By Research released today by a UK based pet food company has revealed how the UK’s dogs (and their owners) have coped during lockdown.
Dog owners have revealed how they spent lockdown with their dogs and admitted that without their pets for company, it would have been a very different experience.
In a survey conducted by UK based pet food company, Pet Munchies, 8 in 10 pet owners (or ‘pet parents’ as they prefer to be called) feel that their ‘fur-children’ have been absolutely vital for their mental wellbeing during the lockdown experience.
For dogs themselves, around 77 per cent of owners felt their dogs were very happy during the lockdown, but around 8 per cent admitted that their dogs were not their usual selves.
Most owners felt this change could be linked to the lack of freedom and routine that strict lockdown brought.
Former professional dog trainer Ryan O’Meara explained why lockdown can impact a dog’s happiness or general sense of wellbeing:
“Dogs are happiest and most content when they are in a routine. When dogs are used to days following specific patterns – wake up, breakfast, walk, kids leave to go to school, and so on, it can be something to overcome when patterns of behaviour change because it’s a shift to what they knew to be their family’s routine.”
In a bid to repay dogs for their crucial role to their happiness, half of pet parents admitted that they spent more time playing with their dogs at home during lockdown, whilst 4 in 10 took their dogs for more more walks.
Almost a third of respondents (29 per cent) decided to keep their dog’s brains stimulated by teaching their dog new skills with a third (31 per cent) declaring they’ve taught their dog one or two new tricks.
The survey even went as far as asking owners about the new skills their dogs have been taught during lockdown. The results are:
- Hide and seek: 21.58%
- Sit/stay: 15.83%
- Give paw: 13.67%
- Roll over: 12.23%
- Tidying up (putting toys away): 9.35%
- Fetch keys/TV remote: 5.04%
Now that lockdown is over and there are moves for most employees to return to the office from next month, Ryan O’Meara has one piece of advice to help dog owners help their dogs to beat post-lockdown blues:
“For dogs that have gotten used to the specific routine of having their owners around, it may be jarring for them when it suddenly and abruptly ends. Dogs love being with their family, so less time spent with their owners can make them sad. Re-establishing routine is the key component for making sure our dogs don’t suffer the post-lockdown blues.”
Photo by gotdaflow on Unsplash
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