6 Ways To Meet Your Dogs Needs: Behavior Problem Prevention & Treatment

I promised everyone a deeper dive into meeting our dogs needs in my last blog series about nurturing a secure attachment with your dog. Having a fantastic relationship with your dog is also one of their very important needs, so if you haven't read the Secure Attachment Series, I encourage you to do so! If you're still following along, your dog thanks you for being curious! 

When you think about how to prevent dog behavior problems what comes to mind?... When asked this question, most pet owners will say that the secret sauce is dog training or obedience training. However, training is unlikely to prevent big feelings if we are not also meeting our dogs needs. If we are not considering their side of things. If we are not providing them with species appropriate outlets and care. If we are not giving them those outlets, they're likely going to find their own outlets, and you probably won't like the outlets they choose. This is when behavior "problems" can arise. I put "problems" in quotations because these are only problems from the human's perspective. From the dog's perspective, they are just trying to meet their own needs that are not being met by their people in the best way they know how. Many issues can be prevented by simply providing for these needs. If your dog is already experiencing behavior challenges such as separation anxiety, meeting their needs is a crucial part of resolution. So, here are 6 ways you can meet those needs!

1. Exercise

This is the one most pet guardians will think of first when I talk about needs and one that many of them already have a handle on. Exercise is of course important, but it's not everything. If you feel like you're exercising your dog a lot and it's still not enough, consider adding in enrichment. Maybe even back off of the physical exercise a bit if it seems excessive and you're burnt! If your particular dog has some arousal issues or they seem like they're always "on", backing off the physical exercise a titch, and adding in other types of stimulation can help these dogs slow down! Also keep in mind that a half hour sniffy walk can be more fulfilling for your dog than running next to your bike for an hour. I deeply disagree with the mantra "a tired dog is a good dog". A tired dog is simply a tired dog, not necessarily a fulfilled, or satisfied dog. A tired dog may even have a shortened fuse simply because they're exhausted. I much prefer "a fulfilled dog is a good dog"!

2. Enrichment 

Enrichment activities are things that help mimic a dogs species or breed specific needs or tendencies such as sniffing, foraging, hunting, biting, shredding, digging, chasing, barking, swimming, ect.. 

Here is a small list of some enrichment activities you can try. The list is almost endless!

• Food stuffed kongs or other stuffable toys
• Dry food puzzles. Store bought or DIY
• Food scatters in the grass or in home
• Nosework
• Digging pit
• Flirt pole (get your head out of the gutter ya filthy animal)
• Sniffy walks
• PLAY with you
• A car ride to see the sights and smell the smells

A great way to identify what some of your dogs most important needs are is by looking at their behavior without your intervention, and even looking at what "naughty" behaviors your dog displays... and then get creative! 

For example, it's reasonable to assume that a dog who shreds your shoes would benefit from plenty of "legal" shredding options such as cardboard, newspaper, or toys that they can shred. A dog who likes to sniff and eat things off the ground on walks would benefit from safe foraging options such as snuffle mats or nosework for hidden treats around the house. A hound that is bred to sniff may benefit most from being able to sniff everything they want on walks (a "sniffari" if you will). A dog with a high prey drive may benefit from playing flirt pole or lure coursing. A jumpy/mouthy bully breed may benefit from a jolly ball hung from a tree to latch onto. You get the picture... Generally any dog will benefit from most of these enrichment activities regardless of breed, but you can use this framework to identify what is going to be most important to prioritize for your dog. Always supervise your dogs enrichment activities to make sure they are not swallowing things they should not. If your dog swallows cardboard or paper then you may want to find a safer alternative. Many dogs like it when you praise them and act interested in the things they're interested in anyways!

Pro tip: Allow your dog to sniff your mail or other things you bring into your home. To us it smells like nothing. To them, it is full of interesting, new, and stimulating smells! This is a super simple way to give them a variety of different smells and show them that you're interested in the things they are interested in.

3. Freedom & Choice

Freedom and choice are vital needs that every living being benefits from. Unfortunately, many unqualified dog trainers are still perpetuating the arbitrary and harmful "rule" that we should not give dogs any freedom or choice. That we need bend them to our will and control every aspect of their lives and movement. Can you imagine living that way? To be absolutely powerless and under the fear of punishment and micro management? We would all lose our god damn minds, right? I know I would... Autonomy is essential to living a fulfilling life, even for our dogs. 

Freedom- We can provide freedom by letting our dogs have off-leash time in legal safe spaces like a private SniffSpot or dog parks. GHASP! A trainer recommending dog parks! Scandalous! I used to be anti dog park. I jumped on that bandwagon. Now I see that the trick to dog parks is education and safety, not exactly abstinence. You can learn more about safe dog park usage in this link. I always recommend going during off hours and to keep moving instead of standing in "that" part of the park where everyone is standing around watching 5+ dogs play in one area. We can provide freedom more often on our regular walks by using a long line to give our dogs freedom of movement while still being safe on a leash in areas where dogs are not allowed off-leash. 

Freedom is also the ability to make their own choices...

Choice- We can give them choices by providing different types or resting spots, different walking equipment, different treats, different toys, different types of enrichment. Whether they want to be pet or not, whether they want to go for a walk, or if they want to go for a car ride. What bowl they want to eat out of, what kind of water they prefer, the list is truly endless! Of course there will always be things that we can't let our dogs choose, but we can still increase their choice in many parts of their lives to offset this. There is definitely a learning curve for both you and the dog if your dog isn't used to making choices like this. I recommend starting with treats to teach the concept and moving up from there. Here is an example video from the fabulous Mooch & Lindsay! If you're wondering what this looks like with other objects, here is a video of Rain Dog choosing her walking equipment for the day! 

4. Predictable Routine

Most dogs thrive with a predictable general routine so they know what to expect during their day. Every day doesn't have to be the same, but in our house we have the same general morning routine of going outside, coming in, getting in their crates, and getting their breakfast. After breakfast they go back into our bedroom to catch some extra snoozes with my husband while I go to the gym. They know exactly what their routine is and they're ready to do each step before I even get to it! Find some routines and stick to them.

You can take predictability to another level by naming things in their world like "outside", "bedtime", "food time", "car ride", "all done", ect... I go into the concept of predictability in more detail in one of my previous blogs, here.

5. Safety

Every living being has an inherent need to feel safe. When you don't feel safe it becomes difficult to thrive. It affects your brain functioning, your nervous system, your immune system, and of course your behavior. There are likely more effects beyond this that even I am unaware of because I don't have a PhD in neuroscience or biology. We want our dogs to see their home and their people as a safe space. We can give our dogs a sense of safety by avoiding the use of punishment, supporting them when they need our support, listening to their communication, and advocating for their needs in situations that are difficult for them to handle. This is important for every dog and is a focal point in my work with separation anxiety dog training. 

6. Medical/Physical Needs

I think this one speaks for itself, but your dog's physical wellness is important. What you may not know is that many times behavioral problems have a medical component to them. One of the most common ones is musculoskeletal pain. I always reccomend yearly lab work & a pain evaluation, especially if your dog is over 6 years old, or they have an existing/new behavior issue. This is almost always a starting point when I start working with a new separation anxiety training client. It is quite honestly a red flag if you hire a trainer/behavior consultant that doesn't recommend getting a medical work up when they start working with you. You cannot train out a medical or pain problem, period. Now unfortunately pain is a difficult thing to evaluate in a clinical setting. Many dogs are stressed at the vet and this can mask signs of pain. It's also worth asking how experienced your vet is in identifying potential pain. This isn't something everyone is well practiced in. Always bring video of your dog doing a variety of activities in their normal environment to your vet when you ask for a pain evaluation. Something behavior consultants hear a lot is "well my dog doesn't look like they're in pain", and many times it's not obvious unless you know what you're looking for. Dogs are typically really good at hiding their pain. They have to to survive because pain/injury results in death in the wild. If you want to get really thorough with this, I recommend getting your dog evaluated by a Dynamic Dog Practitioner before going to your vet. They are specially trained individuals that help identify potential areas of pain based on your dog's structure and movement. This can be really helpful for your vet so they know where they should be looking! 

There are so many models out there for a dog's needs such as The Hierarchy Of Dog Needs that goes into more depth than I can go into in this short blog post. I didn't want to lose you by rambling about every little thing! If you are hooked and want to learn more, please do look further into the HDN. 

If you'd like to work with me on your dog's separation anxiety, visit my website to get started! I work with pet guardians from all over the world!

Bye-bye for now!