I worked with a client over the weekend and his adolescent dog. During the appointment, I commented that his dog needed a job other than tearing up patio furniture cushions, digging under the fence, and pulling out prized plants by their roots. He said he hadn't realized that his dog was "unemployed!" We got a good laugh out of this, but truly, sheer boredom was the root cause of all of his dog's "bad" behaviors. And, again, ripping things with his teeth, digging, etc. are not "bad" behaviors to a dog, they are just dog behaviors. Most dogs love ripping stuff up and digging to their heart's content. This doesn't mean you just have to put up with your dog turning your yard into a wasteland, rather you need to give them a job that suits their skillset. Diggers need to dig, climbers need to climb, and runners need to run. You get my drift, I'm sure. So, here are my suggestions for getting your dogs a "day job:"
For dogs who like to dig: Time to either designate an area of your yard for digging, or set up a space for them to do so. It could even be an old sand box your kids don't use any more, or a plastic wading pool that you repurpose for digging. Fill the sandbox or wading pool with your dog's favorite digging substrate (clean dirt, sand, etc.) and then bury fun things there for them to find such as bones, baby carrots, or bully sticks. If you catch them digging where they shouldn't, redirect them to the appropriate area. Make digging in those areas less satisfying by laying down netting, adding in large rocks, or putting up fencing to discourage digging in the wrong areas. And remember, if you are digging in an area, they will want to dig there too as you've obviously chosen the best spot! Keep your dog indoors when you do your spring planting and remember to supervise them in the yard until they are regularly choosing their designated digging area without you leading them there.
For dogs who like to run: Flyball and lure coursing are two sports that are perfect for dogs who like to run. Lure coursing is great for dogs who like to perform alone, while Flyball is a team sport. For Flyball, dogs basically compete relay style, one team versus another, with dogs jumping over jumps to get to the special box at the end, tag it with their feet to release a ball, grab that ball and run back, which then triggers the next dog to run. Really fun to watch and participate in and the jump height for the jumps is set to the smallest dog on the team's shoulder height. Most teams have a fast, little dog to keep those jumps at a reasonable height for sailing over quickly. Lure coursing is just what it sounds like. There is an artificial lure that races around a course and your dog chases after it, fastest time wins! Think about those racing greyhounds chasing the fake bunny around a track and that gives you an idea of what lure coursing is like for your dog.
For dogs who like to climb: Hikes in mountainous terrains are great, if you like to climb too, but if you can't climb, or you don't live near steep trails, then agility, or even parkour, might be a great sport for your dogs. Agility is an individual sport, with points for time and accuracy. Even if you don't compete, your dog will have fun jumping over jumps, climbing a-frames, balancing on teeter-totters and dog walks, and zipping through tunnels. Parkour courses are basically agility done with objects found in the real world such as hay bales, picnic benches, drainage tunnels, traffic cones, etc.
For dogs who like to sniff: Nosework is the ideal sport for dogs who love to sniff . Whether they are sniffing for unique smells like cedar or birch in a nosework class, or sniffing out a rat in a hidden cage in Barn Hunt, your nosey dog will have an appropriate outlet for the behavior with these two options. Given that most dogs love to sniff, these two sports are good for almost any dog, and are really wonderful for older dogs who still have the drive to work, but may not have the stamina or vision any more to do other tasks.
For water-loving dogs: Dock diving is a terrific sport to pursue with dogs who love the water. A floating toy is thrown in the water for your dog to race along a dock and jump as far out into the water as they can to retrieve the toy. You'll get great practice at throwing the toy further and further out as your accuracy and distance at throwing the toy, will help push your dog to jump further out into the dock diving pool!
For dogs who love meeting new people: Pet assisted therapy is the perfect job for dogs who love meeting new people and can be trusted not to jump up on them, mouth them, etc. Pet therapy is particularly well-suited to dogs who aren't put off by strange smells (think hospital smells) odd human behavior (think people with dementia, shaky hands, or unsteady gaits), or medical equipment around them like wheelchairs, walkers, canes, etc. While many people think the ideal pet therapy dog is a small dog who will sit on someone's lap, the truth of the matter is that big dogs, medium dogs, and every size in between can make great pet therapists for various environments. For example, while a German Shepherd or Great Dane might seem like the perfect candidate for a hospital setting where the patients are in beds and those larger dogs will be able to position themselves alongside the beds easily for petting, a medium sized dog can do this too, she may just need to be taught to sit in a bedside chair for better access!
Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list of dog jobs, but just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many great options that you can pursue with your dogs depending on their aptitude and your schedule. I purposefully did not include links to local clubs/events for these pursuits because not everyone following this blog is located in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you are, however, here in the Bay Area, and you want a suggestion on where to pursue one of these jobs for your dog, send me a message, and I'll make sure to send you a place to start.
As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.
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