Back to school with a dog

Summer on Cape Ann tends to mean a busy household: children home, visitors, late dinners and a dog that is rarely alone for long. The first school day reverses all of it at once. The alarm goes earlier, the walk is rushed or skipped, everyone is out the door by eight and the dog spends most of the day by itself. The ASPCA names an abrupt change in schedule, in when or how long a dog is left alone, among the triggers for separation anxiety, and September is exactly that.

Children bring their own effects. School supplies come into the house at floor height, and the ASPCA's autumn list notes that glue sticks, pencils and markers are low in toxicity but can still cause stomach upset or a blockage if eaten. Lunch boxes with grapes or chocolate end up on the floor by the door, and both foods are on the ASPCA's poison list. A dog that played with the children all summer may also greet them after school with an intensity worth managing, which our kids and dogs guide covers.

The kindest version of September starts in August. Over the two weeks before school, move the dog's day toward its new shape a little at a time, so the first school morning is the fourteenth step rather than the first. For mild cases the ASPCA suggests a food puzzle toy at departures, which turns your leaving into the moment something good arrives, and for dogs that struggle, absences that start short and lengthen gradually.

Keep two things steady through the ramp: meal times and a real walk before the house empties. If the first week shows more than mild distress, such as nonstop barking, escape attempts or damage at doors and windows, the ASPCA says moderate and severe cases need the guidance of a trained and experienced professional, and some dogs need a vet's help as well. Our training team can assess that, and our answer on whether training can fix separation anxiety explains how.

September is the biggest change but not the last. Gloucester's February and April vacation weeks each fill the house for a week and empty it again on the Monday after, and a shorter version of the ramp helps: the alarm back at its school time the weekend before, one normal morning walk, and a short absence with a food toy. Families travelling over a vacation week can book an overnight stay at $78 a night, with the evaluation done on a school-week morning beforehand.

Snow days work the other way, putting everyone home without warning, and most dogs enjoy them. If a nor'easter changes our hours or drop-off windows, the news comes through the Dogtown app and the front desk at 978 491-5922. Then June arrives, the house fills again, and next September the same ramp starts over, a little easier for a dog that has done it once.