It’s important that we’re able to fulfill our dogs’ needs, providing them with both physical and mental stimulation.
However, it can be easy to tire our dogs out too much, which isn’t necessary. We can vary the ways in which we meet our dogs’ needs, without leaving them feeling exhausted each day. But getting the balance right can be tricky – how can we fulfill their needs without completely tiring them out? Walks play a big role, as does playtime with some of the best dog toys, but what else?
Well, one award-winning trainer – Lisa Burton of Listen Dog Training – has got some answers for us in a new Instagram post. So, let’s take a closer look!
Burton dispels the idea that a tired dog is a happy dog, explaining that, actually, a fulfilled dog is a happy dog. “Physically exhausting your dog on a daily basis is not the same as fulfilling his needs,” she explains. “In fact, consistently working your dog hard will turn him into an endurance athlete; meaning achieving exhausting each day will simply get harder and harder for you.”
She advises switching up the activities you give to or do with your pup, so that you’re giving them physical and mental stimulation, and varying the intensities of the activities you do.
Dogs do need plenty of physical stimulation, and some of this can be more intense. Running is an obvious starting point, of course, but you could try swimming too – here are 32 ways your dog benefits from swimming – as well as agility. But, don’t forget to add some more low-intensity physical work in there too, like games of hide and seek, sniffy walks, and plenty of play with their favorite toys!
For the mental side of things, some high-intensity activities like trick training, obedience training, and heelwork are recommended. Burton also advises incorporating some lower intensity mental stimulation, too, like scatter feeding to allow your dog to scavenge. However, low-intensity mental stimulation can even be as simple as giving your pup a stuffed enrichment toy.
While exhausting our dogs out every day isn’t a good idea, it’s important to remember that dogs do need a lot of sleep – more than we do! If your dog is sleeping a lot, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve been making them exhausted. Is it normal for a dog to sleep all day? Not quite, and excessive sleeping could be a sign of health issues, but your pup sleeping more than we do isn’t usually something to be concerned about.
