While most owners do leave their pooches in the kitchen, dining room, or living room when they’re out, if you’ll be heading out for work soon and leaving your dog alone, consider which rooms they feel most comfortable in. Alternatively, you could allow them to roam the house freely like 26% of our respondents, but keep valuables out of sight.
How To Make Your Home Pooch Perfect When At Work
62.1% of dog owners said it took them between one to six months to train their pups, with the average dog becoming fully house trained by eight months old. Yet for some dogs, this training goes out the window once their owners have left them on their own.
We decided to uncover the biggest misbehaviours of dogs, the rooms they feel the most comfortable being left alone in, and top tips for all owners returning to work, whose dogs suffer from separation anxiety.
Digging and begging are the biggest misbehaviours
The most common misbehaviours in pooches are digging and begging, followed by excessive barking, destructive chewing, and chasing. Dogs at the age of one are most likely to misbehave, probably due to their excess energy.
The most common damage dogs have done in the home are digging up flowers or grass in the garden, followed by chewing clothing or shoes, and weeing or pooing on home furnishings, resulting in them being stained.
Most common damage to the home:
Chewing clothing or shoes
Dogs aged between four to six were most likely to cause damage and destruction, and 16.2% of our respondents said they caught their dog doing something they shouldn’t every single day.
62% of dog owners said their dogs had caused damage to their home at some point, with the average cost of fixing it totalling £165.47 each year. That would mean if a dog were to live to the age of 12, they could cause approximately £1,985.64 worth of damage over their entire lifetime!
Most common misbehaviours:
Digging and begging
Most common damage to the home:
Weeing or pooing on home furnishings
With many dogs causing quite the mess, it makes sense that you’d have this covered in your insurance, yet 53% of our respondents said they hadn’t informed their home or contents insurance provider that they have a dog.
Digging and begging are the biggest misbehaviours
The most common misbehaviours in pooches are digging and begging, followed by excessive barking, destructive chewing, and chasing. Dogs at the age of one are most likely to misbehave, probably due to their excess energy.
The most common damage dogs have done in the home are digging up flowers or grass in the garden, followed by chewing clothing or shoes, and weeing or pooing on home furnishings, resulting in them being stained.
Dogs aged between four to six were most likely to cause damage and destruction, and 16.2% of our respondents said they caught their dog doing something they shouldn’t every single day.
62% of dog owners said their dogs had caused damage to their home at some point, with the average cost of fixing it totalling £165.47 each year. That would mean if a dog were to live to the age of 12, they could cause approximately £1,985.64 worth of damage over their entire lifetime!
With many dogs causing quite the mess, it makes sense that you’d have this covered in your insurance, yet 53% of our respondents said they hadn’t informed their home or contents insurance provider that they have a dog.
Dogs feel the most comfortable in the kitchen/dining room
We ran a heart rate experiment to see where dogs felt the most comfortable in their home when left alone based on the increase in BPM for their combined average resting heart rate of 68.2 BPM. Heart rates were lowest in the kitchen/dining room (71.2 BPM), followed by the living room (71.8 BPM). In contrast, dogs were the most distressed when left in the bedroom or porch.
Simply hover over the heart rates to see which room in the home they correspond to - the higher the heart rate, the more anxious the dog is.
71.2
bpm
Most Comfortable
Kitchen/dining room
71.8
bpm
Most Comfortable
Living Room
100.4
bpm
Least Comfortable
Bedroom
99.8
bpm
Least Comfortable
Porch
36.2% will keep their dog home alone once they go back to work
18.4%
Of our respondents said they were worried about leaving their dog at home on their own, for fear of what they’ll come back to.
3.5 Days
With lockdown ending imminently, the average owner is expected to spend 3.5 days out of the house for work, for approximately 5.7 hours each day.
Most people are organising company for their dog, with 27% dropping their pooch off in doggy day care, 25.2% organising a sitter to come over, and 24.8% arranging a dog walker to take them out for a walk during the day.
£2,464.80
The extra care is expected to cost owners an average of £2,464.80 over the year.
3.1 Days
For dog owners that have arranged doggy day care or a sitter, their dogs will typically have company for 3.1 days a week.
36.2%
36.2% of owners are keeping their dog at home on their own.
Top Tips To Effectively Manage Separation Anxiety
19.8% of dog owners said their dog barked or howled when they were left alone, and 13.5% said their pups got upset and started crying. Dogs aged three to five were found to be the most likely to react negatively to their owners leaving.
For dogs who've had their owners around them daily for a whole year, it's sadly natural for them to feel lonely as you leave them to go to work. Here Dr. Heather Venkat reveals her top tips on helping keep your pooch as calm and happy as possible during the transition process.
Give them an interactive treat -dispensing toy when you leave the home
Separation anxiety usually occurs when owners haven’t trained their dog to be comfortable on their own. Giving them an interactive toy will help to keep them occupied, so they’re not worried about when their owner will return home or have time to start causing destruction.
Don’t make a fuss when you leave or arrive
If your dog gets really excited when you return home, it can make their separation anxiety worse. Try to reduce their feelings of overexcitement by not making a fuss when you leave or come back home. If you find this isn’t having a positive effect on your pooch, you may want to consider putting them in doggy day care when you’re at work.
Try natural supplements
There are many natural chews and supplements out there that can help your dog to feel calmer and reduce their feelings of anxiety. Look for supplements that include ingredients such as lemon balm, chamomile, and valerian root.
Speak to the vet
If none of these methods are working, then it’s time to take your dog to the vet – especially if they become extremely destructive, or are putting themselves at risk e.g., by escaping their crate or yard continuously. If you’re worried they might harm themselves due to being destructive, then you might want to consider pet insurance for peace of mind should an issue arise.
Ensuring your pooch is happy and healthy is no doubt one of the most important things to you, so make sure you follow our tips on how to reduce their feelings of anxiety and put them in the room they feel the most relaxed in, to help with this.
And if you still don’t believe us, just take a look at this behind-the-scenes footage, to see exactly why you shouldn’t keep your prized pooch in a room that’s full of valuable items!
Sneak peak of our most mischievous pups
Methodology
We polled 1,000 UK pet owners in March 2021 to determine their plans for their dog once they return to work, as well as the common misbehaviours and damaged caused to homes by their dog.
Our heart rate experiment was undertaken in February 2021 with five different dog breeds. Each dog was placed in each room of the home for 30 minutes, each time, over two weeks, and the increase in their BPM from their resting heart rate was measured throughout using Petpace: Smart Dog Collars.
Brought to you by the home insurance experts at comparethemarket.com