Posted on 05/28/2021 8:32:39 PM PDT by DoodleBob
INDIANAPOLIS — During the pandemic, many families bought pets to add some companionship and joy to their stay-at-home life.
Months later, some of those "pandemic puppies" aren't as friendly and happy as they once were.
In short, a dog’s life isn't what it used to be. "Bing" is about to find out. His owners and playmates Caleb and Drew are going back to work and back to school.
"Since we've had him, he's never been home alone, so it's going to be a big adjustment," Caleb Larson said.
"He's anxious," Drew Harris explained. "He's taken the finishing off our doors before and we are renting. We don't want him to destroy our doors."
Another pandemic pup owned by a friend of mine, the mild-mannered Chole, left alone tried to chew her way out of the laundry room. The damage may cost hundreds of dollars to repair.
Young dogs who have been the center of attention all their lives suddenly find themselves home alone and experiencing separation anxiety.
"A lot of dogs can get separation anxiety and it's that fear of being alone and not knowing when someone is coming back," explained Stephanie Foerder, the lead adoption counselor for Indy Humane. "There is a great scale of separation anxiety. Some of it could not be super terrible and a lot of times it could result in destructive behavior."
Behavior like chewing, barking, urinating, biting and jumping.
To minimize that behavior, experts recommend to start out leaving your dog alone for short, but ever-increasing, periods of time or consider making your pet comfortable in a cage-like crate.
"You want to create the crate as their bedroom safe space, so you don't want the dog to fear the crate or ever go as a punishment," Foerder said.
A supply of chew toys, frozen treats and lots of exercise are also on the to-do list.
"Exercise is a huge thing," she said. "When your dog is tired and mentally exhausted, you are not going to have a destructive dog."
According to Foerder, cats typically don't experience much separation anxiety. (emphasis added)
Adjusting a pup's behavior takes time. So weeks before you go back to work, start working on your pal's home alone attitude.
Taking care of dogs is fun. Had one years ago that ate my door and destroyed my curtains when left for an hour as a pup. That behavior didn’t last long. I hope most trained them while they had time a home with them. They likely don’t know how though.
I am taking in my nephews German shep for “ 6 month’s “ in a week, good dog
She is.
——>insert forbidden words here
The boy Dobe howls like the world is ending if I so much as leave the room to go to the kitchen for 5 minutes.
Yet, if I leave to go shopping for a few hours, he settles down and sleeps, *but*, as soon as I head west for home, he starts up an endless “reunite the pack” howl fest until I come into the house.
How he knows I’m on my way home, is a mystery.
I watched him on the dog cams and hubby has tried to tell him I’m on my way, but he just howls louder.
/I love that...*I* am “the pack”
Wonderful story. It is amazing the senses they have...Hear about dogs finding their way home hundreds of miles away etc...
I kept my son’s dog for a couple weeks...Son lived about 5 hours away. When I turned off the interstate on road to my son’s town, dog started sniffing, wagging and whining...He knew he was back home or near...Dog did not do that when we stopped for gas or a meal...
They are amazing animals.
When I read all the stories about people adopting/getting dogs at the start of the lockdowns, sadly I suspected the end result would be a lot of unwanted dogs :( Why? Because when I have taken dogs to the vet, the waiting room was full of people who said their children had bequeathed dogs to them...
And the story about my son’s dog? Several years later, guess who has that dog now? Me...I am glad to have his TWO dogs, but I was/am disappointed that he was willing to give them up so easily...Eh he was young when he got them and now has FOUR kids...He had noble reasons for getting the dogs at the time, but it is interesting that so many grandparents in the vet waiting room have not only grand kids but grand dogs...Everyone adopting/getting a dog should be made to read and sign a statement that depending on the breed, dogs live an average of 10-13 years...when you bring one into your family, you are taking on a long-term commitment...
OK I will step off my soap box now :)
Again, thanks for sharing about your wonderful dogs!
It’s beyond my ken how that happens.
If I had it my way, my dogs would be with me forever.
Losing them the “natural” way is agonizing grief, enough.
Years back, [80s] before there even was such a thing, I did my own “Dobe rescue”.
I sprung them from dog jail, got them healthy, over their emotional baggage, and sent them off well trained to friends and family.
Gutted me to let them go but I knew where they were, how they were and the new owners knew I’d crack open a level of crazy they didn’t know existed, if the dogs ever wanted for anything.
Then, in 1989, I sprung my first Ibizan Hound from a shelter and everything went sideways.
I got mushy and could not bear to let them go.
They don’t “bounce back” from abuse like Dobes do so at one point I had 7 crazy gazelles disguised as dogs bouncing around the house.
My last Ibizan passed away in 2019 and I miss having a uppity dog who utterly disregards “commands” and considered herself royalty.
*sigh*
Down to 3 dogs now and feel like I don’t have enough.
They don’t “bounce back” from abuse like Dobes do so at one point I had 7 crazy gazelles disguised as dogs bouncing around the house.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SEVEN?!?!
LOL We had an Afghan Hound when I was a kid...Lord how I loved to get Suki revved up running a race course thru the living room and dining room of our rather standard house ...
Wish I had a picture of her...an amazing majestic dog!
Cats may not “care” but they will still “punish” you.
For inconveniencing them.
Clever girl
One of my Ibizan rescues, Rennie, was given up because her owner and she “didn’t click”, whatever that means.
One day she “disappeared’ and they looked for her the whole day, covering miles of backroad nowhere, trying to find her.
When they finally came home hours later, the woman looked up and noticed Rennie asleep on top of the refrigerator.
She ignored them calling her name that whole time, because Ibizan Hound.
I used to say “With dogs, you never have to worry about them jumping off the fridge onto your head, like a cat”.
Yeah, well.
The pack of them used to get the zoomies in the living room and rip around, jumping over the furniture and using the walls to ricochet off of.
You get really Zen about it all and kinda of learn to casually duck or dodge, without even losing your place in whatever you’re reading.
:D
“cats are Republicans;”
The latter looks (and acts) like our cat, Speedy. Honestly, we still have the same five cats we adopted when we lost our dogs in The Great Fire of 2012. Being mobility-challenged and on disability, I think they all wish I’d get the hell out of the house more. My only use to them is bowl-filling and the occasional butt-scratching.
Several years back, we had a similar squirrel problem, and the answer was about 10 miles.
So it's not surprising that dogs can find their way back home from long distances.
I see many “feel deeply” for the animals - but never question why we see nothing about taking care of the emotional needs of the children who have suffered and who will continue to suffer.
The commitment required to take in an animal isn’t as much as it is for a child. And everyone has a calling....some people adopt orphans from Siberia et al, some are foster parents, some are Scoutmasters, some are a Big Brothers and Sisters, some are affiliated through with charities. Some people are awful with kids and know it so they have pets.
ping
LOL!
(There’s no way you could ever ‘unionize’ a cat. They can’t even ‘unite’ among each other :-)
You have the best stories to share!
Truly a wonderful part of the rich tapestry that is FR.
Have a wonderful rest of your weekend :)
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