How To Make A Dog Happy

Is your pet cheerful and active? Does he have a happy tail? A simple way to figure this out is, with a circle. Divide the circle into 24 segments – each representing an hour of the day. Fill in what your pet is doing each hour. You’ll see how many hours your pet spends waiting for you at home, how many sleeping, eating, exercising and so on. If the chart is filled with more activities that he or she enjoys, then you’re doing a good job at keeping your dog happy. If this isn’t the case, you can rectify the situation by making a list of activities that your pet loves and figuring out ways to include these activities in his or her routine!

Here are a few of our suggestions to make sure your pet always has a wagging, happy tail:

Spend more time with your pet: You are your pet’s entire world, you’re their best friend and they like nothing more than just being with you. This doesn’t have to mean that you restrict your activities: if you’d like to go out for a meal, choose a pet friendly café that both of you can go to; on some days you can skip your weight training and take your pet to the dog park instead (don’t worry they will make sure you get a proper workout!); if you enjoy long drives, your pet is the perfect companion; and they would also love to hang with your friends when you have a full house.

Plan a Trip: Some pets love to explore open, grassy plains while others enjoy chasing the waves and nearly all of them love a long car ride. Your pet would love a change from their daily routine and you both will get to make fun memories together. Make sure to carry the travel essentials for your pet.

Challenge their Minds: Many pet parents tend to make the mistake of concentrating only on physical exercise. Dogs are highly intelligent creatures who enjoy a brain game just as much as you do. Give them interactive toys or puzzle toys to get their little grey cells working. Even a game of Hide and Seek will be a great hit. Playtime (besides walks) for at least 15-20 minutes twice a day will make your dog happy.

Learn more about your pet: Yes, you are the only person who knows exactly what your pet wants. You know his ‘I’m hungry’ bark from his ‘I need to go for a walk right now!’ bark and all those little looks in between. But dog language and behavior is quite nuanced and you’d be surprised at how many things you will learn once you begin to dig deeper. There are plenty of courses available on how to make a dog happy for pet parents who are interested in learning from experts. As with all relationships, the key to a healthier understanding between pet and parent is communication – besides talking to your pet, listen to what they have to say.

With our often busy schedules, life tends to settle down into a repetitive routine – this is more so for your pet.  It’s simple to please your pet because all they really want is to spend more time with their most favorite person i.e. YOU. So, whether it’s scratching your pet’s tummy while you’re watching your Netflix marathon or an impromptu game of fetch, spending more time with your pets will make their day, year, life. Do you have anything special planned for your pet? Let us know what fun activities we can add to this list!