Dog FOMO - Fear of Missing Out

Recently someone reached out to us on Instagram to ask for any tips on solving/reducing a puppies FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). This is not to be confused with seperation anxiety.

Seperation anxiety is a serious issue and you should consult a trainer if you think your pup is suffering from it.

FOMO on the other hand comes from having a needy pup who just want to be invovled in everything thing you do. An easy way to tell the difference is how the puppy responds when you leave them alone in the house. Roo has always been fairly good when we have left her alone in the house. Obviously as a small pup there was some crying in the begining but she would take herself off to sleep. However, if we were in the house, in a different room or upstairs, she would cry a lot and could not settle. This is what we call FOMO.

To help combat Roo's FOMO, we utilised her crate. If we were going to be in another room, she was to go into her crate, to her safe space. This took time and training but now we can be in another room or upstairs and Roo will go to sleep or chill out in her crate.

We also moved the location of Roo's crate from our living room to the dinning room. Our living room and dinning room are connected by an arch way and the dinning room looks into the kitchen. This allows Roo to watch us cook etc from her crate but when we go into the living room in the evenings to chill, she cannot see us and we get some time without her.

We also use the crate when people come over to stop Roo from getting overexcited and wanting to be centre of attention. This takes quite a bit of training, we are still a way off from having her go into her crate when people are round and settle quickly. But it is extremely important to teach your pup to calm down, settle and switch off around lots of different people.

We have also found that Roo's FOMO has reduced with age and finding a routine and things that make her happy. Remember one size fits all does not work in the dog world. Do what works best for you pup.