Dog enrichment and Rest Days

Dalmatian

Gone are the olden days where dogs MUST be walked every single day without fail.

The same as us, sometimes a dog needs rest. How often do you have a day where you just want to chill out on the sofa and do nothing? Where you dont see another human and you dont leave the house? So why are we expected to walk our dog every single day?

If we have a stressful week at work we just want to chillout for the weekend and do nothing. Well this also applies to dogs. Its recommended that after a stressful event that we give our dogs up to 72 hours off depending on the severity of the situation. This gives our dogs adrenaline time to return back to their normal levels.

Sometimes a dogs feelings can either be described as stacking plates or even an overfilling bucket of water. Lets go with the plates, the more and more stressful events your dog goes through (be it having their nails clipped, told off or attacked by another dog) the more plates are added to their stack. At some point the stack is going to fall over and the plates are going to smash. By giving your dog rest days it allows them to "remove plates from their stack" and get to a more comfortable level to deal with daily life.

Now not every dog may need a rest day or even regular rest days, but its important to know that there's an option for it. Use their rest days to do some training at home, or some mental enrichment, or even just play with them. Use snuffle mats, lick mats, puzzle toys, scatter feeding or even just chews. Play fetch or tug or chase with them. OR just give them a day off.

For me as a reactive dog owner days off are extremely important, my dog needs at least one day a week without facing his triggers. I know alot of people who have reactive dogs who arent used to toileting in the garden yet, and for me its really important that this is something they focus on. If you have a dog who is reactive and they have to face their triggers everytime they walk out their front door then they are never truly getting a rest. Whether they are human reactive, dog reactive or generally just a nervous dog, if they have to go outside their house multiple times a day to toilet then they are never truly having time to decompress. Never truly having the opportunity for their adrenaline return to a more appropriate level.

So all i ask of you is to consider rest days for your dog!