Leaving the dog home alone is a somewhat sad moment for any owner. Sometimes, even if we are only gone for a few hours, we are thinking how he will be, what he will be doing or if he will be missing us. Well, you should know that your dog also thinks of you during this time. After all, you are his best friend! How could he not think of you? But what do dogs really feel when they are left alone?
Dogs are able to remember the different habits that you carry out in your day to day: when you pick up the keys, they know that you are going to go for a walk and if you open the cupboard, they understand that they are going to eat. For that reason, before you leave, they already know. They know you perfectly.
When you leave home, dogs inevitably feel sad because they don’t like to be alone! They are social animals and enjoy sharing all the moments of their lives with their loved ones. Are you wondering if your dog gets bored when he’s alone? Especially if your dog is home alone for 8 hours or more, it is important that you pay attention to home enrichment, providing toys or setting the environment with music, for example.
If before leaving you have given your dog a good walk and his daily dose of exercise, he will probably fall asleep as soon as he feels that you are not there. Dogs generally rest when the home is quiet, but it is inevitable that they will wake up at any noise. The sounds of the neighbors, the barking of a dog in the street or a poorly closed door are some of the things that quickly take away your sleep. For this reason, most of them take advantage of the fact that you are not there to rest without interruptions. And if it can be on the sofa or in your bed, much better!
When they have had enough rest, the dogs realize that you are not back yet. They want to see you! That’s when they start to get a little nervous: they want action and having a great time, not being home alone and with nothing to do.
At this point, dogs suffering from separation anxiety may start to get up to their mischief: crying, barking, chewing on objects, and even urinating. It is very important not to scold a dog that suffers from this problem, we must offer him toys and accessories so that he can distract himself and even consider the option of visiting a specialist. Perhaps, after so much commotion, you think that your dog is not happy to see you or that your dog gets angry when you leave, but nothing could be further from the truth, dogs that suffer from separation anxiety miss their owners a lot, even generating with them a link of excessive dependency that harms their emotional well-being.
Dogs that do not go through this problem simply play with their toys a little, go for a walk, drink water… They try to entertain themselves with what they can or continue to rest.
When they have slept, rested, they have done their thing and they have nothing else to do… They wait for you and try to find out if you are about to arrive. It is common for dogs to try to look out the window to see if you will return once and for all. For this reason, it is very important to take into account the security measures of your home. Let’s not forget that the dog has an intelligence comparable to that of a very young child: he could fall off the balcony in an attempt to catch a pigeon, for example.
But the preferred place to wait for you is certainly around the door. That way he’ll be around to greet you when you come back in a crazy, over-the-top way. Will your dog miss you? Of course!
Staying alone is boring and tedious for your dog, but it can have something good: that you always come back to look for him. Checking day after day that you leave but that you always come back is a sign of love that your dog values and looks forward to. It fills him with happiness and joy to see that you open the door again and greet him with affection.
Dogs go wild with excitement before you even open the door, who hasn’t been licked, flipped, and even peed with excitement? How do dogs feel about their duels? Of course, they can feel love and longing.
You should never forget that you have friends and a social life away from home, but he only has you, so always remember him and don’t spend too much time away from your best friend, he needs you.
Many people are tempted to leave a video camera on to see what their dogs do when they leave home and that is a big unknown for any dog’s best friend. If you know what your dog does when you leave, please leave a comment and share it with us.
Oh, and if he has been good, don’t forget to offer him some delicious homemade muffins for dogs that you can make at home, he will surely love them!