Nowadays, not only people in large cities get depressed and frustrated. Unfortunately, pets these days tend to get depressed too. High speed of life, lack of fresh air, low quality of processed food products, sound and vibration pollution have a negative impact on the emotional state of our cats, dogs and other pets.
Depression in pets is hard to recognize at its beginning but can seriously affect the general health and life duration of the animals. Dog are in the main group of risk, as they are more dependent on the social life than cats or other animals.
Dogs need communication in the same amount as people, sometimes even more. Besides, animal psychologists have proved that dogs need to share their emotions with the human soul mates. If it doesn’t happen, they get overwhelmed by their own feelings and gradually lose the interest towards many aspects of life as they feel outcast and rejected.
Not every dog keeper is attentive enough to understand that something is wrong at the very beginning. If your dog seems restless, or vice versa too indifferent, barks or digs the trash, the ground on the back yard, and you are sure everything is Ok about the physical health, you can suggest that your baby is getting annoyed.
That’s why, daily routine of your dog should be organized in the way that you can always prevent your dearest babe from getting annoyed and frustrated. Here are the main issues to monitor in order to keep your dog in high spirits.
- Discipline
Life is not all about playing, joy, and fun. On the other hand, we can always bring joy to any aspect of life. Discipline plays a key role in the emotional state of a dog. The discipline should be present in every aspect of the dog’s life. For example, multiple research show, that feeding dog at different time, with long intervals affects his emotional state. As being too hungry is quite a strong emotion, that may exhaust the dog, and appeasing the hunger will take the remains of the power.
So, in the end, your dog gets tired easily, and as a result, annoyed. The other issue is the lack of systematic actions in the daily routine. Dog’s training still raises a lot of concerns. As many dog keepers are convinced that some kind of training activities to roll the dog’s temper, may be harmful to his/her emotional health, as owners and trainers urge dogs to do the exercises or show the reactions, the dog doesn’t want to. Others are more than sure that the dogs who don’t undergo training, get lazy, and as a result easily annoyable.
If you agree that the discipline through training is a good option, you can take your dog to special classes with professional dog trainers, or you can do it alone. The second variant will be more convenient for the dog keepers who like and can afford to spend more time actively together with their pets. You can also purchase a dog training collar, which will help your dog memorize simple instructions very easily.
- Food = pleasure
Feeding a dog is not only the necessity. You can turn it to common fun for you and your pet. Put the food all over the house, and challenge your dog to find it. This game might be more attractive idea for the dog keepers whose pets prefer dry food. Even when he’s visited all the hidden food depositories, he will spend some more time in examining all of the corners.
- Hide-and-seek
If you see your dog is bored, you can organize some indoor games and challenges for him. For example, you can hide his toys and make him find them leaving some hints, comprehensible for your pet. This game is good when you are not at home all the time, or want to do some household work, and need your cutie not to bother you. If your house is big or you have a backyard, you can hide too. Though dogs have a very strong sense of smell and it doesn’t take them much time to find his best friend (his owner), it can be a good chance for you two to spend time together actively and with joy.
- Outdoor activities
The more time your dog spends playing outdoor, the more he breathes in the fresh air, the better his emotional state is. Of course, staying out for a long time in the summer heat might be unpleasant and even dangerous, but a good balance between staying in and going out will make the daily routine of your dog not that annoying. If your dog is lucky enough, and you have a big yard, you can equip it with different accessories. There are a lot of DIY ideas in different sources, if you want to construct something yourself.
Agility tunnels for dogs are very popular, as they allow dogs to have fun even when you are busy, and can’t take part in the activities. They are easy to install and detach, and don’t need much space to store. Walking your dog out in the morning is also very important. It will keep him fit and refreshed. On the other hand, if the dog is too active, walking with a good pace or running will be effective in spending the additional energy.
- Don’t let your dog feel lonely
If you can’t spend enough time with your dog, especially on weekdays, think about some substitutions for yourself. Dogs like toys, but they like new toys even more. So, don’t forget to add new toys for the collection frequently. At the same time, you can take away the toys he/she doesn’t use or doesn’t like, and replace them with something new, not stuffing your home. Scientists are sure that there’s nothing more pleasant and convenient for a dog than a multi-dog household. In this way, your pets always have arch other to play, don’t get annoyed when you’re at work, and, as a result, live a long happy life. You can easily make their walking out full of fun using the double dog leash. If your dog doesn’t feel alone, you’ll have to spend less effort to keep him positive,and prevent depression.