How to Help a Pet Cope With Divorce
The breakup of a home is one of the biggest stresses both dogs and cats can endure. Whenever a relationship ends, unfortunately and unavoidably, the family pet(s) are likely to suffer in one way or the other. Here are a few tips to help your pet adjust to household changes.
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Understand your pet’s feelings. You may not realize it immediately, but your pet has lost a lifestyle he was accustomed to. Experts now agree that our pets really do feel all the same emotions we do—and they express those feelings in very distinct ways. Dogs use their faces to communicate sadness by closing their eyes slightly at the same time that their ears are hanging down. When dogs tilt their heads, this indicates that the dog is confused. Cats meow more than usual for no apparent reason, or potty outside their litter box.
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Keep changes at a minimum so your pet can adjust gradually to this new life. It's best to try and maintain a normal routine for them as much as you possibly can.
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Avoid fighting in front of your pet. Whenever you shout and argue with each other, you cause anxiety in your pet, just as you would in your child. Pets are sensitive to your feelings. They do suffer from turmoil and emotional upset in the home.
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Never physically punish your pet for behavior problems, and don’t force compliance to commands. Both may lead to aggression. The worst thing you can do with any of these signs, experts say, is to punish the animal. If some of the problems are associated with anxiety, then punishing the dog or cat may actually increase the anxiety, and the problem is not likely to get any better.
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Contact a professional. Thousands of pets are given up because of lifestyle changes--such as when a relationship ends. Behavior problems top the list of reasons for pet relinquishment. For pets that continue to show signs of anxiety or stress, certified animal behaviorists say it’s important to schedule a veterinary exam to be sure there’s nothing physically wrong that’s contributing to the behavioral dysfunction.
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