Will dog be OK being left alone?
QOUR one-year-old crossbreed dog was a rescue. With the whole family on lockdown she has had plenty of walks. Now things are getting back to normal she may be left alone for three hours each morning and I am worried what problems this may cause.
AIF YOUR dog is naturally clingy and nervous you could anticipate some problems. More confident dogs will often adapt quickly to new arrangements, but it’s very sensible to think about possible problems now.
The most likely issue after lockdown will be separation anxiety. Dogs with separation anxiety react in several possible ways. Examples are howling, barking, destructive behaviour such as overturning waste bins, damaging doors by frantic scratching, chewing furniture, indoor toileting, panting and salivation.
I recommend a programme designed to get your dog used to being left alone. She needs to have a comfortable bed in a safe place where she spends most of her time indoors, with a favourite chew toy. This is where she will be left when you leave the house.
Leave her alone in this area starting a few minutes at a time and gradually increase the time she is left.Whenever you return, ignore her, especially any attention seeking behaviour.With patience you will be able to build up to half an hour quickly, and since most problems occur in the first 15 minutes, leaving for a longer time should be quite possible.Advice from an animal behaviourist will be useful if problems persist in spite of the programme.
QWE HAVE a 10-year-old male neutered Siamese cat who has always been ‘chatty’, but recently he has started howling in the early hours. Giving him a snack shuts him up but we need a solution that doesn’t involve getting up at the crack of dawn.
ATHERE are two main causes. First an illness and second a new learned behaviour, perfectly acceptable to your cat but not to you.
Getting an appointment with your vet will be the most important initial step so underlying diseases can be diagnosed and treated. Some conditions that might cause this behaviour include hyperthyroidism. This is a common problem in older cats due to increased levels of thyroid hormones stimulating a marked increase in hunger.
Another possibility is diabetes, also increasing hunger and thirst. Alternatively pain from arthritis will often wake a cat up in the middle of the night as it does with people. Cognitive dysfunction caused by dementia could be considered, but is less likely.
Your vet will want to do a physical examination with blood tests being necessary to diagnose systemic diseases.
If there is no underlying disease, learned behaviour is probable and you may have unwittingly contributed to the problem by feeding him ‘on demand’.
Try his last feed before going to bed and then ignore the howling. This is hard at first but eventually he will stop, hopefully within a week or so, although giving in too soon could reinforce the behaviour.
David Grant MBE was a vet at the RSPCA Harmsworth Hospital for Animals. Email questions to him at pamperedpets@express. co.uk. He is unable to enter into individual correspondence.