“A tired dog is a good dog,” is one phrase commonly thrown around when someone brings up their behavioral concerns for their dog. Of course, a dog’s physical and mental needs are important and they have to be met; but so frequently the basic needs of sleep and rest are left out of that equation.
Fido chewing the sofa? Take him for a 3 hour jog until he can’t run anymore!
Fifi barking at the neighbors? Put her in daycare so she crashes for the rest of the evening!
Rufus pulling too much on walks? Play fetch until he drops from exhaustion!
While proper exercise is important for the physical and mental wellbeing of your dog, balance is key. Tired dogs, much like tired humans, are prone to misbehaving and cranky outbursts. A puppy that is having sudden fits of intense biting and pandemonium in the afternoons is likely to be overtired and in desperate need of a nap. Keeping the puppy awake and increasing activity in those times only creates a vicious cycle of increasing arousal levels and a dog that isn’t able to calm down and relax on its own.
Dogs sleep up to 20 hours a day and while they can stay awake for longer periods, it isn’t ideal to keep them going just because that is what our modern schedules have become. Since our schedules become our dogs’ schedules, it can sometimes be difficult to see where the downtime could fit. While I could certainly go on about the benefits of naps and rest periods for humans, that really isn’t the focus of this page (although feel free to let your body do what it needs to do, too!).
If you are meeting the activity and training needs of your dog, build time into their day to also relax and wind down. Ideally this would be after meals (to avoid bloat) and after training sessions (to let those lessons sink in). It works just as well to have this time during your work hours or while running errands where you need to leave the dog at home.
If your dog is having a hard time relaxing on their own, they will need to be taught how to calm down and do nothing. Dogs that have become activity junkies can have a hard time handling a sudden gap in their busy schedules; you might see the dog become even more excited and desperate to do something. Instead giving in, take the opportunity to teach your dog how to chill. Think of it as a kind of doggie zen meditation hour.
Common techniques for teaching and reinforcing calm are place commands, crate training, mat training, and settle commands. These focus on reinforcing the idea that calmness and being still are things that you will reward and limit the number of other things the dog can do instead.
Calming rewards can include licki mats, stuffed Kongs, puzzle feeders, snuffle mats, chew toys, and chews like bully sticks and cow ears. Activities that involve sniffing and chewing release calming hormones that can make it easier for the dog to calm down and relax.
You may need to start small by having doggie naptime for very short periods and gradually increase the amount of time that the dog is expected to relax. Once the dog is relaxing and calm for those time periods, you can increase the amount of time that you expect them to be calm.
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