It’s so nice to be home for a few days in a row! Your dog is probably very happy to have you home too. You may have noticed that your dog seems agitated when you leave now, or you’re worried about their adjustment when you go back to your normal routine.

Here are a few tips to help make the transition a little bit smoother!

Tip #1: Start Now

Even though you still have a few days left before returning to work/school, you’re going to need every one of them!

• Start doing “practice outings” without your dog so they get used to being home alone again
• Start doing parts of your usual workday routine like workday meal times, workday walk times, workday bedtime routine, workday morning routine
• Check in with your daycare or dog walker to make sure you’re booked in for the new year

Tip #2: Go Slowly

The #1 mistake people make with separation practice and routine disruption is we go too fast. It makes sense – we have to be ready before work starts again, we want to make sure that the training we do “counts” so we decide to do a big outing to mimic our full work day, and we want to get back to enjoying our time off!

• If you’re a homebody like me, start with short outings
• If you’ve been out and about but at different times, start with outings on your regular schedule (or close to it)
• One option is to get up later but do your usual morning routine and then go run an errand instead of going to work

Tip #3: Don’t Go Over Threshold!

This is the most important tip on the list! Do not leave your dog for longer than they can handle without being in distress.

Signs of distress: panting, pacing, whining, howling, barking, drooling, inability to relax, lip licking, yawning

When in doubt, take a video of your dog while you are gone. The default “Camera” app on a Windows laptop will record 3 hours of video and sound for free. (I’m pretty sure Mac has a similar feature.)

Some dogs will “demand bark” for a period and then settle down. I do not like the “cry it out” strategy in general but I will sometimes allow 3-5 min of demand barking for vocal dogs that show no other signs of being in distress. If the barking changes to the high-pitched panic bark, your dog is over threshold and is panicked about being alone.

You want your dog to feel safe when they are alone. Leaving your dog to panic alone does not teach them to feel safer. If your dog is experiencing distress when you are gone, your dog might meet the criteria for separation anxiety. Consider hiring a separation anxiety specialist trainer like a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer or a Certified SA Pro Trainer.

If you are having issues or you are concerned about your dog’s transition back to your work schedule, we can come up with a structured plan as part of your Online Consultation.