How to Have a Happy Dog

Image by Powerhouse Museum Collection via Flickr

How to Have a Happy Dog

Dogs are pack animals; they are happy within a pack; now that you are your new pack members leader you need to show him that you are a legitimate, reliable leader of his pack.

There are a few different ways in which this can be done, the main thing that you need to remember with your new dog is to try to remain calm at all times. It is understandable that this can be difficult if you have gotten a puppy or very young dog that is not yet fully house trained, you will find that buying your dog a crate will be a tremendous help in your training here. The biggest help in house training your new dog is time, if you can manage to schedule a holiday for the first couple of weeks of your new dog ownership, and you are able to devote a lot of that time to the training of your new pet, you will be saving yourself a lot of stress.

Something that is difficult to remain calm about is if you have had a long and stressful day at work, and you open the front door to find that your dog has destroyed your new designer shoes, another good reason to buy a crate and get your new best friend acclimatised to it. He can go in the crate while you are out and then he will not be able to chew rugs, shoes and whatever else he sees and thinks might be amusing to chew. Do try to remember that dogs do not chew up your belongings to spite you, or as revenge, it is simply done because of boredom and the need for plenty of exercise. If you are able to take your dog for a lovely long walk before you leave him for the day, just half an hour will help. Another thing you can do if you are leaving him for any length of time is to put with him in his crate a couple of safe chew bones, toys that he can be left with your dog that do not need supervision. A particularly enjoyable one for your dog when it is on its own is a Kong toy, some of these can be stuffed with treats and it exercises the dogs mind because he has to work out how to get the treats out of the toy; because of the smell of the treats there is no worry that he will lose interest. If he finds normal treats are too easy, try filling the Kong with some dry kibble; pour water over the toy and then freeze it overnight. During the day, it will defrost and become a terrifically attractive toy for your dog.

Always remember, the crate will need to be of a comfortable size for your dogs age and breed, and if he is in the crate for longer than a couple of hours, food and water should be supplied, to a young dog, plus training pads in the opposite corner of the crate for the dogs comfort.

This may seem a lot of trouble to go through just so that you can go to work, but it is what must be done for you to be a strong pack leader. In the animal kingdom, puppies are left with babysitters, older dogs who look after them and stop them from getting into trouble. If you are able, and can afford it take your dog to doggy daycare or get yourself someone who will walk your dog through the day and keep an eye on them during the day. If not, then a crate is the only other solution to leaving your dog on her own. Do not worry, if a crate is all you can give your dog while you are out of the house; it does not mean you are a lousy owner. A lot of dogs deal with this extremely well and so long as you treat your dog with the understanding and respect that he deserves. Train him to become the dog that you want and need; exercise him every day with as many walks as you can, and feed him fresh, nutritionally rich food, then you will be the best owner that your dog can have.