Bend Oregon Residents Love Their Dogs
As more and more states are beginning the reopening process after the initial COVID-19 pandemic shut downs, many of you may be finally getting ready to go back to work after months in quarantine. Being dog lovers ourselves, we know how much people love their furry companions and we are sure the dogs have enjoyed having you all home during this time (we're sure the cats have been just waiting for you to finally leave!). However, with your pets being so used to you being around all the time during these last few months, the change to a work schedule may get very tough on them and separation anxiety may begin to show. We love our pets and want them to be confident, happy, well adjusted animals and that includes when you are away. Wondering how to start getting them ready for your upcoming work schedule? Here are some step by step training tips we have learned over the years that can help you and your furry companion (we are not professional dog trainers, just have successfully used these methods ourselves).
1. Dogs naturally have a pack mentality and either look for you to be the leader or they become the leader themselves. With positive, confident guidance, your dog will not fear you leaving them alone and he/she will know you can handle yourself out in the world without them. To begin, you need to get your dog into a calm relaxed state by sitting casually and ignoring your dog. Ideally your dog goes from standing, to sitting, and finally to lying down as they understand you are not going to pay attention to them.
2. Once calm, you can get up and walk to the door as though you are leaving. Should your dog follow eagerly, you can simply return to the sitting position and start again until they no longer are concerned about you going to the door.
3. When able to go to the door with your dog comfortable, you can go ahead and open the door and leave. You will need to stand outside for 30 seconds or so while your dog remains inside. The goal here is to get your dog to remain lying down when you leave instead of standing and trying to come after you.
4. When returning inside the home, you must make no eye contact or acknowledgement to the dog as that just tells the dog that they were right to be concerned with you leaving and you barely made it back alive without them.
5. Once inside, return to the sitting position while still ignoring your dog. You can even give a long exaggerated yawn to show the dog their is nothing to be concerned about and you are not worried about being outside. Once they have returned to a calm sitting/lying position, you can do the exercise again, following steps 1-4. Each dog is different so the amount of times you will need to do this may vary. Your goal is to convince your pet that you are in charge and completely fine going outside without them. Each time you do this, the dog should remain more and more relaxed until you are able to step outside and return without them ever leaving their lying down position.
6. Step it up a notch! Dogs are smart and watch our moves. When you grab your car keys or specific pair of shoes, dogs know that means you will be leaving and it can cause anxiety. Once you have been successful with steps 1-5, add in a trigger item for your dog and do the steps again until the dog is just as comfortable with you leaving with that item. Remember though, do not push this too quickly. If you have to spend two or three days just on getting up off the couch and walking to the door and back, that is what you should do. Do not proceed to the next step until your dog is very comfortable with the previous.
We hope this helps you and your furry companion during this transition time for them! Like we mentioned, we are not professional dog trainers, but we have successfully used methods like this to ensure our dogs are just as happy at home with and without us.
