Bored Dogs… the real issue

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Instead, ask yourself, "Why is my dog always awake?".

This is what will lead to major behavioural issues over time and behavioural problems are what we call symptoms of underlying issues. Boredom means your dog is lacking what they really need, so looking for ways to keep them occupied is not ever helping the dog.

Dogs require 18 to 20 hours of sleep per day, and when they're asleep, they're not bored. However, this is only achievable if they're engaged in activities that meet their needs while they're awake (living the right life for them). It's not always about doing more; it's about doing the right things. There's more to having a dog than just trying to tire them out.

To achieve this, we need to understand what our dogs were bred for. Even if you don't know your dog's breed, we can still figure out what to do with them. There's something called a predatory motor pattern, which includes all the behaviours a dog would practice when hunting. However, it's different depending on the breed. For example, retrieving dogs, the behaviours humans have encouraged from the predatory motor pattern are seeking (sniffing) and grabbing. If we get them to sniff out a dummy, grab it, and bring it back, they're practicing their full predatory motor pattern! We can figure out exactly what our dog needs, even if we don't know the breed, with the 30-minute lesson on our website.

When our pets fulfil their breed-specific needs, they're less likely to be frustrated and more likely to be satisfied and sleep. It doesn't matter how much exercise or mental stimulation we provide if they're still frustrated from not being able to live the life they need to live. Our goal should be to support healthy sleep rather than occupying the time they're awake with lengthy simple tasks. This will help improve their behaviour on walks and at home.

In conclusion, dog parenting involves understanding our dogs needs and behaviours and providing them with proper mental stimulation and outlets to keep them healthy. We must ensure that our pets have fun in a beneficial and fulfilling way to avoid boredom and its associated undesirable behaviours. 

With MK9Plus we can ensure that our dogs are no longer lacking and finally getting what they need