Indoor pets are a joy like no other. And most are perfectly content to occupy your home regardless of if you’re with them or not, and they may even fail to notice your absence. But not all pets are so nonchalant when their owner leaves them alone.
There are plenty of indoor pets that dread being left alone. But what can you do? Well, YouTube can help you with that.
Why Would Your Pet Need to Watch YouTube Channels?
So how can YouTube help you? Well, it’s simple. There are countless websites to find tips as a pet owner, and YouTube is no different—it’s brimming with pet-centered channels. In particular, it offers tons of videos you can play in the background, so your pet can hear or watch when you leave the house. Some even offer visual stimulation as well. It may sound silly, but it can help a lot.
Some pets don’t like to be left alone simply because they get bored. Others are sad you’re not there. And some have severe separation anxiety, and it might even be dangerous to leave them alone since they risk doing something to hurt themselves.
Whether it’s boredom, sadness, stress, anxiety, fear, or they just miss you, having a relaxing video playing in the background may help soothe your pets. Here are five YouTube channels to get you started.
After all, if it works, it can help your pets a lot. If it doesn’t, you can find other alternatives to help them. Maybe set up a hidden camera and spy on them to determine if it’s worth it.
PetTunes – Music for Pets is an awesome channel since it aims to soothe your pet when you’re away and provides informative videos on various animals you might find helpful.
Throughout the YouTube channel, you can find hour-long videos or ones that span over four, 16, and even 20 hours. Scattered about are also 30 and 40-minute relaxing videos for those quicker outings. Some of the uploads on the YouTube channel only focus on the music, whereas others combine music with visual stimulation.
There are videos centered on pretty much every type of indoor pet. You can start a music playlist for your pet, starting from the more common cats and dogs and spanning to include bunnies, hamsters, guinea pigs, ferrets, and rats, and there’s even a chinchilla one. The PetTunes – Music for Pets YouTube channel is definitely worth checking out.
As the name suggests, the YouTube channel Relax Your Dog – Calming Music and TV centers around helping dogs stay calm. It’s the perfect place to use when you’re away and your pet’s home alone.
The channel is jam-packed with long-form videos spanning in the double digits. The titles are usually super descriptive, so you can see what the videos are recommended for and pick between ones that focus on music or ones that include visuals, as well.
The Relax Your Dog channel shares that its videos include lullabies, specifically chosen to “combat separation anxiety and reduce behavioral issues.” So if your dog is struggling with similar issues, give it a try, and see if these videos help.
Cats are usually pretty chill pets, as some don’t even care if you’re there or not. However, others care a lot, and every time you leave, a slew of destructive behavior ensues. Keeping a cat calm seems like a pretty serious undertaking. Fortunately, there are many mobile apps for cat owners and cat lovers to help them with their pets. But playing a video that’s designed to soothe cats can’t really hurt, can it?
Calm Your Cat – Relaxing Music and TV for Cats is a treasure trove of cat-calming clips. There are a ton of long and extra-long videos you can play, and, again, some of them aren’t only banking on the musical aspect. You can find videos that feature interactive visuals, like ones with birds in nature or offering games for your feline companion.
The YouTube channel also offers many shorter videos that host curious facts and helpful information relating to cats, so it’s worth taking a look.
Besides an absolutely stellar name, the Dogfather YouTube channel offers an array of videos that can help you with your dog. Admittedly, it’s not as stacked as the other channels mentioned, but it still has an impressive roster.
The videos tend to be predominantly between three and four hours long, but you can find some shorter ones, as well. A fun aspect about the videos uploaded on this YouTube channel is how some of them are breed-specific.
Each clip has a descriptive name that includes a particular dog breed, so you can match the YouTube video to your dog’s breed if you wish to be extra specific in your attempt to soothe your pet. Of course, there are also videos that are for dogs in general and not for a distinct breed.
Some dogs act up even if you’re still in the house, but leave the room. So, you find yourself in a bind if you’re expecting a Zoom call, have to call for an appointment, or just need five minutes of alone time to meditate, workout, or anything else. The good news is that there are still plenty of ways to stay productive when working from home with your dog.
Having background music that won’t bother you if you have to listen to it for a while is invaluable. The YouTube channel Merlin’s Realms – Music for Dogs and Humans focuses on creating content that can work for both people and their furry companions.
The videos on the YouTube channel tend to be around twelve hours long, though you can certainly find shorter ones. They’re usually named in a way that suggests their best use. Like, music for separation anxiety, sleep music for dogs, occupy your dog clips, and so on. It’s an awesome way to share YouTube with your dog in a way that leaves you both happy.
Don’t Worry; You’ll Figure It Out
Things change when you become a pet owner, routines shift, and alone time becomes a long-forgotten concept. Pets usually take priority, and you feel awful when you have to leave them alone to live your life—go to work, see friends, go grocery shopping, and so on.
But these are things that have to happen, and pets don’t always see your struggle or understand why you leave them behind. But you can use every resource available that offers a helping hand.
Don’t be too hard on yourself, especially if you’re a first-time pet owner and are still figuring everything out with your pet and the new normal.