4 Top Tips For Leaving Your Dog

 

1. Leave some music on
This might sound crazy but leaving some form of back ground noise on for the dog, whether it's the TV or radio, will help to keep their mind off any loud bangs or noises that they can't see. If the dog can hear a commotion and cannot see where it's coming from then they are more likely to feel threatened and bark. Leaving background music on will help drown the noise out.

2. Close the curtains
If you live in a terraced house or ground floor flat someone may walk past the window, which could cause your dog to bark. We would recommend that if you have blinds or curtains to keep them closed while you are not there. If your dog can reach the window and move the curtains aside, it might be a good idea to restrict their access to that room when you are not there. This is just another thing that can be done to reduce how much your dog becomes distressed and barks when you're out of the house.

3. Leave them quiet and settled
If you are planning an evening out and you envisage that your dog could be left for a couple of hours, then always make sure they are left in a calm and content mood. The best way to do this is by taking your dog out on a nice long walk, this will usually mean they will be tired and therefore sleep while you are out. When you get in from your walk another great tip is to feed them their dog food once they are settled. This means that not only will they be tired from their walk but they will also have a full stomach encouraging the sleep even further.

By giving them their food you will be leaving the dog exercised and with a full stomach which means they are more likely to sleep while you are out and again not barking. When giving them their dog food after exercise always make sure that you have waited an hour to let the dog settle. This is important with larger dogs as it can cause bloat which could cause illness.

4. Safe toys
If you can, leave your dog with a safe dog toy. This is something he cannot destroy or which he could harm himself with, if a toy can be destroyed then the parts could be very dangerous so always ensure that if you do leave a toy that they cannot destroy it in your absence. A great dog toy to leave them with is a Kong. The Kong range offers a great selection of dog toys and even has a Kong Extreme for the heavy chewers. These toys can be even filled with dog biscuits or paste which will keep your dog occupied whilst they try to figure out how to get the biscuits or paste out of the toy. You can find a huge range of these and other dog supplies at Swell Pets.co.uk.