In the past two years, many pooches have enjoyed the company of their humans more than normal due to public health restrictions. For dogs, quitting work and returning to a pre-pandemic social plan means they’ll be home alone for most of the day.
Some pets, especially those adopted during the pandemic, have never had a lifetime of being alone all day.
Because of this, many dogs are said to face anxiety and are now having some difficulty adjusting to this new lifestyle.
While some puppies will thrive on their own, others will find this period to be quite stressful, which leads to separation anxiety in dogs.
Pet owners report excessive barking or howling, reactivity to external noises and movements, or even destructive behavior on the part of their dogs.
While this is often a nuisance to both the owner and the neighbor, it is a sign of emotional distress for the dogs.
One common method recommended by Jacqueline Boyd, a senior lecturer in Animal Science at Nottingham Trent University is to help dogs adapt by leaving the radio or television for your dog when he’s alone, to minimize external interference.
However, it is generally accepted that dogs do not watch TV like humans do.
For them, watching TV most likely means having a good time with their owner rather than catching up on the latest drama.
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“For races and types who are stimulated by hunting objects, movement on television can arouse interest and perhaps even activity.”
She is not entirely sure what dogs perceive when they look at screens, although they do tend to react to images
She said, “Dogs don’t seem to be fully responsive to their own reflection in the mirror, which means we can’t really be sure if they recognize another dog on the screen.”
However, expert advice on turning on the television may have to do with how dogs react to noise.
Dogs have extremely sensitive hearing, which can make them excited or calming down when they hear certain noises or frequencies.
For this reason, having the radio or television switched on can give the impression of “normality” and presence in the apartment, which can have a calming effect.
The television can also be useful for training and desensitizing dogs when they hear unusual noises that could be startling, or for camouflaging and drowning out external noises that could be annoying to them.