4 Tips for helping your pet adjust to the easing of Lockdown

As summer draws in and the lockdown restrictions start to lift, almost all of us - pets and people alike - are looking forward to slowly getting back to normal.

There’s a lot to be excited about, but it’s worth sparing a moment to think about how the easing of lockdown might affect your furry best friend. From homeworking changes to social distancing in the park, these changes might unsettle your pet - so here at Pet Prestige, we’ve created some helpful tips for helping your dog or cat adjust to their new freedom:

Start lockdown easing for your pet slowly

If you’ve been working from home through the lockdown, disappearing back to the office all of a sudden can cause anxiety for dogs, and sometimes cats too. If you have a ‘back to work’ date set in stone, consider prepping your pet for the big day by closing the door between you and your dog or cat a few hours at a time, increasing the time gradually to get them used to the separation.

Reintegrate them with other people

Throughout lockdown, we’ve been unable to meet with other people in our own homes so when someone does come and visit, this could cause some uncertainty for your animals. As with the above tip, start off slow. Invite just one person who is comfortable around dogs and cats and get your pet used to socialising with them again before bringing more people around.

Leave the home for a few hours

When you start leaving for work again, your dog or cat will have no idea if you’ll be coming back at all. The working day is even longer for pets, so get them used to you being gone for long periods by making a show of picking up the keys and leaving for a few hours. Leave their cat or dog bed by the door so they can monitor things, and try not to make a fuss of them when you come back home.

Treat them with a gift

After the year we’ve all had, we all deserve a bit of pampering! Consider getting your pet a new gift to help distract them from the upheaval of lockdown easing. A luxury dog bed or cat bed can provide a nice and comfortable spot for your pet to retreat to when things get a bit too much, or some cat nip or a fresh new squeaky toy can reward good reintegration behaviour.

Those are the Pet Prestige (UK) tips for helping your pet readjust to a life after lockdown! As the country’s leading luxury pet bed provider, we can’t wait to see you and your pets back out and about – for more tips on pet care and wellbeing, keep an eye on the Paw Club blog here.