Behavioural Topics - Post Lockdown Blues and Beyond

A few days ago we posted an article featured in the Breed Council magazine about how the global pandemic has impacted us an organisation. We also know the toll it is taking not only on our lives, but the mental state of our dogs as well. Lisa Hird, our resident behavioural expert has written an informative article concerning that fact.

Lisa Hird is an experienced and qualified behavioural expert and you can find out more about her services on her website - https://www.dogbehaviourclinic.co.uk/

Post Lockdown Blues and Beyond

We know the Covid-19 had an enormous impact on our mental health. The restrictions placed on all of us by the COVID-19 pandemic have affected our dogs, too.

As a result, a number of things happened. Families have found themselves home all day, many unable to work and with small children or teenagers to try to manage.

Many routines fell apart and some dogs found themselves overwhelmed with the attention they now received. Walks and play times and the availability of the guardians all increased.

For some dogs, these changes may have been welcomed if normally left home alone while guardians worked. For others, some dogs found themselves the centre of attention when they would rather have been snoozing quietly somewhere. During the various lockdowns, behaviourists noticed an increase in reactive behaviour from dogs towards their caregivers as they were over stimulated, over tired, and irritable.

Thousands of families decided to welcome a puppy into their homes during lockdown. In some ways, this was an ideal opportunity as most would have sufficient time to train their puppies. Sadly, much of the training did not include teaching puppies the essential life skill of being able to cope alone.

Things have begun to settle down and many people have gone back to work. But what about those lockdown puppies who may never have been taught to be alone? Behaviourists are now seeing an increase in separation related behaviours.

Being alone does not come naturally to dogs or puppies. Time must be taken to put in some training to help puppies cope with not having attention or company. An essential life skill for puppies is to be able to handle relationships including not having access to social contact, even though guardians are at home with them. Puppies/dogs need to learn how to settle when company is available – not just when it isn’t. One simple way to do this is to use a puppy play pen and slowly build the duration of absences in a positive way. After all, through selective breeding, we have created dogs who rely on us. Dogs are highly social animals so how can we expect them to simply understand they must now be home alone?

When we returned to work, we often did not consider how this may feel to our dogs. There is a great deal of evidence for bonds between people and animals throughout the ages, and the benefits of the human-animal bond are well documented. Dogs are sentient beings and science has shown us that they experience emotions in the same areas of the brain and in similar ways to how a human experiences emotion. Change needs to be carefully managed, and lots of opportunities for environmental enrichment should be provided.

For those seeking further information there is another article here worth reading - What Not to do When Your Dog is Unwell