What kind of music/tricks you use to calm the pets?

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
1

One thing I’ve learned during this house sit is that sometimes what feels restrictive to us can actually feel safe to the pets.

I have to admit that at first I found it difficult to accept that these dogs often become calmer when they’re on a lead and close to us. My instinct was that a lead means less freedom. But for these dogs, especially when there are lots of things happening around them, it seems to provide a sense of security. At least that’s my interpretation.

Today we had a lot going on: two gardeners, one mowing the lawn and another doing the weekly garden maintenance, plus the housekeeper. (Because of heavy rainfall the regular schedule had changed) That’s quite a lot of stimulation for the dogs and cat.

What works well here is keeping the dogs close to us on their leads and playing calming music in the background. They all choose to stay nearby, and the atmosphere becomes noticeably more relaxed.

Of course, there are still moments when they react. For example, when the lawnmower suddenly stops or a gardener leaves unexpectedly, they may bark for a moment. We gently redirect them, say ‘all is well’ in a calm voice, and they usually settle down again quite quickly.

I realise every pet is different. For some animals, staying close on a lead might be stressful rather than comforting. They may do better in a separate room, on a walk, or with a completely different strategy.

Here’s a screenshot of the calming music playlist we’re using.

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I’m curious: what are your favourite tricks, routines, music, or techniques for helping pets stay calm when there are visitors, gardeners, cleaners, or other unusual activities around the house?

2

Thank you for recognizing that all animals are individuals and not all dogs need to be off leash every day. Some do, some don’t - it depends on the dog, the day, and the situation.

You sound like a very intuitive and kind sitter - thank you, I seek out your kind of sitter, and not one that judges why the dog isn’t off leash “enough” and therefore unhappy, or even worse uses spray bottles to ‘teach’ the dog or cat to stay away from something. Those are the sitters we want to avoid and don’t care what the reviews say. True empathy for the pets is so important and difficult to suss out at times.

Thank you again - you are the kind, caring, and empathetic sitter many HO’s want for their pets!!

3

To answer your question - when the gardeners are out our normally calm quiet dog likes to alert - so we simply close the blinds until they leave. See no evil, bark no evil - works easily.

For other stimulus - distraction with a game like scatter feeding, trick training, or ‘hide and seek’ (you hide with cheese or other high value reward, or a toy) and let the pup find you - so many fun games to play!!

I love dog bubbles - easy to travel with, cheap (on Amazon) and the dogs go crazy for them. Every sitter I’ve showed them too got a great laugh and always used them to get my pup jumping around/distracted from something else!

4

@Felinelover Thank you for your suggestions!

Yes, we do the hinding game too! We specially bought some cloths to hide snacks in, and they absolutely love ‘unwrapping’ the cloth to find the treat. It keeps them busy and happy, which is exactly what we were hoping for.

Thank you also for the suggestion of ‘dog bubbles’ on Amazon. We’re currently in Fiji, where receiving parcels from another country is quite expensive - even regardless wether or not they arrive at all and we still love Fiji anyway :wink: - but when we’re in another country we’ll definitely order them.

Thanks again for thinking along with us!

5

Another fun game of the host home has a baking sheet or even better a muffin tin - put a bit of the dog’s food and add some treats, layer in some water and freeze it lightly - just until there it starts to become solid - then offer it to the pup. They will lick away to get the food/treats!

Also, if you have cardboard egg cartons - empty ones and cardboard, not plastic, you can hide treats in the egg spots and let the dog find/shred the cardboard (supervised, don’t let them eat too much cardboard but a little is ok). Can do the same with an empty paper towel roll - the cardboard holder can be filled with some treats, then indent the ends to hold it in. Let the pup shred it to get to the goodies!

6

If allowable for the pets diet - carve out a bell pepper (definitely remove all seeds), stuff with a couple of treats and fill with water (or their food and make it a meal!). Freeze lightly and offer to the pup to nosh on.

Same with an apple - core it, stuff it, freeze lightly and offer.

Or for pups who aren’t used to cold food, you can sprinkle a little cheese into the pepper or apple shells, microwave for 15-20 seconds, then offer. They will go mad for it.

7

Really licking and/or chewing is very soothing for dogs - so anything you can find that encourages those two behaviors specifically - should help calm a dog down.

There are tons of feeder toys available that perform this function, and we have a ton, but sadly many sitters don’t know them or don’t use them as they are afraid of the cleanup.

8

Quiet confident leadership.
Pets appreciate the humans in the home exhibiting leadership early on, and this stands sitters in good stead when unexpected events occur…pets like knowing that the replacement human will lead and take care of things.
Using the words/phrases their owners use with them, following routines, showing that you know where the food is kept especially the treats, walking the perimeter of the grounds/territory, and establishing who sits where establishes leadership. This is my approach anyway.

9

@BonnyinBrighton Yes, I agree with you. It’s definitely helpful to know the words and phrases the pet owners normally use, and to follow their routines as closely as possible.

At the same time, I think there can also be a kind of natural leadership that shows up in the moment, sometimes almost by accident.

A little anecdote. A few weeks ago, we were walking the dogs along a street. Normally we walk through nature, but this time we passed several houses where people have dogs. Quite a lot of dogs, actually. Most of them bark and come towards the street, but usually we can just keep walking.

This time, a few loose dogs came towards us in a rather unfriendly way, to put it mildly. I suddenly had a strong protective reaction that I hadn’t really been aware of in myself before. Instinctively, I made myself big, put my right palm forward, stepped towards the loudest barking dog and said, in a firm voice: ‘STOP!’ I repeated it several times.

The dogs backed off. From that moment, something seemed to shift with the dogs we were caring for. It felt as if they understood: okay, these humans will protect us when needed.

Of course, we now take a different route whenever possible. Here in Fiji there are quite a few loose dogs around, so I use that same calm, firm technique when necessary, although we very much prefer to avoid those encounters in the first place.

So yes, routines, familiar words and quiet confidence matter a lot. And sometimes leadership appears because love for the animals makes you step up before you’ve even had time to think about it.

10

@Felinelover The idea of lightly frozen snacks might be interesting to try. Especially when it is very warm like her in Fiji. I accidentally dropped an ice cube and one of the dogs really loved it! Just plain water! It will definetely give them a cool snack plus challenge combo!

11

@Felinelover You are doing this quite a while aren’t you? Thanks for the many helpful suggestions!

12

I know this is from a while ago, but something I’ve found effective is using essential oil diffusers with pet-safe oils like lavender or chamomile. They create a calming environment and seem to work well with some of the more anxious pets. Has anyone else tried essential oils for soothing pets, or are there any oils to avoid? Would love to hear your thoughts!

13

@fepefofi We never have used oils and I am curious towards the answers of others.

14

Personally, I avoid ‘oils’ and most supplements. I prefer to create an environment and home that meets my pets needs so they are not anxious. Routine is a big part of that.

So, no to most supplements, calming aids, oils for me. Also cats and dogs are biologically different and much more sensitive to toxins - I avoid any chemicals in the air unless really necessary in general and believe the only ‘pet safe’ oils would be no oils.

Maybe those with more anxious pets feel differently - I definitely know a few friends with pets that they manage with all sorts of aids, so others may definitely have a different perspective.

And also, we rescued two cats when they were about 2 years old. Absolutely terrified of humans. It took us 2 months before they would even briefly come out of hiding in front of us to eat food, before hiding again. 4 months before allowing us to let them. 6 months before laying out during the day without hiding. 8 months before they really let us pet them, and actually seek attention from us. The rescue we worked with told us we could give them up to them and assumed we would. We stayed with a very consistent routine, stayed positive and non-threatening - and it worked. It took time of course and I realize most sitters don’t have that kind of time, but just do as the HO asks and don’t use oils and random other stuff without at least asking first.

15

Personally, I think the stuff on youtube is for the person tuning in the channel – considering the adverts that come along with the video. However, we had success using XTC’s Skylarking album to bring a cat out of days of hiding from us.

16

@PV592 I don’t really know about the adverts, as we have an ad-free subscription. There is also classical music made especially for pets, and we’ve found that can work quite well when we are out for a while. For us, the main thing is how the pets respond. If they are calm when we come back after being out, and there have been no incidents whatsoever, we consider it a good sign.

Recently we found that the doggies with whom we are, like to dance on certain music. I am absolutely a music dummy, therefore I cannot share the name of the artists, but we certainly had a lot of fun!

And I’ll definitely remember the XTC Skylarking album if it comes up somewhere. Thanks for sharing! It sounds like a lovely tip, especially if it helped bring a cat out of hiding after days.