How does me being away from my dog affect it?

How often is the exclamation "bad dog!" heard in your home?

Perhaps you have walked into a room to see your dog asleep amid a pile of half-eaten trash, or a chewed-up pair of expensive shoes, and you can barely hold back your frustration. Most pet parents can certainly relate.

However, most (if not all) of the time, we should be looking at how we may have enabled or even rewarded this “bad” behavior. Although some research shows that dogs may have a rudimentary concept of morality (possibly learned from years of being around humans), they generally do not go out of their way to do “bad” things on purpose.

Dogs have relatively limited ways to communicate with their human family, so in cases where dogs do engage in destructive behaviors, it is typically a sign that they need something from their pet parent.

Is It Separation Anxiety?

Sadly, one very common explanation for destructive behavior is separation anxiety.

Many pet parents work long hours and may need to leave their dogs at home during the day. The distress that a dog feels when isolated for too long is real, and this frequently leads to disruptive and destructive behavior. In the worst cases, dogs suffering from separation anxiety may cause extreme damage to the home and also injury to themselves.

To relieve some of his stress when you are away, he may simply be distracting himself from boredom by chewing, scratching, shredding, or otherwise destroying furniture or other household items.

How Can I Help My Dog Through This?

You need to desensitize your dog to being alone and get him to feel “okay” when you are not around. However, there are a few basic things you can try to help your dog to feel better.

Leave a stimulating toy for your dog like the Dog Anxiety Reliever toy in your absence to combat boredom. Make this special toy a treat that he only gets when you leave the house. He should eventually build the association between the treat/toy and your absence, and this will ease his anxiety.

Now that you know all this, are you ready to help your dog with his separation anxiety? Then get the Dog Anxiety Reliever toy for your dog today.