Every dog owner knows how difficult it is to close the door on your pet while they’re giving you the puppy eyes. But unfortunately for them, many of us have to leave the house to earn money to keep their stomachs full, and to buy new toys when they inevitably rip theirs apart.
As dogs don’t understand the concept of going out to work, they often spend hours wondering where their owner has gone and when they’re going to be back. Adrienne Carson, the vice president of behaviour and training at St Hubert’s Animal Welfare, told The Dog People that pooches miss their owners when they’re away because they associate them with happy feelings.
The Dog People states: “If you’ve been gone for a long time, your dog might be super excited when you come home. Research shows that the longer you’re away, the happier your dog is when you return. Dogs are social animals, so they may feel sad when their favourite person is gone. This can happen with all dogs, not just those with separation anxiety.
“Luckily, Carson says dogs do well with routines and familiar places. When you leave for work, they might be sad at first, but then they’ll do dog stuff, like sleeping, chewing toys, or listening for sounds while you’re gone.” Thankfully, dogs spend a lot of their alone time sleeping, which can help pass the hours you’re away.
Stanley Coren, a professor emeritus of Psychology at the University of British Columbia, believes dogs dream about their ‘favourite things’ – and their owners likely make it onto this list. So while you might be away from them physically, they may be ‘spending time with you’ in their dreams.
He said: “What we’ve basically found is that dogs dream doggy things. So, pointers will point at dream birds, and Dobermans will chase dream burglars. The dream pattern in dogs seems to be very similar to the dream pattern in humans.”
Coren’s research has been backed by Dr Deirdre Barrett, a clinical and evolutionary psychologist at Harvard Medical School, who claims dogs dream about their everyday experiences, just like humans, meaning there’s a good chance they are dreaming about their owners.
A TikTok video about this topic was recently shared by Animals Studio, which stated: “They think about their owners. Canines don’t just love their owners back. They actually consider them to be family as it turns out man’s best friends get more protection and affection from human beings than their kind.” As being alone doesn’t come naturally to most dogs, many spend time ‘voicing their apprehension’ about this through barking and whining.
However, some dogs might show this through sickness, urinating in the house, or destroying objects within their reach. The video adds: “They reflect or dream about their day. When you leave after spending a good part of the day with your canine friend, they will remain reminiscing about the eventful day you’ve had together.”
Commenting on the video, one user said: “That’s right.” Another user added: “My dachshund remembers everything.” A third user added simply: “I love dogs.”