The other day I had the opportunity to talk to a fella who had done time in prison. As a retired police officer, prison and psychology buff, I was very interested and asked some questions. He said that being in prison was bad enough, but he once spent 60 days in the “hole” otherwise known as administrative segregation, or the prison within the prison. Prisoners in the hole sometimes get “yard time”. But their yard time is alone and usually in a smaller outdoor cage than is enjoyed by the general population. He said the lack of sensory stimulation and human contact was maddening. You may be asking what this has to do with dogs. Well the truth is that many of our dogs live in a jail called our home. Let me explain.
Our clients cover a broad spectrum of dog owners. Most of them regularly exercise their dogs and take them places outside their home. However I don’t believe that is the norm. Lots of dogs never leave the front door of their homes except to go to the Vet. Hmm, kinda like when an inmate goes to the hospital.
We have all heard about separation anxiety in dogs. Most define it as the belief that the dog becomes anxious when separated from its owner. In my opinion the anxiety comes from the human separating the dog from freedom by controlling the opening and closing of doors, gates, and areas to control where the dog spends its time. Basically, they become a corrections officer for their dog.
The house is general population, their crate depending on how it is used can become the “hole”, and a fenced in yard is the yard. If they are the only dog or only dog around the same age, breed, and temperament, it can be like the administrative segregation yard or the general population yard.
A fenced in yard can be a blessing and a curse. It is great to be able to let your dog out to do his business without hooking him up to a tie out, especially in bad weather and you can let several dogs out at once. Here is the problem, humans interpret the world largely through sight, but dogs interpret the world through their noses.
Many dog owners think that when they come home and let their dog out in the fenced in backyard or tie them out that this is a huge exciting release for the dog after a long day in the crate or roaming the house. The truth is that by nature dogs are predators. This means that every other living creature in and around your yard and house knows a dog lives there and avoids it like the plague. This means few new scent trails in the area where the dog is let out, meaning cool and interesting to sniff. It’s even worse in the house unless you get lots of visitors, and God Bless them if they track in the scents of their own dogs. So now you can guess how exciting and stimulating their crate is.
So the yard is not mentally stimulating, what about physically? Well that depends. Are you a one dog home? If so, remember how much fun it was as a kid outside playing by yourself. Before long you were probably getting into trouble out of boredom. If you do have other dogs, how close are they in age, wellness, breed, temperament, and size? There is a reason that most 20-somethings don’t hang out with senior citizens. If they try to do the same things either the young get bored or the old get hurt.
People wonder why dogs go crazy when they get a chance to bolt out of the front door. Maybe because it is like Narnia to them. They get to see it through windows but seldom interact in it. When you open the door, all the smells of the outside world come in. Couple these things with the fact that we block them from getting out that door, like Templars protecting the Holy Grail, and you can quickly see why they are so interested in what’s on the other side of that front door.
The number #1 behavior we are called for is dogs pulling on the leash. The number #1 cause is dogs who lack confidence due to lack of socialization as pups and exposure as adults. They pull because all they have is the fight or flight response and if they are scared and there is nothing to fight then they try to flee, pulling you along for the ride.
Face it, in most homes, except for the yelling and screaming of family members which dogs learn to ignore pretty fast, most of the noises and movements in and around our houses are pretty predictable. Out in the world, not so much. They need to be exposed to busy areas like parks. There is so much going on that it is often impossible to dial in and respond to one sight, noise, or smell. The dog learns that if you don’t respond to it, there is no need for them to. Not to mention coming face to face with other dogs at any time. A calm dog is a well behaved dog, and a well behaved dog is a joy to take anywhere.
How do you think your kids would behave if up to the age of 2-3 years old they never left your house and backyard? Everything outside the front door would be terrifying. Think of how much time and therapy would be needed to make up, even if it was possible, for the time lost. Dogs are the same way.
So what is a loving dog owner to do? Well the first step is admitting that your dog needs more from you than letting him out, feeding him, and an occasional pat on the head. Your dog needs you to be their pack leader and lead them on new and exciting adventures outside the walls of your institution. Short potty walks are not going to do it, your dog needs to roam and live that pack life with you in the lead.