Mary Allen
It is part of everyday life for many owners that their dog stays at home alone for several hours. Accordingly, owners often complain that their dog shows undesirable behavior during this time. Swiss researchers set themselves the goal of better understanding the latter.
As the most common pet, dogs share everyday life with their owners. In almost every case, this means that the dog is left alone at home for a different length of time every day. Not every dog can handle this situation equally well. Dog owners often turn to behavioral therapists and veterinarians because their dog exhibits undesirable behaviors when left alone. These are predominantly vocalizations such as barking, howling, and whimpering, but also damage to the furniture. Behavioral scientists now studied the behavior of dogs that were left alone at home. They tried to determine influencing factors and the importance of having another dog in the household.
Surprisingly clear differences between the gender
To do this, the scientists observed the behavior of 77 dogs in 54 households using video cameras. Around half of the dogs had at least one other conspecific living in the household. When analyzing the recorded data, the researchers found a very pronounced difference between the sexes. Male dogs showed significantly more howling and barking than female dogs. These vocalizations were particularly intense when male dogs were housed with other dogs. In addition, bitches were substantially less likely to be in the area of the apartment door than male dogs. These differences appeared to exist regardless of castration status. Overall, the dogs spent most of the time they were home alone resting and sleeping.
Little peer influence
Further studies including physiological stress parameters would indeed be necessary to gain deeper insights into the presumed separation stress of domestic dogs. However, the present study clearly shows that gender seems to have a significant influence on the expression of vocalizations. At the same time, keeping multiple dogs in a household is likely to reinforce rather than mitigate these behaviors.
Frequently Asked Question
Can dogs occupy themselves alone?
Being left alone must be practiced at an early stage – preferably as a puppy. Sometimes it can take a while to get used to because depending on their character and previous experience, some dogs need longer to get used to being alone.
Are dogs sad when they’re alone?
Particularly sensitive four-legged friends even tend to depression and become resigned when they are alone. Then, for example, they take items of clothing and withdraw them into their basket with them.
What calms dogs down when they’re alone?
For some dogs with separation anxiety, it helps if you leave them a stuffed kong (or another toy you can stuff) for the dog to interact with first. A Kong lick calms and relaxes your dog.
Can I leave my dog alone for 10 hours?
In principle, dogs should not be left alone for longer than 6 hours, as they have to relieve themselves after this time at the latest. If your animal has to do its business, a dog flap in the garden can be helpful.
What should you do with a dog all day?
An average dog needs about 2 hours of exercise and activity a day. What you can include in it: Everything that brings a change from the daily routine. For example walks, trips to new surroundings, receiving and making visits, playing together, training, dog sports, etc.
How often to be alone exercise dog?
No matter how calm your dog is, the basic rule is: It should not be the norm that your dog has to be alone for several hours a day. Very anxious and sensitive dogs can even become ill or develop depression if left alone too often.
What does a good daily routine with a dog look like?
The daily routine with the dog should contain various fixed elements. This includes feeding times, games, walks, social contact with other dogs, and also periods of rest. Spread out several long walks with your dog throughout the day.
What do dogs think when you kiss them?
They perceive tastes and grasp textures. Transferred to humans, the dog kiss represents a way of instinctively gathering information. Happy kissing: Dog kisses bring happiness. At least they make the dog happy because kissing gives him an endorphin rush.