlearned the lessons from puppyhood about being left along and suffer from separation-related
distress? What can we do for them to help them adjust to another dramatic change in daily routine?
The answer to the first question depends on the
individual dog. Some dogs will have been prone to separation-related distress in the past, and for them, a change from nearly always having their humans around to rarely having their humans around is likely to rekindle their distress at being left alone. Another subset of the companion dog population is prone to general anxiety. That may manifest in a variety of ways, such as excessive barking, fearfulness, aggression, self-harm and other less obvious problem behaviours. These dogs may or may not have shown separation-related distress in the past, but any large and sudden change in their daily routine is likely to cause
them significant distress. Some of these dogs may have been difficult at the beginning of lockdown,
being unusually noisy, destructive, disruptive or needy as a response to suddenly having humans around all the time. Then there are the dogs that
were acquired during lockdown, either as a puppy
or an adult dog, and have never known life in their current home where they’ve been left alone for extended periods.
Dogs are keenly aware of contrasts in their environment, so a period when humans are nearly always present in the home will contrast sharply with a period when they’re suddenly away for most of the day. That alone can be enough to be disruptive and challenging for them to cope with. So even if you have a well-adjusted dog that was easily taught to accept alone time when you took ownership of them and has never since shown any sign of separation-related distress, they may still struggle with an abrupt change in routine.
Understanding why an end to the lockdown may cause problems for our dogs empowers
us to find sensible interventions ahead of it.
The most likely cause of trouble is a sudden and dramatic change in living circumstances. Knowing that, we can prime dogs for our return
to the office and simultaneously get an idea of
how problematic it’s going to be for them by starting with short absences and using a webcam or security camera to see how they handle being alone. If they spend more than 20 minutes pacing, vocalising, drooling, panting (assuming it’s not hot), or directing destructive behaviours at doors or windows, then you might have a serious problem and should speak to your vet
about medication to assist. We don’t want our
“Understanding why an end to lockdown may cause problems for our dogs empowers us to find sensible interventions ahead of it”