When you have errands to do outdoors and have a baby to take care of, at the same time, you know that you are up for a challenge. As guilty as you are for leaving your beloved pet all alone at home, it is perhaps equally guilty indulging itself in some cute and not so cute antics.
You could be gone for a short two hour stint or perhaps a long and continuous absconding stretching up to 8 hours. It is the latter kind of absence that is worrisome. You may have put hours to well-maintain your household, and yet to your dismay you find your home ransacked by your beloved pet. And the best part of the entire drama unfolding at your home on your return is that for all your efforts to give to act sternly, scorn, scream and scold at your pet, the response that you shall get from your pet shall be a blank, humble and innocent stare straight into your eyes asking you: “What have I done?”
Dogs are social beings that are meant to live in groups. Obviously as pets in a civilized household, humans form its family pack. The home alone dog can get easily bored and lonely. Well here’s a little collection of pictures we have gathered for the curious dog owner, just so that he/she can know exactly what their pooch is up to when left by itself. This is what your pet dog could be doing for entertainment and to keep itself occupied:
1) Getting sad due to loneliness-
Always remember that your pet loves you more than you love it. You may go places for work, business and leisure, bark orders at it and train it hard to obey rules, but your pet will never say a word to you. When you leave your pet alone at home for hours, it misses you. Initially there may be those violent rounds of protests but as the gloom of loneliness becomes more apparent and evident, it surrenders and accepts your absence with a heavy heart. Loneliness in dog’s life can take a negative flavor with issues like relentless barking, howling, anxiety, defecating indoors, and chewing on things within its reach.
2) Messing up the kitchen-
The initial streak of rebellion gone, your pet realizes that it is in real bad need of something to eat. The poor chap feels hungry and begins an expedition in search of the best food in town to stuff its stomach and what better place to search for food than your kitchen? The revolution begins and your pet explores the remotest corners of the kitchen, taking down all the vegetables and fruits from the refrigerator if kept unlocked. It smells the spices, whole grains and cereals and does not like the taste. It is advisable to arrange for some chew-able items, dog biscuits etc and keep it within its reach before leaving home.
3) Revolution begins to boil-
The hunger may have been satisfied but then there is no one at home to look at it, pamper it or play with. The poor chap feels more neglected than ever and the anger erupts over your kitchen. Not even God can save your kitchen from the wrath of your darling pet. It has had enough counting days and waiting for you. Your dog trespasses into your kitchen, plunders the area and destroys every remaining remnant of human civilization. You could come back home to a stinking kitchen with all the garbage spilled and the trash can tossed away. We all know the culprit here!
4) Snoozing in your bed–
The revolutionary fire has now been doused. Your dog exhausted, petrified and disturbed by the alarming levels of pin drop silence, realizes that it has tried enough to contact you. Snuggling in your clean linen and slipping into dreamland is the next thing on the agenda. It could be your smell that attracts the dog to your bed and put him at peace. With you go and no one to fear, there is no stopping your pet now. Forget your bed. It was your bed once, but now it belongs to your baby pet now! Don’t be surprised to see holes pinned into your bed cover and the cotton ripped out of those pillows. Your dog needs some quality entertainment. Buy some good dog toys that can keep it engaged for the while that you are not at home.
5) Getting messy out of boredom–
The poor thing has got bored of sleeping. It needs fresh avenues to keep away boredom and deal with the pain of separating from you. Separation anxiety cannot be categorized as disobedient behavior; it is a disorder that requires to be addressed. For a pet, its owner cannot be substituted in any which way, still you can always ask a neighbor or relative to drop by in your absence to oversee and give company to the pet. Or the pet dog could be left for said period at a day-care dog facility/kennel/your friend’s place. Another alternative is to keep a few fav toys of your dog at various locations known to it so as to partially keep it busy.
The next time when you go away from your pet for a long time, remember the grand reception you received on your return the last time and promise not to take your baby dog pet for granted, unless you want a second home coming reception that may well be even more hospitable and memorable!