Most people equate the back to school blues with kids who aren’t anxious for the new school year to begin, or parents who aren’t ready for the summer to end. What about the dog? Has anybody noticed their beloved pets are acting up, and acting out, just a little right now?
A lot of you know I have a dachshund (wiener dog) named Henry. Henry is a sociable chap and still pretty active for an eight-year old. He’s used to having the family around during the summer. Now, he’s depressed. There’s no one cuddling with him while they do their summer reading, or taking him for mid-day walks. It’s suddenly pretty quiet.
Well, apparently, Henry isn’t the only pet experiencing a little letdown that his pals are gone, dog gonnit.
Pet health experts say it’s common. They recommend signing your dog up for a sport class once a week. That might be a great idea, if I didn’t have such a hard time fitting in my own sports classes.
They also recommend plenty of exercise, which means getting up 20 minutes earlier to take the dog for a long walk or a game of fetch. Fetch! That means getting up earlier! Aren’t we already doing that because the kids are back in school?
“Draw up a family schedule, so the dog gets some extra attention with training.” We are doing fine there. The dog is smothered with affection as everyone arrives home.
“Stock up on good chews.” That will keep them busy. (Think what therapy a good bag of potato chips brings on a stressful day)
And finally, the recommendation is to “purchase a brain game for your dog, where a dog has to get apart a toy to get the kibble inside.” (They should have tried that with the Rubik’s Cube. I might have actually finished one.)
The good news is pet experts say dogs will fall back into the fall routine quickly. Hopefully parents can do the same. :)
