Tips To Prepare Your Dog For Back To School

Can you believe that it is already August and we are coming into the last few weeks of summer? And of course this means that the kids will be going back to school soon and our dogs will be losing their best friends and companions from the past couple of months.

Just as dogs experience separation anxiety when their owners leave the house, they can also experience anxiety when their little humans return to the classroom! Particularly this year as many of our children were at home due to the pandemic for many months of the year.

But there are steps that you can take to prepare your dog for that inevitable time when the kids grab their backpacks and head back out the door.

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Start Early

My dogs are relatively used to their little human coming and going due to a joint custody arrangement, but that doesn’t stop them from being a bit depressed the first day after she leaves. Much like other separation anxiety issues, it is a good idea to start easing them into getting used to their kids being gone during the day. You can read more on separation anxiety HERE.

And don’t do it all at once as this can lead to a variety of unwanted behaviors. Start slow, perhaps a trip to the grocery store, and work up to longer periods of time. Eventually work up to what a full day without the kids around would be like. And by doing it well before school starts they will already be used to the new routine when the time comes.

Enough Exercise

We all know the saying a tired dog is a happy dog! During the summer the regular routine of the school year may have gotten thrown out the window and dogs are getting walked and played with all hours of the day!

So start getting back to the same routine that you would be using when the kids are in school over the next few weeks. Get up when you normally would and walk the dog early. Also give them a good amount of exercise when you get home for the evening. My dogs will sleep for HOURS after a good walk!

Daytime Exercise

For more exercise consider hiring a dog walker to come in and break up the day a bit. It can take a bit of due diligence and research to find a walker that is a good fit for your dog so start your search well ahead of time.

And even take a look at perhaps a doggy daycare a couple days a week! Many daycares will pick up your pup at your house and drop them off again after either a half or full day.

I know that since I have been at home with the dogs this fall could be a double whammy for them if I return to the office and my daughter returns to school. I have already engaged with a dog walker at the park that we know well and my dogs play well and get along with her other dogs. If it isn’t enough I am definitely going to look into a doggy daycare for a couple days and see how they do in that environment.

Daytime Distractions

There are a few things that you can do for your dog during to stimulate them during the day!

Prepare some frozen Kong toys for them to distract them during the morning hours. Check out some frozen Kong toy recipes on their website HERE! You can also leave out some puzzle toys for them that take some time to solve to keep them mentally stimulated during the day.

Background noise can also be a good distraction for your pups. I used to leave the radio on during the day for my dogs when I left, but my receiver has since gone on strike…I will leave the TV on low volume for the day for them if I am leaving the house for any period of time. At least until I get around to getting a new stereo…

An interactive camera is also a great way to check in on your pups during the day! A Furbo is a great way to see what your dog gets up to and also interact with them by letting them hear your voice and tossing a treat or two for them!

Doggy Door

One thing that you can consider for your dogs is getting them a dog door for use during the day! You will need to make sure that you have a secure backyard where they won’t escape though…I put in a dog door several months ago and this allows your pup to go to the bathroom and hang out in the yard whenever they want!

However, there were a few times I found them escaping and running all up and down the block! My gate was getting open somehow…I couldn’t figure it out! And then one day I discovered one day that my cat, Bubbles, would scale the gate to get into the backyard and pull the string opening the latch! I’ve since put a lock on that gate when I’m not using it…

Training your dog to use a dog door can take some time as well as I discovered! To make sure they are ready to use it when the time comes read the full post on it for tips and tricks HERE!

With a little preparation your dogs will be ready for when their favorite little people return to the classroom! Do you have any other tips for preparing your dogs for back to school? Let us know in the comments below!