The dog is a social animal and loneliness is not an innate and pleasant state for him. Loneliness is therefore part of a fully-fledged learning process that is worked on calmly, pedagogy in several stages.
The first step is to accustom the dog to the absence of its master. This absence must ideally gradually extend. You start by leaving the room for a few seconds for the first sessions, then for a few more seconds for the next sessions, and for a few minutes for the sessions after. Loneliness is also learned when you are present in the same room as your dog. You should not hesitate to create periods of ignorance even when you are at home and he is asking for contact.
Before leaving the house completely, take all the measures to prevent loneliness from being synonymous with intense silence and boredom for your dog:
– Divert his attention before leaving
– If necessary, leave the radio on
– Make sure that he associates your departure with the opening of an Ali Baba’s cave for dogs. Leave him toys that could occupy him the 20% of the day he won’t sleep. These toys must be very specific. The dog only has access to these specific toys when you are away.
For example, you can leave him chew toys such as the Paci-Chew rubber pacifier (Here), a plastic bottle with holes or a cardboard box with kibble or treats inside.
The main thing is that your dog associates your departure with a Jackpot!
This, added to the absence of negative contact with you (ex: yelling) will allow you to create a strong bond with your puppy or dog.
By dint of repeating this process all the time, a certain mechanization will take place. Your puppy or dog will associate your lack of positive stimulation and the unwanted behavior will disappear.
ATTENTION : If you notice destruction on your return, you must ignore the bad behavior and put away the toys given at the start. In the dog, revenge does not exist. If there is damage, the puppy has broken free from emotional stress. Consider, for example, a dog that has defecated in its master’s bed in his absence. He probably went there to reassure himself, the bed being the place where the smell of the master is most present. Once installed, however, the puppy (or dog) is always under stress. The puppy relaxes thanks to the smell… and the accident happens. Poor dog !
The key is to put yourself in the dog’s shoes. In the event of a reprimand, the dog will associate the arrival of the master with the reprimand. The dog will therefore try to appease its master by a series of distinctive signs to avoid being scolded. He did not associate the “morale lesson” with his previous action but with the return of his master. He is simply trying to calm his master’s irritation of unidentified origin.