When
you arrive home from work do you find your underwear, some kitchen items and
some torn up bed-sheets waiting for you at the front door, along with the
wagging tail of your best friend?If this sounds familiar your dog may be trying to tell you something.
Many
of the dogs I work with have not been given adequate exercise on a daily
basis.Once we added a rigorous
exercise routine the behavior of the dog drastically improved.The one thing the dog’s owners have in
common is that they do not realize the connection between “bad” behavior and
pent up energy.
Keep
in mind that all dogs were bred to do a specific job.While some of those dog’s jobs were somewhat sedentary such
as the Pekingese, who was bred strictly as a companion for royalty, most dogs
were bred to perform much more grueling tasks.You or I couldn’t imagine the energy necessary to take on
some of these jobs.
For
instance, take the Border Collie or any other herding breed including the
Australian Shepherd, Sheltie or Welsh Corgi.The herding breeds are highly intelligent, generally easily
trained and can fit well into family life.The other side of herding breeds, however, is their tendency
to nip at people’s heels and chase moving objects such as cars, bikes and other
animals.Why they do this is not a
mystery, they were bred from carefully selected herding dog stock to be the
best at what they do; herd, chase and nip at the heels of the animal.
Siberian
Huskies were bred to pull sleds across miles of frozen terrain.Many generations later these arctic
breeds have not lost their desire to run and will do so any time the
opportunity arises.Labrador Retrievers
are still the number one breed in America.They are highly intelligent, good natured and wonderful with
kids.Labs are also notorious for
all sorts of destruction when left home alone.Remember what they were bred to do?They were bred to work hard alongside
the hunter and retrieve birds that have fallen in the icy water.
So,
since we can’t fight nature what can we do?
These
instincts cannot be removed, fixed or eradicated.Instead they must be managed.To manage our dog’s drives we must give them a time when it
is OK to satisfy the drive and we must drain all that excess energy!
I
recommend a minimum of two forty-five minute structured walks per day in
addition to an opportunity to participate in another activity or just to
run.Other activities include
things like going to the dog park, pulling a skateboard or cart, bike riding,
treadmill or a game of fetch.
You
will find that when you fulfill your dog’s daily exercise needs he will have
little energy left for undesirable behaviors.
