Sometimes our furry friends have difficulty staying home alone. Whether they’re anxious to be without their pet parents, or just too energetic to be trusted not to eat the garbage, leaving your pet at home alone can pose some challenges. Alas, it’s very important we don’t ever leave our dogs in the car while we shop
Dangers of leaving your dog in a car:
Did you know that even vehicles with the windows down act as SUPER-MEGA-CONDUCTOR-OVENS and get VERY hot inside super quickly? In as little as 5 minutes, your furry friends inside could be in a heap of trouble!
- Car interiors can go from 70° to 90° in less than 10 minutes
- Vehicles absorb heat & quickly become MUCH hotter than the outside temperature
- Rolling the windows down, car color & breed of dog DON’T cool the car down enough to help your furry-pal
- In many places, it’s illegal to leave your pet in the car unattended and could leave you in major hot-water
Check out nohotdogs.com to learn more information about why we should never leave our pets in the car alone.
Dealing with common problems faced when leaving your dog at home alone:
It’s pretty clear that we don’t want to leave our pets in the car for the reasons stated above, but what if it’s really challenging to leave our pet at home?
- They destroy the house
- They have separation anxiety
- They bark a lot
As frustrating and hard as this is to deal with, I’m sure you agree that the risks are simply too large when bringing your pet in the car. Here are some helpful solutions that will keep our furry friends safe and sound.
Alternatives to leaving your dog in the car:
Storytime: My beloved mini-Aussie has separation anxiety and is fearful of people. He also has a bite history, so I have personally had to work really hard to train him and experiment with combinations of the below solutions. I’ve been through multiple trainers and dozens of YouTube videos. I eventually just did my own dog-training courses online. Once I knew where to look, the training actually went very quickly and easily! I have compiled these ideas below which I hope save you some time and headache:
Solution #1: Ask a neighbor, friend or family member if they can pop over to let your pup out for a potty break or puppy sit for a while at your house or theirs!
Solution #2: Take your dog to a daycare service such as Dogtopia where they can play with other pups for a while and be under supervision from qualified trainers!
*Solution #3*: Set up a pet camera so you can check in on your furry friend throughout the day. You can even get cameras that dispense treats and use them to train your pet to be more secure staying home alone. Here is a video from world-class trainer Sophia Yin teaching the “Treat & Train Method”. This is personally my favorite method of getting dogs comfortable home alone and worked well for me.
Wopet Pet Cam (The one I have had for over 2 years)
Solution #4: Get a dog walker or dog sitter to come over, or find someone who is within a convenient location and is willing to dog sit at their home. You can use apps like Rover to hire inexpensive dog care services on short notice.
Solution #5: Block off portions of your house using baby gates or by closing doors. For a long time, we dedicated a single room in our house to be a “puppy room” and would let our dog stay in there when we were out. We also put the puppy cam in this room. We eventually opened up the rest of the house to him and now he does great!
Solution #5: If your dog is barking a ton, they may be overstimulated by the people walking by the window. Try getting some temporary frosted glass window film and covering windows the dog can see out of and is likely to use to guard the house.
Soluton #6: If your dog is tearing up the house, there are a few possible solutons.
-For one, the dog may just need more exercise than they are currently getting. We play a game called Canada-Mexico with our dog where we throw a treat to the bottom of the stairs and yell “Mexico” and then have them run back up and yell “Canada” while giving them another treat. The best part is it drains their energy and you can do it inside while sitting on your rump.
-If your exercising your dog, you’ve trained them and tried everything but they’re still super anxious, your dog may benefit from an anxiety medication to help calm them down. Talk to your local vet to see if this is a good option for you.
-Clean up the area and close off certain areas of the house to the dog using baby gates or doors. Limiting what your dog has access to when you’re out can be a great way to
Solution #7: Crate Training
I don’t personally love this option because I wouldn’t like being stuck in a cramped box, but if properly trained dogs can grow to feel safe and comfortable in their crates. Check out this video by Zak George on how to properly crate train your little cutie-pie!
In conclusion, we know how challenging it can be to deal with an unruly paw-pal, but we promise it will be totally worth it to choose one of our awesome paw-ternatives to leaving your pup in the car! Your cool-dog will really thank you for taking the time to love and care for them enough to keep them safe when you get home.
If you liked this, check out some of our suggested cruelty-free dog trainers with tons of great FREE online content:
Sophia Yin – A true pioneer in the field of positive reinforcement training
BrightDog Academy Training – Great videos that explain common dog training issues step-by-step in an analytical fashion
Zak George – Friendly and upbeat training that will make your heart smile!