Tips for Relieving Your Dog’s Stress with Dog Training

June 10, 2015

When you leave the house for work or a social outing as with all pet owners, you may feel slightly upset about leaving your pet alone. You don’t want to leave your best canine friend, and you know your dog is also not happy about your departure. Your dog may whine or bark when you are gone because he or she is experiencing anxiety.

How should you deal with this issue? Consider dog training.

Choosing dog training is one way you can help your dog to cope with stress. Tackling this issue by yourself can actually just add on to the stress that both you and your dog are experiencing. Dog training can help you to better identify the cause of the stress. Then, you can not only work on treating it, but also tackle the problem that is causing the stress in the first place.

Here are some tips to help in addition to dog training.

Look at Your Daily Routine. Dogs become stressed for a variety of reasons. For example, some dogs may stress when they see masses of people walking home from a nearby train station at the end of the day. You can consider putting covers on the window that prevent the dog from seeing through them. At that time of the day, spend time with your dog cuddling or playing with a favorite toy. You can redirect the energy into a productive activity.

 Include Your Dog in Your Activities. You’re probably saying that you already take your dog out for walks several times a day; however, do more than that. Your dog may stress every time you leave the house, but if you take him or her with you on occasion, then the dog knows that not every departure is cause for concern. You can go to the local dog park or grab a bite to eat at a dog-friendly restaurant.

Adopt a Second Dog. Sometimes, dogs stress because they do not like to be alone during the day. Adopting another dog can help to solve that problem. When the dogs have each other, they have a playmate and a companion for times that their humans are out. Adopting another dog also helps your dog to become more social. Some dogs are happy to spend time with cats when their owners are out as well.

The solution that makes the most sense for your dog depends upon his or her individual needs. Working with a professional trainer can help you to better assess the situation and to determine a suitable course of action.

Good Luck!