Coronavirus pandemic has had an impact on the lives of most people. Our travelling has been limited, we started spending most of our time at home – with our furry friends in many cases. However, it has also been a change for them. They suddenly had their master close almost all the time, sensed his/her moods, his/her worries and they had to get used to the change of their rhythm of life. They got used to our presence, regular walks and became accustomed to new, stable rituals. Now it seems that our lives may slowly get back to normal and there is a question – what shall we do about that? We may be forced to change those things overnight and their world will change again. But a cat or a dog doesn’t know that their master needs to go to work every morning. It shakes things up a lot for them and with changes, stress comes. That’s why it’s a good idea or maybe even a necessary thing to prepare them for those changes. Also, training for this will help us strengthen our bonds with our pets.
Cats are very sensitive to any changes in their surroundings and they can react to these changes with the deterioration of their health. It’s very important to prepare a cat for the upcoming changes. It’s a good idea to prepare a shelter where the cat can hide if it doesn’t already have one. A box or a kennel you can put on the spot where the cat likes to lie down. It’s important to gradually shorten the time the cat spends with the person during the day so it can start getting used to being alone. Even though it doesn’t seem like it, being alone might be stressful for a cat and it doesn’t do it well when it doesn’t have regular contact with the person she was used to. It’s enough if you put the cat in another room and close the door for a while and then come back for the pet. It’s important to offer the cat some treat, stroke it and talk to it at this moment. This way, the cat will learn that everything is okay when its owner disappears for a while.
Preparing a dog for the normal, “pre-covid” life is also very important. A dog is a very sociable animal which likes living in a pack and the separation from its “pack” might be very stressful. In such a situation, a dog might express its sadness very loudly. And that might be stressful for our neighbours.
The training for being alone needs to start with setting up a stricter regime. We should plan all activities, walks, workout and food for the same time and it should be done in the same rhythm as when we have to go to work. Dogs need such a strict schedule, it’s very important for their mental health and well-being.
At the same time, we should start preparing the dog for its “alone” time. In the beginning, put it into another room where it will spend a while alone. When you come back to the dog, praise and reward it. Gradually, make these intervals longer, up to 30 minutes. If the dog can be alone for 30 minutes, it can be basically alone for any period of time. A perfect way to teach the dog this is to set a “spot” for it. A small kennel for smaller dogs is very useful here and bigger dogs can stay in the hallway, for example. However, the dog needs to get used to one specific spot where it will be waiting for its owner. Say goodbye to the dog on this spot several days before going back to work and it will also welcome you there. Therefore, it’s very useful if this spot is somewhere close to the entrance to the living space. When saying goodbye, we shouldn’t use any commands, such as stay or wait, because we can’t stop the command after we leave. The dog would stop obeying it itself which is not good for its training and upbringing. It’s good to use words such as “bye” or “see ya” and use a treat, of course.
We are all looking forward to seeing the world in the way it used to be. Now it’s the best time to show our companions we love them, care about them and to help them to get “back to the normal” without any mental issues.
Did you know that the domestic cat which is now kept as a pet all over the world, is probably a domesticated form of the wild cat, specifically of its subspecies the African wildcat, European wildcat and Asiatic wildcat?
Apart from regular care for the fur and dog’s teeth we should include also the inspection and cleaning of the eyes and ear inspection in the list of everyday tasks. Even though the cats are rather known for cleanliness, it’s important also for a...
Cat is a perfect tool for hunting. It owes it to the dozens of years of evolution. While in dogs, their physical signs have been emphasised or suppressed, cats got to keep, apart from several exceptions, their main anatomical features unchanged. In...
According to various statistics, the number of cats in our country is increasing. Not only dogs, but also cats belong to increasingly more common pets. So, it can happen to us more often, that we'll meet an abandoned cat in the street and we're...
Some dogs take the arrival of a new family member in a hard way. Previously, we described how to prepare them for this situation already before the baby even arrives home and today, we will take a look at the introduction itself.
It's no longer a strange thing when a municipality sets up a dog park or a dog playground. Due to frequent regulation of off-leash movement of dogs, this should, however, often be obligatory. Do you know how to behave in such places so that you...
Another possible sport at which you can play with your dog and exercise with them at the same time, is the Dog Puller. You can practice it with all the dog breeds, no matter the size or age.
Nowadays, cats are increasingly more often becoming members of our households. Cat toilets producers are adapting to this trend as well. They can provide cats with a greater comfort in their daily need. From the perspective of the owners, the producers...
Vacation time is finally here and many of us are planning where they will be headed this year. If you decide to go for an adventure by car and to take your dog friend with you as well, a bit of advice might come in handy on how to provide safety for...
Of course that we won’t talk about how to teach a dog the swimming technique. We want to talk about how to teach the dog to get used to water and how to make swimming a positive experience for it. Since not every one of them trusts water and some are...
If you’re planning to bring a new addition home and it doesn’t matter whether it’s a kitten or an adult cat, it is necessary to prepare the flat for it as well. Do you know what will the animal need and what you shouldn’t forget about or how to choose...
No matter how thorough we are with the prevention, a situation might come up when a dog or a cat will get to a poisonous thing, whether it’s by our inattention or it's somebody else’s fault. That’s why it’s not off-topic to prepare yourself for the...
