mental exercise

DESTRUCTIVE DOGS OFTEN MISDIAGNOSED AS SEPARATION ANXIETY

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DESTRUCTIVE DOGS OFTEN MISDIAGNOSED AS SEPARATION ANXIETY CASES

Boston terrier chewed door

 

By Sara Bryanton, CPDT

Head trainer

Unleashed Potential, PEI

 

I get a lot of emails and phone calls to help people who say their dog has separation anxiety. Some have been prescribed anxiety meds. This is why we do 45-60 minute free consultations and assessments. I will spend more time with you then most experts asking many questions about your dog’s history, breeding, development, their habits, their responses to stimuli, your habits, your routines, environmental changes, food being fed, physical and mental stimulation, your work schedule, travel life etc. 

 

After finding all of that out, quite often it is not a case of separation anxiety but a case of destructive behaviour due to boredom and lack of stimulation. That is why your anxiety meds aren’t working. 😉

 

If your dog lacks mental and physical stimulation they tend to seek out their own “tasks.”  They need an outlet for their energy and if no outlet is provided they engage in destructive behaviour to vent out the energy. 

 

In this instance, I will likely not recommend meds for your dog but here is what I will recommend:

 

🐶 MENTAL & PHYSICAL ENERGY BURN. Engage with your dog with fun and challenging interactions doing obedience training games everyday. Make their new daily “tasks” fun and engaging.  Sit, down, heel, place, come, stand, stay in position and other fun tricks that they can problem solve and be active in are important.  Challenge them to learn how to do it without relying on lures or bribes, instead create a thinking dog who can problem solve, find their advantage and think they are in control. 

 

🐶 No more leaving them alone to exercise themselves mindlessly on your property. YOU exercise them. YOU engage them daily with fun activities such as fetch, tug, flirt pole use, walks, runs, bike rides, swimming and nose work.  YOU supervising and engaging with your dog. They will love it and you at a deeper level.  Why doesn’t a dog listen to its owner? Because often the owner is boring, not present, not engaged, not reliable and the most common word spoken is “no!” Be the cool kid in school that your dog wants to hang out with. 

 

🐶 Teach your dog to have an off switch. Many owners focus on constantly stimulating their dogs with play, enrichment and exercise. This is great and please don’t stop! But the problem with that alone is, it can create adrenaline junkies who can not sit still and always need to be doing something. Teach down-stays on ‘place’ and reward calm behaviour. Make sure they are getting proper sleep. Adult dogs need 12-14 hours a day of sleep. Like kids, your dog might choose not to rest. Make them rest by using a kennel or teaching place command after their Energy Burn needs have been met. Destructive behaviours increase with lack of sleep.

 

🐶 Feed them nutritious healthy food. Not all food is created equal and just because your bag costs $100 doesn’t guarantee it’s good for them. Dog food companies are masters of marketing and masters of making you think their food is natural and healthy when it is not. It’s our job as pet parents to know exactly what we are buying and feeding our dogs. Poor food choices can hinder brain function and contribute to aggression and destructive behaviours. Links below for websites you should study. 

 

🐶 And lastly, take action. Mike Hawkins from Planet of Success says-

 

“ You don’t get results by focusing on the results, you get results by focusing on the actions that produce results.” 

 

Dog training is a lifestyle. Set intentions to work with your dog every day and teach them what you expect with fun, food and engagement. Those intentions will turn into habits and those habits will then become second nature. Your dog is only on this earth for a short while. Don’t waste the opportunity. ❤️

 

Love, 

Coach Sara

 

LINKS

 

www.unleashedpotential.ca Find out more about dog training services.

Unleashed Potential K9 Academy® is a registered private training school under the Private Training Schools Act of the Province of Prince Edward Island.

Sign up for free dog training videos, see what food and supplies we carry in our webstore and book your free consult with a certified trainer. 

 

www.truthaboutpetfood.com Non-profit pet food advocacy group. 

 

www.planetpaws.com Nova Scotian, Rodney Habib, has become the worlds leading dog food nutritionist and currently has over 3.5 million followers. Find out the latest news on all things food, Science-based info on increasing your pet’s life span, DIY tips and ideas of things you can do at home to enrich your dog’s life and more. 

 

Sara with Kyro and Hurtta

 

Going Mental! 3 Things You Can Do to Decrease Stress and Increase Pleasure For You and Your Dog

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Going Mental“Going Mental” 3 Things You Can Do to Decrease Stress and Increase Pleasure For You and Your Dog.

Adding the Balance to Your Dogs Needs  Decrease Your Stress and Increase Joy

The bulk of the work I do with dogs is dealing with unwanted behaviors. In many cases, I get contacted as a last resort and at that point the dog and the owners are going mental. That is, they are at whit’s end and whether they know it or not so is their dog. When I tell them the problem and the solution is mental, they don’t believe me – until they try.

Problem:

With many dogs the problem is not enough or the right kind of mental stimulation. Frankly, a lot of dogs are bored and that leaves them searching for things to do that allows them to use their brain. This is especially true for working breeds but it is not limited to them and the behaviors that develop as a result are often unwanted by the owners. Barking, destruction, reactivity, guarding, not listening in general, etc. In some cases these dogs are physically exercised plenty as it is often said a tired dog is a good dog. While that may be true, many find that all they end up doing is building an athlete. What used to take a 15 minute session of chuck-it now takes an hour. What used to be a 5K hike is now 10K. There are limitations to physical exercise. There is nothing wrong with it and I highly encourage it. But if that is your dog’s only outlet it may be a problem. Your dog has other needs that require fulfillment.

If you work at a job that requires a lot of physical activity but not a lot of thinking, at the end of the day you may be left physically exhausted with a restless mind. Conversely, if you sit at a desk all day problem solving, at the end of the day you may be left mentally drained but with a restless body. You need both and so does your dog.

Solution:

Your dog needs both physical and mental exercise to strike a balance and fulfill their needs. I recommend meeting these needs first before tackling any behaviour issues the dog may have or to prevent them from happening in the first place. Many find simply adapting this lifestyle with your dog solves most of their problems or diminishes them greatly at the very least.

Here are some ideas on how to provide mental stimulation to your dog:

  • Obedience or Trick Training: Teaching obedience or even tricks gets your dog thinking. Every time you teach your dog something new and then develop it to perfection it engages their brain and gets them to think. It is no different then us. We use our mental capacity much more when learning something new compared to doing something we already know. With the dogs, I recommend continually teaching them new things and once they know them randomly run them through several of the things they know in a session. This gets them thinking and concentrating on what you are going to ask of them next. As long as they are willing to work for whatever it is you have to offer they will do it very willingly and try their hardest to succeed. These drills are able to exercise your dog mentally and physically at the same time. Get your dog to do obedience or tricks between launching the chuck-it ball or playing tug.
  • Nose Work: Whether it be tracking or scent work, dogs tire very quickly when using their nose. They do so naturally but when we teach them how to do it for a specific purpose we can exhaust them mentally very quickly. I like scent work in particular because it is a great option when the weather outside isn’t cooperating. It is an easy activity to do in the house or yard.
  • Agility: Agility combines both physical and mental into one. The only downside to agility is the equipment required. But if you have access to a facility or can install some in your yard you can make a dog think while they are physically exercising at the same time. It’s a win-win.

 

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