Like people, dogs tend to act like different beings, depending on the environment they are in. At the park, your dog might be the life of the party, interacting with other dogs and spending a seemingly infinite amount of energy. Once you leave the park, your dog may return to their typical habits. This is a common behavior, and you can use it to your advantage. By understanding when and how to use environmental changes, you can improve your dog’s behavior, make training more effective, and ensure that your dog lives a calmer, more predictable life.
Ways Dogs Receive Their Environment
Dogs receive their environment in a variety of ways. Their reactions to the sights, smells, and sounds of people and other dogs depends on a few things, such as:
- Personality
- Age
- Breed
- Training
- Experience
When you take your dog to a new park, they may be so excited that they cannot wait to test everything out and interact with everyone. Or they may react with anxiety or overstimulation, showing signs of fear, aggression, or fixation as a result. Understanding how your dog reacts in these situations can help you make a plan to divert their attention when you need it most.
How to Use a Change to Improve Behavior
Learn to Recognize Cues
Everyone starts to show signs that they have had enough of a situation, and your dog will too. Common signs of overstimulation or anxiety in dogs include:
- Running in circles or jumping
- Panting or pacing, despite proper hydration and gentle exercise
- Excessive barking
- Avoiding eye contact
- Putting ears back
- Tucking tail
As you get to know your dog better, you may pick up on earlier cues, such as minor restlessness or licking lips repeatedly. These signs tell you that you need to make a change before your dog loses the ability to remain in control.
Select a Positive Environment
When you anticipate that your dog will need to change the environment, you should choose a positive place for them to go. If you are home or with a trusted friend or family member, you can easily take the dog to their crate or a quiet room for a break. This action can help them get away from the distracting sounds or odors that keep their attention. While you are out, look for easy distractions that provide positive input. Select a new park with few people or dogs, with plenty of shade on a hot day or dry ground to walk on.
Build Environmental Changes Into the Routine
Ideally, you build changes of location and environment into your regular routine. Dogs need a predictable routine so that they have a sense for what is expected of them and what happens next. When you take your pet to a dog day care, you may need to provide a quiet, calming place to help them transition when they return home. If you struggle to maintain a routine, expect that there may be more need to manage your dog’s behavior as a result.
Minimize Chaos
Although it is important to add different activities and environments for your dog’s health, development, and enrichment, you should take care to avoid making your dog’s life too stimulating. As much as possible, try to stagger loud or busy activities with moments of peace and quiet. If you are trying to teach an anxious or fearful dog to enjoy spending time with other dogs, you should limit the time you spend at each attempt, and surround the activity with calming, familiar tasks. This balance can help your dog get accustomed to being in loud or odorous places, without making them too fearful of what will happen next.
When your dog is showing signs that they cannot handle the environment, the right change might be all they need to get back on track. Knowing when your dog is struggling can help you utilize the right environment to calm their behavior and protect their health.
SOURCES
https://www.madpaws.com.au/blog/how-environment-impacts-a-pets-behaviour/
https://paradisepetresorts.com/the-transformation-of-canine-behavior-home-vs-daycare/
https://www.honestpaws.com/blogs/health/dog-overstimulated?selling_plan=2907209897
https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/behavioral/dog-anxiety
Photo by Claudio Carrozzo on Unsplash
