Knowing how to be alone is a competence that dogs must have, it is necessary for the serenity of their life and for coexistence with humans.
That said, humans have a duty and a responsibility to properly manage the experience.
What to remember: For dogs, loneliness is unnatural Dogs are social animals, for them being alone is unnatural and they suffer alone . Don’t be fooled by appearances
Dogs are very adaptable and many of them don’t even express discomfort and suffering. Don’t think that this means that they are fine on their own. Dogs have a sense of time
Unlike what many people say (it’s so convenient!), Dogs have a sense of time, and they realize if they have been alone for a long time or a short time. Living without living
For dogs, being alone for hours is equivalent to living without living. A parallel explains the point perfectly: let’s imagine ourselves closed in a house for hours and hours with nothing, television, telephone, books, tablets, magazines, computers, music, radio, no one to communicate with, nothing. To get mad. For them it is the same, plus the suffering resulting from the unnaturality of the situation. Every age has its own needs
You would leave a baby or a child of a few months or a few years alone at home
No. The same goes for puppies, small, uncertain, they still have to know their humans, they still don’t know how to hold their pee and pee so they need to go out often. The same applies to older dogs, to those with pathologies, etc. etc. Anxiety, stress and worry
They will come back
When they come back
I have been abandoned forever
How I will survive
For many dogs, being left alone is a source of anxiety, stress and worry. Boredom, anxiety, worry and dangers
Boredom, anxiety, stress and worry can lead the dog to ‘do something’ and put himself in danger: for example, barking or crying until exhaustion, destroying furniture, biting sofas, eating shoes, getting dirty in the house, self-harm, etc. . etc. Boredom, anxiety, worry and misunderstanding of the owners
The ‘doing something’ of dogs left alone for hours are generally those behaviors not appreciated by the owners and to which they react, wrongly. with punishments, verbal or even physical, and in so doing aggravate an already crisis situation.
Having seen this, how to best manage the (few) hours in which the dog remains alone at home worry.Do not give importance
Greetings, kisses, hugs, caresses before going out could make the creature think that separation is something serious. Going out calm with a short ‘A in a little while’ can help. Leave him / her tired and satisfied
It is good to precede the hours in which the dog will have to be alone, by, for example, a nice long and demanding ride, in which the body and mind are committed and tired . Upon returning, the creature will need to rest and the hours alone will be lighter. Dogsitter
Who has a lifestyle for which he is away from home for many hours and in any case takes the dog (highly questionable choice), it is good to organize himself with a dog sitter, who must be serious and prepared, who takes care of the creature in the hours of absence of the owner.Do not abuse the availability of dogs
Given that dogs must know how to be alone, that there are situations in which they must be left, and the duty of the owners not to abuse their availability and not to leave them alone for long (a detachment considered acceptable and up to About 4 hours). In case of problems
In case of problems, contact a serious and trained professional dog educator .
