It is inevitable that you will have to leave your dog alone at some point. Without something to keep them occupied they may find a way to keep themselves busy! So before they start (or continue) chewing or destroying things they’re not supposed to, read some tips below for ways to occupy your pup while you’re away.
Enriching toys
One of our favorite enriching toys is the KONG! You can fill a KONG or kong-type toy with peanut butter and freeze it. This will keep your dog busy for quite a while.
You can also leave your dog plenty of puzzle-type toys or games. These should involve having to play with the toy to release treats to keep your dog engaged. Look over our previous blog on 3 DIY Dog Treat Puzzles for some ideas!
Exercise
A dog with too much energy is a dog that can resort to chewing or destroying things they’re not supposed to. With plenty of exercise, your dog will be less likely to be destructive when left alone. Take your dog for a walk before leaving the house or going to work. Get your dog nice and tired! This will help expend energy so they’ll be more relaxed at home.
Put on some music or turn on the tv
Music can have a calming effect on dogs and can even serve as white noise for them. Turning on music can also help relieve their stress! Spotify has plenty of playlists like this one to choose from! And if you don’t have Spotify any classical music will do the trick.
Televisions can also provide calming effects for dogs as well as some entertainment. You can leave your TV tuned to Animal Planet or a similar nature program. Don't have cable? Not to worry, there are also plenty of videos made specifically for dogs on YouTube for you to choose from. So while you’re away, your dog can enjoy watching the tv. And if they don't watch it, then at least they'll have some background noise to calm them!
Take them to daycare
We understand that daycare is not for all dogs. But if your dog enjoys the company of other pups, then daycare may be the right pick for them! At Thousand Hills Pet Resort our staff evaluates all of our dog guests to ensure that they’re all social and safe. We place dogs in yards with other dogs that have the same temperament, similar size, or similar activity level. Daycare is great because your dog can make friends and those friendships can become important to them.
If you start implementing some of these tips at home, your dog may surprise you and be much more relaxed while you are away. Both you and your dog will be happy!
Need more reasons to take your dog to daycare, read our past blog article below.
All proceeds from Thousand Hills Pet Resort support New Life K9s. New Life K9s provides service dogs to veterans and first responders with PTSD at no cost to them.
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