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Back to School Stress by Dick Rogen, DVM Horizon Pet Care, 1224 E. Holly Blvd., Brandon, SD (605) 582.8445
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t’s that time of year again, the kids are back in school. While this may be a relief for parents, but it can be stressful for the pets. Dogs and cats love schedules, but they also love attention and activity. Any sudden change in schedules can play some serious mind games with our pets. They are used to having stimulation, freedom and treats. Piper has had her way all summer and suddenly its 8 hours of alone time and then at night we are running to school activities. She has all of that energy and nowhere to blow it off. Dogs will exhibit anxiety and personality changes when life changes occur. The more subtle changes may be panting, pacing or anxiety when you are home. They may have all of this excitement that the family is finally home, but now they’re tired and no one wants to play for 2 hours. Piper decides she should grab shoes, towels and anything else to irritate me just to get attention during these times. We also can see some self destructive behavior during these times. Chewing up the couch, dining room chairs or your favorite shoes can occur. They are anxious and have too much time on their paws, so they look for ways to alleviate the stress. We also see Acral Lick Granulomas ( “Lick Sores”) on the legs. Some of us chew our fingernails when we are nervous and dogs will lick flat sores on their legs during these stressful times. Cats are less subtle when they are unhappy about life and
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its changes. You will often see them waking you up at night, vocalizing at you when you return home or worse. Often urinating or defacating out of the box is a sign of an unhappy cat. Now a nice note on the refrigerator would be less offensive, they still use this flag to tell us life is not good. To counteract these problems, we need to put out some effort. It is important that we put some time aside to walk or play with our pets during a stressful period. Physical activity and “wearing them out” is often the only medicine needed to make things better. Make sure they have time to eat and interact before you go to work. It does not require a 5 mile power walk, but enough time to get their business done and eat. I also do not make a big deal out of leaving. Too much excitement prior to leaving can make the isolation worse. Leave on a radio or TV while you’re gone and provide a new toy to play with. When you do get home, exercise or play with them at least 30 minutes prior to bedtime. If possible take them with you to the ballgames or evening activities. Momo the housecat is a different story. He needs quiet oneon-one petting and grooming. Royalty has its benefits and he just wants a few quiet moments alone with his human servants. A new toy, some catnip and a snack before bedtime also calms the wild inner beast in Momo. Back to school and schedules can be a relief for us and our pets, but keep a close eye on them for behavior changes. Lace up your shoes and get those pets some exercise.