Outlets for Energy and Instinctual Drive

In the pet training industry (vs the working dog industry), training is often focused on teaching dogs to be less than they are. Less barking, jumping, pulling, guarding, digging, whining, etc.

Dogs in pet homes who are constantly told 'no', or who do not have their physical, mental and social needs met can easily become frustrated and board, finding their own jobs to do which often, in turn, frustrate us.

This is why, along with behavioral training, we encourage you to find appropriate outlets for your dog's energy.

Outlets refer to activities that your dog finds fulfilling, not activities that you want to do with your dog. You may think that training for toys and food are enough of an outlet, but unless your dog is more food or toy motivated than anything else, those are just rewards for marked desired behaviors.

When choosing outlets for your dog's energy, pay attention to what it is they love most in the world, then find a way to put yourself in the middle and control it.

The Seeking System: This is a core biological emotional system that acts to satisfy the dog’s need to explore, hunt, and ultimately survive. Seeking is driven by dopamine, the neurotransmitter that enables learning; it increases attention, focus and exploratory behavior. There are two stages, the appetitive and consummatory. Appetitive is the hunting, stalking, herding, chasing, or running stage in which dopamine is being produced. During the consummatory stage, when the animal has found what they are looking for (food, water, a toy, a mate, etc.), dopamine production stops and declines. This means that the act of seeking is more rewarding to the dog than actually having what they are looking for, so when trying to determine which activity is fulfilling to your dog, pay attention to what your dog prefers to do. If your dog prefers to orient, eye stalk, chase, and grab bite: flirt pole, searching, tracking and hunting may be better options for your dog. If your dog prefers to grab bite: fetch or retrieve games and tug may be best. If your dog prefers to grab and kill bite: flirt pole, tug, or spring pole might be your dog’s most fulfilling games. If your dog likes to dissect and consume, food games and chew toys might be most fulfilling to your dog. The simplest thing you can do every day to help satisfy your dog’s seeking system is ‘feeding the chickens’ where you scatter your dog’s food in the grass, snow, or around the house, and let them search for their meals. Likewise, food dispensing toys and puzzles are an excellent choice.

It is important to note that the seeking system is always turned on; when the seeking system is aroused but cannot be satisfied, like with excessive frustration, hunger, or thirst, the dog can get angry or enraged. It is important to teach your dog impulse control and obedience so you can fulfil their biological need for seeking, while still remaining in control of the situation and able to calm your dog down with ease.

Does your dog love to dig? Let them get dirty, just train them to stop when you ask them to. Does your dog like to chase squirrels? Let them run, just train them to come back when they are called. Does your dog like to hunt? Train them to search on cue. Does your dog like to bite? Train them to 'out' on a springpole, flirtpole, or tug toy. Does your dog love to pull? Sign up for one of our behavioral programs and benefit from our members-only Canine Resistance Training team.

Finding outlets for your dog can be easy, you just have to be willing to let your dog get a little dirty sometimes

Let your dogs get Wild, fill out an Evaluation Form and join the Wild Dog Pack today!