Dog to calm when I am not here

[michaelcdf]

Hello,
I have a very beautiful female Labrador, she is now 3.
She is the perfect dog when I am here. We train a lot only via positive reinforcement, she knows tons of useful and not so useful trick and love to train.
I take her everywhere with me
But I have a problem with her (some people will disagree that this is a problem and would love that their dogs react the same)

When I leave her alone for example at home she go into her couch and doesn t move until I come back (doesn t matter if it is 5 min or 5 hours)
When the cleaning lady arrive she doesn t want to play or on a walk with her. She stays all days long looking miserable on her couch.
Some people will says it is fantastic no destruction home. But I feel bad for her, she looks "very sad"
I would like for her to be able to play or go on a walk with people when I am not around.

The same goes in the office, when I leave the office, she go on her couch and doesn t move until I come back.
My co-worker (witch she plays a lot with when I am around) says she doesn t want to play.

How can I make her more happy and not so depressed when I am not around ?

Thanks for your help

[JudyN]

You sound like a wonderful owner - as you say, so many people wouldn't regard this as a problem

I'm not an expert, but with throw in a few random thoughts and questions...

It's possible that she's not as sad as you think she is, and you're seeing the sadness because you're feeling bad about it, if that makes sense. Does the cleaning lady think she look sad, or tense, or stressed? She might not be particularly happy, but she might be the equivalent of a child in a lesson he doesn't like at school. It's not fun, but something that has to be done.

How does she respond to the cleaning lady/co-worker when you're not there? Does she look at them, wag her tail, accept a stroke?

Importantly, will she eat when you're not there? What if you leave the most delicious treat - will it be there when you get back? Will she accept a treat from the cleaning lady/co-worker? (And to put this into context, is she normally a foodie?)

Some dogs simply don't play when on their own, and will simply sleep or 'chill' when alone. And some dogs don't want to go on walks with people other than their loved ones, particularly if they know they could be home at any minute.

Finally, could you give a run-down of your normal daily activity, please? How long is she walked/trained/played with, when and what is she fed?

[michaelcdf]

i will start first with my daily routine.
5 min outside (just go around the house) for toilet
then she eat
then we go to the office (she comes 95% of the time with me at the office)
in the office, well I work, so I will trow her the ball sometimes but this is not regular.
When finish working we go to dog park to train and play with the tennis ball (between 1 and 2 hours)
back home and diner then cuttling while watching tv and sleeping

That is most of the time my routine.

When the cleaning lady come she doesn t even go see who is coming, she stay on her couch, she will just raise her head for a second to see who is there and go back in (sleep/rest) mode, the cleaning lady can pet her but she doesn t move or react.

The favorite toys for her is a squeezing ball (go fetch), but if I am not here, you can try to excite her with squeezing the ball in front of her she won t react.
She will accept a treat but will not work for it. (If my coworker or cleaning lady ask my dog to even move for the treat (come command) she doesn t move.
If I leave a treat on the floor and it is in the way between my garage and her couch she will take it, but she will not search for it.

Why I think she is sad is the difference of character when I am around or not,
When I am around she will play with anyone with everything type of toys, when I am not she stays on her couch.
When I am around she will obey anyone command, when I am not she stays on her couch.


Even if she is not unhappy or sad, she could be more happy if playing with my coworkers when I am not here.

[DianeLDL]

We usually take our dog, chihuahua mix, Sandy with us in the car on errands.

But, ther ar times that we will leave him home alone for one to three hours and will soend the whole time lying on his bed.

As soon as we come in, he is ready to go outside or eat or play.

I think that sometimes, he just likes some downtime to rest.

As you mentioned, it could be worse. I have heard of dogs tearing a house apart or barking constantly.

I will be interested in seeing what those who are more experienced have to say.

Diane

[Nettle]

She sounds a well-kept dog to me, but she may just be bored with the ball-chasing. At her age, she is no longer driven to play and interact the way a puppy is. You now have a grown-up dog. She is unlikely to be sad at all, and she does not need to run about after balls when you are out - she is clearly perfectly content to rest. I am assuming that she is the right weight and does not have any hip or elbow discomfort.

Are you able to take her for walks where she can smell scents rather than run after a ball, as a change for her? Dogs enjoy this just as much and often more than they enjoy chasing balls. Also she might really enjoy a short walk before work, as otherwise she goes from a night's sleep to a day on her bed apart from when you have time to throw a ball for her. If she has a short walk, say half an hour, and a good sniff about (no ball throwing) she will be refreshed before she goes to work.

[DianeLDL]

I agree with Nettle's remarks and ideas. Our dog, Sandy is nearly 4 years old, so also definitely an adult dog.

He responds so well to walks and smelling other dog and animal smells on walks or in the local park (doesnt have to be off leash park either). The smells help stimulate them.

Also, it might help if in the office to have games for mental stimulation, too. There is a thread on it. Being in an office, you probably have boxes and wrap up treats in newpaper and stick into the box for her to dig out.

I forget who it is but said that there is a thread (help me someone) on 101 things to do with a box.

I have read that dogs like to be active in the morning and late afternoon and resting during the mid-day which it sounds like both your dog and mine enjoy. Dogs like to have down time just like we do.

Keep up the good work and as Nettle suggested, you might have to get up earlier in the morning to give your lab a good walk in the morning.

Diane

[WufWuf]

Exercise the mind thread viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1135

"101 things to do with a box" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faY-MyDi1Yg

The great thing about these games is they also help boost confidence as well as keeping them stimulated and tiring them out .