PawPrintPets

Making You & Your Dog Happier


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Keep your dog happy during lockdown

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Simple ways to keep your dog busy at home

Are you back working from home, or want to make sure your dog is fulfilled every day when they are not on walks? You may need to listen to a work meeting without distraction, but don’t want your best friend to be bored! 

Dogs are intelligent, busy creatures and need mental stimulation, especially when young. Keeping your dog entertained is more fun for you and for them. Much better than just buying toys and hoping for the best. We all know the toy box is left gathering dust whilst your dog raids worktops and the leftover Christmas chocolate (very bad idea!).

What does my dog enjoy?

Firstly, decide what your dog actively enjoys. Do they sniff and hunt a great deal, or are they into dog treats, or just like listening to you for great social interaction? If you can provide things that cater to these needs, your dog will be more settled naturally. 

Boredom really means that there is nothing rewarding around. You don’t need to constantly work to keep your dog entertained, but they need to have an outlet to burn off excess energy. Providing chew toys, a dog puzzle with treats inside, interactive dog toys are great. Some of them can even be ‘smart’ toys that turn on and off to vary the frequency of play. All will help. A simple game is to take a muffin tin, place a small piece of dog treat in each section. Then place tennis balls over the top. Your dog can use their nose or bring their paws in play to knock the balls aside to earn their reward.

Does my dog need to be busy all the time?

Introduce rest and relaxation as part of your fun indoor activities. All dogs, especially puppies, sleep a great deal, so make sure that you aren’t experiencing puppy boredom by giving them activities and then routine ‘sleep times’.

What activities might my dog enjoy?

Activity ideas include simple games such as hide and seek, or finding tennis balls, or basic obedience training. If you really can’t spare the time, employ a dog walker so that your dog can be out having a great time whilst you sit at your desk.

Fetch and tug of war can sometimes lead to problems with obsession and injury. From crazy leaping around for a tennis ball, or pulling hard on items as a ‘win’ game. Basic obedience comes from your dog learning that it is fun to interact with you. It enriches their quality of life immensely. So start teaching sit, down, come, heel… yes, easy and useful too.

How about some basic nose work, where you scatter tiny pieces of their food around the garden for them to seek out? Repeat this with your dog a few times rather than giving them their dinner in a boring bowl.

Even though you may be at home, you will need regular breaks. As long as your dog is fit and well, you should provide at least two walks outdoors a day. Healthy dogs also keep their owners active. A good sniffy walk helps everyone’s quality of life. 

How do I keep my dog happy when alone?

Be cautious not to develop a dependency between yourself and your dog. It might be that when you finally leave the house the dog has nothing to keep them entertained. Create a big list of all the activities your dog can enjoy without you needing to interact with them. Food puzzle toys, interactive dog toys, the frequency of play with you and without you. These are all important guides for what your dog will need when you are not there

What can I buy that will help my dog stay busy?

Here’s some examples of interactive dog toys. Click the images for more info.

Some fun toys are just what you need! Click the images above for more.
How about a snuffly mat? These are great fun. Click the picture to find out where to buy one.

PUPPY CLASSES ONLINE

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We are running all classes, one to one and behaviour consultations online! Sessions are all held with Karen Wild, CCAB, Certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourist and Animal Behaviour and Training Council registered Animal Training Instructor.

We can take puppies from all over the UK so don’t hesitate to get in touch and give your lockdown puppy the best chance at quality puppy training!

Karen has over 20 years experience and is able to help you through the early weeks and months of puppy training and puppy behaviour.

Contact us here: [email protected] or use our contact form

Don’t delay! Class space is limited and we are taking bookings now.

Play with your dog!

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What a strange thing to suggest! Playing with your dog is something we all do, isn’t it?

You’d be amazed how many pet dogs sit alone for long periods of the day, then get fed, and sit on a cosy sofa or lap for the evening, and that’s their daily lives. They may get a walk, they may not. ‘They are too old’, people say. ‘They never pick up their toys’.

In fact, a lot of play is social. This means that whilst some dogs when younger might fling their toys about and chew most things around them, this wears off after a while.
The novelty value of items fades, the longer the dog has access to them. Toys get put into the toy basket and lose their interest.

Playing is such a great activity because it’s really useful for teaching lessons. Our dogs learn to be gentle, to calm down after the excitement of the game. Play is mentally stimulating, leaving the dog tired as a result. Not the sort of tired we get from flopping onto the settee after a day at work. The exhilarating tiredness that we might get after playing on a bouncy castle, or winning the latest round of Call of Duty.

Here’s a few tips on how to wake up the play instinct and get a happier dog.

Firstly, pick a toy they enjoy. Hard rubber toys aren’t usually fun but softer ones can be wriggled about and made to ‘come alive’. Of course, if you know your dog is likely to grab and not let go, or shred it and swallow the contents without giving the toy back, then choose a stronger one. Pick a time when your dog is looking for mischief, or is excited about something else such as you coming home.

Keep the toy low to the ground and wiggle it about, moving it away from your dog. Imagine how a running rabbit might dart away, and get the toy to mimic that movement. If you decide to use a squeaky toy, only use the squeak part once or twice. Apart from the sound being annoying to us humans, it tends to switch the dog off rather than on.
To get the toy back if your dog has decided they really want it, have some treats ready. Tiny bits of sausage or chicken (or other meat, as long as your dog isn’t allergic to it). Swap the toy for some of these goodies, and you can continue the game.

Long before your dog gets fed up, swap the toy for a treat and put it away out of reach. This will keep it exciting and new for next playtime!

Here are some toys for your dogs to try out! Click the image for more info.

Children petting your dog?

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We all pat the dog! Please don’t!

Working with owners every day brings lots of stories about their problems with their dogs, but also their experiences in the community, too.

One big worry for dog owners is that children are not asking first if they can stroke their dog. I have even been in situations where parents encourage their kids to come over and pet the dogs in my care. They then become upset when I ask them not to. This is not because I am a mean old lady (and less of the ‘old’, please!). Instead I simply don’t want my dogs to be scared by a child that has been a little clumsy. In the past a child has swooped onto my dog and tried to pick him up. My dog is a good sort and very used to children, but seeing his little shocked face was horrible and told me that he was not enjoying it one bit. If the parents can’t control their children, then I have to. Even if we are nice, we dog owners are still seen to be ‘rude’ when we say, ‘No, please do not touch my dog’!

As a parent myself I know that we want our kids to be friendly and kind. Whilst we want this for our dogs too, there are risks. A child that a dog does not know, going over to ‘pat’ it on the head is NOT friendly, even though the child thinks it is. Few dogs enjoy the attention. I witness dogs simply putting up with it. I also meet owners that are too embarrassed to say no. Imagine if a stranger came up and suddenly put their hands on you?

Our poor dogs don’t talk using words, but their body language speaks for itself. Dogs draw back from unwanted contact – their ears pull back, their heads lower, they try to move away. Remember that being patted on top of the head means reaching out (scary( and touching the dog right over their eyes. Rarely a welcome place to have a stranger place their hand.

The more we take note that children often get bitten when they are being friendly, by a known dog, the sooner we can act positively towards prevention. Let’s be proactive in our community, by learning how we can all work together to teach our kids and dogs the better way to behave.

Why not look at Karen’s new book, ‘Being a Dog’, to learn more about the world of dog behaviour from your dog’s point of view!