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When leaving a dog alone, it is always a good idea to leave some special toys that are only used at this particular time, and then take them away when you arrive home. This makes these toys high value - your dog will start to view the time alone as being rewarding. Do have a look at our website to see all our top quality toys that will help to relieve boredom and provide entertainment - remember that chewing helps to reduce stress - just like us chewing our nails or similar. www.mcmac.co.za
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Alone Time – Why it is Important to teach your dog to spend time alone
By Scotty Valadao – Accredited Animal Behaviourist (Canine) (ABC of SA™): TTouch Practitioner-Founder FOTD
By Scotty Valadao – Accredited Animal Behaviourist (Canine) (ABC of SA™): TTouch Practitioner-Founder FOTD
Dogs are social animals and in nature would live in packs. However, it is not a good thing to have your dog with you on a 24/7 basis. All this teaches the dog is that he cannot survive if he is alone, especially in a one dog household. This leads to behavioural problems such as over dependence, separation anxiety, destructive behaviour, barking and digging to mention but a few!
We all love it that our dogs follow us around and love being with us so much, but by the same token they need to develop independence and be able to spend a fair amount of time alone. Look at it from the point of view of what would you rather have:- a child who clings to your leg and screams when you leave the child alone on the first day of nursery school or, a child who goes off to school, waves goodbye and says 'see you later'?
Another point to consider, is whether or not your dog is receiving both mental and physical stimulation. A dog that seldom goes out or is given sufficient mental stimulation, is much more likely to become over attached. Ideally, dogs should go for at least 3 to 4 walks per week, daily being ideal. These do not have to be an hour long walk - even 15 minutes of taking your dog to different areas where he can sniff and smell to his heart's content will supply much needed mental stimulation and something for the dog to look forward too, rather than just the owner coming home.
Yes, it is fantastic that we love them so much, however, we are not being fair to our dogs. We work on this exercise in three different ways:-
In the Home: In this part of the exercise we work on the dog being left alone at home, inside, for short periods of time. Start leaving your dog alone for only about a minute simply by shutting the door after as you go to another room. Don’t make a fuss going out, just go, turn around, and then walk back in, totally ignoring the dog.
If your dog starts barking or scratching, ignore it, and as soon as the dog is quiet open the door and let the dog in. If the dog does act in the manner above, you have left the dog for to long - simply shorten the period and even just walk out the door, turn and come back in. Don’t pay any attention to your dog; just keep on with your normal life. Do this as often a day as you can, gradually building up the time period.
Think about above from the point of view of would you follow your boss around all day long - or would you be happy for him to get on with his own job - see the idea?
With dogs it is important to stagger the amount of time left alone – work up to about 5 minutes, then reduce to 3, then up to 8 minutes, then down to about 5 minutes. By doing this, you are teaching the dog that it can survive alone and doing it in a manner that the dog can cope with.
Leaving the home: Very often dogs get very stressed about situations such as these, and this is mainly due to the amount of attention we pay them when we come in or go out - ‘don’t worry mummy/daddy will be back soon’ etc, and we inadvertently cause the likelihood of problem occurring. To correct this, simply practise a very similar exercise as above for leaving the home.
When we are changing a habit, it is helpful to alter our normal routines, so if you always leave your bag and keys in the same place, start changing the position of where they are kept. If you normally go out the front door, go out the back door instead - if you always go at the same time, change the time - if you always put on walking shoes, change the shoes. We are teaching a new behaviour and one of the simplest ways to make it easier for our dogs is by management – change your routine. Really examine what your normal routines are - we really are creatures of habit and these 'habits' act as 'triggers' to our dogs - they expect the same thing to happen as it does normally.
Once you have changed your routines - pick up your keys and bag and just walk out the door. Close it behind you, wait a few minutes, then open the door and walk back in, totally ignoring your dog. If your dog does whine or perform, wait outside until the second the dog is quiet, and then walk back in, totally ignoring your dog and put down your bag and keys in the new position.
As above, if the dog was reacting to you leaving, then the period you are outside the door must be reduced. This could also be separation anxiety developing or already in place, so consider getting in the assistance of a professional behaviourist before the behaviour gets worse.
Practise this over and over. If you can start this work at a weekend it will be very helpful, as you will have the time to practise and not be worrying about being late for work, making supper etc. Keep on doing this over and over (did I mention over and over?), gradually building up the time period. Again, don’t go too fast, stagger the exercise to what your dog can cope with. Practising this exercise repeatedly will result in the dog getting totally bored with the procedure as well as realizing that it is no big deal when you do go out - you come back!
If your dog is really stressing about this exercise, you can then bring in the big chewy to divert its attention, mentioned in the following exercise. Dogs are not all the same and different dogs react in different manners, so try other diversions, or if you need help, do not hesitate in calling in a professional, as above, especially is the dog already has separation anxiety. Separation anxiety is defined by the dog engaging in the unacceptable behaviours (to the human at least!), ONLY when the owner is not home.
Arriving Home: Again, we tend to make such a fuss of our dogs when arriving home that we are greeted with unacceptable behaviour when we do arrive home and have dogs frantically jumping up, trip over them etc. Now this may be fine if you are in old clothes, but if you walk in with white trousers on, or an elderly person on your arm, or a baby or child, the same behaviour is no longer acceptable. In dog training it is very important to be consistent – that way the dog learns what it can and cannot do and stops the dog from becoming confused. Additionally, believe it or not, inconsistency actually results in the behaviour being more likely to increase.
Walk into the house, and stand absolutely still as you first come into contact with your dog. Don’t look at them, as to a dog this signals either that you want something from them. Turn your body and shoulders slightly away from the dog (this is a form of dog body language and indicates you don't want them in your space), even folding your arms, and the second they are quiet, ask for a sit, give a reward and then go have fun! If your dog is one that will continue jumping up and being excited after you have said hello, then change the above slightly, and rather take a few steps away from the door and repeat the ignoring - do a few more times if necessary. Then go about your normal greeting and give them all the love your want, but away from the door, and if the dog is a jumper, rather go down to the dog's level to greet it to avoid the jumping up.
Outside Alone Time: Here we are going to teach the dog/dogs that it is ok to be outside by themselves. If you are a multi-dog household, practise this with one dog at a time, alternating the exercise with the dogs i.e. one in and one out, then vica versa.
Firstly, start by getting your dog really involved with a nice big chewy rawhide bone a few days before starting. You can even smear a bit of peanut butter in the gaps, and push in some nice pieces of biltong. Please note that peanut butter can be toxic to dogs in large amounts, so use organic peanut butter if possible and don’t put on too much, especially if your dog has an easily upset tummy, rather stuff with treats that suit it's tummy.
As your dog is really ‘getting into’ the chewy, take it away. Do this for several days. This will result in this particular chewy being the most desirable object to the dog! When you feel the dog is ready, put the dog and the bone outside and let them have a good chew for a few minutes. The take the bone away and bring the dog inside. Instead of being alone outside being something the dog does not like, it will start to associate this exercise as one of being rewarding. If the dog does tend to resource guard toys and especially bones, rather teach the Swap exercise first.
With this exercise, the same applies as the previous one’s – stagger the time and ignore unwanted behaviour, gradually building up the time period.
With all of the above, ensure that the area you leave the dog is safe and don't hesitate to get professional help if you need it!
We all love it that our dogs follow us around and love being with us so much, but by the same token they need to develop independence and be able to spend a fair amount of time alone. Look at it from the point of view of what would you rather have:- a child who clings to your leg and screams when you leave the child alone on the first day of nursery school or, a child who goes off to school, waves goodbye and says 'see you later'?
Another point to consider, is whether or not your dog is receiving both mental and physical stimulation. A dog that seldom goes out or is given sufficient mental stimulation, is much more likely to become over attached. Ideally, dogs should go for at least 3 to 4 walks per week, daily being ideal. These do not have to be an hour long walk - even 15 minutes of taking your dog to different areas where he can sniff and smell to his heart's content will supply much needed mental stimulation and something for the dog to look forward too, rather than just the owner coming home.
Yes, it is fantastic that we love them so much, however, we are not being fair to our dogs. We work on this exercise in three different ways:-
In the Home: In this part of the exercise we work on the dog being left alone at home, inside, for short periods of time. Start leaving your dog alone for only about a minute simply by shutting the door after as you go to another room. Don’t make a fuss going out, just go, turn around, and then walk back in, totally ignoring the dog.
If your dog starts barking or scratching, ignore it, and as soon as the dog is quiet open the door and let the dog in. If the dog does act in the manner above, you have left the dog for to long - simply shorten the period and even just walk out the door, turn and come back in. Don’t pay any attention to your dog; just keep on with your normal life. Do this as often a day as you can, gradually building up the time period.
Think about above from the point of view of would you follow your boss around all day long - or would you be happy for him to get on with his own job - see the idea?
With dogs it is important to stagger the amount of time left alone – work up to about 5 minutes, then reduce to 3, then up to 8 minutes, then down to about 5 minutes. By doing this, you are teaching the dog that it can survive alone and doing it in a manner that the dog can cope with.
Leaving the home: Very often dogs get very stressed about situations such as these, and this is mainly due to the amount of attention we pay them when we come in or go out - ‘don’t worry mummy/daddy will be back soon’ etc, and we inadvertently cause the likelihood of problem occurring. To correct this, simply practise a very similar exercise as above for leaving the home.
When we are changing a habit, it is helpful to alter our normal routines, so if you always leave your bag and keys in the same place, start changing the position of where they are kept. If you normally go out the front door, go out the back door instead - if you always go at the same time, change the time - if you always put on walking shoes, change the shoes. We are teaching a new behaviour and one of the simplest ways to make it easier for our dogs is by management – change your routine. Really examine what your normal routines are - we really are creatures of habit and these 'habits' act as 'triggers' to our dogs - they expect the same thing to happen as it does normally.
Once you have changed your routines - pick up your keys and bag and just walk out the door. Close it behind you, wait a few minutes, then open the door and walk back in, totally ignoring your dog. If your dog does whine or perform, wait outside until the second the dog is quiet, and then walk back in, totally ignoring your dog and put down your bag and keys in the new position.
As above, if the dog was reacting to you leaving, then the period you are outside the door must be reduced. This could also be separation anxiety developing or already in place, so consider getting in the assistance of a professional behaviourist before the behaviour gets worse.
Practise this over and over. If you can start this work at a weekend it will be very helpful, as you will have the time to practise and not be worrying about being late for work, making supper etc. Keep on doing this over and over (did I mention over and over?), gradually building up the time period. Again, don’t go too fast, stagger the exercise to what your dog can cope with. Practising this exercise repeatedly will result in the dog getting totally bored with the procedure as well as realizing that it is no big deal when you do go out - you come back!
If your dog is really stressing about this exercise, you can then bring in the big chewy to divert its attention, mentioned in the following exercise. Dogs are not all the same and different dogs react in different manners, so try other diversions, or if you need help, do not hesitate in calling in a professional, as above, especially is the dog already has separation anxiety. Separation anxiety is defined by the dog engaging in the unacceptable behaviours (to the human at least!), ONLY when the owner is not home.
Arriving Home: Again, we tend to make such a fuss of our dogs when arriving home that we are greeted with unacceptable behaviour when we do arrive home and have dogs frantically jumping up, trip over them etc. Now this may be fine if you are in old clothes, but if you walk in with white trousers on, or an elderly person on your arm, or a baby or child, the same behaviour is no longer acceptable. In dog training it is very important to be consistent – that way the dog learns what it can and cannot do and stops the dog from becoming confused. Additionally, believe it or not, inconsistency actually results in the behaviour being more likely to increase.
Walk into the house, and stand absolutely still as you first come into contact with your dog. Don’t look at them, as to a dog this signals either that you want something from them. Turn your body and shoulders slightly away from the dog (this is a form of dog body language and indicates you don't want them in your space), even folding your arms, and the second they are quiet, ask for a sit, give a reward and then go have fun! If your dog is one that will continue jumping up and being excited after you have said hello, then change the above slightly, and rather take a few steps away from the door and repeat the ignoring - do a few more times if necessary. Then go about your normal greeting and give them all the love your want, but away from the door, and if the dog is a jumper, rather go down to the dog's level to greet it to avoid the jumping up.
Outside Alone Time: Here we are going to teach the dog/dogs that it is ok to be outside by themselves. If you are a multi-dog household, practise this with one dog at a time, alternating the exercise with the dogs i.e. one in and one out, then vica versa.
Firstly, start by getting your dog really involved with a nice big chewy rawhide bone a few days before starting. You can even smear a bit of peanut butter in the gaps, and push in some nice pieces of biltong. Please note that peanut butter can be toxic to dogs in large amounts, so use organic peanut butter if possible and don’t put on too much, especially if your dog has an easily upset tummy, rather stuff with treats that suit it's tummy.
As your dog is really ‘getting into’ the chewy, take it away. Do this for several days. This will result in this particular chewy being the most desirable object to the dog! When you feel the dog is ready, put the dog and the bone outside and let them have a good chew for a few minutes. The take the bone away and bring the dog inside. Instead of being alone outside being something the dog does not like, it will start to associate this exercise as one of being rewarding. If the dog does tend to resource guard toys and especially bones, rather teach the Swap exercise first.
With this exercise, the same applies as the previous one’s – stagger the time and ignore unwanted behaviour, gradually building up the time period.
With all of the above, ensure that the area you leave the dog is safe and don't hesitate to get professional help if you need it!
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