Dogs are sentient beings and have been designed by evolution over many thousands of years to live in groups. Therefore, they are likely to feel an array of emotions when left alone. If we could ask them what they experience during this time, I expect they would describe feelings of panic, sadness, boredom and fear. There may be a few that relish this time to sleep but in general most dogs don’t enjoy being left on their own and some are unable to cope well at all. They may go to the toilet on the rug, rip up the sofa, empty the bins, try to eat through the door, howl/bark or even hide away panting and salivating. But dogs can’t tell you how they are feeling or can they?
Well yes, they already are by behaving in the ways they do and all we have to do is watch and listen. We have the technology to set up cameras to record what our dogs get up to when we leave them which enables us to understand how they might be feeling.
Panic and feeling sad
A dog can easily learn the triggers that indicate our imminent departure such as picking up car keys, putting on outdoor shoes and coat, sorting out bags and also how we look and what we say.
If our dog immediately begins to pant, pace and follows us around as soon as we think about going, they may be feeling panicky about being left alone. This is likely to be a similar feeling to the sheer panic we experience when we lose sight of our child in a busy supermarket. During our absence our dog may howl or bark, go to the toilet inside the home or even try to escape by biting and scratching at door frames and digging up the carpet. There are various reasons why they may feel this way alongside the fact that dogs are social creatures. These may include not being taught to cope with being left as a young puppy, or having a needy relationship with us or not feeling confident about being alone. So, it is important that young puppies are sensitively taught that being left is ok and nice things happen when they are.
Some dogs are particularly needy and may follow us everywhere we go and often show persistent attention seeking behaviours such as pawing, leaning, climbing up, head nudging, toy bringing, barking and even nipping. This may mean that we become an important resource for our dog and when we leave it may cause a feeling of great loss. When we watch the recordings, our dog may continue to pace around and be unable to settle and may howl/bark, toilet or become destructive. They are truly anxious and will need a team around them to be able to help them cope including a vet to rule out any underlying medical issues and a suitably qualified behaviourist.
Bored
On the other hand, our dog may be quite relaxed and happily finding the treats we have hidden when we leave. However, on our return we find the bin is overturned and there is pillow stuffing all over the floor and a rather sheepish looking dog is staring at us. When we watch the recordings, we may see our dog continuing to find all the food, settling down for a short while and then getting up again and hunting around the house for more things to do. The bin smells good and it’s such fun trying to find scraps hidden under the soggy contents. They may settle again to digest the potato peelings, carrot tops and discarded bits of meat fat but are soon awake again and looking for things to do and those pillows are really good to shake. When we come back, we inevitably show our ‘disappointed’ faces and use cross tones. Our dog will know we are upset but won’t have a clue why so tries to say sorry and so it continues. If our dog is bored then extra fun sniffy walks are useful, perhaps enlist the help of a dog walker and we can also increase enrichment within the home. So, get creative and find ways to hide their own allotted amount of food and favourite toys around the house. Recycle those cardboard boxes to hide food in. It might mean more mess but at least the pillows survive. And secure the bin or move it out of the way as it’s just too tempting for a master opportunist.
Scared
Some dogs may have experienced a scary incident when left home alone like a sudden thunderstorm; local building work; a loud mail drop or even something we wouldn’t notice like the central heating switching on. These dogs may become more subdued and look worried and try and hide away or try and escape from the scary association. They may also experience loss of toilet control and may try and escape to find somewhere safe to hide. Dogs that are scared of certain noises or situations can be helped by discussing this issue with a vet who may then refer you to a qualified clinical companion animal behaviourist who will introduce them to the world of systematic de-sensitisation and counter conditioning.
Short-term quick fixes such as bark collars are often suggested but are likely to make the long-term situation a lot worse. For us and the dog it is a very concerning time and we need appropriate qualified help so a trip to the vet is a wise move.