People deal with heightened stress when they face significant disruptions to their status quo.
The loss of a job, a relocation, a new baby, or a death in the family can lead to a great deal of stress. Now, they may not express their discontent quite the same way we do, but disruptions to routine can be just as hard on your dogs as they are on you. When things are a little different around the house, you can help your pet adjust with these tips for helping your dog with big life changes.
Anxiety Wraps
Everyone can benefit from a good hug, including your dog. With an anxiety wrap, an article of canine apparel similar to a vest, your dog can carry that hug around all day, which reduces stress levels. Anxiety wraps find their most common uses as “storm vests” for dogs who are overwhelmed by thunderstorms, but if your dog is showing signs of stress due to a new baby in the household or construction projects around the house, an anxiety wrap could prove beneficial.
Dog Anxiety WrapBarkPost
Exercise
Dogs, like humans, benefit immensely from exercise when coping with stress. If your dog seems upset by changes around the house or the loss of a fellow pet and “pack member,” ample exercise and play can alleviate much of their stress. However, a life change that affects your dog may affect you as well, which means that you may not necessarily have the time to devote to the exercise your dog needs more than ever.
Doggy Daycare
If you’re moving or have just moved into a new residence, all the packing and unpacking can be challenging for your dog—not to mention your need to clear pets out of the house while real estate agents show the property. Enrolling your dog in doggy daycare can help them deal with a relocation’s clutter and confusion by giving them positive interactions with other dogs as well as constructive learning time and exercise.
When extenuating circumstances like a relocation, new job hours, or perhaps a new baby mean you simply don’t have the opportunity to give your dog some much-needed attention, doggy daycare can be a temporary stand-in for the engagement and stimulation they cannot get at home. This makes a doggy daycare one of the most reliable ways to help your dog with big life changes.
