You know it’s important to provide shelter, food, exercise, and clean drinking water for your dog. But do you know how much meeting appropriately affects their behavior? Many problem behaviors are a result of an unmet need!

Examples include:

·       Chewing inappropriate items

·       Biting or mouthing people and clothing

·       Jumping up on people

·       Zoomies: racing around uncontrollably

·       Tearing up items that aren’t toys

·       A reluctance to train or follow instructions

·       Unable to settle down or constantly ‘hyped up’

·       Seemingly endless energy

·       Sudden changes in behavior

·       Acting snarky, snippy, or less tolerant of things they were okay with before.

If your dog is showing any of the behaviors above, it’s important to evaluate if they have any unmet needs FIRST before you try to address behaviors with training. If your dog is chewing up your house because he’s in pain from teething, trying to train him not to chew doesn’t fix the underlying pain. Giving him appropriate items to chew on does! .

Here are some important needs you need to make sure you are meeting:

1.     Nutrition & Weight Management

2.     Access to Clean Water

3.     Physical Exercise

4.     Mental Stimulation & Environmental Enrichment

5.     Sleep & Quiet Time

6.     Predictability & Boundaries

7.     A Clean & Safe Environment

8.     Opportunities to be a Dog

Nutrition & Weight Management

There are lots of well-balanced and healthy diets out there you can provide your dog with! Dry kibble is the most popular dog diet because it is easy to access and most convenient to feed. Canned food, prepared raw meals, and prepared dehydrated raw are also great options!

There is not one right way to feed your dog, as all dogs are individuals! Each breed, and each individual within that breed, will have their own unique needs influenced by not only their genetics, but also their lifestyle. When you’re selecting a diet for your dog, the first place you should start is chatting with a veterinarian who is experienced in canine nutrition. Despite popular beliefs, vets are not paid by food companies and don’t get any kickbacks for promoting certain foods.

There are also several websites (some more reliable than others) that rank and grade different dog foods. The important thing to look for is that your food follows and exceeds the American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) guidelines. Your locally owned pet store can also help in finding the right diet! Many pet stores carry small sample bags you can try before you buy.

In addition to finding the right food, you also need to make sure you’re feeding the RIGHT AMOUNT of food! Don’t just follow the chart on the back of the bag; they’re very misleading. The key to feeding the right amount of food for your dog is based on how many calories they need to maintain their weight and how active they are. Any store-bought dog food will have the number of calories per cup on the bag. There are lots of good calorie calculators online that will calculate how many calories your dog needs based on several factors:

·       Breed

·       Age

·       Activity level

·       Ideal Size of your dog

Keep in mind that higher quality kibble will usually have more calories per cup, because it has less junky fillers, and your dog will need to eat less of that kibble than they will a lower quality kibble.

Calorie counting aside, the BEST way to make sure your dog is getting the right amount of food is by tracking their weight and body scores. 1 extra pound of weight on a dog is equivalent to 5 to 10 extra pounds on a human. Overweight dogs often live shortened lives and are at higher risk of arthritis and other injuries throughout their lives. Keeping your dog in shape will help you guys enjoy your lives together even more!

I do suggest 2 structured mealtimes a day. Some dogs can be free fed and not gorge themselves but feeding your dog a specific amount of food at specific times of the day helps with potty training young dogs and can help you catch serious health issues early on! A change in appetite and digestive functions can be an early warning sign of serious health problems.

Troubleshooting:

-If you are having a hard time getting your dog to eat, have them thoroughly examined by a vet first

- If your dog isn’t eating their food, resist the urge to dress it up with tasty morsels from the table, or other fancy dog foods. Sometimes our dogs train US to give them extra goodies 😉

- If your dog isn’t eating all their food at mealtimes, but is maintaining their weight, you might be feeding them more than they need!

Access to Water

Dogs need to drink water all day long, and unless your vet advises otherwise, they should have free access to clean water at all times. Restricting water can lead to dehydration and a number of other complications, including actually increasing potty accidents in the house! If you have concerns that your dog is drinking too much or too little water, bring it up to your vet ASAP, as these can be early warning signs of serious illness.

·       Clean and refill your dog’s water at least once a day

·       Don’t wait for the bowl to become empty before refilling it

·       Ceramic dishes are safest and the least likely to grow harmful bacteria

·       Carefully monitor water left outside, as wildlife and birds can contaminate it

·       Be careful about allowing your dog to drink from streams, rivers, ponds, etc. They can easily pick up dangerous or deadly parasites, diseases, and more.

Physical Exercise

Your dog’s physical exercise needs depend on a number of factors, including age, breed, general health, and stamina. Many problem behaviors arise from dogs who are being either UNDER or OVER exercised. The resulting problem behaviors look very similar, so sometimes it to figure out the root cause.

Your dog’s breed will also play a role in both the problem behaviors that arise, and the exercise your dog needs or desires. Be sure to research your dog’s breed to see what tendencies they will likely exhibit and try to use that for your exercise! My definition of exercise is anything that gets your dog’s heartrate and breathing rate elevated.

A general guideline is that puppies over 5 months old, and under a year old, need about 20 to 30 minutes of exercise once a day. Avoid extreme exercises that cause stress on joints like running distances, jumping, fetching, frisbee, and lots of climbing. Puppy lead play, walks, and light jogging can be very healthy for your puppy and their joints! Puppies and dogs do need to slowly build up stamina and muscle tone just like us, so take your time building up to longer walks and hikes.

Adult dogs need and enjoy 30 to 45 minutes of exercise one to two times a day. They best way to figure out how much exercise your dog needs is to track data!

1.     Spend 1 week at your ‘normal’ exercise level. What behaviors are they showing throughout the day? Are there any problem behaviors that you think might mean they need more exercise?

2.     Spend 1 to 2 weeks doing MORE exercise than you were doing at baseline. What do you notice? What has changed? What is better? What is worse?

3.     Spend 1 to 2 weeks doing LESS exercise than your baseline. What do you notice? What has changed? What is better? What is worse?

Mental Stimulation & Environmental Enrichment

Exercise shouldn’t just be physical! Just like we can get bored and need to entertain our brains, so can our dogs! Mental stimulation and environmental enrichment are JUST AS IMPORTANT as those physical exercise sessions. Not only that, but mental enrichment can still tire your dog out on a rainy or snowy day when you can’t get outside.

Here are some suggested activities:

ü Trick training

ü Obedience training

ü Feeding from food puzzles

ü Decompression walks

ü Opportunities to track or follow scents

ü Exploring new locations, surfaces, scents or sounds

ü Dog sports & activities

o  Parkour, Agility, rally, flyball, frisbee, tracking, dock diving, nose work, at-home obstacles, and more!

Sleep & Quiet Time

As humans, we know how important it is we get those 7 to 9 hours of sleep so we can be active all day long! Did you know your dog needs about TWICE that? Wow! Puppies under 1 year old need about 16 to 18 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period. Most adult dogs prefer 14 to 16 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period.

Not getting enough rest takes a big toll on both our bodies and our dog’s! We can lose our ability to make good choices, have a bad attitude, and be slower to respond or think through problems. Dogs just aren’t built to go all day long without rest, and too much exercise and stimulation can make our dogs cranky and overstimulated. Overtired dogs often seem like dogs who need more exercise! They can be getting into all kinds of trouble, tearing up the house, running around like crazy, and more. If your dog can’t stay focused on the appropriate behaviors, it’s a good sign they need a nap or quiet time.

Make sure your dog has a quiet, comfortable place to rest. A good routine for puppies is about 1 to 2 hours awake, followed by 2 to 3 hours or sleeping and quiet time. Adult dogs can stay awake longer, but still need 14 hours of sleep each day. If you notice your dog getting grumpy or making ‘bad’ decisions, help them settle down for a nap.

Predictability & Boundaries

Dogs thrive on routines and predictability! Creating a schedule and sticking to it most days will help your dog know what is expected of them, and when they will get food, playtime, and exercise. Just imagine if someone else dictated every part of your life, and you never knew when anything would happen. So stressful!

You don’t have to have the same routine every day but following it most days will make you and your dog’s lives much easier and more enjoyable. It’s also important that any rules or boundaries you implement are followed by all members of your household so that your dog knows what they can and can’t do. There are no universal rules for dogs and humans, so check back in with your long-term goals for your dog and set up rules and boundaries that reflect that!

A Clean & Safe Environment

This seems pretty obvious, but I felt it still needs to be mentioned. “Clean” means your dog has adequate space to potty away from where he eats, sleeps, and plays. It also means being careful of what toxins and chemicals your dog might be exposed to through cleaning products, candles, essential oils, plants, and other things you might have in your household or yard. This also means cleaning your dog’s bedding, bowls, and toys regularly.

A “safe” environment means your dog should be able to live somewhere that they don’t need to worry about being teased, tormented, abused, or neglected. They should be protected from the elements, wildlife, and other animals, and dangerous people. They should have their own space to retreat to when they need a break, and they should know that nobody (human, dog, or otherwise) will bother them when they go to their safe space.

Opportunities to be a Dog

We get dogs because we like dogs! So don’t forget to let them express their natural needs and tendencies. We spend a lot of time training our dogs not to do things that are often perfectly natural: jumping, barking, licking, digging, chewing, sniffing, peeing, running, chasing, rolling, and more. What are they SUPPOSED to do?

You don’t have to let them do those things anywhere and everywhere but be sure to meet those deeply ingrained natural behaviors in a way that works for both you AND your dog! We have spent thousands of years breeding dogs to perform specific jobs – they will really appreciate being able to express those breed traits!

•  Terriers have been bred to dig for rodents. Set up a dig box with some toys and treats!
• Herding dogs have been bred to chase (and maybe nip!) moving objects. Get a flirt pole or herding ball, take them to herding class, or teach them treiball
• Sighthounds have been bred to run and hunt. Take him to safe places he can run and run!
• Scent hounds have been bred to track prey. Let them follow scent trails on walks, or even hide treats and toys for them to track in the house or yard

Conclusion

Remember to research your dog’s breed so you know what they were bred to do, and what is normal to expect from that breed. That will help you set them up for success to be the best version of themselves! You’ll know how active they will likely be, how much food they might need, what behaviors they’ll exhibit, what breed specific needs they might have, and the best exercise and enrichment to provide for them!

Don’t forget to check back in on your long-term goals, and make sure those align with your dog’s breed. Can any of those goals be addressed in part or in whole by meeting your dog’s needs?