Zen Like: Focused, Yet Relaxed

On Saturday we were speaking to our landscaping contractor in the front of our home while Laika and Deuce spent approx. thirty minutes or perhaps even longer looking for tiny little lizards. When we finished talking and went inside, Deuce plopped on the cool bathroom floor as if he had run a marathon.

Ah, that’s easy! Just let the dogs out to chase the lizards and viola! (Note: for all you animal lovers, nobody got hurt during this activity) You have yourself a happy and mentally stimulated pup. Unfortunately for me, I did not have my camera to record the hunting of the lizards… so I took the dogs out once again the following day. A win-win situation I thought: they get to chase and I get a cool video. Not so.

The lizards, good little learners that they are, decided to move elsewhere as there were no lizards to be found, and the lighting was not as nice as the day before. Murphy’s law in full swing! Either way, I did video both Deuce and Laika as they looked for the little critters. I realize that the video included here is not award-wining material, but what it does illustrate is the importance of finding ways of engaging our animals in their natural behaviors. Watch closely and you will see that Deuce is super focused on finding the lizards and responding to every slight  movement in the brush. At the same time though, he is totally relaxed. Zen like. Focused, yet relaxed.

 

One has to wonder if the reason behind him laying exhausted on our bathroom floor after his chasing was in part due to the fact that he was thoroughly content. Clear reinforcement, which is defined as something that an animal finds pleasurable, and that it would work for, is truly in the eye of the beholder. No two animals are alike, but I can almost guarantee you that your dog would enjoy engaging in what comes pre-wired, and stalking and chasing are part of these pre-wired doggie behaviors.

So here is a newsworthy concept put forth by Jaak Panksepp, a renowned psychologist, psychobiologist, neuroscientist, the Baily Endowed Chair of Animal Well-Being Science for the Department of Veterinary and Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology and Physiology at Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, and Emeritus Professor of the Department of Psychology at Bowling Green State University. Forgive me, but I just had to put in all his credentials.

Panksepp has written extensively about emotion. In his book: Affective Neuroscience: The Foundations of Human and Animal Emotions (Series in Affective Science) he champions the idea of the Seeking system. I will paraphrase here about the Seeking system and just touch upon aspects of the Seeking system that I find very relevant because of their applicability in our lives with our own animals.

Seeking is a survival mechanism. It helps the animal find food, shelter and mates. Seeking is self rewarding. However, seeking is more than just searching. The Seeking system is activated by learning new skills, positive social interactions and, when not scary, investigating and engaging with novel stimuli.

Think about it. Our dogs are forced to live in “our world” thanks to the legacy of domestication (of course, it is not all bad for them). As part of this “contract” we have taken away or at best diminished from our dog’s lives many of the activities that are natural to them such as: searching for their food, hunting, chewing, digging and enjoying the company of other dogs in a relaxed manner as in opportunities for dog play. The good news is that it is not so hard to once again introduce into your dog’s life (or any other pet you might have) some activities that will allow them to engage in natural and self-rewarding activities. Chasing (lizards or…) in a safe manner is one activity that will activate the Seeking system. The importance of you providing these opportunities and having your dog engage regularly in them has to do with mere quality of life. It is not enough to “own” a pet. We MUST provide for them. We must also acknowledge that their needs are different from ours. In many cases their needs collide brutally with ours (they bark, they mark, chew furniture etc.). All activities that we find annoying. Now, the good news is that by us providing them with a rich life based on their needs, we get the satisfaction of doing so plus a pet that is easy and fun to live with.

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it - do come up with ways by which you can provide for your dog a much richer environment on a daily basis.