It’s a Balancing Act

“All work and no play…..”, everyone is probably familiar with that statement.  There are so many things in life that we must balance in order to enjoy life without feeling stressed out.  There are the pressures of work, children, relationships, health and leisure time.  We try to fit it all in so that we can get a little bit of everything in the right measure, of course this does not always happen.  Work is overloaded and we end up taking it home, the kids or a significant other need attention and you haven’t relaxed and had five minutes to yourself in 3 weeks.  Then of course you have to take the dog or dogs for a walk but that is a pain in the neck because they are horrible on a leash, so they end up not getting out at all. All of these things add stress to our life, as a result we implement some time management skills to help overcome it and make time for everything; this balance may indeed be different for each individual.

Dogs also need balance which will differ from dog to dog depending on each individuals needs and the particular dog.  Lets take a high energy, high drive dog, a Border Collie or Labrador Retriever for example. These particular dogs may require more exercise than lets say a lower energy dog like a Basset Hound. (I don’t like to be breed specific because it is not always the case).  It is the high energy dogs I would like to speak about.

There are many outstanding high drive dogs that will go for that ball or Frisbee until your arm is falling off.  If this dog is not getting the exercise he requires this often leads to frustration and pent up energy that will eventually come out in some other form, they need an outlet physically as well as mentally!  However, we can’t just bring our dogs to the point of exhaustion before they can calm themselves.  It is important that these dogs be taught to chill out and relax according to your schedule.  If the dog is not taught to calm, and is always “on” he may perhaps always be on edge.

Dogs should also be taught to pay attention to their owners through training. Does this mean you want to train your dog 8 hours a day?  Of course not, but training also needs to be balanced; some dogs need more processing time, among other things, and of course each dog is different.

If you are thinking about adding a new dog to your household choose one that perhaps has an energy level similar of that to your own. If you are the type of person that is not too active, you may perhaps want to choose a dog with an energy level that matches your own.  They still need to go for walks and to be exercised, trained, and mentally stimulated but the physical exercise requirements may be a bit less.

Play with your dog, challenge your dog mentally, exercise your dog, train your dog, monitor your dog, and most definitely let your dog be a dog; this is all so very important.  Balance these things out appropriately depending on the individual needs of your dog.  Your dog will love you for it!!!

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