Thoughts on Joy in our Dogs
We've been thinking about how our dogs express joy and find fulfillment!
It’s incumbent on us to find ways for our dogs to have experiences that meet their species and breed related needs, because with those satisfactions under their belt troublesome behaviors often resolve without needing fancy training plans.
Sometimes those things that bring joy to dogs might not immediately cause joy in us. Can we challenge ourselves to adjust our environments or our thinking to allow these expressions to benefit our dog's mental health and then likely ours as well? A happy fulfilled dog is a joy (pun intended) to live with.
We hope you will have indoor and/or outdoor examples to share with us. If you can identify the joy part, but aren't sure how to allow the behavior and still stay sane and/or safe let us help you brainstorm ideas!
Here's an example to get your thinking juices flowing:
Viviane’s dog Mimi loves to dig holes - she loves the act of digging and she loves sniffing in the hole, and ultimately she loves to lie down on the cool earth she exposes. Viviane has limited outdoor space for this activity and it can impact plants that are growing near where Mimi digs and often she makes a big mess with dirt kicked far and wide.
Viv’s solution is that she was able to create a 3 x 4 foot plant free corner for Mimi where the dirt she kicks has somewhat limited places to go. Then when she's done Viv can sweep the dirt back into the hole for the next time she gets the urge to dig.
Other things that can give dogs joy and fulfillment are long and intense sniffing on walks, jumping on the people they love, rubbing their faces on worms, having the zoomies, foraging for food, or sometimes licking a little bit of fresh pee to understand better who was there before them. Our urban germ averse and decorum seeking human brains want to stop these doggy behaviors in their tracks, but if we take it all away what is left for our dogs to find joy and fulfillment in?
Get creative about the limitations of the environment you live in. There are ways to modify your environment, to adjust things dogs might otherwise do outdoors to an indoor environment, to find places to go to give your pup what they need, that make your and your dog’s life so much more satisfying. Creativity is the name of a game and we love to discover and share ways to make the adjustments that will help everyone’s individual dog.
If you haven’t yet joined PumpkinPups Dog Training Clients and Friends Facebook page please do that, and be sure to answer all the membership questions or we can’t let you in.
Once you are in, please post about your dog’s fun and joyful experiences. Tell us with words, pictures and videos the things that you have done to help your dog that have worked.
And if you need more ideas consider consulting with us, or taking a class to engage you and your dog's senses and brains! Contact us now!
If you are not sure about whether your dog is experiencing enough breed specific joy, or are looking for new ideas, getting the information you need is readily available, so keep reading.
The outlets your dog will find joyful or rewarding will look different for breeds in the 10 different groups of dogs as they are now understood.
Question:
Can you find your dog or a similar breed to your dog in the groups below?
Answer:
If you are not sure which group your dog might most likely be in, using the Dog Key can help you.
Question:
Do you want to know more about what to expect from your dog based on their breed group? Do you want more information and ideas for meeting their needs?
Answer:
Read this book: Meet Your Dog, by Kim Brophey.
Natural Dog - Wild at Heart
Akita - Alaskan Malamute - American Eskimo Dog - Basenji - Canaan Dog -Carolina Dog - Chow Chow - Dingo - Eurasier - Finnish Spitz- German Spitz - Japanese Spitz - Karelian Bear Dog - Keeshond - Laika Elkhound - New Guinea Singing Dog - Norwegian Elkhound - Samoyed - Shar-Pei - Shiba Inu - Siberian Husky - mixes of any of the above breeds
Sighthound - Regal Runner
Afghan Hound - Azawakh - Basenji (natural basal sighthounds) - Borzoi - Chart Polski - Galgo Espanol - Greyhound - Ibizan Hound - Irish Wolfhound - Italian Greyhound - Pharaoh Hound - Saluki - Scottish Deerhound - Sloughi - Whippet - mixes of any of the above breeds
Guardian - Patient Protector
Akbash - Anatolian Shepherd - Bernese Mountain Dog - Boerboel - Bullmastiff - Cane Corso - Dogue de Bordeaux - English Mastiff - Fila Brasileiro - Great Dane - Great Pyrenees - Greater Swiss Mountain Dog - Kangal -Leonberger - Komodor - Kuvasz - Maremma Sheepdog - Neapolitan Mastiff - Newfoundland - Sarplaninac - Spanish Mastiff - St. Bernard - Tibetan Mastiff - mixes of any of above breeds
Toy - Little Companion
Bichon Frise - Bolognese - Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - Chihuahua - Chinese Crested - Coton De Tulear - Havanese - Japanese Chin - Lhasa Apso - Maltese - Papillon - Pekingese - Pomeranian - Pug - Shih Tzu - Tibetan Spaniel - Toy Poodle - mixes of any of the above breeds
Scent - Siren Hunter
American Foxhound - Basset Hound - Beagle - Black and Tan Coonhound - Bloodhound - Blue Tick Coonhound - English Foxhound - Harrier - Otterhound - Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen - Plott Hound - Redbone Coonhound - Red Tick Coonhound - Treeing Walker Coonhound - mixes of any of the above breeds
Gun Dog - Outdoor Adventurer
American Cocker Spaniel - American Water Spaniel - Barbet - Boykin Spaniel - Brittany Spaniel - Chesapeake Bay Retriever - Clumber Spaniel - English Cocker Spaniel - English Pointer - English Setter - English Springer Spaniel - Field Spaniel - Flat-Coated Retriever - German Shorthair Pointer - German Wirehaired Pointer - Golden Retriever - Gordon Setter - Irish Red and White Spaniel - Irish Setter - Irish Water Spaniel - Labrador Retriever - Lagotto - Romagnolo - Munsterlander - Portuguese Water Dog - Spinone Italiano - Standard Poodle - Sussex Spaniel - Vizsla - Weimaraner - Welsh Springer Spaniel - Wirehaired Pointing Griffon - mixes of any of the above breeds
Terrier - A Real Go-Getter
Airedale Terrier - Australian Terrier - Border Terrier - Cairn Terrier - Fox Terrier - Irish Terrier - Jack Russell Terrier - Kerry Blue Terrier - Lakeland Terrier - Manchester Terrier - Miniature Schnauzer - Norfolk Terrier - Scottish Terrier - Sealyham Terrier - Skye Terrier - Welsh Terrier - West Highland Terrier - Wheaten Terrier - Yorkshire Terrier - mixes of any of the above breeds
Herding - Working Wingman
Australian Cattle Dog (Blue Heeler) - Australian Kelpie - Australian Shepherd - Bearded Collie - Beauceron - Belgian Groenendael - Belgian Malinois - Belgian Sheepdog - Belgian Tervuren - Berger Picard - Border Collie - Briard - Cardigan Welsh Corgi - German Shepherd - Old English Sheepdog - Pembroke Welsh Corgi - Polish Lowland Sheepdog - Puli - Pumi - Pyrenean Sheepdog- Shetland Sheepdog - Standard Collie - Swedish Vallhund - mixes of any of the above breeds
Bull Dog - The Entertainer
Alpha Blue Blood Bulldog - American Bulldog - American Staffordshire Terrier - Boxer - Bullmastiff - Bull Terrier - Dogo Argentino - English Bulldog - French Bulldog - Olde English Bulldogge - Pit Bull Terrier - mixes of any of the above breed
World Dog - Renaissance Dog
World dogs are not breeds created by humans with closed gene pools or artificially selected jobs. Nature is the breeder in this case, and has continued to create these dogs all over the world. Their physical forms indicate that they have no specific predominant job in their ancestry, other than to be good at simply being a dog.
All the best,
Viv and the PumpkinPups Training Team