6 ways to boost your pup’s wellbeing
Most people would agree that dogs are good for our wellbeing. Who wouldn’t feel blessed when an adorable furry face is staring up at you? But there’s not as much talk about our four-legged family members’ happiness and people tend to see mental health problems as mainly a human trait.
In fact, depression and anxiety is more common amongst dogs than we think.1 A recent study has found that the welfare of our beloved pups is at great risk and is mainly caused by owners leaving their fur babies at home for long hours while going to work.
So what can you as a pet parent do to save your precious Fido from feeling the blues? We have listed the top tips for boosting your pup’s wellbeing.
1. Give them plenty of exercise
Pooches are little packages of energy and need plenty of room-around to stay happy. Not only can a lack of exercise affect your dog’s mental state, but it can also make him destructive and you may end up finding your backyard destroyed or your favourite shoes chewed up. So make sure your doggy gets plenty of exercise throughout the day. A short walk around the block is often not enough. If you don’t have time to give your dog a workout, then turn to pet sitting networks, like Mad Paws, where you can hire caring pet sitters to walk and cuddle your dog for you and look after them when you’re away.
2. Mood boosting accessories
Dogs are social beings and are genetically meant to be in a group setting. It’s therefore no wonder that many pups suffer from separation anxiety when their beloved owners go to work. If your pup is feeling the blues when you head out and hiring a pet nanny is still not enough, there’s some genius temper-soothing accessories out on the market. Let your pup try mood-boosting collar that slowly releases a scent that makes pooches calm, or why not a dog anxiety vest? It provides a constant comfort pressure so that your pup always feels like he is given love and cuddles.
3. Add enzymes to their diet
Processed doggy food may be an easy option to feed your pooch but does no good in boosting his mood. Apart from exercise and stimulation, diet is the biggest player in the game when it comes to your pup’s health. The solution is to give your fur baby plenty of happiness-induced enzymes in the shape of fresh fruit and vegetables. Also feed him raw meat that has plenty of nutrition compared to processed, shelf-food. This will take your pup’s health to another level and he will love you for it!
4. Learn doggy linguistics
Imagine if dogs knew the human language and you could communicate to your pup? Well, what about the other way around? We all know what means by a growl or a bark, but what about the subtle head turn, the delicate ear flick or the faint shrug? Inter-species communication is a thing and there is plenty of research out there on how to communicate to your canine pal. So give it a good Google search and start learning your fur babies’ accent, or if you want to truly become fluent in doggy linguistic, there’s even online courses to take.
5. Invest in interactive toys
Just like humans, our canine companions need stimulation and interaction to maintain a happy mental state. Even if we wanted to, we can’t spend every minute of the day playing with our fur buddies, but thankfully there are other options to keep them sane and sound. Spoil your pup with some paw-some interactive toys like doggy puzzles or toy-cross-food-dispensers that challenge your pup to a mind game in exchange for a delicious treat.
6. Give them love and attention
As much as you can spoil your pooch with fun toys and treats, the tip that beats all others is of course to give them plenty of love and attention. Ensure to give your pup a big hug when coming home from work and put aside time every day for some play and cuddles. Affection is the number one key to a happy canine mind!