Can Your Dog Handle Being Left Alone?

Have you been working from home with the best co-worker in the world, your new dog? Have you given him any practice at “alone time?” Due to COVID-19, lifestyles have changed dramatically. New “pandemic puppies” and recently acquired rescue dogs may have a hard time learning to being left alone now that you are going back to work. If your dog never gets used to spending time alone or learns how to entertain himself, there’s a chance that your dog may have become more attached to you than you think. Isolation distress or even worse, separation anxiety could be in your near future.

To start, before you go back to work, see if your dog can handle being left alone for 15 minutes while you’re still in the house. The dog can be in a crate or you can have a safe alone zone set up. Leave out a few stuffed puzzles or chew toys. If you hear signs of stress return right away. Signs of stress can include whining, barking, howling, drooling, defecation or urination, biting and pawing to get out of the crate. If you hear signs of distress you can always start with shorter increments. If 15 minutes is too much, start with 30 seconds then work your way up to one minute. Try to vary the length of time. If you keep going away longer and longer, your dog will catch on. Leave for 15 minutes, next time two minutes, then 10 minutes. When you’re ready to leave your house, you can set up a laptop and a cell phone to spy on your dog without having to buy new equipment. There are different video conferencing apps you can use for free.

My dog Kai had a problem with Isolation Distress when I first adopted her. There were several things I had to do to resolve her issues. Luckily, Kai was able to stay calm if my other dog, Ziva, was in sight. If she had true Separation Anxiety the company of another dog would not help her. It helped her when nobody was home for short amounts of time, but it wasn’t fixing the problem.  It took time, copious amounts of patience, and desensitizing to get where we are now. If you need help, getting another dog is not the answer, but calling a Professional Dog Trainer with experience is your best choice.