Anxious and Alone
Dogs are like us in that they are gregarious. In the wild they would
live in packs with a highly organised hierarchy. Working together and
communication being an important part of their lives. In the absence of
their own kind they look upon their owners as 'the pack' and this is where one
of the biggest problems of dog ownership can arise. In our daily lives we
think nothing of leaving a spouse or partner alone, to go to work or a shopping
trip etc. If you leave a dog on his own you are isolating him from the
pack. Few of us realise the anxiety this can cause but you will soon learn
the results of that anxiety when you return home! Torn up carpets or lino,
wallpaper ripped off the wall, furniture chewed, upholstery torn etc. and the
dogs happiness at the eventual return of his pack is tempered by the scolding he
gets for his orgy of destruction! For those dogs that aren't so anxious
boredom can be the motivator for destructive behaviour. It's no
good punishing the dog when you get home, you have to catch him at it
and if you're down the shops, this can be difficult. Of course the
answer is to have someone at home with the dog full time but for working
owners, this is obviously impossible. A common opinion is that it
is unfair to leave a dog alone for long periods but I don't see why
people who work should be denied the pleasure of dog ownership.
Eventually most dogs will become used to being alone as long as it's
only for 3-4 hours at a time and there are many ways of keeping the bored dog occupied,
or an anxious dog calm.
 The fabulous "Kong". This is an irregularly shaped piece
of hollow rubber. Packed with a tasty treat the dog can spend
hours trying to get it out!
 "The cube". A plastic box shaped like a dice, with
a hole on one side. Pour in Pedigree Mixer and they
are released very slowly as the dog bats it, or noses it around the
floor.
Sometimes a radio or TV left on can be a comfort for the dog when he is
alone.
It's a good idea not to fuss your dog before going out. It's
best to ignore him if you can!
Whatever the rights and wrongs of leaving dogs on their own, the fact
remains that it's always going to happen, therefore it's essential to
make it as painless as possible for both owners and dogs.
Remember, your dog loves you and wants to be with you and can't
understand why it can't be that way all the time! |
The
Dog Vandal If
you get your dog as a puppy, it may take a considerable time for him to
get used to being left on his own. Even though it may only be for
short periods, his destructive behaviour can be very upsetting and
costly!
Our first Kettering dog, 'Tinsoll',
was a case in point. He chewed and scratched obsessively and was
slowly beginning to destroy the things we'd worked so hard to acquire.
Even our new automatic washing machine had it's knobs and switches torn
off and chewed into unrecognizable pieces!
This mayhem didn't stop us loving
Tinsoll but his behaviour was driving us to despair. Our response
was to shut him in a room with nothing in it to destroy. So he dug
a hole in a partition wall about 18 inches across! We didn't read
anything by 'dog psychologists', [if such existed then], and we didn't
seek or receive any advice, [that's not quite true, one helpful soul
advised me to 'shoot it']. So, eventually, Tinsoll grew out of his
destructive ways and became a lovely, trustworthy dog, no thanks to us.
I believe It's helpful to prevent dogs
from getting into the habit of destroying when they are still young
puppies. Hannah learnt at a young age that she could only play
with her things and now she has a well developed sense of
what is and isn't hers. When Hannah the puppy had to be left
alone, prevention came in the form of the 'puppy pen', a wonderful
invention! Similar to a babies play pen but made out of steel,
roomy enough for the puppy and strong enough to prevent him finding out
what fun it is to do a bit of Paper stripping or furniture chewing. |
