Mind, Body and Soul
By Gillian Ridgeway
At the start of a New Year there is always a lot of talk about health, getting in shape and being physically active. It is a common resolutions and so it should be. Overall wellness should also apply to our four footed friends. Getting (and keeping) them in the best physical shape possible is something that every dog owner should strive for.
But what about mental health? Sure, it might be something that us humans chit chat about, and read about, and even struggle with in our own lives. I think it goes without saying that the benefits of mental wellness seem to be coming more to the forefront this millennium, but how do we go about accomplishing this for our dogs? The fact that we need to give some focus to our dog’s mental wellness might be a much-overlooked area.
Mental wellness can be greatly improved by mental stimulation. This means that keeping our dogs mentally active can be as important as keeping them physically active and in fact, can tire them out more quickly than a few laps around the block.
We have all seen it, and a lot of us have experienced it firsthand. The dogs that simply won’t tire out. These are dogs that race around a park, catching a frisbee or run tirelessly after their ball to the exclusion of all else. To the untrained eye, this seems like a fabulous way to tire out your dog, and in many cases it can be. In some cases you will see the dogs becoming over stimulated and the goal of bringing home a tired dog will become more and more difficult over time, as your dog develops into a canine athlete. The best way to tire out some of these clever canine athletes is to have them use their brains.
Teaching tricks is a highly underestimated activity for dogs. All facets of obedience are “tricks”. A trick to a dog is simply a word that you have taught him to do, in order for him to gain a reward. To him the concept is clear, but to us, it can be slightly muddier. While we may see a difference, to the dog a word is a word. Whether we ask him to lie down, or to shake a paw, it is the same to our dogs. As dog owners, we often see tricks as silly and frivolous. Think about it again. Tricks can be taught in the comfort of your home, to dogs of all shapes, sizes and ages.
Having your dog learn any word at all takes concentration, and concentration can tire the best of us out by the end of the day. If you go for a jog, often you are coming home revved up and full of energy. If you sit and do a complicated crossword puzzle or take a pottery class, you will often find yourself tired before completion. And, if you add mental stimulation to physical activity, you will really find yourself ready for a nap.
Playing the “Find it” game can get a dog into the thinking mode. Start to teach your dog this game by folding a piece of cardboard in half and placing it like a tent, over a treat. Hold your dog by the collar as you place the treat under the tent. Have your dog sit a few feet away and ask him to “find it” in an enthusiastic tone. You may have to show it to him the first couple of times, but soon he will catch on. As he becomes more proficient, have him sit further and further away from the treat under the tent. Soon you can start to hide the treat (or even a favorite toy) in different areas of the house. To make things even more complicated, teach him individual names for different toys, and then ask him to find them by name.
Doing your obedience lessons in the home will also give your dog an overall mental workout. There is no rule saying that you have to go outside in sub zero weather to train your dog. Teaching all the basics such as sit, stay, down and come can all be done in the living room. Let’s face it; we will all get more done if we don’t have to put our boots and parka on first. Start in familiar rooms, and progress to different areas of the house. Teaching a recall can be done from quite a distance, especially if you have a family member to work with. Calling the dog back and forth between the two of you will give him a physical workout, and will add some fun to your day.
Dog sports are one of the best ways to continue to keep your dog mentally stimulated. They require stamina and skills, from the owner as well as the dog. By doing sports training such as Agility, you will continue to keep the skills of the dog up, and in doing so will keep him mentally alert. He will be asked to know the equipment needed for the sport, along with some obedience and he will also be asked to be attentive to his handler for both verbal cues and hand signals. It can be a workout for everyone.
Keeping your dog mentally aware can be accomplished many, many times per day. Just asking your dog to sit before meals or before exiting the door, by having him lie down while you are eating and by teaching him to retrieve an item by name, will definitely keep up, and improve, his skills.
In many homes, dogs are taught their obedience and even some sports in the first year. There is a decline in the time we give to our dogs in this regard as they get older. Many dog owners feel that once the dog has his basic training, there is no need to continue. While you don’t need to do something quite so consistently as they get older, it is always a delight to us as trainers, to see clients bring their dogs back once or twice a year just to show them something new. It is not necessarily to accomplish a goal; it is to have a night out with a special friend, and for them to continue to enjoy the learning process.
As a member of the SuperDog team, I see this going on constantly. The trainers are not only training new and upcoming dogs, they are also showing their experienced dogs new tricks. The dogs seem to really enjoy learning a new routine, or going out onto a different course than they have seen in the past. There is nothing more fulfilling than seeing a veteran dog with a job in the show.
It is similar to us taking a Spanish lesson, or learning to sail, later on in life. It keeps us motivated, interested, stimulated and we have a ton of fun learning. Isn’t that what we would also want for our dogs? Try something new this year; keep mental wellness at the forefront…the dogs will thank you.
Gillian Ridgeway, AHT, has worked with dogs for over 35 years. She is director of Who’s Walking Who in Toronto and Ajax. A consultant for Dogs, Dogs, Dogs!, Gillian also writes for Dogs in Canada. She has appeared on Dogs in Canada TV, Global television, Q107 radio and in Toronto Life, and is co-author of the book, “Citizen Canine.” She travels with the Iams SuperDogs Performance team and teaches learning theory at University of Toronto. Gillian can be contacted at 416-465-3626; www.whoswalkingwho.net
