If you are like me, you take the Christmas holiday as an opportunity to gift your favorite canine pal. I bought some stuffed animals for Rio and Deuce in Ikea when I was in the Bay area. Ikea has some great kid’s toys that are perfect for dogs. They are cheaper than your average dog toy, better made (no parts that the dog can eat) and they are super cute. Yes, my dogs also got some comfy beds for the holidays. Myself like almost everyone I know that has pets buys them stuff because they love them but also because it makes them feel good. Nothing wrong with that I say!
Beds and toys make great gifts for our dogs because a comfortable and safe place to sleep and the opportunity to engage in natural dog behaviors such as dissecting to such unrecognizable pieces that cute toy they just got for Xmas is part of what makes dog’s “happy”.
I don’t know about you and your household routine, but in my household I follow certain “protocols” to ensure my dogs not only sleep in comfort, but that they also have a “crack” in life as dogs in our human world.
So for instance: everyday in the AM our dogs get an opportunity for mental stimulation (either an individual training session - and believe me there is always something we can work on) or engagement with a food-dispensing toy. Secondly they have something that addresses physical stimulation be it sheep-herding for Deuce with Rio either playing with a favorite pal or coming along with Deuce and me for a “country outing”.
Other days we play soccer and tug in a very structured way doubling up the play session with some basic obedience and impulse control routine.
My goal for my dogs and those of my client’s is to make their training as imbedded in everyday life activity as possible. Everyone wins!
So… besides creature comfort, opportunities for new learning and burning some mental and physical steam, what do dogs really want?
It goes without saying that dogs, just like us, are individuals with preferences and dislikes.
For an under-socialized fearful dog the idea of meeting people is at least an aversive and at worst very scary. It is also our job to acknowledge our dog’s temperament, age and physical condition so that we can best provide for them the above opportunities.
Beds and toys make great gifts for our dogs because a comfortable and safe place to sleep and the opportunity to engage in natural dog behaviors such as dissecting to such unrecognizable pieces that cute toy they just got for Xmas is part of what makes dog’s “happy”.
I don’t know about you and your household routine, but in my household I follow certain “protocols” to ensure my dogs not only sleep in comfort, but that they also have a “crack” in life as dogs in our human world.
So for instance: everyday in the AM our dogs get an opportunity for mental stimulation (either an individual training session - and believe me there is always something we can work on) or engagement with a food-dispensing toy. Secondly they have something that addresses physical stimulation be it sheep-herding for Deuce with Rio either playing with a favorite pal or coming along with Deuce and me for a “country outing”.
Other days we play soccer and tug in a very structured way doubling up the play session with some basic obedience and impulse control routine.
My goal for my dogs and those of my client’s is to make their training as imbedded in everyday life activity as possible. Everyone wins!
So… besides creature comfort, opportunities for new learning and burning some mental and physical steam, what do dogs really want?
- Dogs need to feel safe.
- Have the choice to escape unnecessary pain, discomfort and threats (yes we do need to trim their nails and brush their teeth – and indeed there are humane ways of doing this BTW).
- Daily opportunities to engage in gratifying social contact with other dogs as well as daily opportunity to engage in social contact with their humans.
- Daily opportunities for play and exercises (both mental and physical).
- Some control over their environment (where they sleep, to meet guests, to get petted or not at a given moment, etc.)
- The right set of circumstances to engage in species-specific behaviors such as chewing, digging, barking, chasing, eliminating, etc.
It goes without saying that dogs, just like us, are individuals with preferences and dislikes.
For an under-socialized fearful dog the idea of meeting people is at least an aversive and at worst very scary. It is also our job to acknowledge our dog’s temperament, age and physical condition so that we can best provide for them the above opportunities.
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