With the arrival of Christmas, it is common for us to spend more time away from home, at business lunches and dinners, meeting friends or shopping, which translates into spend less time with our dogs, cats and others animals of company that coexist today in our homes.
However, in these types of situations in which we know that we are going to spend less time at home, it is common resort to cameras or surveillance systems to keep our furry companions under controlsomething that behavioral experts often recommend in cases of separation anxiety, for example.
Although our pets do not suffer from any type of anxiety problem when left alone, canine educators such as Sonia Losadateacher and disseminator with more than thirteen years of experience and founder of the podcast ‘Let’s talk about dogs’, recommend place a camera to know what they do while we are not there with them.
“It happens many times that we find out that the dog has separation anxiety or that it is at the door for the eight hours that we are away from home, without resting properly, eating or drinking water,” he warns. “But of course, We don’t see anything strange when we return home.”
Benefits and dangers of using cameras
Losada explains that, among the benefits of placing a camera at home when we leave, we can also Find out a little more about our dog’s relationship with other animals. “For example, when more than one person lives together, or with a cat,” he details. “Seeing them without us in front of them can teach us more about how they interact or, among others, whether one eats the other’s food. These little things give us peace of mind.”
“In the specific case of dogs, we can see if they are sleeping, crying or if they have relieved themselves (and the exact moment it happened), among others,” he lists. “Knowing all these details helps us educators a lot to see how the animal manages loneliness.“.
Based on all these benefits, Losada recommends to all his clients and followers the use of cameras, always focusing on the door or the hallway. “This way I see where he goes, if he sleeps or not, if he sniffs…” he adds. “In this sense, if we can put more than one camera, even better.”
However, the canine trainer warns that there are some uses that we give to the camera that, instead of being beneficial for our pets, can worsen your situation and cause stress or anxiety. “Talking to him, much less scolding him through the camera or using models that move, can be counterproductive,” he says.
It is better that we use a fixed one placed in a corner that has a wide field of vision
“When we talk to it through the camera, what the animal suddenly hears is a voice from beyond the grave without a human emitting it, so it can get quite stressed,” explains Losada. “It is true that “they can get used to it but, as a general rule, it makes them afraid or anxious.”
On the other hand, the dog behavior expert considers that cameras that move or rotate making noise do not always work as well as static ones. “It is better that we use a fixed one placed in a corner that has a wide field of vision, that won’t make you nervous,” he recommends.
“In addition, when using the ones that move, it may also happen that they sniff it and throw it on the ground, as well as being scared by the noise if it rings suddenly,” adds Losada. ““The idea in the end is that the dog is left alone at home, calm, without noise or stimuli.”
The only time Losada would use the microphone of this type of camera is in an emergency. “For example, If you see that your two dogs are fighting hard, You can yell briefly at them, but of course, this will not solve the problem, you will simply interrupt a situation that you will have to work on thoroughly later,” he comments.
“Besides, The problem with doing this is also the fright that that voice can cause to the animal, causing him to begin to fear the camera,” he adds. “That’s why, since people usually abuse these types of tools, I always prefer to discourage the use of the microphone and use the camera exclusively to observe.”
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