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With millions around the UK spending a lot more time at home due to the coronavirus lockdown, tons of us have been spending a lot more time with our pets.
Working from home has meant many have been around to hang out with their furry friends a lot more often than usual.
However, as the country starts to return to work, there are concerns that pets will suffer from separation anxiety after they’ve got used to their owners being around so much.
It’s a heartbreaking thought, but the good news is there are precautions you can start taking now to make sure your pets are as chilled as possible when it’s time for you to leave them.
How to spot separation anxiety
This Morning’s Dr Scott Miller explained to viewers that it’s more common in dogs than cats.
‘Dogs are the ones that have a close social connection with us,’ he pointed out, adding that many puppies have been bought during lockdown, and they don’t know anything other than their owners being around all the time.
‘You can think of it along the lines of panic in people,’ he said of the symptoms.
‘They can be apprehensive, they can pant, they can salivate. Generally they can vocalise, so whether it’s whimpering all the way up to howling.’
‘They can be destructive […] they can even injure themselves,’ Dr Scott added.
How to prevent separation anxiety
Dr Scott pointed out that if owners start putting the work in now, their pets should get calmer whenever they’re left on their own.
He advised starting off by putting a pet in a different room for about 10 or 15 minutes.
‘It’s not about incarceration…it’s just about getting them used to periods of time when they don’t have to be by your side,’ he said.
‘Don’t let them follow you into the toilet, which I’m hearing a lot of people do.’
Dr Scott added: ‘Sleeping in your room…try and reduce that as much as possible.’
He added that pets should be as comfortable as possible before you leave – so that means you should have already taken dogs for a walk.
‘Then, giving them something to interest them, something that’s environmental enrichment,’ he pointed out, specifying kongs and chew toys.
Meanwhile, owners should be trying to stop pets from associating certain noises and cues with them leaving the house – for example, the jangling of keys.
Dr Scott suggested that people might want to carry their keys with them around the house to stop pets making the association.
Finally, he added: ‘Don’t go out of the house, and give them lots of emotion – you’re heightening their emotion to then drop them into the depths of despair,’ instead advising people to ‘calmly leave.’
Dr Scott, who recently opened up about losing his beloved dog, has previously given viewers tips on how to spot heatstroke in pets amid warm weather.
This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV.
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