04/17/2022
This is so important
Today I spent two hours in a tire shop, waiting for my jeep to get new tires, alignment and an oil change. I had Branch, my young english shepherd, with me. As I sat in the lobby, reading through facebook posts, answering a handful of questions, and chatting with folks online Branch lay at my feet, doing nothing. He was relaxed, and patient. He spent the entire time just relaxed in his doing of nothing. And it occurs to me that too often we push activity as a form of management for dogs (especially certain types of dogs prone to high energy - like an english shepherd) and too little we stress the importance of teaching a dog to do nothing. I think sometimes we take the needs of high energy dogs too literally, and the focus is so much on their exercise or active training that we forget these dogs need time to relax and rest too. And many dogs who struggle with anxiety also struggle with being unable to relax. Teach the value of hanging out just relaxing in place for a period of time to your dog. It's useful for you, and beneficial for them to know how to just switch it off, power down for a bit and do nothing.
