Your Dog and Separation Anxiety: Tips from Petcurean's Health and Nutrition Specialist

This post is sponsored and written by me on behalf of Petcurean through a campaign managed by their PR. All opinions are my own.

The kids are back in school, the lazy days of summer are behind us and those busy schedules that we keep during the school year is in full swing. We find that we are not home as much as we were when the kids were home for the summer, and that even on the weekends we are on a go go go type schedule when it comes to after school activities, practices and games. With that, I have found that our dog Chloe tends to get a lot of anxiety when the new school year begins. So when I seek out ways to help her with coping and being okay without everyone home with her all day, I turn to the experts like the Health and Nutrition Specialist from Petcurean.

See, with Chloe, she loves her kids. I say “her” kids because she has been there for them since they were born. She is our eldest baby, and even in her old age in dog years, she looks forward to the time she gets to spend with the kids and the entire family. And during the school year when the kids are at school, at their after school activities and at their games on the weekends, she gets lonely and anxious. The loud noises from traffic, the doorbell ringing, and other noises tend to cause that anxiety to get worse, especially when she does not have the kids at home to keep her mind off of the other things.

I have found that over the years, we have learned some great tips and tricks that our vet has given us when it comes to managing not only Chloe’s anxiety when we leave, but also our other fur babies anxieties as well. They are tips that we follow and share with other pet parents, and with the tips that I learned about from the people at Petcurean, I can not only utilize tips we have used in the past but include these tips as well. You can get the great tips from the experts at Petcurean by checking out the ones that were shared with me below!

Petcurean’s health and nutrition  specialist, Michele Dixon, has a few tips to help Fido and Fluffy adjust:

·         Keep calm: The biggest thing you can do for your pet is have a calm exit from the home. The frenetic energy of a family rushing out the door can often cause undue stress. Say goodbye well before walking out, and change up triggers – like putting up shoes and picking up keys – well before departing

·         Make change gradual: Prior to the start of school, get your pets adjusted to alone time with increasing intervals of time without the family

·         Give them a safe place: For dogs who have been crate trained, giving them access to their crate gives them a place of comfort to retreat to

·         Burn energy in the AM: If you exercise your pets in the morning, they will have less energy to focus on their anxiety. Some morning play time can help quell fears as well

·         Keep them occupied: Leave on the TV or radio if they are used to the background noise, fill at toy with peanut butter to give them a challenge, or leave interactive toys for them to engage with

·         Keep your return calm too: When you return home, wait until your pet calms down to greet them. Go about your business until they are calm, then give them some love

Which in all, has made the choice that we made last year when we changed up Chloe’s food with Petcurean one that has not only shown us a noticeable difference in her health, but also a great choice to go with when it comes to getting the tips we seek out from the experts for her overall well being! You can find tips like the ones above and so much more when you head to the Petcurean site today!