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10 Tips How To Make Your Dog Happier

Do you love your dog and want the best for him? Here are 10 tips how to make your beloved pet happier.

By Cikanek LakatošPublished 3 years ago 9 min read
10 Tips How To Make Your Dog Happier
Photo by Stephen Andrews on Unsplash

Dogs love to be active, and there are plenty of activities you can do with your dog to keep them entertained and help them stay healthy. In this article, we'll list 10 activities that dogs love, along with tips on how to make each one even more fun for your furry friend.

1. Meet Your Dog's Biological Needs

If you want your dog to feel happy and healthy, you need to mee

t it's biological needs.

This includes shelter dog programs and taking your dog to a veterinarian on a regular basis.

If you have a yard, your dog deserves a quality toy for barking. A ball is a perfect temporary replacement until home security is fixed.

2. Stop Treating Your Dog Like a Dog

It seems like we talk about anxiety and other dog-related topics on a regular basis, but if you don't check your dog's nails or brush their teeth for them, you're treating them like a dog.

Many owners punish their dogs for things like not getting hired for dog-daycare jobs or vacuuming up cat hair, making it difficult for them to bond with other animals or develop confident and trustworthy behaviors.

Many dogs love to go for a walk and run around in fields or take them for their first car ride, but if you don't give them the space or support to be an active pet, they'll be scared or confused.

3. Learn How to Train Your Dog Better

Photo by René Schrom on RSPCA

Have you ever trained your dog? If you haven’t, consider taking a dog training course to learn some new techniques and methods.

Currently, some of the most popular dog training courses are online options, where you can find example videos and practice exercises to see how effective they are. Some of the most popular Facebook groups discussed dogs are mommy groups, where you can ask questions, ask for advice, and discuss tips from other dog owners. Some of the most popular blogs discuss dog hours, myths, and information on how you can train your dog better.

4. Find Dog Activities That You Both Will Enjoy

If you love spending time with your dog and you want to enjoy something while you both get the chance to quietly talk or just hangout, consider going to dog-friendly activities with your dog.

Guided swims, dog cafes, museums, movie theaters, parks, pet stores and more are fun and relaxing places to hang out with your dog and are sure to be loved by both of you.

Pamper your dog with a cozy bath or grooming session to feel calm and relaxed and spend quality time with him.

5. Involve Your Dog in Family Activities

Family activities keep everybody in the family happy! From sitting around the house watching television to going for a haircut, no fun activity will give everyone together in the family a great time. Thus, it is extremely important to practice an activity like family game night, target shooting, or family vacation. This will help your dog properly socialize to their new environment.

If you need to find quality fun activities to do with your dog, the Internet is a great spot to do so. There are usually plenty of reviews online if you are searching for something new and fun to do with your dog.

Does your family love to go camping and hunting? Find a scout camp site or a campground that allows dogs, and spend a day catching fish or hiking through the forest together. Or if your family is into fishing, participate in a local fishing derby where you get to act as bait.

Does your family loves woodworking or wood creations? In this crafting activity, you and your dog can spend hours building furniture or other wooden creations. Remember to only make sure that your dog is welcome there.

6. Give Your Dog (New) Treats

A lot of dog owners never do this. Their reasoning is that they’ve tried several dog treats before, and the dog loved one of them the most. So, there’s no point in changing the dog’s treat anymore, right? While there’s logic in that, dogs don’t just love treats, they also love new treats!

Most dogs get very excited at the sight of a new treat, even if the old one is still their favorite. Keep giving them the old ones as well if they prefer it, but also add a little diversity – they’d be grateful.

7. Find Other Sources of Happiness for Your Dog

Knowing that you're lovable and worth spending time with takes a lot of positive mental health, but for dogs, it can take even more work because they live in the moment.

They think you're their sun, rain, wind, and moon, and will return to your side no matter where you are if they want to rest or play with you. Take them out for six hours only every single day and leave the dirty work of associating you with happiness to them.

Say goodbye mornings/evenings to dog owners with a push broom and hosing their doggy's bowls down after dinner.

Boarding

Boarding will not only give your dog a quiet place to dozing, but it can also provide an opportunity for the two of you to bond with other dogs. Boarding services you can find can help do this.

Photo by Jennifer Earl on CBS News

8. Create a Dog Day Spa

Pets are more than the sum of their parts and they deserve to be taken care of.

Creating a spa for your dog could be a great way for your pet to brighten up when it is raining outside and get him or her to pose for some extra sweet photos.

Whether you want to create a doggy spa for just yourself or your entire dog year around, many options exist for the creation of ultra doggy spa-like environment.

Hydrotherapy

Getting your dog hydrotherapy during the winter can be both fun and rewarding if you have the know-how. Using adult-sized wetsuits or waterproof swimming toys, the ability of a dog to relax is greatly increased in this bathing situation.

Easy to prepare, hydrotherapy baths are easy for trained dogs, but dogs with aches and pains may need to be eased into it.

Dog teach your dog tricks.

Check out our guide in ourfavoriatericks series for new ideas and how we teach them.

Accountant Dog

Dogs are skilled at many things, but accountancy is not one of them. This is why teaching your dog to count and do calculations could be one of the most rewarding skill your dog could master.

Behavior modification

Sometimes adopting new tricks you can learn from other dogs is a thing called behavior modification, and it is a thing many dog trainers recommend.

9. Environmental Changes Can Help Your Dog Avoid Problems

Changing your environment may help you save time and money too.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, dogs who spend time in a pet-friendly environment have a much lower risk of developing itch, ringworm, and more.

A pet-friendly environment is safe for your dog and lets your dog know that people do not pose a threat.

This brings us to our next area of comparison.

Having a High-Quality Dog House

Many dog owners choose to keep their dogs indoors, where they don't have to walk them. And while that's good for the safety of your dog, it can lead to challenges.

A high-quality dog house can help keep your dog warm during cold days, and provide your dog with more room to scratch joints and stretch out paws.

Working on Training with Your Dog

Training your dog gives you and your dog a sense of respect for your environment. It helps your dog become a better companion, and, as a reward, may even lead to a more social relationship.

Here are some things you can do to improve your training routine with your dog:

• Set up a schedule time to walk or train your dog with you.

• Make training sessions a break from your work.

• Get a one-on-one trainer and ask them for advice.

• Practice with a trusted friend how to train your dog.

10. Games To Play With Your Dog

Dogs love to play and be active.

Here are 5 activities that your dog is sure to love:

1. Fetch

Pretty much every dog gets invigorated over a round of fetch, as it's an exemplary game for people and dogs the same. All you want is a yard, park or field, a tennis ball or frisbee and an energetic dog to have a great time.

Fetch is a magnificent game for enthusiastic dogs. It gives a lot of actual activity while assisting them with satisfying their nature to run. It can likewise keep your dog intellectually drawn in and tested by attempting various articles for him to pursue. For instance, a frisbee might be a piece trickier to get yet more enjoyable to catch in midair.

Take a stab at changing the level, distance and heading of your tosses to keep your dog intrigued. Remember to applaud your dog each time they return their toy to you so you can throw it once again.

2. Tug of War

Another exemplary game most dogs love is playing tug of war. Extraordinary for both indoor or open air play, tug of war is fun and connecting with for your dog. Besides, all that pulling and pulling is a decent wellspring of actual activity. Stay away from overexciting your dog with this game, and don't allow kids to play this one.

A couple of things to remember: be cautious in the event that you're playing tug of war with a little dog. Keep in mind, doggies' mouths have not full fledged, they actually have their child teeth. Just draw delicately for a couple of moments all at once. In the event that they appear to be pretty much nothing, investigate other play exercises.

Remember your dog's tooth and gum wellbeing while playing tug of war. Use something that won't hurt the internal parts of their mouth. Take a stab at utilizing a rope, or a dog toy produced using delicate elastic. In the event that your dog has a past filled with back and neck wounds, attempt one more action until chatting with your veterinarian.

Photo by Niki Stojnic on Rover

3. Hide the Treat or Hide & Seek

On the off chance that you're hoping to play intellectually invigorating brain games for dogs, you can't turn out badly with hide the treat. This dog improvement game is a pleasant way for them to practice their critical thinking abilities. Basically leave a path by scouring the treat on a couple of spots en route to its concealing space, then place it some place that is trying for your dog to find.

As your dog inquiries, have a go at utilizing language like "hot" and "cold" as your dog moves nearer and further away from the treat. Changing your tone from a quiet "cold" to an energized "warm" or "hot" will construct their listening abilities, however it will take some preparation before they genuinely comprehend.

4. Chase the Prey

Release your dog's normal hunting senses in a positive manner that won't bring about neighborhood squirrels hastening up a tree. This game purposes a tease shaft. A tease shaft is a long post or stick with a rope connected to one end. You can either buy a tease shaft or make one with a smidgen of Do-It-Yourself.

Attach a toy to the rope of the tease post and drag it gradually, infrequently halting as your dog prepares to jump. Make a point to let your dog "get" the toy occasionally as a prize, so they gain certainty and don't lose interest.

5. Agility Training

Assuming you're prepared to take it to a higher level, agility training is the best approach. Agility Training is a definitive mental and actual feeling for dogs. It will assist your dog with consuming off overabundance energy and assist with wearing them out for an extended rest or a soothing evening of rest.

Set up an impediment course in a yard or park with objects from around the house. You can utilize boxes to get around, cones for them to wind between and whatever else that rings a bell. On the off chance that you have a hula circle, train them to go through it and, obviously, reward them with treats as they gain ground.

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