Having planned, consistent, shared activities with me enhances your dog’s bond with you

No person aside from your parents will love you more than your dog.  No matter what, your dog will always go bonkers the moment you come home.  That love will never be in question, as you are their world.

Like children, dogs thrive best when they have a consistent routine.  Also like children, dogs thrive best with abundant, consistent, shared activities with their parents.  Creating a wealth of shared experiences with your dog deepens his bond with you, keeps him mentally well adjusted, and connects him to you on deeper level.

In this way you learn to read one another’s body language and emotional states.  The dog will adjust his approach with you when knowing exactly how you feel.  From the dog parent’s perspective, you may sense the something is off about your dog, which could signify that he may be sick or injured.

Dogs are animals instinctively bonded to people, but they still intrinsically carry the animal instinct to go out of their way to not exhibit signs of weakness or pain.  All you may notice during times of disease when you have that deep connection with your dog is that something is just not right about him.

We call it the Ain’t Doing Right, aka, ADR appointment, when the pet parents cannot pinpoint what the issue is, but just know something is off about their pet.  We see those appointments all the time and more often than not, we figure out that the pet is not well, whether it be injury or illness.

In other cases, I see the opposite.  Dog parents with busy, distracted, stressful lives that don’t have consistent planned activities with their dogs may not notice their dog is off.  When whatever ails the dog becomes obvious that they bring the dog in to be checked out, it is not uncommon for me to uncover conditions that have been going on for much longer than what was observed.

I will give you an example of this concept with my routine with my own dogs.  Every morning, after letting our two dogs out for a quick pee and then feeding them, my wife Jill and I take them on a 20 minute walk, giving them ample time to explore, sniff, and poop.  Upon returning home from work, we let them out to potty, feed them, then have dinner ourselves. Once the dishes are done, we all enjoy a second leisurely 20 minute evening walk.

We try to consistently set aside Sunday  for activities with the dogs that take them away from our neighborhood. Our area in Florida commonly has dog friendly outdoor craft and art fairs that we bring the dogs to walk along our side while we browse.  The planners of our town did an amazing job setting aside many acres of conservation areas with miles of dog friendly nature trails where we take in nature together, breathe in fresh air, and enjoy some exercise.  These shared experiences are wonderful for us and the dogs.

We manage this consistency despite having very busy and at times stressful lives as well.  I am a full-time practicing veterinarian – a wonderfully rewarding profession, but one that inevitably can become fraught with stress – while having the added stress of being a business owner (I own my veterinary clinic).  Jill is the head surgical tech at the local veterinary eye specialist.  We have two teenagers with lots of activities that we are constantly running around the state of Florida for.  Our set aside dog time is relief from the grind for us and we would not trade our doggy time for the world!

So, if you have not already developed a consistent, shared activity regimen with your dog, try implementing one.  You will likely find that there are great benefits for you as well as the dog.

Dr. Roger Welton is a practicing veterinarian and highly regarded media personality through a number of platforms. He is the author of his top selling memoir The Man In The White Coat: A Veterinarian’s Tail Of Love. In addition to this writing this blog, Dr. Welton also hosts the popular Space Coast Pet Podcast.  He is the CEO and chief attending veterinarian of Premier Veterinary Care in Viera, FL.