{"id":2642,"date":"2020-07-20T17:06:20","date_gmt":"2020-07-20T17:06:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/?p=2642"},"modified":"2020-07-20T17:06:23","modified_gmt":"2020-07-20T17:06:23","slug":"tips-to-help-your-dog-cope-when-you-return-to-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/?p=2642","title":{"rendered":"Tips To Help Your Dog Cope When You Return To Work"},"content":{"rendered":"
By: Heather Lineaweaver, DVM for Humane Veterinary Hospitals – Lancaster<\/em><\/h5>\n

Many of us currently spend the majority of the day at home with our dogs.\u00a0 They, of course, enjoy the extra attention and time spent with their family, but this can lead to stress and anxiety when the family returns to work and school. Signs of separation anxiety can include excessive barking, crying, pacing, drooling, destructive behavior, and acting withdrawn.\u00a0 Taking preventative steps now can help ease the transition back to a normal routine.\u00a0 Basic strategies will be covered here; however, if your dog already has a history of or is under treatment for separation anxiety, you may need to contact your veterinarian for a more tailored plan.<\/p>\n

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A good first step is to take 10-15 minutes each day to work on basic commands.\u00a0 If your dog does not already know it, teach a \u201cbed\u201d or \u201ccrate\u201d command that you can use before leaving.\u00a0 Give praise and attention whenever they go there on their own to reinforce the behavior.\u00a0 This way, they have a predictable, comfortable place to go when you leave. A favorite toy or blanket can provide additional comfort. If it’s not already, the designated area should be out of sight of the door.\u00a0 For dogs that are food-motivated, you can give them a Kong stuffed with a mix of food and peanut butter or a treat dispensing toy to distract them from your departure. It’s important that they associate you leaving with something positive.<\/p>\n

Another way to make your departure more positive is to practice with treats.\u00a0 Do all of the things you normally do to get ready to leave\u00a0 – put on shoes, pick up keys, grab your purse or briefcase, etc. – while giving small treats.\u00a0 Repeat this a few times each day.\u00a0 Your dog also needs to become used to being alone, so leave the house for increasing amounts of time. At first, you can just go out side for a few minutes, then come back in.\u00a0 Gradually increase this to several hours.\u00a0 Make sure you send them to their bed area before leaving.\u00a0 Also, it is extremely important to not make a big deal out of your departure or your return.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, the above tips will help ease your dog’s transition when you return to work.\u00a0 If your dog develops signs of anxiety despite your efforts, additional training techniques and possibly short-term anti-anxiety medication will be needed.\u00a0 Your veterinarian can assist you with additional strategies as needed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Heather Lineaweaver, DVM for Humane Veterinary Hospitals – Lancaster Many of us currently spend the majority of the day at home with our dogs.\u00a0 They, of course, enjoy the extra attention and time spent with their family, but this can lead to stress and anxiety when the family returns to work and school. Signs …
Read more →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2642"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2644,"href":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2642\/revisions\/2644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}