Are you the sort of person who loves the challenge of a New Year’s Resolution? Or do you run a mile when it comes to taking on a new commitment?
Either way, setting goals should always be done with an eye on what’s achievable. Here are some ideas for new resolutions you can set for you and your dog in 2021:
- Training is for life
You don’t have to have a puppy to attend one of our training sessions. In fact, we’re living proof that you CAN teach an old dog new tricks so why not set a resolution to learn something new? Check out our
website to find out what’s going on right now (with the added bonus of not having to go out in the horrid weather as all our training is currently over Zoom)
- Time to tackle that bad habit?
If your dog has developed a bad habit, such as jumping up at people or stealing food off the kitchen side, perhaps now is the time to work on eliminating it. If you’re currently at home more due to lockdown, you can schedule regular time to work on improving naughty behaviour. Just remember to be consistent and reward ONLY the good behaviour, or that which you want your dog to repeat.
- Walk the talk
With precious little else to do than explore our local footpaths, why not liven up your daily dog walk with some built-in training? In actual fact, training is much more effective if we tackle it gradually and revisit it regularly. You might try asking your dog to sit and stay while you walk a little ahead then ask him to come to you for a reward. Hide treats in long grass to encourage sniffing or even hide yourself or the kids behind a tree.
- A natural improvement
A great health-related resolution would be to vow only to buy natural treats for your dog from now on. We’re big fans of avoiding supermarket dog treats, as well as rawhide which, unbeknown to most owners, can actually really harm your dog. Instead opt for organic treats, or natural chews. You can find more information about what’s available in our
shop and get some good ideas about healthy reward-giving in this
blog.
- Mixing it up at mealtimes
We’re very keen on always making life fun and varied for our dogs – doing this often leads to better behaviour as they don’t get bored – and one of the best ways to do this is to mix up your mealtime routine. Dogs love nothing more than to sniff for rewards and their main mealtimes can be given in this way. Hide food in different places or use a snuffle mat to make a game out of dinnertime. Alternatively, you can give them their meal out in the garden and let them sniff for it among the grass. Puzzle toys are also good ways of making their food more entertaining, especially if you have a fast eater who needs slowing down a little.
Good luck with your new resolutions – do let us know on our
Facebook page if you try any of these ideas!