When I worked as a veterinary assistant, the most common questions the vet asked the pet owner when a small animal came into the office sick were not about the animal itself but about the environment in which the pet lives. What size is the cage? What temperature is the habitat? What food are you feeding? There are SO MANY factors that play a part in raising an animal correctly according to it’s species. Here are a few examples:
Did you know goldfish, properly cared for, actually live around 15-20 years? The common recommendation from experts is that they live in tanks of at least 20 gallons of water for the first single goldfish with an additional 10 gallons for each additional fish. Yet we call those little glass bowls on tables goldfish bowls.
Did you know hermit crabs cannot thrive in those little cages they sell them in at the beach? They actually SUFFOCATE because they need their environment to be humid or their gills dry up and they cannot breathe! They, therefore, should be housed in glass aquariums where the appropriate humidity levels can be maintained.
Did you know that reptiles require UV lights on their aquariums, but the UV portion of the bulb usually dies well before the visible light we can see does? As a result, many reptiles are not getting the proper UV light that they need to be healthy because their owners wrongly assume the bulb is still working.
And those are just a few common mistakes that we see all the time. Turns out, us humans are pretty lousy at controlling the environment of our pets. We don’t mean to be but we very often are. The first step in fixing this is knowing you can. You have the responsibility as a pet owner of controlling the world of the pets you own and you can do it!
When it comes to dogs, you are already a step ahead just by reading this. It means you are interested in training, interested in learning, and interested in improving you and your dog’s lives.
As a bonus, when you control the environment, you can prevent and manage problem behaviors. Nearly every behavior issue can be solved by not letting your dog practice it. Keep in mind, your dog is only ever able to do the things you let them. Let that sink in for a second. Your dog lives in a completely enclosed world in which you create. Unlike children who can visit a friends house, go to school, or grow up and move out, your dog’s entire world is under your complete control the moment you bring them home. That means YOU have complete control over whether they make mistakes or not. If you don’t want mistakes, you have to learn to be a perfect master of your dog’s universe. Here are my top 10 tips for how to do just that:
1) Eliminate dangers: Set up the environment with safety in mind first. Make sure your yard is fenced appropriately for your dog or that your dog can’t get out of a door unsupervised or off leash. This may mean putting up secondary gates around doorways so there is always at least one physical barrier between your dog and the outside or keeping a leash on the door handle to remind family to leash the dog BEFORE opening the door. Make sure toxic materials are safely contained where your dog can’t get into them. Ensure garbage cans are inaccessible or locked and children’s toys or other choking hazards are safely out of reach. You may not be able to guarantee 100% safety but you can get pretty darn close.
2) Eliminate access or incorrect choices: If you want to help your dog pass a multiple choice test, remove most of the answers for him. If the question is “What should I do when I want to chew something?” You should set up your dog’s environment so that only the appropriate choices are available so that your dog develops good habits.
- Chew on furniture (removed by putting dog in a pen or crate/ fencing off furniture)
- Chew on shoes or kids toys (removed by keeping toys and shoes out of reach)
- Chew on bone
- Chew on power cords (removed by supervising dog in at risk areas or crating him)
With some questions, we need to help them to the correct answer by eliminating wrong choices and then providing training and rewards for the better option we prefer. For example, if the question is “What should I do when guests arrive?” the answers might look like this:
- Jump on guests (removed by putting dog on a leash before door opens)
- Sit on a mat away from the door (accomplished by leashing the dog, and reinforcing them for sitting on the bed while someone else answers the door)
- Bark like a lunatic because I am nervous/excited (removed by putting dog in another room until guests are settled and initial excitement is decreased)
- Dash out the door because guests don’t know to stop me! (removed by putting dog on a leash, behind a baby gate or in a crate)
3) Provide above average enrichment: taking a dog on a walk can provide a wonderfully enriching experience for your dog but a walk every day is not nearly as enriching as switching up activities several times a week. Puzzle toys, getting your dog digging in a sandbox for treats or toys, sniffing out their toys (or you!) in a game of hide and seek, or going somewhere completely new are all ways to stimulate your dog’s brain in new and exciting ways. The more you switch things up, the more your dog will enjoy themselves. Want more ideas? There is a FANTASTIC Facebook group called Canine Enrichment you may want to check out.
4) Provide safe exercise: Get your dog moving! Make sure they have multiple opportunities every day to expel excess energy in an appropriate way. Some of this can be done through enrichment games and some can be done with good old-fashioned exercise. Get out a frisbee, a flirt pole or a ball and get your pup moving!
5) Provide excellent nutrition: You are what you eat and if your dog is eating a lower quality food, their cognitive abilities will be affected by it. Make sure your dog is on a high quality food as the wrong food can absolutely contribute to behavior issues you may be experiencing. Check out DogFoodAdvisor.com to get an idea where your dog’s food ranks.
6) Be your dog’s advocate: I talked about this a lot last month, but stepping up and making your dog feel comfortable is a huge deal. You can control if your dog is mobbed by 15 kids or has their face squeezed by a complete stranger. Let me tell you, your dog doesn’t want either of those things! Be prepared to tell people, “I’m sorry we aren’t visiting today” and be ready to get out of there fast!
7) Build trust, don’t break it: Your dog depends on you for support in all situations. They look to you to know if something is ok. Forcing them to do something or be somewhere they are not comfortable will break down the bond you have with your dog and make them feel unsafe even when they are with you, thus making a large part of their universe (you) feel unstable. That isn’t a great way to build confidence or support them.
8) Play with your dog: Find a game you can do together that gets you both feeling good. If you and your dog get to enjoy each other’s company, that will go a long way towards providing your dog with the support, companionship and leadership they require.
9) Regular Veterinary visits: Don’t skimp on the vet visits. You should have your dog examined every year by a veterinarian. That being said, be your dog’s advocate at the vet office too! If you don’t feel comfortable with the way the vet is handling your dog, speak up! It is also completely reasonable to refuse treatments that you think are unnecessary. It’s worth reading up on those flea and tick medicines and vaccinations BEFORE you go to the vet office. Know what you are comfortable doing, and what you are not.
10) Don’t sweat the small stuff: We aren’t really masters of the universe and things are going to go wrong. Occasionally your management will break down or you’ll make a mistake. It’s ok! We are only human after all. When the mistakes happen, do your best to shake them off and learn from them so that you can prevent a repeat offense in the future. Chances are, one mistake won’t ruin your dog if the rest of the time you have things under control. Breathe! You’ve got this!
Happy Training!
Nicole L Yuhas CPDT-KA
This blog is intended to be informative as well as entertaining. It contains my opinion which may not reflect the opinions of any organization I may be affiliated with. My opinions should not be interpreted as those of my coworkers, family, friends, casual acquaintances, and certainly not the opinion of my cat, although my dog probably agrees with everything I say, if for no other reason, than because I provide the treats and meals (cats are less inclined to agree with anyone but themselves). Information provided here is accurate and true to the best of my knowledge but, as information and opinions change, neither the facts nor the opinions expressed here may be true or accurate at any future date. As I don’t currently own a time machine, I cannot be responsible for things that prove to be untrue, or opinions I change my mind about, should those changes become apparent in the future. It should also be noted that, as I am human, there may be omissions, errors or mistakes in the information provided here. Frankly, even if I were a computer, it is likely there would be errors, as computers, in my experience, can be a royal pain in the butt. This blog may contain affiliate links which you are under no obligation to click. If you click them, they will hopefully take you the place I intended. But they may not. As I’ve said, computers can be a pain. If you find yourself somewhere you don’t think I intended, click your ruby slippers three times together and say, “there is no place like home.” If you do that, and click the “back” button, you should be safely returned. Computers can, at times, have a mind of their own. Any training suggestions or opinions expressed here should be taken as information only and should not be seen as advice particular to you or your dog’s unique situation. Please consult with a training professional before taking any action.