You sit down after a long day and your dog is bugging you to play. What does your dog need? Toni Shelbourne explains
People often see their dog’s energy level in the evening as an inconvenience but let’s look at it from a dog’s point of view. While you have been at work, he has probably slept all day. There hasn’t been much else to do apart from bark at the window and polish off that food toy you left him. Additionally, dogs are naturally more active at dawn and dusk, even though your pet is no longer required to hunt for his dinner. Put these two factors together and you have an under-stimulated dog bursting with energy!
Credit: Toni Shelbourne
There may be other factors at play, but the most likely cause is he hasn’t had his basic needs met. Not only do dogs need food, water, etc, they also require sufficient exercise, mental stimulation, and social interaction. Your first job is to ensure all these requirements have been met.
Could you get up 30 minutes early to walk him for longer, or spend 20 minutes in your lunch break doing some fun trick training or scent work? How about allowing him in your home office instead of shutting him away in the kitchen on his own all day? There are so many easy ways to satisfy your dog’s needs, you just have to be creative. However, if you are out of the house this can be harder.
Here are some fun and easy ways to wear your dog out if you are short of time and energy
Feed him his dinner in multiple food enrichment toys. Seeking out food is not only rewarding, encouraging the release of dopamine, the pleasure hormone, but will tire him out without you leaving the house. Don’t have food toys? No problem. Scatter his kibble over the lawn for him to find or wrap dried treats in an old towel. How about hiding small bowls of his food around the garden for him to forage for? Better still, make him a treasure box.
Credit: Toni Shelbourne
How to build a treasure box
Collect a few delivery cardboard boxes. Place inside the biggest box any food toys you have with his dinner inside, a long-lasting chew, a few of his favourite toys, treats hidden inside the other boxes or egg cartons, and anything you think your dog will enjoy. Place the box in view so you can supervise and watch him spend the next 30 minutes or so enjoying himself.
Credit: Toni Shelbourne
If it’s wet outside, grab a bag of treats and wander around the house placing them in different rooms, at varied heights, some easy and others difficult, and send him off to find them. He’ll be gone for ages and when he comes back, will crash out like a light.
Don’t be tempted to take him for a run in the evening or throw the ball around the garden if you want him to settle. Fast exercise prompts adrenaline in the body and could make him even more hyperactive. Scent work or moderate exercise will help him settle much quicker.
Whatever you do, don’t get annoyed with him. Like us, a lack of mental and physical exercise can be very stressful and could lead to him finding his own entertainment.