Posts Tagged ‘boredom in puppies’
What To Do If Your Dog Is Bored
Ever get home after a long day at work to find your dog has been digging in your favorite flowerbed or chewed up the sofa? If you’ve ever faced this situation, you definitely want to prevent it ever happening again. One possible reason for this kind of behavior is separation anxiety, especially when a dog has been left alone for a long period. However, it could also just be that the cause is simply just boredom.
Dogs need company and stimulation just as we humans do. It shouldn’t, therefore, surprise you that your dog may get bored if left alone for a lengthy period of time. If you don’t provide stimulation for your dog, he will find his own activities and these could involve chewing up your possession, digging up your garden, barking or whining constantly.
Dogs should never be left alone for longer than four hours at most. If because of your life circumstances or job, you can’t avoid leaving your dog alone for long periods, here are some tips:
• Consider hiring someone to take your dog for walks. Find a friend, neighbor or professional walker who can spend between 15-30 minutes a day with your puppy or dog. Walks are a great activity for dogs. They stimulate him with all the fascinating sights and smells. It’s fantastic exercise too
• Being an only puppy or dog, like being an only child, can sometimes be lonely. It could be well worth considering getting a second puppy or dog.
• Create a specific place in your garden where your dog can ease his boredom. You could create a dog sandpit where he can dig as much as he likes without ruining your lawn. At the start it is vital to reward him repeatedly with a treat left in the sandpit so that this has positive associations.
• Keep a variety of chews and toys for him changing the ones you give him daily to keep his interest high. Dispensing toys have a great interest for dogs when they are stuffed with treats as you can imagine. I would recommend that you try them. Also, make sure that you keep anything you do not want chewed out of reachI.
• One way to keep up your dog’s interest is to hide treats around the house. The treats should be placed to provide a bit of a challenge to your dog, but reasonably easy to access. You could hide them under an upside-down bowl or Frisbee, or in an old sock.
I hope you find these recommendations helpful in dealing with boredom in dogs. Obviously when you are with your dog, make sure that you take him out for regular walks and play games with him. It is essential that you puppy dog is given the correct training.
Read more about separation anxiety in dogs and about dealing with emotional problems in dogs.
