Learning How To Be Home Alone
The following is a list of tips to help your dog learn to be home alone. It is not natural for dogs to be alone and is a behaviour that needs to be learnt.
1. AVOID CONSTANT physical contact when you are with your dog. It will make them more insecure and more aware of your absence when they are left.
2. Put up a child gate so they can be in another room and see you but not have access to you all the time. Don’t make eye contact and start in very small increments after they have had exercise, chance to eliminate, food and play. IGNORE them if they whine or cry but start slowly and gradually build up to longer periods.
3. Leave the dog in a small space as it is more like a cave and they will want to sleep. A crate is ideal or a safe room with a dog bed in it.
4. Start leaving in very small increments. Just close the door of the room to start and then come back in. If the dog is quiet, give low key praise and a treat. Then go out the front door and back. Increase the length of time very slowly. Try and leave when they are tired - after exercise and toileting.
5. Leave them with safe toys such as a stuffed Kong or chew toy to keep them busy in your absence.
6. Don’t make a big fuss of your dog when leaving or arriving home. Make this process uneventful, routine and low key. Leave as quickly as possible.
7. DO NOT yell at the dog or show you are cross on your return when he has damaged something!!! This will cause him to be MORE anxious and fearful of your return! He doesn’t know why he is being yelled at unless caught in the act.
8. It may help to let the dog have a bed in your bedroom but he should learn to stay in his OWN bed or a crate to sleep.
9. Rescue remedy has been used successfully to deal with this problem. Start a few hours before you are ready to leave and when they can sense that you are getting ready to go out.
Finally if you get a puppy it is really important to start training them to be left for a short time at an early age. Do so after they have had play time, food and chance to eliminate as they will want to sleep and then it will become natural for them to sleep when you are not around!