Is Your Dog Home Alone?
By: Louise Louis


Make your home a haven for Fido and ensure your own peace of mind

Does your dog have a sad face when you leave home in the morning?

I firmly believe that owning a dog is compatible with having a
full-time job outside the home. You just need to use the right
techniques and products to keep Fido occupied while you're gone.

You also need to minimize the possibility of incessant barking
that riles your neighbors and results in police showing up on
your doorstep.

Here's what has worked for me:

Create an indoor den

Leaving a dog alone outdoors all day is a terrible idea. It
guarantees problems with the neighbors and behavior problems from
your dog. Further, you can't protect your dog from sudden, bad
weather.

Use a crate if you or a surrogate come in during the day
to let him out for a break. The rule of thumb is don't
keep a dog in a crate longer than 4-hours at a stretch.

If no one is home, use a gate, that he can see out of, to create
a den in a room such as the kitchen or laundry room.

Arrange a toilet area in the farthest part of the room using a
doggy door to the outside or newspapers, pads or dog litter tray.


Create a haven

Don't let him have the run of the house especially if
he's a puppy. A bored dog is a destructive dog and one that can
harm himself by chewing or swallowing
dangerous objects.

Have a favorite blanket, toy and comfortable bed in his crate or
the room where you leave him during the day.
He needs a comfortable place to nap during the day.



Create mental stimulation

I like to leave a Kong toy filled with peanut butter or other
gooey treat. My dog happily spends the afternoon trying to get
the treat. Another good toy is the Buster Cubes which can be
filled with dry food.


Create pleasant sounds

Do you like to be a quiet house for hours on end? Leave the
radio, TV or CD player on. Some owners tape their own voices and
leave that playing all day. My dog loves classical music. Just
make sure it's soothing music, no heavy metal bands, please.


Create sustenance

I don't like to leave food out. Bored dogs can overeat just as
bored humans do. However, I do think dogs should have drinking
water available any time they want it. Try leaving a bowl or two
of water for him. If you can afford it, use a water dispensing
product.


Create a soothing environment

One of the newest products available is an electric diffuser that
releases Dog Appeasing Pheromones (DAP). These mimic the natural
pheromones produced by lactating bitches to reassure puppies. One
study showed a 70% reduction in barking and whining when the DAP
was used. Sounds weird may be a scent-sible solution
for whining puppies.


Create unemotional leaving and return

Don't make a production when you leave and come home. Spend time
with your dog (playing to tire him out and taking him to the
potty) before you leave in the morning. When you get home at
night, try to wait 5 or 10 minutes before acknowledging him when
you get home.

Consider - as a last resort - mood stabilizers

The drug clomipramine is sometimes prescribed for dogs that
exhibit extreme hyperactivity or destructive behaviors when their
owners are absent and when other treatments haven't been
effective. Think of it as Prozac for dogs. It's not addictive,
but it's a last resort that should only be used under
veterinarian control.

Louise Louis
www.toybreeds.com




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