Back to School Routine for Dogs

The end of school holidays can be an adjustment not just for children, but for dogs too. After weeks of having the household full of activity, your pup may suddenly find the quieter environment confusing or unsettling. Changes to routines, less attention, and the absence of familiar playmates can lead to stress, boredom, or anxiety.

Signs Your Dog Is Struggling After Kids Go Back to School

Understanding the signs and knowing how to support your dog through this transition can help them feel secure, confident, and comfortable even as the household schedule changes.

You may notice your dog pacing, panting, seeming unsettled, looking hyper, or sitting by doors wondering where all of the little people have gone. You may also notice an increase in attention-seeking behaviours such as jumping, destructiveness, counter surfing, barking or grabbing at your clothes.

Boredom in Dogs vs Separation Anxiety: How to Tell the Difference

Although the behaviours can sometimes look similar, boredom and separation anxiety stem from very different issues.

Boredom in dogs can often be helped by increasing mental stimulation and offering enrichment to your dog. Scent work, trick training, puzzle toys, lick mats, chews, and play are easy things to offer. You could also increase their exercise if they do not receive enough, but mental stimulation is just as important and should not be overlooked.

Separation anxiety, on the other hand, is an emotional response to being left alone, and instead requires work to help your dog feel relaxed and safe alone, knowing that you will come home. It’s rooted in distress, not a lack of activity, and won’t be solved just by adding more toys or longer walks.

How to Prepare Your Dog for Back-to-School Routine Changes

Gradual preparation can help your dog adapt more smoothly, reducing stress and preventing unwanted behaviours.

• Start introducing quieter periods, considering times of day that you'll be out of the house and unavailable to your dog, and do this now so that it is less of a stark contrast.

• Give your dog some enrichment in the mornings at the time that you'd all be heading out the door.

• Use calming spray for dogs that can be more sensitive to environmental change.

• Try to keep to routines as much as possible. If your routine will need to change when the kids go back to school, start introducing these changes early, so that there is less change at the same time school begins again.

Some breeds, like collies, do try to micro-manage their environment due to herding instincts, and may do this more when things are busy, or they're stressed. Make sure you're keeping an eye on their body language and do not punish them for displaying these behaviours. Give them things to do during these tricky times, instead.

Should You Change Your Dog’s Routine Suddenly? Feeding, Walks, and More

Some dogs aren't affected by abrupt changes, but many are. If your dog is very sensitive to changes to their routine, but you will need to make changes because of your schedule, then do this gradually (e.g. if they eat at 8am but you'll need to feed them at 7am, move this forward by 15 minute increments over a few days). 

Consider other things you may want to avoid changing suddenly - toilet breaks, walks, feeding, visits to the home if you pop in or have somebody else come in to see them through the day.

How Long Can Dogs Be Left Alone and How to Build Their Confidence

How long dogs should be left alone varies from individual to individual, but as a general rule, a dog who is comfortable being left alone without separation difficulties could be left for 4 - 5 hours. We should consider how comfortable they are being alone, how long they can happily spend alone, and how often they need to go to the toilet

To help your dog feel more comfortable being left alone, you could use a calming spray, offer enrichment to your dog such as lick mats or snuffle mats, and ensure that they have been to the toilet before you go. You can set up a camera to keep an eye on your dog while you're gone, to ensure that they are happy.

Do Training Games and Safe Spaces Help Reduce Dog Anxiety?

Providing dogs with structured activities and safe spaces can play an important role in managing anxiety. Simple enrichment exercises, interactive feeding, and safe zones give dogs mental stimulation and opportunities to engage in natural behaviours like sniffing and licking, which help release calming hormones. Doing these things alone isn’t a cure, but they can help they can significantly reduce stress and support your dog’s overall emotional wellbeing.

Some easy things you can do with your dog to help reduce general anxiety levels include scatter feeding (throwing treats or kibble - not on gravel which they could ingest), using kongs or lick mats, hiding treats in a rolled up towel that they have to unroll and find. Sniffing and licking both release calming hormones which help dogs to feel more relaxed.

Doing these things alone isn’t a cure, but they can really help. If you feed your dog Fresh food, like Butternut Box, it is easy to offer this on a lick mat or lick plate instead of in a bowl, designed for canine enrichment.

How Children Can Help Dogs Adjust to Back-to-School Changes

As much as children love their family dog, they should avoid getting the dog all riled up through supervised play right before school, as this can be tricky for the dog - having fun with their friends, and then the friends being gone all day.

Children should try and say a nice calm "see you later" to the dog before school (no hugs or kisses which many dogs dislike and can potentially be dangerous should the dog become stressed) to let them know they're heading out for the day.

Best Activities for Kids to Do With Dogs Before and After School

Involving children in your dog’s daily routine can benefit both your pup and your child. Simple activities before and after school help keep your dog engaged, provide mental and physical stimulation, and strengthen the bond between your dog and the family.

Children can help set up enrichment in the morning, get involved with training when they're home, or help with enrichment games. My daughter (age 6) enjoys hiding treats around the garden and living room, and telling our dog to "find it". This is an easy and safe way for them to play together, enhancing their bond.

Tips for Building a Dog’s Long-Term Confidence and Independence

Helping your dog develop confidence and independence is key to their long-term wellbeing. A confident dog is better able to handle new experiences, cope with changes, and enjoy time alone without stress. By understanding your dog’s body language, giving them choices in everyday situations, and using positive, reward-based training, you can create a safe and supportive environment that encourages them to feel secure, capable, and empowered.

Yawning, lip licks towards the nose, increased blinking, looking/turning away, and showing the whites of their eyes are all subtle ways they say "I don't like this".

Ensure your dog has choice in different situations, and is able to say "no, I am worried and don't want to do this". Let them have a voice! My book Empowering Your Dog Through Choice (available on Amazon) details lots of ways you can do this safely, and ways that this can also impact their behaviour.

Finally, use reward based training methods and avoid punishment based training, which can negatively impact a dog's feelings of safety, as well as damage your bond with your dog.

Are Scent Work, Agility, and Confidence Games Suitable for All Dogs?

Scent work is a very accessible activity for dogs of different ages, activity levels, and with differing health needs. Just make sure you tell your scent work instructor of any physical difficulties your dog may have, so that they can tailor things to your dog's needs. Scent work is great for boosting confidence and calm.

Agility is suitable for many dogs but you should consider their temperament, how they will respond to the environment, their age, and health (due to some of the high impact nature of agility). Discuss this with an experienced agility instructor. You could also consider Hoopers, which is similar to agility, but without some of the high impact elements such as the jumps.

Mantrailing is another good confidence building activity that uses the nose, which can be tailored to suit the individual.