Time to Tell America’s Dogs This Arrangement Won’t Last Forever
As hard as it might be, now’s when you have to enforce some separation, experts say.
Illustration by Oscar Bolton Green
America’s pets are luxuriating in dreamy, continual proximity to their owners. Well, not all. “Cats are annoyed,” says William Berloni, who trains animals for the stage (Annie, Legally Blonde) and screen (Billions). “Mine are like, Why are you in the bedroom? What are you doing here?” But dogs are in paradise, certain—or as certain as we can be about what dogs think—that this newfound dynamic will last forever. “They assume it’s a new lifestyle,” Berloni says. “They’re thinking, Finally our owners know that we want to be with them 24/7.”
But there’s a problem: Dogs are becoming “overly bonded,” which means they’re intensely reliant on our presence to stay calm. Dogs signal this when they can no longer self-soothe and panic after an owner leaves a room or, God forbid, the house. It has to be addressed now—long before your dog is left home, solo, for long stretches when you return to the office—to avoid doggie meltdowns.