Socialization In Pets: A Tool To Empower Life In A Vibrant Social World For Pets In The Post-Pandemic Era
Many of the challenging, active, and stimulated social lives that dogs and cats experience have to look forward to a reopening of society. For most, the COVID-19 lockdown promised extended periods of time to isolate and spend bonding time at home with their humans. That increased companionship has bonded and strengthened many animals with their humans, but to some pets, they simply lack social skills with other animals and people.
When we step into our social life by inviting friends, planning a trip, or going off to work, pets have to get accustomed to all of this once again. Here's how they may recapture the busier social life and rediscover their confidence about venturing out.
- Understanding post-pandemic pet behavior
PETS, like humans, become accustomed to the surroundings. All pets were habituated to quiet, low-profile households where the family members are only present at home and they have been quiet since the pandemic. As life begins to gear back up, some pets may become overstimulated or stress from the advancements in stimuli.
Signs of Stress in Pets Post Pandemic
• Stress or Anxiety: Their pacing, whining, hiding and quivering may indicate that your pet is stressed.
• Aggression: The pet might attack new people or animals, as the tolerance level would have assumed to reduce as this has been a relatively period of less socialization.
• Separation Anxiety: Most of the pets, like dogs, would create separation anxiety in the early stages as they were not accustomed to the notion that their owner was leaving for some duration.
• Hyperactivity: The pet turns out hyper due to the excitement and barks and jumps much more than he was earlier used to when people visited his place or when he was going out for a journey.
That knowledge at the right time will have your pet acquaint with an even more social world.
- Gradual Re-Integration into Social Environments
Let them get accustomed to a busier social life by giving them the right amount of time and gradual exposure to new surrounding people, animals, and environment. Sometimes jumping into very crowded situations is too much to handle, and so you do that in small, manageable steps.
How to Gradually Return To Socialization?
• Gradual Exposure: Start with moving your pet from a quiet, not so populated environment to a crowded area. You could start walking your dog early in the morning or evening when the roads are less crowded before taking him to busy parks.
• Reward Behavior: Reward your pet with treats, praise, or playtime whenever they behave better at socialization. Rewarding behavior makes your pet associate the experience with something good, and thus they become familiar over time.
• Meetings: If your pet is anxious of other pets, you should initiate single meetings with calm behaving pets before exposing them to groups.
• Gradual Visitors: If your pet has had hardly any visitors after months in isolation, you introduce one or two trustworthy people who come to your home. Gradually increase the number of visitors over time by your pet's comfort level.
- Separation Anxiety
It is a very common issue during the pandemic with pets, especially dogs since they have the owner present with them 24/7. Therefore, they might be suffering if it reaches the time the human needs to go back to work or spend a longer period away from home. Cats are much more aloof compared to dogs but can still suffer with the loss if the routine is disrupted unexpectedly.
Some Helpful Tips Against Separation Anxiety:
• Safe Place: This room in your home is the one where your pet will find safety and comfort. Fill this space with his favorite toys, a comfortable bed, and soothing smells.
• Short Absence: Leave your place for an hour or two and gradually increase the period so your pet gets accustomed to your leaving without panicking.
• Keep Your Pet Amused: Keep your pet engrossed while you are away. Keep interactive toys, puzzle feeders, or let the TV play in the house. Boredom will increase it so keep them busy with something to ease some of the stress.
• Desensitization Training: Never make a big fuss over when you leave and when you return home. Never play the act of something critical when you are leaving or coming back home. If done in a routine way, your pet doesn't really bother much when you leave the house.
- Socialization of Other Pets
Most pets, especially dogs, were kept indoors and their socialization with other animals had been at its lowest unlike in the time of lockdown. Re-socialization of your pet to other pets may take much more time as they have now become possessive or even reactive. Strategies for Socialization of PETS by other PETS:
• Neutral Land: Have your dog socialize at an open place neutral to both species, say a park instead of closed areas or territorial space, like your house. This would make it less over-protective and defensive.
• Observe body language: Change will most likely stiffen the body language of your pet and cause them to bark or growl. The minute they present to you the cue that it is causing them distress, pull them away and repeat it in a place that will disturb them the least.
• Leash Control: The leash is loosely held in this one. Take your dog to other dogs and take them for a walk on a leash. In that way, you'll be in control yet let them play freely without being confined or pressed against anything. You can step out with the increasing level of confidence.
• Puppy playdates or socialization classes: If your pet is unfriendly to other animals, then it would be best if the dog went through some group play or socialization classes. This would teach your pet the right way to interact with others in controlled situations.
- Re-Establishing Routines
Animals live by routine. Lockdown probably affected your routine, and as you get back to an active lifestyle, you have to create a new routine that your pet can look forward to. Routine feeding times, exercise schedules, and play sessions help the pet feel more secure even if the environment is changing.
Establishing Routine
• Nutrition and Exercise Regimen: It would be best if you could introduce into the lives of your pets a nutrition and exercising regimen. You have to ensure that your pet also develops some sort of routine schedule when it comes to meals and exercise for that to take effect. The consequence is that the pet lives a more structured and less anxious life because of its new social circumstances.
• Reserve Your Everyday Socialization Time: Sacrifice one little part of yourself, and make sure to take a portion of your day to do some socialization with your pet. It would be anything from short quick walk around the neighborhood or even a short play session with another pet. However, always remember that daily socialization develops confidence in your pet.
• Fair Time Alone: You may provide some time to your pet to be in loneliness as your pet gets acclimatized to your absence, and this is only possible if that is fair. For instance, you may choose any time during the middle of the day when your pet spends maximum time in that part of another room getting accustomed to loneliness also.
- Professional Intervention When Required
Some will require a little more support to get back on four paws and two feet in life post-pandemic, if that's now causing significant stress or behavioral problems. Never be afraid to seek professional guidance-from a veterinarian or certified animal behaviorist-for individual strategies and support.
When to Seek Professional's Help
• If your pet exhibits aggression or extreme anxiety as an habitual component.
• Your pet has shown behavioral downsides-lousy house breaking and destructive.
• Feel the helplessness when one cannot even begin to think how to communicate with a few undesirable behavior of pets.
Empowering Pets to Thrive in a Post-Pandemic World
Because we lead ourselves into more chaotic and communal lives, we cannot forget to treat our pets with patience and nourishment so that they could assimilate to the new norms. With patience and reinforcement of good behavior as well as gradual exposure to new stimuli, your pets come back into their confidence in social situations and can even be happier over the new norm.
From dealing with separation anxiety to introducing socialization interactions or readjusting routines, all this essentially boils down to the magic of post-pandemic pet socialization-if every step of the way is kept comfortable and facilitated for your pets.
