[Liz]

I had to leave the house without Mia today. If it were a bit cooler she could have waited in the car, but with temps topping 90 degrees at 11 am, it was a wee too hot for her.

And how did she express her displeasure at being left at home for only the second time in six months? She ate her way through the bathroom garbage. Usually placing the lidded canister on top of the tank facing backward is enough of a deterrent, but not today. Today it was an invitation to feast.

She was delighted when I returned a scant 90 minutes later.

Anyone else notice any behaviour changes over the last six months?

 

[Dechi]

I’m not in your situation, but this will be a huge problem among pet owners in the months to come. Not in your case, but I’m afraid it will unfortunately lead to people giving up their pets. :-(

 

[PeggyTheParti]

Oh Mia. Not a nice thing to come home to. Gracie was the master of expressing her displeasure through the destruction of garbage. I hope there was nothing of concern in there.

I'm definitely seeing an increase in Peggy's dog and stranger reactivity, due to lack of exposure to pretty much anyone but us. She's bored, too, and guarding the house and our property is an exciting pastime.

I'm considering letting one of her playmates come over, just to hang out in the backyard, but I'm not sure how she'll handle meeting another dog on her turf. Mostly I just want the owner to come over to get her used to having guests again!

 

[For Want of Poodle]

My normally rather aloof dog is going NUTS about greeting people. I thought I had her well trained on calm greeting. Apparently that was just indifference because she was so used to being admired. We had my uncle and grandma visit and when my uncle sat on the couch, Annie slid 10 ft at full speed across the living room floor and leapt onto the couch beside him. She is actually greeting people on the dog park, its bizarre.

 

[Liz]

Oh Mia. Not a nice thing to come home to.

My reaction was mostly surprise. I can't remember when the last time she did this was - certainly long enough ago that I forgot this was even a possibility. Of course by the time you get home, there's nothing to be done about it but clean up.

I’m not in your situation, but this will be a huge problem among pet owners in the months to come. Not in your case, but I’m afraid it will unfortunately lead to people giving up their pets. :-(

Lately I've been reading the WaPo for the dog stories ... not something I thought I'd ever say, but well ... it's an election year and I certainly don't want to read about that!

 

[Liz]

Apparently that was just indifference because she was so used to being admired.

It's so hard being beautiful 🐩

 

[Dianaleez]

Normie cries when he sees another dog that he likes. Pre-COVID we stopped, butts were sniffed, and human pleasantries exchanged. (We never got confused about which was which.)

We make a point to get out of the house and leave him alone in his crate at least an hour a week and to take him somewhere public like a park at least once a week. But we do parks on weekdays and choose the little-used ones.

All our training plans were disrupted. At least we got the basics.

 

[Porkchop]

Yikes, I hope Mia is ok. Was she used to being alone before Covid-19?

There has been no change to Lacey’s routine (aside from a cancelled obedience class) since COVID-19 hit us. She has gotten the same amount of exposure to other people and dogs from walks or at parks. She might even get more exposure since more people are out walking than usual because they’re stir crazy. My boyfriend and I have continued to leave to work outside the house.

Lacey ignores some people and most dogs, besides a look of interest. And some people she makes eye contact with and starts with ear piercing barks. At least until she can inspect them up close or I continue her on our way. She sounds like a huge jerk. It embarrasses me so much when she does that. I never know who’s going to set off the eardrum destroyer.

But you know what I think in the back of my head? Hey, they might think my dog hasn’t been socialized properly because of Covid-19, like so many other dogs. It’s not because of her temperament or because we were shut away indoors during freezing December-March with little socialization at that time (except for a strange puppy kindergarten class). Yeah, it’s because of Covid-19! 😬

 

[PeggyTheParti]

My reaction was mostly surprise. I can't remember when the last time she did this was - certainly long enough ago that I forgot this was even a possibility. Of course by the time you get home, there's nothing to be done about it but clean up.

Good to know there's still a little bit of puppy in there! Maybe time to plan a fun adventure together.

 

[Liz]

Every day is an adventure, Robin, ev-er-y day. Swimming, hiking, human friends, dog friends, new stomping grounds, old stomping grounds. Variety is the spice of life ... except when snotty tissues are the spice of life.

 

[Mfmst]

Buck has gotten bossier about “his” schedule. He was always Velcro and has happily adjusted to us being here, nearly all the time. The crate has been a good reminder, that he doesn’t run the world.

 

[Austen]

We got Austen in December and had time to take him to some puppy socials and several training classes before the pandemic shut things down. My husband and I have been working remotely since March; we try to get out of the house once a day without Austen to give him practice at alone time. He's always been really alert to sounds and very interested in what humans are doing. The lack of guests at our house and increase in deliveries has lead to more reactive barking, which we're working on.

Austen has never taken to a crate so his ex-pen has been a lifesaver for times when we both have Zoom meetings or when we know he needs a nap. We don't want him to get too comfortable with both of us at home, and he loves playing with other dogs, so we started taking him to doggy daycare two half-days a week this summer. We found a doggy daycare that takes dogs under 30 pounds and he loves it so much! We're hoping daycare will help ease the transition when we go back to our offices.