TulsaPets Magazine January 2024

34 TulsaPets • January / February 2024 Time Well Spent Boost Canine Health and Skills by Mary Green CPDT-KA: Certified Professional Dog Trainer Knowledge Assessed, CDBC: Certified Dog Behavior Counselor CNWI: Certified Nose Work Instructor K9 Manners & More, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma T ulsa Pets Magazine readers are the best pet owners out there, without a doubt! But even as top-notch as you are, there are ways you can up your game, helping your dogs live their best lives. We often find ourselves stretched thin, our overbooked schedules leaving little time to address more than the basic needs of our pets. Trying to carve out 30 minutes daily could be tough, but short five-minute breaks here and there are won- derful! Add some mental and physical wellness strategies for you and your dog. Let Your Dog Have a Calm Space Do you have a favorite spot to sit and decompress? Maybe with a special throw and a cup of tea or glass of wine after a long day? Or a quiet place to step away from the computer or the chaos of a busy household? Where is your pup’s calm space? I am a huge advocate of crate training, but I also believe dogs need a place other than a crate where they can retreat on their own to rest or reset. Find an out-of-the-way spot where you can put a special cuddly dog bed. Try to place it where she can’t monitor the windows for outside activity. Be sure everyone knows that when she is on that bed, you have to respect her privacy and leave her be. You might put a favorite chew toy there or let her have a stuffed food delivery toy or a biscuit. If you want to make it really special on a chilly day, use a microwavable pet-warmer disc or blanket. She doesn’t have to stay there for a long time, but you might see her seeking that space more and more often. Practice Daily Skill Drills Instead of giving your pup a treat for no reason or just because it’s your habit to give her one after a potty break or upon your arrival home, take this opportunity to practice (or train) her skills. Train beyond sit! Of course, we want our pups to sit to get a treat, but there is so much more you can do with this. In her daily skills drill, incorporate all the things she knows how to do, such as: Puppy push-ups. Stand-down-sit is a simple game with lots of benefits. Using a treat as a lure (think of it as a cookie magnet on her nose), lure her into the dif- ferent positions and be sure to name them. Give bonus points if she can sit to stand without moving her front feet. Bonus points if she can drop from stand to down without sitting first. And bonus points for a “sphynx” down to stand without moving her feet. These skills exercise her core while she is exercising her brain and not jumping around. Leave it. Hold the treat in your hand and make a fist. Have your dog sit and tell her, “Leave it.” Your hand should be close enough for her to sniff, but don’t raise it so high that she jumps up to get the treat. Count to three, open your hand, and let her have the treat. Bonus points if you can count to 10. Bonus points if you can place the treat on the floor and have her leave it. And bonus points if she will lie down with the treat on the floor and leave it until released. Tricks. Build on the puppy push-ups. Add a spin to the left and a turn to the right. Add “Take a bow,” and reward the “play bow” position. Turn “Give a paw” into a high five or teach her to give each paw separately. Give Your Dog Sniff Breaks Walking for aerobic fitness is important, for sure, but even more important is allow- ing your dog to take frequent sniff breaks. Sniffing the interesting things on a walk is jam for most dogs. That is how they learn about their neighborhood, how they learn about wildlife, how they learn about life outside their homes. You don’t have to take a five-mile walk every day, but at least walk around your neighborhood or down your driveway to collect the mail. You can get in the car and drive some- where to sniff. Even in the car, dogs can enjoy sniffing. Crack open a window and let the outside air in. Go to a fast-food drive-through and let the dog enjoy a good sniff. If she doesn’t like to ride in the car, let her sniff your tires! The tires go to many interesting places. You could even rent a yard on www.sniffspot.com an d find a new place to explore. TRAINING TIP