Three things that make a happy dog.
1 - Health
The cornerstone to your happy and well balanced dog is their health. I’m not a vet or a nutritionist but I have and do spend many hours of my time keeping up with research, opinions and developments in health for dogs. I firmly believe that any dog with behaviour issues should have a full health over haul as part of their plan.
I believe that our dogs deserve a fresh, healthy varied diet that meets their specific nutritional needs and that for the most part this does not come in the form of a ‘nutritionally complete’ biscuit or big brand kibble. It doesn’t mean that kibble and treats can’t be part of their diet or that you are failing if you're not feeding a raw diet. Life is never that black and white and it’s totally valid to balance your needs in terms of convenience, training treats and budget. There are considerations of our dogs environmental impact on the planet, as like us their numbers grow and demands on resources increase. However, feeding a primarily fresh and protein based diet containing minimal filler carbs (rice, wheat etc) with little to no of those unrecognisable ingredients on the label should be one of your priorities for a dog with behavioural issues in particular.
The next most important part of your dog’s health is their access to exercise. Different breeds have different needs and even different individuals within breeds will do well on different exercise regimes. What’s important is to remember that exercise and mental stimulation can go hand in hand and also be addressed separately, and your dog needs BOTH to fulfil their needs. OK hang on Cat, don’t you sometimes recommend ditching the dog walks? Yes I do, because sometimes in our best intentions to get our dogs a good level of daily exercise we end up constantly exposing them to the things that are causing them stress, anxiety or wild over excitement. Ditching walks can be life changing for some dogs, it can give them the vital break they need to relax. However, for long term and continued health I always want to work with you to bring those ‘walks’ or I prefer to stay ‘exercise’ back in a way that is not as damaging as it is beneficial.
Do you know how much exercise ACTUALLY suits your dog? 1 hour a day? 2 hours a day? 1 slow hour and a couple of high energy play sessions? Have a think and test and adjust until you hit the jackpot for your dog.
I highly recommend the book The Forever Dog as a great resource to learn more about optimal nutrition and health for dogs.
2 - Good social relationships
With both humans and other dogs based on your own dog’s preferences. The first and most important relationship in your dogs life is the one they have with you. This is something you are always working on and built on a foundation of trust and mutual respect it will serve you for life and make all your other training and behaviour goals with your dog fall in to place so much easier. This ties in to the next part about choice as well but it’s important to remember that you are already the dominant (yep that word) half of the relationship with your dog. You hold all the cards, the food ball and the literal keys to their fun and fulfilment. To think you need to further assert that dominance through correction and force shows only a lack of understanding and need to boost your own ego. It’s your place to guide, manage, empathise and learn to have a working two way communication with your dog. Do this and because they are truly amazing animals they will almost always work their paws off to please you!
When it comes to other dogs, just like us our dogs have preferences and it’s important to respect them. Some dog’s are naturally social and have a need and desire to interact with other members of their own species. If thats the case it’s up to you to provide that in a safe and appropriate way. Remember you put your dog in the situations you put them in and you must guide them to understand how to act appropriately.
What about reactive dogs? 99% of dog reactivity is based in fear - you could just keep your dog away from other dogs or people for the rest of their life, thinking that they just don’t like dogs and other people so why put them through it? And that is certainly a solution, but imagine you were afraid of other people? It doesn’t mean you don’t actually want to interact it just means you’ve not go the skills and confidence to do so just yet. Help your dog, take time and patience and kind approach and allow them to have a fulfilled life in all ways!
3 - Choice
Yes choice! Imagine never being able to plan, choose or influence your own daily life? Sounds stressful right? Well this is normal existence for many many dogs. Now unless you have endless time, money and resources you can’t give your dog total choice. However, you can build a level of choice into their day to day life and build the element of choice into their training. Choose me and I’ll make your world amazing because I know what lights you up.
How can I give my dog choice? I like to think of my daily exercise with Elvis as me walking with him not me walking and him coming along for the ride. Thanks to training and management I make sure he gets plenty of time off lead, it that wasn’t possible then he would be given as much freedom as I possibly could based on his level of training. When he wants to stop and sniff something, I hang around for a while and let him, I don’t believe that having a well trained dog is mutually exclusive with allowing them to just be a dog for a while. Elvis has a particular love of some very sweet grasses for example. he really enjoys snuffling around and picking out the sweetest blades. When we come across a spot of these plants I stop and let him have a few minutes enjoying this time. It’s a bit like stopping to look at a nice painting or pooping into a shop your partner wants to because they really like that brand of clothes for example. Let your dog have some time to do the things they like in the environment, it won’t make them a bad or disobedient dog. Just sometimes - slow down and let your dog lead the walk, you might be surprised where they go.
How about letting your dog have some choice over what they find rewarding? You might think that they absolutely love a certain type of food or toy for example but is this just because that’s all thats been on offer so far? While you can’t provide everything all the time, it’s totally worth investing some effort into working out your dog’s true preferences. Do they prefer to chase a ball or tug on toy for example. Would they rather receive their food reward directly from your hand, chase it down or catch it from mid air for example? Do some tests, offer your dog’s some different foods, toys or behaviours to see what they CHOOSE not just what they accept because it’s what’s on offer. Remember they can’t just say - I fancy lamb for dinner tonight. You sometimes have to ask!
What about breed or personality specific outlets? Do you have a Terrier with an inbuilt need to hunt and chase? Consider a trailing sport. A Collie that wants to run and herd? Maybe agility or working with sheep? Pretty much any dog that loves to use it’s nose? Can you provide healthy outlets and stimulation for that need in your dog? If you can tap into your dog’s own personal drivers either breed or individual specific and allow them an outlet for that need - not only will they be a happier dog, your relationship will become stronger as you join in and become a team to achieve those goals!