Transference of Energy

Ever have one of those mornings where everything seems to go awry? You wake up late because you forgot to set the alarm. The coffee maker explodes. You can't find your keys, etc. The day progresses and hopefully you've worked your way through the madness. Then, when you arrive home, you find your dog sitting in a pile of fabric that was once your favorite pair of shoes. Well, I can't explain why your coffee maker exploded or why it is that you can't seem to remember to set your alarm (shame on you! how old are you again?) but I can explain why Rover decided to have a leathery lunch. Dogs aren't the mind readers we want them to be but they do pick up on moods. They do it by reading your body language, by smelling you, and listening to the quality of your voice. You can't hide very much from them in the way of emotions because that is the only way they know how to communicate with you. If you are anxious, frantic, angry, sick, or nervously excited, your dog interprets this as unstable energy. He thinks "My owner is anxious so there must be a reason to be anxious and the worst part is....I don't even know what the threat is!" You left in a frenzy this morning and now he's home alone in the same mood. You eventually work out your anxiety but you are his whole world and he's home alone and filled to the brim with anxiety. He's gotta release that bad energy and what better way then by chewing on something. This is one thing that dogs have over us humans. We tend to bottle things up and "deal with it." They know they have to let it out. The worst thing we can do for our pets is to anticipate their bad behavior. If every time a guest knocks on your door you think "Oh, I hope Misha doesn't jump on them too much this time" then Misha is definitely going to jump all over your guests. Your dog can sense your nervous thoughts however fleeting they may be. We can't be on point all the time but we can remember to counter negative thoughts with calm and positive ones. If you are in a situation in which your dog usually acts out, then take your time and relax first. Don't proceed until you feel you are in control of the situation. Stop around the corner before you get to the yard that has the rabid German Shepherd and do some deep breathing and if you must anticipate, then anticipate Rover walking easily by without so much as a raised ear in the other dogs' direction.

The Importance of the Walk

Yes, it's important to take your dog out to relieve himself. In fact, every 5 or 6 hours during the day your puppy HAS to go. The walk is far more important than that, however. Unlike us, the dog's most powerful sense is smell. Up to 40% of their brain activity is designated for discovering and interpreting scents. Just look at the above illustration at the nasal cavity. It's gigantic! Whereas humans can only detect the most prominent smell in a room, your dog can simultaneously smell the furniture, your shampoo, what you had for lunch, what's in the garbage can, that cat that rubbed against your leg 4 hours ago, and the mud on the bottom of your shoe. When you take fido for a walk, it's like a smorgasbord for his brain. Every patch of grass is exciting to him. I would imagine it's akin to reading a good book or seeing a movie. Then he gets the added bonus of meeting other canines on the walk. Oh boy, how great is that!?! A dog's second most prominent sense is hearing. He can hear 4 times farther than you and more pitches. Trapped in your home all day, your dog gets bored. Same scents. Same sounds. Boredom leads to anxiety which leads to unwanted behaviors (i.e. ripping up shoes, compulsive grooming, excessive barking, etc) and your dog becomes unbalanced and unhappy. He needs to burn off that excess energy and pull in some new experience to his consciousness. The walk is also an opportunity for bonding with your dog. In the dog world, they don't sit around and bark at each other to relate. They move as a pack. There is something that I like to call "the zone" that happens on a long walk. Your dog gets in rhythm with your steps and both of you are silent and you begin to feel like you are moving as one unit. When I'm working with dogs, I notice a shift in their willingness to learn after we've had a walk "in the zone". This state of being is heaven to your pup. You are part of his pack. You are bonding with him. Remember, dogs interpret humans talking as excitement so silence really is key. Your being relaxed and walking with him is more positive reinforcement than you could ever imagine. You are taking him out of our artificial world of computers, t.v., loud noises, etc and bringing him back to his true habitat. The walk is also one of the best ways to establish yourself as the pack leader. The pack leader always walks in front so make sure Fifi isn't walking you. Good discipline on the walk will make all of his unwanted behaviors in the home easier to control as well. I think I could go on for days about this topic but the best way to sum it up is that dogs need to walk like fish need to swim.