September is here and it brings the return of routine to many households. School, sports, and activities mean people are about to get much busier. The sudden switch for our pets from long days playing with their people to living in an empty home can be a tough adjustment.

Lisa Kedian, Communications Coordinator for the Cochrane Humane Society explains how this can be a hard adjustment period for our pets. “This can actually cause signs of what we call separation anxiety, and they can start having distressful behaviors that can include things like chewing on your furniture, your walls, they're urinating, or going to the bathroom on the floor in the house. They're barking incessantly. They're drooling. They're very restless or panting.”

“It is very important that if you do see your dog with any of these signs that you go see your vet.”

This is also not your typical return to school time, as many pets have gotten used to people being home with online schooling and working from home over the past two years.

She says there are strategies to help your pets get used to this new routine. 

“Helping our furry friends out is actually a lot easier than you think it is just, it's just a matter of getting them used to the idea that they will be home alone, giving them lots of treats, keeping them busy while you're away.”

“Before you all start heading back into the routine of things just start sort of leaving the house, giving them maybe a Kong or a treat, filled with their favorite food that they can munch on while you're gone, keep them busy. Take them for a nice long walk so that they're relaxed before you head out”

She says the most important thing is to keep your emotions in check if your dog is suffering. 

“We always advocate for positive reinforcement. If you come home and your dog has been suffering from any kind of separation anxiety or has shown some distressful behaviors punishing them is not the answer, that actually can make matters worse.

“It's a very serious thing and it can affect the dog but then it's also affecting the family because if they're not aware of what they're dealing with and their families just thinking your dogs being bad or your dog's mad at you. We just want to make sure everybody's aware that if they do get to that point then they need a little bit of help from us to sort of putting them in a much happier relaxed place, and sometimes people need help with that so reach out, get some help, and then everybody's happy.”