Looking after your dog’s mental health - managing anxiety and stress when you go away

Posted on 18 January, 2022

Photo by 2Photo Pots on Unsplash

It’s been estimated that almost a million British dogs are suffering from mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety – that’s approximately one in ten pooches[i].

The Covid-19 pandemic is likely to have exacerbated this. There has been a significant rise in dog ownership as more people worked at home during lockdown and have continued to do so in some capacity since lockdown restrictions eased.

According to Pets4Homes by May 2020 there were more than 400 buyers for every pet advertised in the UK. Pet insurance policies increased by 59% according to data from LV and Google searches for “buy a puppy” increased by 115%, with prices for some of the most sought-after breeds reaching record levels[ii].

Last year, the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association (PFMA)[iii] also reported that 3.2 million households in the UK have acquired a pet since the start of the pandemic and there are now 34 million pets in the UK including 12 million dogs.

Although some people are still working from home, there will come a time when most will go back to the office at least for a few days a week. This could be storing up trouble for many canine companions that haven’t enjoyed the usual amount of socialisation in their early months as everyone was locked down.

Puppy classes moved online which meant dogs didn’t get the chance to meet other puppies and owners, plus they just didn’t get to meet as many people. Dogs were also rarely left alone and now expect their owners to be there 24/7. It’s been reported that many dogs are now suffering separation anxiety, especially since their owners started going back to the office[iv].

Another issue for dog owners is what happens when they go on holiday? Foreign travel has been off the agenda for most for the past two year but is starting to pick up again. Since testing rules for international travel were relaxed holiday in the first week of January demand has surged[v], with EasyJet reporting bookings rose almost 200% compared to the week before.

In November 2021, insurance company AllClear[vi] also found that more than half (57%) of UK adults plans an overseas holiday in the next 12 months – a 46% rise on the same time last year.

In all the excitement of getting a puppy many people may not have even considered what they will do with their dog when they go on holiday. Although some may be able to turn to family and friends, other options such as kennels are unlikely to be suitable for dogs that are overly sensitive, suffer anxiety or have just never experienced a kennel.

Another solution those new to dog ownership may not have thought about is to use a home and pet sitter who will come and stay in your home and take care of your dog. The benefits are that your dog doesn’t need to leave its familiar home environment.

Dogs are creatures of habit and having someone look after them in their own home, sticking to their usual routine and taking them on familiar walks goes a long way to reducing the stress on an already anxious dog. This can make leaving them easier, reducing the mental stress for both owner and dog.

Homesitters are highly experienced looking after all sorts of dogs with all kinds of temperaments. Many end up looking after the same dogs time and time again so it’s often like a friend coming to stay. Even on the first assignment the homesitter will have been on a pre-assignment visit to meet the dog (s) so won’t be a stranger.

Also, homesitters will be around for most of the time. They are contracted to only leave the house for three hours during daylight hours, at any one time, and one hour after dark. If a dog is particularly anxious then it’s possible to ask the homesitter to not leave the dog alone at all and we have couples that homesit together which can make this easier.

So if you have an anxious pooch but are desperate to get away this year, a homesitter could be the ideal solution. Using a homesitter not only ensures the happiness of your dog, it can also simplify your pre-holiday workload considerably by not having to transport your dog anywhere and just leaving them in the safe hands of a person you can trust!


[i] https://metro.co.uk/2019/09/24/nearly-1000000-dogs...

[ii] https://www.forbes.com/uk/advisor/pet-insurance/pa...

[iii] https://www.pfma.org.uk/news/pfma-releases-latest-...

[iv] https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jul/...

[v] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59905680

[vi] https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/air/foreign-travel-confidence-returning-for-2022-new-data-reveals

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