As so many of us get back to school and back to work, the Brant County SPCA wants to ensure that you know our top tips on helping your pet get through this transition.
Routines have changed immensely for our pets and we must find ways to assure them that we’re still here for them. Schedules for mealtime, playtime, and walking are just some of the changes our friends are facing. And of course, alone time.
Here are our top tips to help reduce stress for your pet, and you too:
- Explore local daycare and dog-walker options. Having a scheduled day for your pet to enjoy can help ease your worry and heighten their quality of life! Still have friends or loved ones working from home? See if they can check-in, relieve, or walk your fur baby.
- Plan ahead. Will your pet be spending a full workday alone? Try getting their daily dose of exercise in before work and school. This extra stimulation, playtime, or training can help burn energy and make the day pass faster – and easier, in the home. Feline friends appreciate this too! Engage them with their favourite toy or enrichment activity before heading out for the day. Bonus, tired means less energy to seek out those bad habits you may be trying to break them from!
- Does anxiety override your pet? Try comforting them with background noise such as music. If your pet is crated, provide them with an item that smells like you, their favourite toy, or a treat.
- If you’re having trouble finding their ‘zen’, try a pheromone product. These products create a sense of calm by mimicking the natural presence of other felines or canines. Looking to calm your feline? Explore Feliway sprays, wipes, diffusers, etc. Or, for your canine, try Adaptil.
- Be sure to provide healthy distractions. Offer time-consuming treats – which can be consumed safely unsupervised. Try stuffing a kong! Stuffed kongs can provide incredible enrichment while satisfying your pets with a treat. Local pet owner and enrichment enthusiast, Bindi’s Bucket List has some incredible recipes and inspiration for kong stuffing and more! Check out their suggestions, here. Knowing this might not fit into your morning routine, try making your pets kongs ahead of time and freeze them.
- If your pet has never experienced time alone, practice this in increments while providing stimulation and comfort as previously recommended. Leave your pet for 15 minutes and work your way up to larger increments. Before changing increments, monitor your pets from outside for vocals and behaviour changes. If you notice anxious, destructive, or uncomfortable behaviours, consider experimenting with healthy distractions, comfortable habits, or pheromones. If all else fails, and the behaviour is serious, consider consulting your veterinarian for drug therapy options.
- Consider crate training – an option that is NOT suitable for all pets, NOR a form of punishment. Used to manage behaviour, a crate is a safe area that your dog should have a positive association with. Starting in increments, introduce the crate to your pet with an interactive toy and reward them for their time spent in the crate. Offer treats upon entry and do not leave your pet in their crate for too long. Have a friend, pet-sitter, or family member help you with this process if necessary. While at home, be sure the crate is comfortable and open to your pet for access of their own. As crate training progresses, graduate to leaving your pet in small areas of your house and go larger as non-destructive behaviour continues. Think of a crate as your den, your favourite room in the house – but not somewhere that you would spend your entire life.
- And finally, encourage comfort when you leave by directing your pet to a comfortable ‘place’ before exiting. Whether this is their bed, spot on the couch, or their crate – create a sense of routine by having them visit that ‘place’ as you exit. And reward this behavior with treats in their ‘place’!
