Silver linings during a worldwide pandemic are certainly not synonymous. For those of us with pets that have found ourselves suddenly home over the last year due to the pandemic, many of our furry friends are overjoyed, thriving, and living their best lives! The world is now full of people who are often home, whether unemployed, working remotely, or just staying home as much as possible to assist with curbing Covid and/or avoid it. This forced change in behavior unexpectedly gave us the opportunity to spend more time with our pets. In turn, we’ve ended up showering our pets with extra time, love and attention that we were unavailable to provide them in our prepandemic lives. Speaking for myself, life before Covid subsisted of work, hitting the gym, and, if I had time, running home to take my dog Lucy on a walk. My time was much more limited than it is today. A year into the pandemic, my new normal is very different. These days, I walk Lucy daily. In fact, it’s become one of our main events of the day! Sometimes, I walk her twice a day just to get outside. I even switch up our routine each day to keep Lucy on her toes. She probably thinks she’s in heaven! 

As time goes on and vaccines begin helping us get back to some of the socializing we once knew, I begin to think about some of the possible changes we’ll be making. I know in the not-so-distant future, it will be back to the old grind. Personally, I wonder how my pets will react to me being out of the house once I return to the workforce. Initially, when I found myself at home for a few weeks, they seemed so happy. As those weeks turned into months and now a year, I can’t help but think what kind of an effect my sudden disappearance back into the workforce might have on them. I began researching the effects this sudden change could potentially have on my pets. The pandemic has caused so many people to feel anxious and depressed, what effect has it had on our pets? What about when I return to work? Will they be ok? I certainly don’t want my pets to become victims of separation anxiety and depression. I know quite a bit about anxiety and depression in humans, but I wasn’t as certain about the symptoms in animals. I went directly to one of my favorite sources when I’m looking for solid advice regarding my babies: ASPCA. 

SYMPTOMS OF SEPARATION ANXIETY

Anxiety causing situations in animals can be the same as those in humans. It could be a move, a death, or a sudden change in the normal routine that leaves the animal feeling uneasy. Symptoms of separation anxiety in pets, dogs specifically because my Lucy is a dog, seem to be pretty obvious actions taken by the dog that can be destructive or disruptive when left alone. They may even try to keep the guardian from leaving when they see them preparing to go. Some of the more common symptoms are: 

• Urinating and defecating

• Barking and howling

• Chewing, digging and destruction

• Escaping

• Pacing

It’s important to keep in mind that these actions are actually a response to distress. If you find your dog showing signs of distress, punishing him may actually make the problem worse as it may make him even more anxious and upset. ASPCA recommends taking action by keeping your greetings relaxed and patting your dog on the head to say goodbye when you leave. Another way they say works is, just like with us humans, work him out. The mental and physical stimulation of a good workout will surely assist in quelling anxiety related behavior problems. Finally, and I know this works for me personally, reward him when he’s good. There’s nothing like the feeling you get knowing you’ve done a great job. Even better when you’re commended for it! 

SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION

The signs of depression in my pets are so similar to what I do when I’m feeling down. Symptoms of pet depression are: 

• Loss of appetite

• Sleeping more than normal

• Avoidance and hiding

• Paw licking

• Loss of interest

It seems that taking notice of how we feel and act when we’re feeling blue can aid us in detecting depression in our furry friends. Fortunately, with a little extra TLC, your dog should get back to normal after a few days or months. Even so, just as with humans, it’s best to not attempt to diagnose your pet on your own as the issue could be medical. It’s always recommended you take your pet to the vet to have them checked out by a certified professional. 

MY PLAN OF ACTION

Ultimately, I want to make sure I am aware and caring for the needs of my pets. How can I prepare my animals so I might lessen their separation anxiety and depression when I start back to work? Today, I am taking more time away from home pet free, even if it's only for an hour. Baby steps, so my pets aren't so dependent on having me home every second of the day. As silly as it may sound, I’m certain I am just as dependent on my pets as they are me. The decisions we make for our pets will vary from family to family. The personal goal I’ve set for myself is to continue working toward finding a healthy balance that allows my furry children to continue thriving while I retrain them to be comfortable at home without me for longer periods of time. By starting now, I won’t feel guilty leaving them for longer periods of time and we’ll all be strong enough and ready for my return to the office. 

While I considered all of the information above, I felt compelled to reach out to others to get a better understanding of how they’re helping their pets readjust to yet another life shift. Our pets give us such unconditional love, how nice to return the favor to Fido. With that, I narrowed down a handful of websites that could be helpful and/or educational in detecting depression or separation anxiety in our furry friends. Post-pandemic, I look forward to my furry friends thriving and happy. I welcome any ideas and thoughts you’d like to share. I find it so helpful to bounce something off a community that is specific to the sheltered life so many of us have been living over this past year. 

As always, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, would like a sounding board or would like feedback on your blueprint, or simply have more suggestions, drop us a line or leave a comment. You are not alone. Together, we can help each other. Together, we are stronger.