Dogs are born predicting, from what you do when you leave to when their next walk will be - the prediction of excitement for some dogs can be as good as the event itself!
· Do you have a dog that goes crazy when they hear your keys rattle, shoes on, pick up lead on Instagram!
· Do you have a dog that gets too excited when they hear a knock at the door?
· Do you have a dog that whines when its ‘teatime’?
· Do you have a dog that gets too highly aroused when they see dogs on a walk?
Your dogs will naturally want to find predictors and find creative ways to predict things. Wherever and whenever you can - Don’t let this happen! Try to mix it up as much as possible - don’t be predictable!
Over-arousal can happen from predicting the event / fear from predicting a negative event. Dogs who have less predictable schedules are much happier in their everyday life. They are flexible! By ditching the routine my day to day living is effortless- no whining or waiting to go out for a walk or waiting to be fed- Skye, my dog, adjusts and fits in to my way of life whether that’s a walk at 6am or a play session at 8:30am.
So how can you make your dog more flexible? Change the:
• Way you feed (scatter feeding, kong, bone, snuffle bag etc.) Interactive feeding is the way forward!
• Way you exercise / training routine - mix it up! Walk, 3 lots of 3 minute games or just play with your dog.
All of the above increases flexibility – being able to think outside the box is super key to creating a happy and easily adjustable dog!
Ditching the routine can be far less stressful for the dog – actually it’s the humans that can find it hard! Your dog will for sure be happier and more content as long as you can stick with it. The more you do it, the easier it becomes - just wait for the benefits to come flooding in!
Let me know what ways you have been ditching the routine by hash-tagging #adelesdashingdogs on instagram!
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