Whilst we're all struggling with the Covid shut down, what's happening with our dogs and puppies?
Help for dogs and puppies during the coronavirus
What else could I write about this month but the coronavirus situation! On the one hand, we might think that all of our dogs will be overjoyed at having their family staying home with them; on the other hand, how on earth can we hope to socialise new puppies? And how can we possibly walk our dogs safely without accidentally coming within the two metre safety zone? Here are some ideas to help.
Avoiding new separation issues:
It’s very common for dogs to develop separation issues after the Christmas & New Year Holidays. They’ve really enjoyed our company and when we go back to work we come home to come home to find the lino’s been ripped up, for instance. Try to avoid this eventuality by keeping some of the day-to-day routine the same & by leaving them at home alone when you can (if that’s safe).
Helping existing separation issues:
Usually separation issues are extremely difficult to resolve because, for best results, it is crucially important that the dog isn’t left alone until they can actually cope. What a great opportunity we have here then to resolve this issue! Why not join our online separation group to help you through the steps.
Exercise:
It’s probably safest to keep your dogs on leads for all walks just now, even if just to prevent potential issues arising.
New puppies
Usually it’s critically important to gently and safely expose our puppies to all the sights and sounds and people and animals that they’ll need to cope with in their lives. Of course, we simply cannot do this right now. It’s not even safe to take them to a doggy play area and let them romp about with other puppies. Just consider how we get them to come back to us without having to go and pick them up or even to untangle long lines. Puppy parties are cancelled and all puppy training classes are moving on-line.
Some ideas to ameliorate the situation are:
· Use puppy socialisation mp3 downloads (available free from the Dog’s Trust) to get them used to noises, sights and sounds
· Work on training whilst there’s a doggy programme on the TV.
· Play-act: Imagine the aspects of people that a dog might meet: wearing hats, wearing glasses, different perfumes, walking sticks, cycling, jogging etc. Set up some safe situations around your home and garden and introduce your puppy to these “pretend” people.
In the mean time, we are doing video help sessions to ensure that we pre-empt problems arising and also take the extra time we have just now to resolve existing problems. For more information, please see www.PawsAbility.co.uk
Fisrt Published in The Northern Times, Mar 20