Top 5 New Years Resolutions for You and Your Dog
This New Years, how about we think of some resolutions we can actually stick that will benefit us and our dogs. We’ve chosen 5 resolutions that pet parents might overlook, and that don’t break the bank or take much extra time. In fact, many of these could actually help you be more successful with any other resolutions you may have, whether it’s being more active or taking more time for self-care!
1. Let them sniff.
Your dog’s sense of smell is 40 TIMES stronger than yours. That might sound a little abstract, so let’s put it this way: a human is capable of smelling a few drops of essential oil in a small enclosed bathroom, but a dog is capable of smelling the same amount of oil in an enclosed stadium. Take a minute to think about that! Us humans are primarily visual. Preventing our dogs from sniffing on walks would be like walking through an art museum blindfolded. Scent is an unbelievably important sense for our dogs, and we humans can barely comprehend how our best friends “see” their world. Studies have shown that sniffing actually lowers your dog’s pulse and helps them relax. Allowing your dog more time to sniff can actually encourage your dog to keep a loose leash, can make your walks more tiring, can keep Fido calmer at home, and can make walks more enjoyable for the both of you.
Our favorite way to incorporate sniff time on walks? Go get a long line! Long lines come in a variety of lengths, from 15ft to 50ft in both standard nylon and weather-resistant biothane, that allow your dog more freedom to roam and use their noses while still being safely contained. According to the same study, dogs spent 280% more time sniffing when on a long leash than a short leash, and 330% more time sniffing off-leash than on a short leash! So this year, get yourself a long line, and let your dog spend more time sniffing while you’re out on trails or at the park. (Use common sense when deciding when and where to use a longer leash! A busy urban sidewalk is not a good idea, but low-traffic open fields, hiking trails, or parks are perfect candidates.)
2. Ditch the bowl.
We love a cute ceramic dish as much as the next person, but let’s save them for decor for now. Instead of scooping kibble into a bowl and wasting a potential opportunity, let’s put that food to good use and incorporate it into some enrichment! You can read all about practical enrichment strategies in the fabulous book Canine Enrichment for the Real World: Making It a Part of Your Dog’s Daily Life, or you could visit fabulous force-free trainer Rachel Harris’ website for a free ebook all about enrichment. With just a few minutes of time spent on your part, you can keep your dog occupied for hours! Upping your in-home enrichment can help keep your dogs calmer around the house. Everybody wins!
3. Set up for success.
We’re big advocates of self-care for our human learners. It’s not always easy living with a dog while you work through troublesome behavior problems, no matter how much you love them. Setting the environment up so everyone can be successful is a cornerstone of an effective training plan for the dogs of course, but it’s also for your benefit so you can have some peace of mind! Even if it’s not a permanent fixture, installing baby gates, stuffing a week’s worth of kongs at a time for freezing, or leaving the radio on could be simple ways to massively improve the harmony in your home while you work on training. Check out our blog post about management strategies!
4. Give your dog a raise.
If you’ve ever been in a group dog training class, you have probably seen the powerful change in behavior that can happen thanks to upping the reinforcement value. Your dog could be at the end of the leash whining at squirrels, but then we bust out our secret stash of rotisserie chicken and bam! You have their undivided attention despite the squirrel parade behind them. This isn’t because we are “bribing” your dog, or “distracting them” with food; we’re just giving them a raise and paying them what their attention is really worth in those circumstances. Think about the motivation you feel making minimum wage vs the motivation you might feel making triple figures. This year, put that ego aside and don’t be stingy with your reinforcement! Cut up some ham, get a new squeaky ball, and really find out how to motivate your dog.
5. Train for joy.
We’ve made our whole careers around training because we clearly find joy in it. We know not everybody feels that way. Training might feel like a chore, but we promise it doesn’t have to! This year, we want you and your dogs to really feel that joy in training. Get silly with your dog, use your Mickey Mouse voice, teach them that funny trick you saw a dog do on instagram, laugh when you both inevitably mess up a rep or two. Dog training can often feel very serious (and sometimes it absolutely is!), but you can take the pressure off of you and your dog by lightning it up a little bit and focus more on feeling good while you learn and play with your four-legged best friend.
We want 2020 to be the best year yet for you and your dogs! For the rest of January, be sure to check back as we do a weekly deep-dive into each of these resolutions. From all of us at Clickstart Dog Training Academy, have a safe and happy New Years!