There is nothing dogs with separation anxiety hate more than when their humans go to work. Left alone at home, they can cry, run around and even destroy furniture.
In July 2022, Debbie Morley’s neighbor informed her that her dog was howling constantly while she was away. Not only does Morley feel guilty about the noise, but it’s also heartbreaking to learn her poor dog Shannow spent the day looking after her.
How to leave the house without actually leaving
After learning about Shannow’s separation anxiety, Morley bought a camera for his living room. In a post on Facebookshe writes:
“Yesterday Shannow howled for 8 hours and two other dogs were joining in the singing on and off. The dog (Shannow) is worried about not sleeping all day”.
Apparently, Morley couldn’t stay home from work just for Shannow’s sake. But in a way, she found out, she really maybe.
“So I made a dummy of me from old clothes last night as a friend when I was out,” the post continued. “This morning, after walking the dog, I rubbed my sweaty hoody over it, sprayed it with a drop of my usual perfume, laid it on the sofa in a lazy pose watching TV & snoozing. and then leave.”
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Here’s a picture of that dummy, the painted face and all (the Daryl Dixon cutout isn’t part of it, by the way. That also intrigued me):
Turns out it works!
This time when Morley reviewed the security camera footage, she breathed a sigh of relief. The fake version of herself actually calmed the dogs in her absence.
“They howled for less than five minutes, went to bed with dummies, woke up when the neighborhood kids went to school an hour later and gave another low hum. After that Shannow snuggled up to me all day and slept most of the time, showing no signs of worry and everyone else did! “
Morley’s post about her solution to double body has had thousands of likes and shares, and commenters have been impressed with this elegantly simple solution to Shannow’s howl.
“That’s great it works great. I have used heart rate stuffed animals for puppies and kittens with separation anxiety but never thought something like this would work with adult dogs.” – Nicole Ochacki via Facebook
“Great idea, I love it, and would definitely recommend anyone to try it if their dog also suffers from separation anxiety. “- Vivien Eales via Facebook
So, for parents of dogs with separation anxiety, why not try making a dummy? And if that doesn’t work, learn more about how to help with your dog’s separation anxiety here.
Featured pictures: Facebook
Post Woman makes ‘double body’ for her heart-diseased dog appeared first on iHeartDogs.com.
