Dogs do not like to be left alone. Nevertheless, this cannot be avoided in everyday life. For this reason it is important that you gradually accustom your four-legged friend to being alone.
In the following we will explain how you can best do this and when you can leave your dog alone.
It is quite normal that a dog does not want to stay alone. Even if the living conditions of domestic dogs cannot be compared with those of their wild conspecifics, they are still pack animals.
Since most of the dogs living in Germany are kept alone, their owners are the substitute for the pack. If you leave your dog alone, this will therefore arouse deep-rooted fears in him and he fears that he will be left behind by his pack.
This does not mean that you have to take your four-legged friend with you everywhere you go. However, it is important to understand why your dog finds it difficult to be alone.
It is impossible to say in general how long you can leave a dog alone. Because just like us, our four-legged friends are quite different.
Some dogs can be left alone for several hours without any problems after a little training, while others can hardly survive for more than a few minutes without their master or mistress.
Some dogs howl and bark when they are alone. Some dogs even chew on furniture, tear up cushions or mark the living quarters with the excrements of the four-legged friend.
Particularly sensitive animals can even become depressed if they have to stay alone too long. Since you know your dog best, it is therefore your responsibility to estimate the acceptable duration for your four-legged friend.
Regardless of this, you should be aware that you cannot leave a dog alone for more than four or five hours. After all, even the most relaxed four-legged friend has to relieve himself at some point.
Interestingly, not all dogs suffer from separation anxiety when left alone. For some four-legged friends, a feeling of loss of control prevails instead.
When left alone, they are angry that they are not allowed to accompany their owner or cannot fulfil their role as protectors.
While for dogs with separation anxiety it is important to train them to get used to being alone, for these dogs it is especially important to make the hierarchy in the pack clear to them.
The earlier your dog learns to be alone, the easier it will be for you to leave him alone later. It is therefore best to start training at puppy age.
Of course you cannot leave a puppy alone for several hours. But by starting training early, you'll save yourself and your dog a lot of stress in the future when being left alone becomes inevitable.
Early training is important. But that doesn't mean you should leave your puppy alone from day one. After all, the little four-legged friend just had to cope with the separation from his mother and siblings.
We therefore recommend that, if possible, you don't leave your dog alone for the first five or six weeks. In this way you will avoid uncertainty and help your new family member to get used to his new home.
Of course not every dog moves in with its owner when it is still a puppy. Maybe you have taken in a four-legged friend from the shelter, with whom you now have to practice being alone.
Maybe something has changed in your everyday life, so that you will have to leave your dog alone more often in the future.
Regardless of the exact reasons, in this case there is no getting around practising with your dog and getting him used to being alone through training.
As long as you take your dog's needs into account and take his separation anxiety seriously, it is usually possible to introduce your dog to the new situation and leave him alone after a while without any major drama.
If you want to leave your dog alone in the future without any problems, you will have to get him used to it slowly through proper training. Start by leaving your four-legged friend alone in the room.
To do this, it is best to wait until your dog is resting or busy with his favourite toy. Leave the room and lean against the door. If your four-legged friend follows you, ignore him. If he turns away from you, start the next attempt.
Once your dog has got used to being alone in a room after a while, the next step is to practice leaving him alone in the apartment. Just as with the first exercise, it makes sense to wait until your dog is otherwise occupied.
Close the door and wait a little in front of the apartment. It may well be that your dog barks as soon as he is alone. But maybe you are lucky and your four-legged friend will take your absence with composure.
Regardless of your dog's reaction, you should always leave him alone for a few minutes. Otherwise he will learn that a little barking and whining is enough to get his way.
After your dog has overcome the first challenges of his training, you can leave him alone a few minutes longer each day. Extend your absence by 10 or 15 minutes each day to gradually accustom your dog to being alone.
With a little patience and empathy, it shouldn't be too long before you can leave your dog alone for the first time long enough to do some shopping or the like.
Some dogs find it particularly difficult to be alone and suffer considerably from being separated from their owner.
If this applies to your four-legged friend, it can be useful to help him relax a little.
This does not mean, of course, that you should sedate your dog with medication. However, a natural food supplement such as Shiimun Calm can certainly make it easier for your dog to be alone.
Shiimun Calm is an easily digestible food supplement for dogs. It contains carefully selected ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms and green tea.
Thanks to its special composition, Shiimun Calm can support training and help your dog to be more relaxed when you leave him alone.
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