Before going further there are a few facts we need to know:
1) Roughly 30,000 years ago, humans started the domestication of dogs to work for us.
2) The dog, in its DNA, to its core, is very much still the same.
3) We would not have survived and thrived without this partnership.
4) Work is not abusive to the dog.
You may have guessed, we're gonna talk about working dogs.
Not THAT working dog!
This one!
Real Life Canines very own Board & Train Grad "Loki!"
Our culture and world may have changed and "evolved" since the domestication of the first dogs and we no longer have a need for them to perform the jobs they previously did in most parts of the world. We keep them around for companionship now. This "want" we have for them, the desire to have a dog and spend time with it, is a very natural and old feeling. However, we need to make sure they WORK. What is work for a companion/family dog though?
Well if you didn't already know, mental work is just as, if not more important than physical work. The brain is THE MOST metabolically expensive organ for the body to operate. By at least twenty percent! I share this statistic often because it speaks volumes: a chess player can burn up to 3,500 calories a day during a tournament.
Highest rated player ever, Magnus Carlsen- just sitting there.
Thinking 🧠♟️
Back to the working companion dog. Good behaviour and obedience is your first job and that requires a ton of mental energy. A "happy" dog isn't a well behaved one.
A fulfilled dog is. Once you get behaviour and obedience down, you can give them other "jobs", teach them tricks and tasks, do more activities with them.
Fetching your slippers or a bottle of water from the fridge, playing tug, scent games (nose work), agility, weight pull- all these and other activities can be done and have so many benefits IF the rest of your house is in order and done properly so as to not set back any behaviour or obedience training.
Work, working for humans, performing tasks and thinking are very natural to the dog. Unfortunately, most people aren't focused on that. They focus on freedom and fun and having a "happy" dog. It takes very zero effort, skill and time to have a "happy" dog.
But what's that relationship like?
Spend the time, put in the effort so they are behaved and obedient and teach them to think and work- work for YOU! Then your whole world opens up! You both have piece of mind and this exceptional relationship where you have a behaved dog that you can successfully and happily fulfill their other needs.
Key Points:
A "happy" dog isn't well behaved and odds are they aren't all that happy.
Working and thinking are natural for the dog.
Good behaviour and obedience is work for family and companion dogs.
It takes more energy to work the brain than the body.
"Work" can and should be fun for you and the dog.
After you put a solid foundation on, the world you can explore and enjoy with your dog is wide open!
Stay tuned for another article about doing activities like agility and scent games properly so it doesn't mess your relationship up!
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