How To Help Your Pet Get Ready For When You Go Back To Work
Speaker 1: 00:00 There was a cartoon early on in the pandemic that showed dogs, calling each other on the phone saying, how could life have gotten this good? Meanwhile, cats were calling each other and saying, how could things have become this terrible? But the joke has truth to it. With many of us working from home for the past year and a half, our pets have gotten used to having us around, but now as people begin to return to the office, those pets will have to adjust to us being away. Joining me with tips on how to ease that transition is Amanda Kowalski, director of behavior programs at the San Diego humane society. Amanda, thank you for being here. Speaker 2: 00:40 Thank you for having me. I'm very excited to be here. Speaker 1: 00:43 So to start, it's a joke that dogs want us around all the time and cats never want us around, but there's also some truth to it. Right? So tell us which types of pets dog breeds in particular have the hardest time being, Speaker 2: 00:59 You know, there really isn't any particular dog breed or cat breed, um, the prefers being alone or, um, being with a person, um, it really has to do with that, that animal's individual personality, um, just like humans, right? They have a spectrum of how involved they want to be, um, socially with other animals or with other people. And so I think it's really important that pet owners know that and really understand where their dog or their cat is on that spectrum. Right. Speaker 1: 01:31 And so what tips do you have for dog owners to prepare their pet to be alone during the day? Speaker 2: 01:38 Yeah, you know, it's going to be really important for pet parents to really kind of ease into this transition and allow their dog or their cat some time to be able to get used to this new routine. So if you know that you're going back into the office and you know, maybe it's two days a week, um, for now, right. Um, you can start practicing, um, short departures, maybe go for a walk around the block and really see how your pet is doing while you're away. Speaker 1: 02:08 Okay. So you mean go for a walk around the block by yourself? Not Speaker 2: 02:12 With her. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Go for a walk by yourself, leave your pet at home. You can even set up a zoom to record and see, um, and see what your pet is doing. Or if you have a, have a camera, you can record them that way too and see how they're doing while you're away. Um, just for a few minutes. Um, and that will give you a good idea of how your pet is going to do during this transition. Speaker 1: 02:34 There are other things people can do to set their dogs up for, for success while they're alone, like say exercise, or I know some people like to play the radio for their dogs. Speaker 2: 02:45 Those are all really great suggestions. Exercise is really great for both our dogs and our cats, uh, playing music there's music that has been, um, uh, created specifically for dogs and cats in, uh, that appear to, you know, how they sense things. That's a really great option leaving the TV on for them. Focusing on enrichment is great for both of those pets or actually any pet that you have, even if it's a small animal. Uh, so enrichment could be, uh, maybe only feeding them a portion of their food and then taking the other portion and creating like a frozen, uh, we call them, uh, pupsicles here at the behavior center and leading your pet a Popsicle when you, when you leave so that they have something a little bit longer lasting that they can, um, forage for that food. Uh, it helps stimulate their mind. So that's one way that parents can focus on providing them some other things so that they're not bored while they, while they go back to work. Speaker 1: 03:48 Uh, and I know there's even companies that make, um, treat dispensers that make dogs solve problems or work on puzzles to, to kind of keep them stimulated throughout the day. Uh, what about, um, people who are maybe sending a dog to daycare or having a dog-walker, what considerations should owners take there? Speaker 2: 04:09 Yeah, if your dog loves being around other dogs, dog daycare could be really great. Um, they offer, you know, playgroups, uh, at dog daycares and that's a great way to one, provide your dog with some social content, uh, you know, while they're transitioning into not having you around all the time. And it provides them with exercise and, uh, social stimulation with other species. So that's really awesome. And the same with even having a dog Walker come in, um, or you can have a cat sitter come in just for a little bit to check on your cat and how they're doing. And again, it provides them with some social interaction during that time. So it gives them a little bit of a break where they don't have to be alone for a full, you know, eight to 10 hours a day. Speaker 1: 04:52 Now I have a Shiba Inu, which is as close to a cat, I think, as you can have in a dog. And so she honestly didn't really care that we've been home this past year. She kind of just does her own thing. And I also learned that she sometimes doesn't get out of bed until 11:00 AM or noon. Are there things you've heard from dog owners? Who've learned funny behavior about their pets this year? Speaker 2: 05:17 Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I mean, even with my own dog who is here with me during the interview, um, you know, I started noticing some, you know, funny behavior from him. He likes to hump his toy is during the middle of the day and it's so random and it was like at clockwork. Um, and so I have heard from pet parents, some of those things, and I think that's so awesome that over the last 15 months, right pet parents, they got to find out more about their pets routine and really kind of dive into like how their pets live. Speaker 1: 05:48 All right. Well, I've been speaking with Amanda Kowalski, director of behavior programs at the San Diego humane society. And Amanda, thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much for having me.
