Animal Keeper's Association of Africa

PREVENTING BOREDOM IN DOGS

Every day, millions of faithful dogs are left behind as their owners head off to work.  These pets spend hours alone, dividing their time between sleeping and playing.  While this may sound like a relaxing lifestyle, research indicates that dogs can and do become bored, which often leads to behavioural problems such as separation anxiety. The problems caused by bored dogs can be varied; they can become introverted and listless, possibly putting on weight and showing no signs of interest in anything.  Alternatively they can become destructive, aggressive and can bark and howl continuously when left alone. Either way, a bored dog is an unhappy dog and just like people who are unhappy, they will do things you wouldn’t expect because they are bored and often mentally depressed. Just like people, a dog needs a purpose and a reason to live.  A dog’s reason to live are mainly to eat, hunt, play and reproduce – if you make sure that they experience 3 out of 4 of these for a reasonable period every day, you should have a dog that is fairly content with its life and therefore has no reason to ‘rebel’.

TIPS TO DECREASE BOREDOM IN DOGS 

Make sure you give them several things to ‘look forward to’ each and every day.  Try never to leave your dog alone without some form of stimulation or play.  Choose toys for your dog that stimulate active, entertaining play, such as weighted balls that roll in unpredictable directions and rubber chew toys in different shapes and textures.  Food dispensing toys/squeaky toys. It is very important to rotate the toys that you leave with your dogs so that each day he has ‘new’ toys. Consider a second dog if you are going to be leaving your dog for extended periods of time.  Dogs are pack animals and need companionship. Mount mirrors in play areas for puppies.  It is amusing for them. Leave a radio on while you are out, to keep your dog company. Making feeding time something to look forward to by feeding them at a set time.  If your dog isn’t stimulated by the food you feed them then find something your dog is stimulated by. Make sure they get a stimulating run or training session EVERYDAY. Ensure you give them some attention and a play time or training session when you are in, so that they appreciate play and attention.

An excellent way to keep your dog stimulated at home is to throw a handful of tasty treats into the garden for them to find.  Alternatively, hide some treats in the garden.  Most dogs have a scavenging instinct – this will usually keep them occupied for some time.Take your dog for basic obedience training lessons.  If we can teach owners to understand the fundamentals of their pets’ behavior, we can prevent immense mental suffering to many pets. Boredom in dogs is a common problem, but one which is difficult to detect because they can’t communicate their boredom to us. Remember, all animals need a reason to exist; dogs are no different to the rest of us.

DOGS ARE THE ONLY ANIMALS WHO LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU LOVE YOURSELF