Training Tip Tuesday – A Tired Dog is a Good Dog
By: Kim Astle
Dogs need a mix of physical and mental exercise to be balanced… Here’s why.
Dogs need mental stimulation. 30 minutes of mental stimulation equals an hour of physical exercise. The more you exercise your dog, physically, the more stamina they will build up. So, in turn, it takes longer to tired them out.
Activities like licking or sniffing help them decompress mentally. This is really important for puppies and adolescent dogs.
So many dogs are hyper because they haven’t learned to switch between high excitement and low excitement and disengage. To disengage is to learn that just because something is exciting doesn’t mean they have to interact with it.
Introduce calm and rest one or two days a week. This can be a game changer, especially for reactive or anxious dogs who need down time to absorb and process emotions and learning. Without rest days, they can plateau or even regress.
Blog and graphic by Kim Astle, one of Ruff Start Rescue’s volunteer trainers, who focus on supporting our fosters and helping create successful dogs.
Training Tip Tuesday – A Tired Dog is a Good Dog
Posted: January 24, 2023 by Kelli Hanson
Training Tip Tuesday – A Tired Dog is a Good Dog
By: Kim Astle
Dogs need mental stimulation. 30 minutes of mental stimulation equals an hour of physical exercise. The more you exercise your dog, physically, the more stamina they will build up. So, in turn, it takes longer to tired them out.
Activities like licking or sniffing help them decompress mentally. This is really important for puppies and adolescent dogs.
So many dogs are hyper because they haven’t learned to switch between high excitement and low excitement and disengage. To disengage is to learn that just because something is exciting doesn’t mean they have to interact with it.
Introduce calm and rest one or two days a week. This can be a game changer, especially for reactive or anxious dogs who need down time to absorb and process emotions and learning. Without rest days, they can plateau or even regress.
Category: Dogs, Education, Pet Tips, Resources Tags: animal, dog, education, ruff start rescue