Allowing Your Pom to be Alone
Most Pomeranian owners can not be home all the time, nor can you take
your dog with you to all places that you go. Although toy dogs are popular and
therefore it is becoming more acceptable to bring a dog into a store or even a
restaurant inside a dog carrier bag or crate, there will of course be times that
you must leave your Pomeranian home alone.
One of the largest blocks of time that you will most likely need to leave your
dog home is when you are at work. It is important to remember that you can
safely leave your Pomeranian home by themselves if you follow some simple
guidelines.
If you need to be gone over night, it is most certainly recommended to
never leave your Pomeranian alone for such a long time. Even if you leave out
food and water, the water can get spilled. Also, your dog will not be able to go
outside to eliminate and the stress of separation anxiety will be a great strain
to her.
How Long?
You can train your dog to be home alone. How long you can leave your
Pomeranian home alone will depend on the age of your dog. You don't want to
leave your dog home longer than they can hold their elimination. A grown
Pomeranian will be perfectly fine for the day while you are at work. A puppy is
different. The rule to follow is that a Pomeranian puppy can hold its
elimination one hour per month of age. For example, a two month old pup can hold
its elimination for two hours, a four month old puppy can hold its elimination
for four hours and so on. Once your Pomeranian is eight months old, he or she
should be able to hold their needs for about eight hours; almost the exact time
you should be away working and leaving your dog home alone.
How to Say Goodbye
Each time you must leave the house and say goodbye to your Pomeranian, it is an
opportunity to train your Pomeranian to act good while you are away. Although
this may be a sad moment for you, think of the positive way you are teaching
your Pomeranian to handle being home alone for a while.
Although it may be extremely tempting to hug, kiss and pay tons of attention to
your Pomeranian right before you leave the house, it is best for both of you if
you do not. When you are gone, your dog may feel the stress of the separation.
It is best for your Pomeranian if you teach him to be okay while you need to
leave for a while. The best way to train your dog to be home alone is to act
very calm when you are getting ready to go. Do not pick up your Pomeranian and
make a huge fuss over the fact that you are leaving. If you act as if it is
alright to leave, then your dog will learn there is nothing to worry about.
When you are ready to walk out of the door, have a fun dog toy in your hand.
Throw the toy across the room to distract him. When you are first implementing
this strategy, it must be a new dog toy or treat and it must be an interesting
one that will hold his attention for quite a while. If you search around, you
can find many great dog toys that are made in such a way that you can hide small
yummy treats inside of it. Your Pomeranian will smell the treat and have fun
working to reach it. The more complicated the dog toy, the better. Toys that
make noise are great and so are colorful toys. It is a myth that dogs do not
see color. All dogs can see all colors of the rainbow; they do however it is as
if a human is looking at the outside at sunset time.