Five Areas of a Dog’s Life We Can Offer Them Options
We decide the details of our dog’s lives. We need to keep them and others safe and for them to live beside us and others so it is important to have rules and guidelines for these reasons but there are some areas we can relax this and provide some options for them, which will both enrich their life and deepen our connections with them – there is nothing so empowering and bonding as being listened to.
Walks
We keep our dogs on leads and march them on because we are thinking of the thing we have to do next or that we only have half an hour to spare for the walk. We choose the way that we go always. Dogs are sniffers, their noses are very important to them and very powerful. They get a lot of information from their sense of smell. If we let them stop and sniff for as long as they want and where they want (not in the way of anything dangerous of course!) they will be a lot happier and we can use that time to ‘stop and smell the roses’, connecting with where we are – this is especially good if we are in nature somewhere – and being mindful with our dogs, present with them. I have written about the benefits of being present for and with our dogs before – read that here. The sniffing that dogs do is great mental stimulation for them and will tire them out for when you need to leave them later on in the day. The other choice you can give dogs on a walk is where to go – if you have different options why not let him choose, he may prefer the wide open space of the fields or he may like the scents of squirrels in the woods.
Food
We choose what our dogs eat and rarely give them the benefit of the doubt if they refuse to eat a particular type of food. Why not give them a choice of different types and see which they prefer? Years ago my dog, Rufus, refused to eat raw food when I was feeding that but thankfully I listened to him and didn’t make him eat it or he had nothing. I knew there was a reason for this – he could not digest it properly and it gave him digestive pains. When I switched him to cooked food he was fine and ate well and did well on it. Dogs never have an agenda about food, refusing for the sake of it, but they do know what works for them or not and what they like or don’t like. If they refuse all food, then there is a reason for that too and usually that reason is pain and needs to be investigated.
Personal Space
Dogs are very individual, just like us, some like a big bubble of personal space around them and others are happy to have other dogs and people closer to them. Some dogs like it quieter than others. It is really important to respect this and not crowd a dog who is uncomfortable with that. Don’t allow other dogs to crowd their space either – you know, the ones that bound over to you off lead, out of control, with the owners claiming ‘it’s ok, he is friendly’ (don’t get me started on this!) Likewise if you have a friendly dog who is happy with others in his space then just be aware that other dogs may not be happy with this. It is up to us to enforce our dog’s choice in this matter – we need to listen to what they need and then step up and give them that and protect them from space invaders. Some dogs are happy to be towered over and have hugs and others are not, it has nothing to do with how much they love us, just what they are comfortable with.
Essential Oils and Synthetic Scents
I use essential oils with animals for healing emotional and physical issues. The method I use is zoopharmacognosy (self-selection/allowing the animals to choose) so this point is really important to me but often overlooked because our noses are so inferior to our dogs’ noses. Zoopharmacognosy allows the animal to choose the oil, how long they inhale it for, when to walk away, whether they want to inhale, ingest or have it applied topically (very rare) and I know how empowering this process is for them, in addition to the healing properties of the oils. If you use essential oils, or other strong smelling synthetic items, please allow your animals to get out of the room or area or house where the scent is if they choose to do so. For us the scent can be faint and nice (we chose it after all) but for them it will be magnified hugely and they may or may not want that scent or the attributes of the oil or the chemical toxins in some synthetic smells (I am thinking air fresheners and cleaning chemicals but there are loads for us to consider the effect they are having.) Think of sitting in a closed small room with a fog of cigarette smoke if you cannot stand the smell, this is what it is like if the animal cannot escape. Actually this is another ‘scent’ and toxin that we would do well to consider our animals’ health and noses.
Sleeping Area
Similar to the personal space paragraph dogs have their preferred sleeping places – somewhere quiet and away from others or right there with you at your feet or next to you on the sofa. Let them have their peace if they want it, they will be more relaxed and less stressed generally. Do they like snuggly beds or cold tiled floors? Under beds or tables maybe, where they feel safe. See where they like to be and give them somewhere comfortable in those places, the beds that they like. Some dogs like to lie on the grass or earth to ground themselves. Grace does this and she often faces north because it is even more grounding.
Thinking for themselves is good mental work, which is as important as physical activity and leads to happier, more relaxed, more tired (so better sleeping and repairing) dogs. All these times when we can safely give dogs the choice will show the dog we care about what they think and feel and that we are listening to them. When an animal realises they are being listened to a whole new happy world opens up for them and they dance with you – it is so beautiful. Being listened to is one of the most healing things anyone can receive and it just takes us a little more time and attention and care for changing what we can.