#177 - When You Can't Give Your Dog What They Want

We’ve all been there. The standoff where your dog is dancing and staring, waiting for you to do the thing, and you’re trying to negotiate a different plan. Maybe it’s 105 outside, and the heat has reached dangerous levels. Maybe wildfires have made the air unbreathable. Maybe it’s hurricane season, and you’re watching rocks fly through the sky. Or maybe it’s Monday, and you’re doing your Sunday routine. 

While you know why it’s different, your dog is just staring, waiting for you to follow the rules, and has no interest in a different plan. This week, Emily and Allie talk about how to use enrichment, not reason, to help your dog meet their needs, even when their entire routine is knocked off kilter. 

TLDL (too long, didn’t listen): 3 Key Takeaways 

1️⃣ Match the need, not the activity – A walk could meet many needs at once: physical and mental exercise, social time, sniffing, agency. Once you know what your dog gets out of it, you can introduce alternatives much more successfully. 

2️⃣ Frustration is valid – For both you and your dog. Instead of building it, redirect to something that works for both of you. It isn’t a bribe. It’s saying, “How about this instead?”

3️⃣ Make an enrichment menu – It makes it easier to remember what acceptable activity swaps are, like maybe walks can be interchanged with tug + snuffle mat.

For the full episode show notes, including the resources mentioned in this episode, go here.

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