Is a Tired Dog REALLY a Good Dog?

"A tired dog is a good."

If you've been in the dog world at all - whether in training classes on forums or just talking to friends - you've probably heard this bit of folk wisdom. And for the most part, I get it. Most normal dogs in the United States are under exercised both physically and mentally, and therefore bored out of their minds. For the vast majority of dogs, adding in some extra cardio, puzzle toys, or training time will go along way to reducing nuisance behaviors like barking, chewing, or mischief-making.

But there are times this phrase just gets under my skin, usually when it's applied to reactive dogs. Some advice-givers seem to think that if you just increase your dog's activity a bit, you'll reduce the amount of barking, growling, and lunging that happens...and it just isn't so!

The big problem with this is that your dog is going to be exposed to way more things. If you usually walk your dog for 30 minutes a day and increase it to an hour, you've just doubled the number of triggers your dog is being exposed to. Each trigger your dog encounters - whether he reacts or not - increases the amount of water going into his "stress bathtub." 

Being exhausted because you're stressed out is not the same as being exhausted because you've used your body in a satisfying way. Last week, I came home from work absolutely exhausted. I'd had a headache for a few days. In the morning, I had an argument with a friend. Then, I came into one of those work situations that makes you bang your head and say bad words. I was pretty tired by the time I got home, but ask my husband: I was NOT a good wife that night.

Yup, that's the trail.

Contrast that tired feeling to the one you get from playing sports or hiking. I've been on two backpacking trips. These trips required me to carry 40 or 50 pounds of gear on my back over some very difficult terrain for miles a day. By the end of the day, I would be pretty tired, but it was that good kind of tired where you're happy to eat food that tastes like wet cardboard and sleep on the cold, hard ground. By the end of a backpacking week, I am completely and utterly at peace. I'm in a great mood.

Another problem is trigger stacking. Let's say your dog does great on his walks, comes home and sleeps quietly, and is overall pretty good. What happens if something unexpected happens? Does he stay "good" or does he suddenly surprise you with an over-the-top reaction? If it's the latter, you've just fallen prey to trigger stacking.

Trigger stacking is not exclusive to reactive dogs. The ability to cope with events, regardless of underlying temperament, is a limited resource. We usually think of trigger stacking in the context of "the straw that broke the camel's back," but there comes a point where a good thing becomes too much of a good thing. I love a good Thanksgiving Dinner... once a year. But after a week of leftovers, I'm really quite happy not to see another piece of pumpkin pie for a year. I've had too much, and if you offer me more turkey a week later, my response may not be good. 

Now, I'm not saying that reactive dogs shouldn't get exercised. The endorphins that are released in the pursuit of physically using one's body can go a long way towards improving one's mood. But you do need to be thoughtful about how, where, and when you do it.

If you think your reactive dog would benefit from increased exercise, here are some general guidelines:

• Start slow. A couch potato cannot just get up and run a marathon. Doing so will result in pain or injury. This is NOT a good tired. Condition your dog so that the exercise is as pain-free and enjoyable as possible.
• Choose areas that are low-stress. When I was working through Maisy's reactivity, even though I had a perfectly good neighborhood to walk in, it was just full of triggers. I ended up driving her several miles away for our daily walks so that we could enjoy exercise time in a quiet, relatively unused park instead.
• Choose off-peak times. City-dwellers know how hard it is to find quiet locations, so you may have to settle for quiet times. Late nights and early mornings are familiar to many a reactive dog owner.
• Think outside of the daily walk box. Physical exercise can be anything that satisfies the need to move.
• Pick physical activities you both enjoy. Napoleon loves to run. I broke my ankle the last time I went running. We probably won't do that one again. Lola loves long sniffy walks, but strenuous hikes just aren't her thing. Taking her backpacking would be torture. Both Lola and I will be grumpy if you try to get us to do a sport we hate. 
• Watch arousal levels! If playing with a flirt pole gets your reactive dog so amped up that he can't think, you're probably creating a dangerous situation - especially if he can't settle afterwards. Sort of the exact opposite of the good dog you're trying to get.

Any time you introduce new activities, whether physical or mental, watch your dog closely. If he's "good," that's great! Keep it up! But don't feel pressured to be out there training for a marathon in the name of better behavior.

Marydale Park

I think I’ve discovered one of the greatest ironies in owning a reactive dog: the daily walk.

The exercise inherent in a walk seems to reduce anxiety, which means that walking is a vital part of helping my dog feel better. I certainly noticed a correlation between exercise (or the lack of it) and subsequent behavior in my behavior logs. At the same time, walks can really set a cautious or fearful dog back. After all, you can’t control what you encounter, like loose dogs. In fact, I’ve found that when such unpredictable events happen, Maisy needs at least a week to recover, and even then, I think the effects are longer lasting.

This became a point of conversation at Maisy’s recent appointment with her veterinary behaviorist. Since April, we have encountered many loose dogs while walking in our neighborhood, and we’ve had several close encounters. Three required the use of citronella spray, two were reported to animal control, and all left me feeling panicky. As a result, I began to seek out alternative places to walk, but had little success. The best option I’d found was walking at Como Lake, a beautiful but popular destination that was just too busy to be relaxing.

This week, on a whim, I stopped off at a small park, with an even smaller lake, halfway between Como and my house. I’ve driven past it dozens of time without a second thought, both because of its size and its proximity to its more popular cousin. As it turns out, though, this makes it perfect for us. We rarely encounter any one else at this park, and so far, we’ve never seen another dog, on-leash or otherwise. Better yet, the probability that we will encounter a loose dog seems quite low; only two of the four streets surrounding the park are residential, and those have a minimum of 50 feet between the path and the road.

Although the lake is small, the walking path around it is just over half a mile in length. This really is ideal, because it means that on the nights I’m in a hurry/tired/lazy/the weather sucks, we can bang out a quick walk in almost no time. Or, we can loop the lake two or three times and have a respectable walk. Hopefully, this repetition will not get boring, but hey- I’ll take boring and safe over interesting and unpredictable any day.

I’m pretty excited by this find, naturally, and I hope that it really is as amazing as it seems. In case it isn’t, though… where do the rest of you with reactive dogs take them for walks? Are you fortunate enough to live in a quieter area? Do you drive your dog somewhere so you can take her for a walk? Do you do something else entirely for exercise? I’d love to hear how others handle this daily challenge.

Management 101: Mental Stimulation, or, The Joy of Food Toys

I think everyone knows that regular physical exercise is important for dogs. After all, the old trainer maxim, a tired dog is a good dog, is well known. And while I agree with this, I think dog owners often overlook the importance of providing our canine companions with mental stimulation. In fact, if I could only have one or the other, I’d choose mental stimulation, hands down.

For the “normal” dogs among us, mental stimulation helps relieve the boredom that can lead to problem behaviors like destructive chewing, digging, and excessive barking. It also helps burn off excess energy, to the point that Patricia McConnell says in her book For the Love of a Dog that she believes a half an hour of mental stimulation will provide the same energy-reduction benefits as an hour of physical exercise. For the reactive dogs, whose behaviors are often rooted in fear, mental stimulation can help build confidence by allowing the dog to solve progressively more difficult problems.

Mental stimulation can take many forms: training, going to new places, allowing our dogs to sniff new smells, playing games, and visiting other people and dogs. And while all of those are great, they do require a certain amount of time from the owner. Now, you all know that I have no problem spending time with my dog- it’s one of my preferred activities!- but there are times when I’m tired, busy, or even sick. Unfortunately, that’s when I have the least amount of time or energy to tend to Maisy’s mental needs.

Which brings me to my favorite type of mental stimulation: food toys.

I love food toys. In addition to providing mental stimulation, they slow down how fast my dog eats, and give me a break from the constant thudding of a tennis ball in my lap. It doesn’t hurt that Maisy thinks they’re pretty cool, too.

The most famous of the food toys has got to be the Kong, and don’t get me wrong- it’s pretty awesome. I feed Maisy breakfast from her Kong every day. It’s great to leave with a dog who will be alone during the day, and it gives puppies (and other dogs that like to chew) a legal object to chomp on. The biggest downfall to the Kong is that it takes a bit of time to stuff, especially if you feed kibble. Thankfully, there are so many kibble-dispensing options that are quick and easy to load…

Maisy’s first food toy was the Tricky Treat Ball. She got it when she was 5 or 6 months old, and loved it from the start. It’s probably her least challenging food dispensing toy as it rolls around readily, and the treats come out of it easily.



A similar toy, though more difficult, is the Buster Cube, which is a cube shaped toy. It is supposed to be adjustable so you can make it easier or harder for the kibble to come out, but I’ve never been able to get it to change. Ditto for the supposedly-removable core. Still, it’s a great option, though it can be loud unless it’s on carpet.



The next two toys are very similar: Nina Ottosson’s Dog Pyramid and the Bob-a-Lot. (Incidentally, if you do a Google search for “Nina Ottosson Pyramid,” the third result is two YouTube videos. Guess who is the second video?)



These toys are pretty cool. They have a weighted bottom, and the food comes out when you tilt them sideways. These were great for building Maisy’s confidence because she found the motion a bit scary and intimidating at first. Now she runs those things all over the house.(Both of these videos are from the first time she used the toy. I really ought to take new video to show how quick she is with them now!) I think the Pyramid is a bit more difficult, but the Bob-A-Lot is a bit easier to fill. Kong has also come out with a similar product, but I haven’t tried it.



Maisy’s final food toy is my favorite, and hers, hands down: the Tug-a-Jug. This is probably one of the most difficult food dispensing toys on the market, and it did take Maisy awhile to figure it out. (Actually, it was her second ever food toy, and it scared the bejeezus out of her when I first brought it home. I actually had to slather it in peanut butter to get her to approach it.) Still, it’s our favorite, and it makes for a great party game- really! When we were on vacation, and Maisy stayed with our aunt and uncle, I sent her Tug-a-Jug along. They were so tickled by her performance that they invited the entire neighborhood over to watch Maisy eat.



This is only the tip of the iceberg. There are tons of food toys on the market, and Maisy and I couldn’t live without them. But I want to hear from you: Do you use food toys? Why or why not? Which is your favorite, or your dog’s favorite? Do you see a difference in your dog’s behavior when you use them?

Performance Dog Conditioning Class- Session 1

I mentioned that I took Maisy to a performance dog conditioning class the other day, but was so excited by how well she handled a stressful environment, that I neglected to share the details of her structural analysis, as well as the conditioning exercises we were given. And, both of those things were really interesting, so I definitely want to share that information!

First, and most exciting: There is nothing structurally wrong with Maisy, or at least, not wrong enough that doing agility would be bad for her. The instructor, Lin, actually had very little criticism of Maisy’s structure. She apparently has a nice angulation in the rear, which affects her ability to jump, overall balance, and endurance. She also has a fairly flat back, which is good. Maisy is slightly higher in the butt than the front, but that is apparently common in herding breeds. At any rate, it isn’t high enough to impact her movement. Maisy had surprisingly good core strength. People gasped when they saw it- I think that, with her having such a long back in relation to her legs, they expected her to be weaker in the core. Frankly, I did, too.

She does have more trouble in the front, which is unfortunate since more of the dog’s weight is carried in the front than the back (approximately 60%). Thus, the front acts as a shock absorber. I was already somewhat aware of this because of the Suzanne Clothier seminar, especially what she said about the short-leggers having altered structure. Anyway, Lin said that Maisy has pretty good shoulder extension, both forward and back, although Maisy was ouchy on the right shoulder when she did the backwards extension. She had that problem about a year ago, and then it improved, and then after the attack, she had problems with it again. I’m hoping that it heals up nicely. Maisy is also slightly shallow in the chest, which can result in poorly supported elbows.

But, none of it is seriously flawed, and with some good conditioning, she ought to be able to do agility with little risk. Although I’m not sure I will ever compete in agility with Maisy, we’d like to learn more about it. I think Maisy would enjoy it, and I’ve heard great things about it building confidence in fearful dogs.

Anyway, for the next two weeks, we have six exercises to work on, in addition to the regular exercise a dog needs anyway.

Heads up heeling. This forces the dog to be balanced and collected, and it’s even more effective if you do figure 8s, circles, etc. We are supposed to work on both the left and right sides, for a total of 10 minutes a day.

Kickback stands. This is moving from a sit to a stand with no forward motion from the front feet. This helps to build the quads, hamstrings, and hip flexors. We are supposed to do 20 reps twice a day.

Diagonal limb lifts. In this exercise, while the dog is standing still, the handler picks up one rear leg and then the diagonal fore leg, holding by the toes. This helps build core strength. You should do 10 reps for each set of limbs, holding the rep for the count of 10, twice a day.


Spins from a sit. This exercise is to have the dog do a complete spin, starting from a sitting position. Do it twice a day, ten times in each direction.


Sideline sit ups. In this exercise, you have the dog lie flat on her side, and using a treat lure, have the dog lift her head toward the hip. She should be bending up, not curling around. This helps improve core strength, which in turn will reduce the amount of stress on the front and rear. It will also help improve the dog’s ability to weave. This is a high intensity exercise, so we only do 10 reps per side every other day.


Stairs. I haven’t figured out how to do this one with Maisy yet: her legs are too short. What she’s supposed to do is go up and down stairs, using one step per leg. It helps build the quads, stifles, hips, knees, and hamstrings in the back, as well as the shoulders and biceps in the front. Because this is also a high intensity exercise, we’re supposed to do 5 round trips of a normal length stairway every other day. She suggested I find some way to make platforms to do this. I’ll have to see what I can jury rig up.

At our next class, in two weeks, we will keep some of these exercises, build on others, and drop others entirely. I can’t wait to see how it goes!

2010 Goals: First Quarter Update!

So, it’s been three months since I set my 2010 dog training goals, and I thought it would be nice to evaluate our progress so far. Overall, there’s been some great successes, some moderate progress, and a few places where I’ve dropped the ball entirely.

Goal: Complete the relaxation protocol.
Progress: We did the relaxation protocol daily for several weeks, getting to the point where I was ready to progress to the “second day” of the protocol… but then petered out.
Looking Forward: Doing the relaxation protocol is a bit boring, especially to do it every day. This quarter I’ll try to work on it once or twice a week.

Goal: Increase Maisy’s physical exercise.
Progress: I feel like we made a ton of progress here! Unfortunately, the numbers disagree: I walked Maisy 47 out of 90 days, which is a success rate of only 52%. Still, this does include the month of January, when we had sub-zero temperatures for the first two weeks, as well as the two weeks at the beginning of March when I had pneumonia.
Looking Forward: I am anticipating even more progress next quarter. The thing that really surprises me here is how much I love walking Maisy. I actually tried to walk her while I had pneumonia because I missed it so much.

Goal: Develop novice obedience stays.
Progress: None. Haven’t even tried. Oops!
Looking Forward: I would like to spend some of my Five Times Challenge time on this goal.

Goal: Improve heeling so that we can complete a novice-level heeling pattern.
Progress: I’ve really built a lot of attention into her heeling. I’m getting excellent eye contact through the first several steps of heeling, and she often offers a nice, attentive heel during the off-leash portion of our walks.
Looking Forward: I’m hoping to continue to build these skills. First, I need to work on improving duration. Then, I want to work on reducing food treats. Finally, I’ll need to drop the verbal encouragement, as well. That’s three sub-goals, and I have three quarters of the year left. Neat!

Goal: From heel position, hit the proper front position on the first try.
Progress: Some progress seen. She’s usually getting heel position on the first or second try, but not yet from heel position.
Looking Forward: I’d like to spend some of my Five Times Challenge time on this goal, too.

Goal: Develop jumping skills for a recall over high and directed jumping.
Progress: I was able to send her over a jump from heel position during a trial in February, and one of those times, we were six feet away- the required distance to avoid taking a 3 point deduction!
Looking Forward: I learned at the Suzanne Clothier seminar that due to Maisy’s structure, jumping will probably never be her strong suit. We’ll continue to work on it in small pieces, and I think a jump or two will be doable for her.

Goal: Reduce ring nerves.
Progress: I did get through a trial without using stomach medications, which was a huge improvement! I did this by using Rescue Remedy. Unfortunately, I was so nervous that the judge actually took me aside and had me smell an essential oil to help me relax a little. Oops.
Looking Forward: I have an appointment at the end of April to get hypnotized to help deal with my ring stress. Hopefully it helps, but if not, I suspect I’ll talk with the therapist about some visualization and other exercises to incorporate.

Goal: Complete ARCH.
Progress: Maisy completed her Level 2 title in February, which was the first step towards the ARCH.
Looking Forward: She already has enough Level 1 points, so we just need 40 Level 2 points and 5 QQs. I don’t think we’ll actually achieve all that this year unless we travel, and that, of course, is going to be dependent on whether or not I can get my ring nerves under control.

Goal: Get one leg towards a CD (any venue).
Progress: None officially, but we are working on the skills necessary (heeling, etc.).
Looking Forward: I’ll probably try St. Hubert’s CDSP program first. The problem with that is that the only local trials are held in conjunction with APDT rally… and that might be too much for one day since I want to work on her QQs then.

Management 101: Exercise

One huge component of living with a reactive dog is management; it’s relatively easy to carry out, not very time-consuming, and often yields huge dividends. It’s also not a very sexy blog topic. After all, how many times can you write a short essay on the value of crating your dog when strangers come over? But management is so important to our dog’s daily lives- especially the reactive ones among us- that I’ve decided to do an infrequent and irregular series of posts on management.

Today’s topic is exercise.

I always knew that exercise is important for dogs. After all, who hasn’t heard the dog training adage, A tired dog is a good dog? It’s true, of course. Many of our dogs were bred to work in some capacity. For example, Maisy is half corgi, which is a herding breed. As such, she was bred to work cattle in the field all day long. Since I don’t have any cows, she has an endless supply of energy that needs to be channeled productively. I’ve long suspected that exercise is important in both channeling that energy as well as mitigating her anxiety, but I’ve never really had any proof- scientific or anecdotal- that this is true. This week, I found both.

Earlier this year, I set some dog related goals, and one of them was to increase Maisy’s exercise. I have been quite diligent about this (despite the fact that it’s the middle of winter in Minnesota) and have been averaging 30 to 45 minutes with her every day (about 1.5-2 miles). Everything was going well until a couple of weeks ago, when her booties finally wore out for good. Maisy refuses to walk in the snow and ice without booties, so I needed to get some new ones.

Now, if you’ve ever tried to shop for dog booties, you know how frustrating it can be to get booties that have a good fit and stay on. On top of that, I wanted water resistant booties at a reasonable price. I finally broke down and made some, but not after wasting over a week looking for, buying, and then returning, various booties. And of course, we did not walk during this time.

It showed. Maisy became progressively edgier, jumpier, growlier and just all around more anxious. She was barking at things I couldn’t see or hear around the house. She was startling at sudden movements while in the backyard or on a walk. And despite her successful night last week, she did have a few bark-n-lunges in our reactive dog class this week.

It’s clear that exercise matters. And not just for Maisy: there’s a new study out that shows that regular exercise reduces anxiety symptoms by 20%. Although the study was done on humans, I have no doubt that the same general principle holds true for animals, too.

I’m not sure why exercise makes such a dramatic difference in her behavior. Certainly, as I already mentioned, it’s important to get rid of pent up energy in a socially acceptable fashion. My trainer, Robin, suggested that it’s not the exercise itself so much as the regular exposure to novel stimuli, both for the socialization components as well as providing her with interesting experiences. That makes sense to me. I get to leave the house every day for work, but if I don’t take Maisy somewhere, she spends her entire life in our house and yard. Beyond that, there’s probably some science at work; I’ve long heard that exercise creates endorphins, the feel-good hormone.

No matter what the reason, after this week, my suspicion that exercise is important for managing Maisy’s reactivity has been reaffirmed and even upgraded to a firm belief. Since it is a relatively painless thing to do, I view exercise as one of the easiest things I can do to help Maisy feel more comfortable and happier.