Your dog Rexy just won’t settle down. He’s already been for two walks today, and the kids played with him for an hour or so in the yard. He keeps pestering us for pats, climbing all over us, and bringing toys to get us to play with him. It’s like he’s not getting enough attention even though we given him heaps.
You suspect it’s because he missed his walk yesterday, or perhaps because everyone’s been busy this week and Rexy’s been home alone more than usual.
You try to make up for this by responding to his demands for attention, but it’s 8pm now, everyone’s exhausted and you just want to relax in front of the TV before going to bed.
Even the kids are frustrated and yell at him to go away, but it just makes poor Rexy even more persistent.
Well, contrary to what many people might think, it’s likely that Rexy’s actually getting TOO MUCH ATTENTION.
That’s right! Dogs who just won’t settle are often getting too much attention rather than not enough.
Like young children, our dogs love to interact with us, and as long as Rexy’s demands for attention are being responded to he just gets more and more excited. He knows if he keeps pestering us he’ll be rewarded with attention.
So, Rexy’s energy level is about a 6/10 by now.
What happens when we get frustrated and shout at him? Yep, you got it. Rexy’s energy level climbs even higher.
Clearly what we’re doing is not working.
In fact, it’s making it worse.
So, what to do instead . . .
Let’s try the opposite. Next time your dog is like this I want you to ignore him. Yes, IGNORE.
Oh, but that seems so mean, you say. Well that’s because you’re applying HUMAN psychology to your dog.
See, you’re exhausted . . . and Rexy is probably exhausted as well. He just needs the right signals from us to show him how to calm down and relax.
Rexy may not immediately understand your new response to his pestering, so if ignoring is not enough to calm him down then you can use timeout.
I challenge you to try this for a week.
Post your progress on my Dogs Love Facebook page
