Enriching Your Active Dog’s Life

Dogs are meant to live active, engaging lives working, running or swimming all day. These jobs involve physical and mental exercise. These days most dogs these days spend a great deal of time sleeping on fluffy beds and eating out of bowls with little effort waiting for us to come home. As a result they are bored and under stimulated, and ripe for getting into trouble. Dogs need stimulation and that is not always easy with our busy lives. I work to keep Pilot engaged and busy. We cuddled, played fetch, did nosework, and practiced obedience between my family dog classes today. 

Here are some tips on ways to keep your dog a healthy and happy pet.

AT HOME

Providing jobs for your dog while you are busy or away from home will help them from becoming bored and inventing their own entertainment. Instead of getting into the garbage, barking or chewing on your favorite couch, they could be working to earn their breakfast.

Treasure hunts can be set up by hiding kibble or food stuffed toys around your home or in your yard instead of feeding them in a bowl. They will have good time hunting and be a better pet for it.

Food dispensing toys are a wonderful for busy work. They are sturdy rubber or plastic toys that hold food inside. Dogs need to lick, chew, paw, shake or roll them to get the food out of them. These toys include Kongs®, Buster Cubes®, Kibble Nibble®, Tug-a-Jug®, Bob-A-Lot®, and Busy Dog Ball®.

Puzzle Toys can be a good outlet and are especially good on a rainy day. Nina Ottossson makes some creative and colorful puzzle toys that provide new challenges. If you’d like to make your own fill a muffin tin with toys and balls in each compartment. Put a treat under each toy then stand back and let your dog work.  Video Links: The Muffin Tin Game  Box Pushing

Chew toys are essential for good jaw health and clean teeth and help relieve anxiety. Appropriate chew toys can be Kongs, natural marrow bones, bully sticks and Nylabones®. Providing plenty of legal chew toys will help keep your dog from chewing on the wrong things.

Games like Fetch, Tug, Find it, Hide & Seek, and Chase are all great fun and easy to do almost anywhere in any weather.

OUT & ABOUT

There are many interactive activities that you and your dog can get out of the house and do together.

Walks, hikes, jogs or car rides can provide a dog with new smells, sights, sounds and friends. Being around other dogs and people and relaxing out in the world are important aspects of caring for a dog.

Dog Sports you can play with your dog provide mental and physical stimulation and social opportunities. Exercise can be the most important form of stimulation for a dog. There is a sport for everyone including agility, nosework, treibball (ball driving), lure coursing, go-to-ground, rally, dock diving and musical freestyle.

Training with reward-based training classes can increase your dog’s mental stimulation and improve the bond between you and your dog. It also helps the dog learn to understand what you expect of him or her. Contact a reward-based trainer for group or private obedience for classes in your area. 

There are many ways to stimulate dogs and every dog will prefer different things. Find what rocks your dog's boat and get out and play.

Let us know how you are engaging your dog with games indoors and outside on these rainy days. 

Life is short, play with your dog!

by Sandi Pensinger (c) 2012

A Daily Routine for Your Dog

Lure Coursing. Photo (C) LWD

Your dog needs consistency in his daily routine to have a healthy and fit life. Make a schedule of your dog’s daily activities. Here are some suggestions of things you might include. Every dog is an individual and a recipe approach may not be appropriate for all dogs – find things that both you and your dog enjoy.

Feeding

Scheduled mealtime routines can help reduce anxiety and help a dog relax. 

Training 

Practicing polite greetings. Photo (C) LWD

Training is essential for a well socialized dog. You can train your dog any time—while you cook, eat, clean, talk on the phone, work on the computer, watch TV, run errands, go to the softball game, go for a walk, go swimming, take a hike, or ride a bike. Training should be a part of your lifestyle and should be consistent among family members so the dog learns what to expect. A perfect example is training when you arrive at a door. A typical day of running errands and training at the same time can be the following:
• Go to the bank, bring the dog with you, and practice door etiquette.
• Pick up your dry cleaning and practice loose-leash walking in the parking lot.
• While doing your laundry, practice stays and eye contact, and play the “hide the cookie” or “toy in the towel” game. You can even put the dog on a longer leash and practice recalls.
• When you go to the pet shop, practice door etiquette and sitting politely for petting.

Combine training, exercise and play with canine agility.
Photo (C) LWD

Play & Exercise Time

Play is a valuable component in relieving stress and providing exercise. Play can encompass everything from play with other dogs, playing with toys and fetching and playing games with you. Play helps release the happy chemicals in their brain and gain valuable skills. Play can be a wonderful way to reward a dog in conjunction with their training.

Nap Time

Dogs can be more predictable and calmer with a regular nap time. If you have a very busy or hyperactive dog, you may want to crate them for an hour or two mid-day. Dogs usually have two active times during the day, morning and late afternoon into evening. 

Alone Time

Learning how to be alone may be an inevitable part of your dog's life. You need to go get groceries, go places that don't welcome dogs and go on vacations or trips that may not include your furry pal. A little bit of alone time every day starting when you get your dog will help prepare your dog for times when you just can't be there.

Chew Time

Chewing can help to relieve tension and give a dog a nice quiet activity. Chewing should be supervised so that the dog does not swallow large pieces of hard to digest items.  Some dogs are very aggressive chewers. You may need to work with your veterinarian to find a safe chewie for your dog.

Leash Walks

On leash walks will provide your dog with access to a bigger world. Seeing, smelling and experiencing many new things in the world is an important part

Hands on time. Photo (C) LWD

Hands On Time

Spend time grooming, massaging and handling feet, toenails, ears tail, and teeth.  It is a wonderful way to bond with your dog. All dogs will have some time in their life when they may need to be restrained or handled and daily handling can prepare them. Daily teeth brushing can help you avoid costly dental bills.

What is Your Routine?

All dogs have individual needs and preferences. Is there anything that your dog loves that is not on this list?

Rain today

The dogs have cabin fever. Pilot is jumping out of her socks wanting to tug, jump, run, and play ball. I've been teaching her how to be a "calm dog". I wait until she has all four feet on the floor (which can take a lot of patience) and then I stroke over her back with both hands very slowly and talk to her like I am singing a sweet soft lullaby in a little more than a whisper "Calm Dog." At four years old, I wonder when she is going to grow out of this energy at the same time I enjoy being able to train a dog that is so full of life, just not at 11PM.

It has finally started raining this winter, The rain is much needed but we have enjoyed all of the good weather this year. There are accidents happening on the highways and mudslides in the hills as it always happens when the Santa Cruz Mountains get a lot of rain very quickly. I've cancelled agility classes tomorrow morning as it will still be raining in the morning.

Pilot was on my lap watching the news quietly sleeping when Ed got up to get ready for bed. She bolted out of my lap and ran down stairs to hunt on the woodpile. Sigh. We have a ways to go to get back to Calm Dog. I'm glad we had those few moments together.