Before You Leave! Preparing Your Newly Adopted Dog to be Left Home Alone
Congratulations on bringing home your new dog! It’s an exciting time full of bonding, getting to know your dog’s personality, and plenty of cute, picture-worthy moments. There’s lots to do though, in order to help your dog transition into their new home. Along with picking out the perfect food, treats, toys and the comfiest dog bed, you’ll also want to prepare them for important life skills like spending time alone in their new home. Preparing them properly for alone time will help minimize separation related problem behaviors like separation anxiety or isolation distress. While there’s no way to completely prevent these behavioral problems from developing, there are some actions you can take to minimize the chances of separation anxiety or isolation distress from developing. Here are 4 steps you can take to ease the transition and set you and your dog up for success:
Allow Your Dog to Settle in Before Leaving Them Alone
Before leaving your dog home alone, they’ll need some time to adjust and acclimate to their new surroundings. Moving can be very stressful for dogs (like us!) and it’ll take some time for them to decompress and feel secure in their new environment. The timeline of this process is different for every dog. Some rescues recommend the 3-3-3 rule which suggests that it takes a dog 3 days to get over the initial stress and shock of the move, 3 weeks for a dog to start to come out of their shell and 3 months to fully settle into their home with their new family. While this is a good general guideline for what you might experience, it’s important to remember that every dog is an individual and there is no one-size-fits-all rule for how long the acclimation process will take.
To help them settle in, you’ll want to provide your dog with a quiet, comfortable place for them to relax, undisturbed. Give them a resting place away from the hustle and bustle of the main rooms of the house, so that if your dog needs some quiet time, they have that as an option, and keep any young children from approaching your dog while they’re there. Even though they may prefer some quiet time though, you’ll want to give your dog at least a few days before leaving them home alone completely. They already have a lot of newness to cope with, so taking alone time off their plate in the beginning will go a long way in helping them feel safe and secure in the long term. Dogs who don’t feel safe and secure when home alone, or who are left alone too soon, can become destructive, chewing and scratching at furniture and door frames or may have potty accidents indoors. It’s best to have someone who your dog is familiar with stay with them for the first few days, until they settle in.
Provide Appropriate Enrichment
To further help your dog settle into their new home and prepare for alone time, provide your dog with daily exercise and mental enrichment. Aim for activities that meet their species-specific and breed-specific needs such as sniffing, running, foraging, and chewing. No amount of exercise or enrichment will resolve a true behavioral concern like separation anxiety, but for dogs not suffering from separation anxiety or isolation distress, adequate exercise and enrichment can help curb boredom, reducing the chances of destructiveness around the house.
Some relatively easy ways to provide exercise enrichment include encouraging your dog to sniff while on walks, and even allowing them to decide which direction to take (when it’s safe to do so). Sniffing is a fantastic source of mental enrichment for dogs, as it allows them to take in information about their surroundings (think of it as them reading the “pee mail” and learning what dogs or other critters have been in the area recently). You can even take this one step further by taking your dog to dog friendly beaches, parks (avoid off-leash dog parks) and walking trails, or even novel neighborhoods.
When it comes to your dog’s meals, ditch the bowl and instead, look for enriching ways to feed them such as through stuffed Kongs, puzzle toys, snuffle mats or hiding food for them to forage for. This is another easy switch you can make in their day-to-day routine that will go a long way in enriching their minds. Be sure that the activity matches their ability level and isn’t too challenging. The food should never be inaccessible to them. Don’t forget to switch it up regularly, too. Giving them the same feeder toy every day will eventually get boring, and no longer do the job it’s meant to do.
If your dog is nervous or timid, you may want to start slowly with incorporating enrichment activities, especially ones outside of the house, but as your dog gets more comfortable and confident, you can begin to get really creative, incorporating many different fun activities that you both can enjoy!
Do Some Practice Runs First
After a few days, if your dog is adjusting well to their new home and routine, it's time to start acclimating them to alone time. Start with leaving your dog alone for a very short period of time first (a few minutes), then gradually work up to longer and longer as long as your dog is comfortable and calm. You can start this by leaving them in one room of the house while you go to a different area, or by leaving the house entirely, depending on what works best for you and your dog. Practice this several times a day but try not to rush through this process. Go at your dog's pace and only add distance and duration to their alone time if they’re truly relaxed. Monitor your dog for stress signs such as panting, pacing, barking, whining and excessive grooming. If you see any of these signs, slow down and go back to a step in the process that your dog is more comfortable with. If your dog continues to show signs of stress or anxiety, consult with a qualified trainer for professional help. Pushing your dog past their limit and trying to acclimate them faster than they can comfortably handle can make their stress and anxiety worse and can lead to separation related problems such as separation anxiety.
It'll also help to invest in a camera so you can keep an eye on your dog while they’re home alone. You can get a relatively inexpensive one off Amazon, like the Wyze or Blink camera, so you can continue to monitor your dog for stress or anxiety signs while practicing longer and longer absences away from the home.
Set Your Dog Up for Success
Dog proof the areas your dog will stay in and use gates and playpens to restrict access to rooms that you can’t dog proof. You’ll want to make sure trash bins and food are out of reach, counters are cleared of anything inappropriate for your dog to play with, and things like electrical cords, small objects and house plants are inaccessible to them. No matter how well trained your dog is, he or she is still a dog, and dogs are opportunistic animals. If something tempting is available, even the most well-behaved dogs are likely to go for it. Be proactive to keep your home and your dog safe.
Crates may be used, with caution. Not all dogs are comfortable in a crate. If you do choose to use one, you’ll need to spend time acclimating your dog to the crate before leaving them alone in it, and if they are showing stress or anxiety signs like the ones listed above, discontinue the use of the crate immediately.
Before leaving, make sure your dog has gotten adequate exercise, has been fed, taken out to relieve themselves, has fresh water, and don’t forget to provide appropriate, safe chew toys and a comfy place to rest while you’re away.
Giving your dog adequate time to decompress before leaving them home alone, and practicing several short, easy absences first, may take longer than simply leaving and going back to your normal routine right away, but it can be the difference between a dog who is calm, relaxed, and trustworthy at home on their own and one who barks non-stop and leaves your house in shambles. Remember that even though your dog is now in a loving, safe home, moving is still overwhelming for them and they don’t understand what has happened. Give them time to acclimate so they can become their best self for years to come!
If you’re having trouble helping your dog acclimate or if they’re showing signs of stress or anxiety when alone, such as barking, whining, pacing, excessive panting or drooling, destruction or having potty accidents, reach out and we can chat about ways to help your dog feel better and intervene before the problem gets any worse. It’s much easier and faster to resolve separation anxiety or separation related problems earlier rather than later, so if you’re struggling, don’t wait. Dogs typically grow into problem behaviors, not out of them!
With wags and aloha,
Cori- Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer (CSAT)
