Ideas For Keeping Your Pooch Occupied While You’re Out Of The House
As you will know if you follow my blog on a regular basis, I am the proud owner of the cutest dog in the world. In our house, our pets are counted as part of the family, so when it comes to caring for them, we always like to go that extra mile.
A few days ago while walking past a neighbor’s house, I noticed that their dog, who was home alone, was in a bit of state. Dogs are incredibly sociable creatures, they love having company and can get upset and bored when left alone. Obviously, when we are out at work, as my neighbors most probably were, we have no choice but to leave our pups home alone.
Thinking about how upset that poor dog was made me wonder how as owners, we can make life easier for our pooches when we aren’t around. I came up with a few ideas, so I thought I would share them with you, on here:
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Get rid of that energy
Before you leave the house, take your dog for a good old run around. You will find that if you walk your dog and get rid of some of his energy, while you are gone, he will spend most of the time asleep. Instead of sitting around waiting for you to get home, getting bored, crying and barking.
Each dog’s exercise needs are different, but walking your pup for 20 minutes in the morn and 20 minutes at night should be enough to tire him out. You might not like the idea of walking your pooch before work, but if you’re going to leave him all day, he needs to be tired out.
Leave him lots of toys
Leaving your dog with lots of toys to play with is an ideal way to keep him occupied while you are out and about. Dogs are incredibly clever animals, and so their minds need to be kept busy. Otherwise, they can get bored. (Boredom can lead to your dog eating the couch, so keeping him occupied is crucial.)
There are plenty of fantastic dog toys on the market, from chewies and treat toys to pull toys and teddies. If you want to get your pup some new items to keep him occupied, these dog toys from Shinola are worth a look. Kong toys are also fantastic as these can be filled with treats, so are great for keeping your dog’s mind occupied.
Get someone to check on him
If you are going to be gone for more than four hours, it’s important to get someone to check on him during the day. Dogs shouldn’t be left for extended periods of time as they can become anxious and destructive, even with the best toys to play with. Ask a friend or family member to check on your pooch or hire a pet carer to come in, feed him and let him out to the toilet.
Leaving your dog at home while you are at work isn’t ideal, but for many of us, it’s the only option. To make his time alone a little more bearable, make sure to take note of the tips, above.
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As a not-so-proud owner of one of the worst dogs in the world (lol), I understand coming home to a destroyed house. But that only took 45 minutes.
These are all great tips! Do you mind if I add – from experience – Introduce doggies to being alone as part of training (if possible), even if you stay at home. Because I work from home, my dog doesn’t understand when I leave the house. He’s calmed down in his old age, but we used to have to crate him to avoid destruction. Which made me feel bad, because he just wants to go, too!