Your Dog Likes a Routine

Given the ongoing pandemic, a lot of us are in routines we find boring: Wake up, eat breakfast, work from home, eat lunch, work some more, eat dinner, watch TV, go to bed. And the next day we do it all over again.

Your boredom is understandable since nearly everyone craves a little variety.

But the same isn’t true for your dog – he/she loves a routine. Dogs are creatures of habit.

Dogs tend to thrive on routines because they don’t worry about what will or won’t happen next. And a large part of a routine for a dog is taking walks.

Yes, you’re likely home now more than ever, so Fido is happy about that. And maybe you’re walking him in the morning and evening, but how about during the day? If you’re busy with work or supervising your kids, maybe that walk falls by the wayside.

So, how do routines (and midday walks) help?

For one thing, routines help dogs deal with anxiety. An unpredictable day can elevate stress levels, which, in turn, can produce undesirable behaviors.

Meantime, if you’re housetraining a dog, regularity is crucial for your pet to learn associations about where to relieve itself and, just as importantly, where not to relieve itself.

Much of this is also true for already trained dogs coming into a new environment.

Of course, another benefit of walks – and this applies to you, too – is the activity helps burn calories, keeping your dog trim. An increasing number of dogs we see are overweight, so added activity can only help.

While walks may not stimulate you mentally, they do so for dogs. Put your cellphone down the next time you walk your dog and watch carefully. They stop and smell everything. They cock their ears when there’s an interesting sound. And while your neighbor walking by may not be interesting to you, your dog probably can’t look away.

All that stimulation is valuable. And I haven’t even mentioned the excitement that occurs when a dog meets its fellow neighborhood canines; socialization is critically important.

If you’re interested in having Steph’s Pet Sitting help you with those midday walks – or any other services, feel free to contact us.

AG