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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.

Pack Leader is out of date for dogs

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Dog owners always like to know the best ways to help their dog, and often tell me they watch every program that is out there to learn more about this amazing animal. However, just as we don’t think Made in Chelsea is unscripted, or believe we would be able to mimic Bake Off recipes just by watching the show, we really need to accept that TV shows for dogs are there for entertainment – sadly, often at the cost of the dogs’ welfare.

It’s still on TV, and talked about as a mysterious wonder, the idea that we somehow have to be ‘pack leader’ of our unassuming pet dogs. People even call themselves dog experts and have probably paid a few hundred pounds to ‘qualify’ in the topic. It means that dogs are often treated badly, punished physically, shushed at in a weird hissing noise, or yanked around on their leads. All in the name of ‘pack leader’.

What if I told you that this ‘Pack leader’ dominance theory was never proven and is at least ten years out of date now?

Even the person who originally talked about ‘alpha’ (referring to wolves, which are of course, not dogs) has said he was wrong. Dr David Mech from the University of Minnesota has since recorded himself on Youtube saying how and why this wasn’t accurate. This is good science. Good science finds new evidence that renders the old theories inaccurate, and starts using the new evidence instead. It’s not anything to be ashamed of. It’s simply that we know more now.

Dogs are intelligent creatures that we have genetically modified over the years to suit our purposes. That used to be mainly for working – hunting, helping guard our homes, alerting, picking things up, but also sitting on our laps and being cuddly. Not all dogs were bred the same of course, that’s why even the ancient Greeks had little white fluffy dogs for companionship, and great big hounds for pursuit.

However, everyone has always been aware that we have to be responsible for training our dogs to do all the things we need and want, so that they and we are safe. This doesn’t mean being horrible to them in the name of an imaginary ‘pack leader’. It means understanding how they like to live, that they are driven largely by scent, movement, food, safety, and of course, mating, and how great they are at things we humans are often terrible at, which is why we want them around. They are above all nowadays, our friends, and they need us to help them and teach them in a sensible, kind and clear way – not demand and dominate.

If you’d like to learn all about how dogs really live and learn from us humans, my book Being a dog tells you everything you need to know about our much loved family friends.

Guest post – Symptoms of Separation Anxiety in Dogs

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We all love dogs, and only a proud dog owner understands how it feels to live with a dog. They not only make our lives better but also become the center of our world. 

Dogs have been human companions for a very long time, and they love their human friends more than their life. Their wagging tail and bright shiny eyes never fail to tell how much they adore their human boo. 

Well, you can always feel the love your pooch has for you through his playful jumps and never-ending excitement when he sees you enter the house. And, this happens every time you come back home. He follows you everywhere and always craves to spend time with you. And no dog parent can deny the fact that they love to see their dog excited every time they come back home, and his gesture of following them everywhere makes them love him even more. 

But, there are times when a dog parent comes back home and hear the neighbor complaining about how their dog was disturbing the entire neighborhood by barking or howling persistently. Did it ever happen to you?

If yes, then there are chances that your dog might be suffering from separation anxiety, and you need to take it seriously. 

Well, if you are pondering over the weird behavior your dog is showing off these days, then do not worry!! Through this article, you will get an insight into what separation anxiety is, along with the symptoms that will help you realize if he is suffering from the problem or not. 

So, without wasting any more time, let’s move onto the problem and its symptoms.

Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety is a serious concern among dogs and needs to be dealt with carefully. It is a situation that dogs face when they do not find their human friend/owner around. The main reason behind dogs developing separation anxiety is that they are social animals and prefer to live in packs. 

For a domestic dog, the pack is their owner or the person they are attached to. So, when they do not find their owner around, they start feeling anxious or gets distressed. Due to the feeling of anxiety or distress, they exhibit destructive behavior. 

When it comes to dogs exhibiting disturbing/destructive behavior, their owner starts feeling frustrated and many times punishes them for the same. Well, it should not be this way since punishing dogs suffering from separation anxiety may worsen the situation. 

Thus, one needs to understand that their dog is already suffering, and he needs to be dealt with care and support to recover from the situation. After all, they develop separation anxiety because they do not find you around and all they crave is you, your time, love, and support.

Symptoms of Separation Anxiety

Now that you are aware of what separation anxiety is, let us talk about signs that will help you understand if your dog is suffering from the same or not. 

Before you take a look at the symptoms, understand that if your dog is suffering from separation anxiety, he will exhibit these symptoms only in your absence, not while you are present.

Find out more on dogs by clicking on the following link: www.mypetchild.com

Constant Barking or Howling

If you often hear your neighbor telling you how your dog keeps on howling or barking while you were not home, take it as a sign that your dog might be suffering from separation anxiety. 

Dogs tend to get distressed when they do not see their human boo around and end up barking or howling persistently due to the stress they develop when left alone.

Prefer reading: Simple tips to get your dog to stop barking. 

Chewing or Destroying the Furniture

Nobody likes to enter their home after a tough day at work only to see destroyed furniture or their favorite pair of slippers. People usually frown upon their dog after seeing the destruction he had caused in their absence. 

If you, too, have ever faced such a situation, then instead of getting angry, try and understand that it is not in his control, and he might be prone to separation anxiety. 

Pacing

You might have seen your dog moving in the same direction, usually in a circular motion or back and forth along a straight line. Well, this too might be a sign that your dog is suffering from the problem of separation anxiety.

Digging or Attempting to Escape

There are chances that if your dog does not find you around, he might try to dig through the doorways or try to escape from the window. Well, during this attempt, he might cause self-harm, including broken teeth or nails, scraped paws, etc.

Acting Up While He Sees You Leaving

Have you ever noticed your dog acting up just when he realizes that you are about to leave for work or anywhere else? 

Well, it might be an indication that he is suffering from the problem of separation anxiety and cannot stay at home alone without you. 

Always remember that if your dog is suffering from separation anxiety, then he will only show these symptoms when he does not find you around. And if he behaves the same way even in your presence, then he might need to be taught a few polite manners.

Defecating Indoors

If your dog is well-trained to do his business outside the house and he starts urinating or defecating inside while you are not around, it might be because he cannot stand to stay alone at home without you. 

Wrapping it Up

Now that you know about separation anxiety and its problems, make sure you do not get your dog wrong if he is acting up. So, if you see your dog acting differently than how he used to, consider how he behaves and try to understand if he is suffering from the problem of separation anxiety. 

If it turns out to be a yes, then take the necessary measures to help him get out of the situation.