It is a disorder that affects dogs that do not know how to deal with the absence of their owners.
When the animal is left alone at home, it begins to cry or bark.
Some break furniture, others pee on the carpet.
This disorder usually affects puppies more in their first months of life, especially those of insecure character.
It is more common in certain breeds such as: Labrador, border collie or German shepherd.
But the pandemic has triggered the appearance of APS episodes in dogs of all breeds and ages.
Some dogs in their first months of life were spent during the pandemic, in a house where there was always someone.
In Spain there are 2.3 million dogs in this case of "pandemic dog".
Confinement shot up the dog population by 38% according to the National Association of Pet Food Manufacturers.
There is a pack of biblical dimensions that has grown up in homes always full of people, normalizing what was exceptional.
He only went out to walk the dog or to do some shopping once a week.
Many dogs were happy then.
According to a study by Applied Animal Behavior Science , 65% of those surveyed indicated that their dogs reduced stress during the pandemic, that they were happy and played more.
But the situation changed, also for all these dogs.
As their owners or owners began to recover normality, the dogs were left alone more and more time.
At first, they accepted it with resignation, but when the owners returned to blended work, they exploded.
They began to cry every time they were left alone.
The owners and the owners tried to solve it with a muzzle, leaving them in the houses of relatives or friends, with prizes and treats, etc.
You could not do the shopping in peace, and many of them have had to go to dog trainers.
Telecommuting has been a double-edged sword. In our society many dogs spend too many hours alone at home.
This is a social species that tends to live in groups, spending so many hours alone does not meet their natural behavior patterns.
But the confinement and teleworking caused some people to spend many hours accompanied and when the owners have restarted their activities, the families have begun to have problems.
There are companies that allow the combination of teleworking, with shifts in the office, or that allow dogs to enter the office.
This retains workers and gives them a better quality of life.
Dogs are part of the family and conciliation also affects them.
The dogs in the offices are calmer, so they are happier being with their owners or owners in the offices.
They can also spend the day in dog daycare.
Some tech companies like Amazon, Google, Squarespace and Etsy normalized the presence of dogs in offices even before the pandemic.
Others have begun to do so in recent months as a way to retain their workers.
But they are still few.
Enric Rodríguez, ethologist and author of the book Adiestra en Positivo , states: "It should be more common. Dogs, as pets and in some cases even as assistance animals, do a great job in our society. It is about time that the Let's adapt to life with them".
Dog daycares, is an option, increasingly widespread, is to leave dogs in dog daycares or hire a walker to entertain the dog in the absence of their owners.
Other owners have bought digital cameras that record the dog in their absence and transmit the image live to their mobile.
This solution is very common.
According to a study by PreciseSecurity, sales of this type of device have skyrocketed.
They have been growing at a rate of 18.4% for years and it is expected that by 2023 annual sales will exceed 300 million units.
Dog walkers, cameras, nurseries, family help, etc., these options are the most used to tackle an APS, but all of them can fail for some cases of dogs.
And they hope that education and training can tackle the problem.
Hundreds of people are in this same situation.
26% of Spanish households have a dog, one of the highest percentages in Europe.
The pandemic brought all these owners closer than ever, but the routine has separated them again.
Now the workers demand conciliation measures.
Tell us about your case so that we can advise other owners who are in the same situation as you.
Any help is little, in the face of such a common problem.
At Glu Glu Pet we have all kinds of prizes and toys to overcome anxiety while the owner is away.
