How will your pet cope when they are left home alone again? Tameside Radio presenter Alex B Cann explores this subject and more in his latest riveting column.

With more than three million homes welcoming a new pet during the pandemic, this means there are now 17 million pet-owning homes in the UK.

I was the proud owner of a cat called Perkins when I was a lad, and still remember to this day all the smiles he brought to our household. 

Whilst so many of us have been at home over the last year and a half, pets have benefited from much more quality time with their owners, and it’s said they will find it extremely tough when they are suddenly home alone once again.

This is especially true of dogs, and it’s thought there are now 12 million in the UK. Five tips given by the RSPCA to help your dog cope with you going back to the office include:

1) Encourage your pooch to go to their bed and stay there.

2) Gradually move away

3) Use lots of praise and reward

4) Gradually increase the time and distance

5) Repeat steps if your dog struggles

Seventy-four per cent said their pet had helped their mental health during the various lockdowns, so I guess the pining might be a two way street!

My wife has recently mooted the possibility of us getting a four-legged friend, and I guess it would force me to have a walk every day. However, I’ve just acquired a Fitbit device, which might be a bit cheaper as it won’t require feeding or taking to the vets!

It is amazing when you go for a walk in the park how many dogs there are now. I’m also impressed when I see dog walkers juggling five or six of them on one walk. I don’t think I have the dexterity for that. I struggle not to drop my phone and wallet on a stroll some days. I also love it when I see a dog with selective hearing, as they are clearly deliberately ignoring their exasperated owners, and it makes for a bit of great free entertainment!

My heart also goes out to pet owners when their pet reaches the end of its life. They are with you at all key moments. They often instinctively know when you need comfort and solace, and it’s a terrible feeling of emptiness when they go. They really are one of the family. One of my best friends has just lost his dog Del Boy, and I’m dedicating this week’s column to Dean’s buddy and his huge collection of tennis balls.

We do have a part-time British blue cat at home, called Blue. She lives a couple of doors up, and ever since I bought her a packet of Dreamies, she is round most afternoons for food and attention. It’s an ideal situation, as I don’t have to worry about her vet’s bills and if she is naughty I can send her home. 

There was one awkward evening a couple of years ago when the neighbour was going on holiday the next morning, and couldn’t find her cat in the pouring rain, and knocked on our door to find her sitting on my knee. I promised I wouldn’t let her in the house any more.

If she’s reading this with a brew, I of course stuck to that promise rigidly and never let Blue in the house. Honest.

Also this week, I managed a little escapism from the stresses of life and the gloomy world news in the form of Free Guy on the big screen. 

It’s the latest popcorn blockbuster from Ryan Reynolds, who plays a guy called Guy, stuck inside a computer game as an extra character who the software developers can’t delete. 

He breaks out of his mould as a bank teller who gets robbed at gunpoint every day in the game, and falls in love with another character played by Jodie Comer. It’s a little bit Groundhog Day, a smidge Wreck It Ralph and a generous dollop of the Truman Show, with a portion of Deadpool sarcasm. It’s got a couple of naughty words in it, but apart from that I’d recommend it for anyone over about the age of eight.

I’ve also got plans to watch plenty more over the next seven days, but I am not convinced this will help my step count on my new smart watch, however. I’d best get a treadmill for the Tameside Radio studio at this rate.

You can listen to Alex every weekday from 7am to 11am and on the 'Super Scoreboard' show on Saturdays from 3pm to 7pm, on Tameside Radio 103.6FM. 

Read more from the Tameside Reporter

Click here for more of the latest news

Click here to read the latest edition of the paper online

Click here to find out where you can pick up a copy of the paper