Dogs can't rest: How much rest and activity does my dog need? [Part 1]
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How much rest does a dog need?
A dog's need for rest
Das Ruhebedürfnis unserer Hunde ist grösser, als die meisten Hundemenschen es einschätzen würden. Ein Hund ist körperlich locker in der Lage, den Alltag mit uns Menschen zu führen. Biologisch betrachtet benötigt ein Hund deutlich mehr Ruhe, als der Mensch. Ein ausgewachsener und gesunder Hund benötigt etwa 16–20 Stunden Zeit zum Dösen und Schlafen. Welpen oder alte Hunde benötigen mehr als 16–20 Stunden Ruhe. Kommt ein Hund selbstständig nicht zur Ruhe, benötigt er die Hilfe des Menschen, der Ruhe anleitet. Einige Hunde hingegen suchen sich ihre Ruhe von allein. Das kann zum einen damit zusammenhängen, dass der Hund es von Beginn an gelernt hat, oder aber weil seine Persönlichkeit und der Charakter es so begünstigt. Die Gründe, weshalb dein Hund nicht zur Ruhe kommt, können unterschiedlich sein. Auch der Körperbau nimmt Einfluss auf die Stressresilienz. Mehr zum Körperbau und der Fähigkeit zur Selbstregulation erfährst du in der Begriffserklärung der Impulskontrolle. Je mehr der Men
The dog's urge to be busy
The phenomenon of overworking is now gradually spreading to the world of dogs after the overworked children. Agility courses, mantrailing and various workshops are designed to keep the dog busy. In addition, the dog accompanies us on visits, to the restaurant and to the weekly market. Where is the necessary time to switch off and really relax?
Well-intentioned capacity utilisation, poorly implementedAs dog people, we can unknowingly encourage restless behaviour in our dogs. Excessive exercise or thoughtless games that focus on movement without brainpower encourage restlessness and prevent the dog from calming down. Stupid ball games without a concept encourage, among other things, ball junkies who chase after a ball like crazy.
Too much and too little exercise can cause your dog to show the same signs of restlessness. If your dog does not calm down, it may be due to too much or too little exercise. In addition to a lack of exercise, the wrong activity can cause your dog to become overexcited. Finding a healthy amount of exercise and activity for your dog is not always easy. To teach your dog to calm down and keep him busy at the same time, you can use exercises from the Impulse control We have already organised impulse control training courses for you for Beginners, Advanced und Profis compiled.
Dog people like to think that a busy dog hears better. It is understandable that exercise and activity with your dog is necessary and that boredom awakens many a problem behaviour in dogs. However, the reason for activity should not be exhaustion, but a healthy amount of stimuli, impressions, movement and opportunities for rest. An increased cortisol level awakens the urge for movement in the dog in order to metabolise the excess cortisol with the help of activity. A vicious circle is created: a stressed dog becomes a hyperactive dog that is stressed. Lack of rest and sleep leads to nervousness, lack of concentration and tension. As a dog person, the dog's behaviour leads to the assumption that the dog needs more exercise. Wrong! What such a dog needs is rest!
Lack of sleep is not only a consequence of stress, but also the origin of other health complaints and problem behaviour. As a dog person, it is your job to teach your dog to rest if your dog is not resting. This not only helps with general behaviour and health, but also promotes the processing of training, exercises and experiences.
How to recognise that your dog is over-excited in certain situations
- Your dog is barely responsive or no longer responsive at all
- You are hardly noticed and there is little orientation
- the muscles are tense and the ears are alert
- the dog does not lie down and is constantly on the move
- Despite exercise, your dog does not calm down
- your dog shows a lot of howling, whining, whining, barking, trembling
- often over-jumping behaviour such as biting the Leash, excessive digging, jumping nervously at people, etc.
- your dog shows no signs of tiredness and demands more exercise
- Food is refused
Rest and stress - What happens in the dog's body?
Sleep and rest have a big influence on our dogs' stress levels. Stress is not always directly bad and is part of life. Wrapping your dog in cotton wool and protecting him from any kind of stress is impossible and unnecessary. However, you can find out what happens if your dog is stressed over a long period of time and is generally very hyper in the blog "Rest and stress - What happens in the dog's body?".
Reasons for restlessness in dogsIf we assume that your dog's needs have been met, other factors may be the reason why your dog cannot calm down. It should be understandable that a lack of sleep and hunger lead to restlessness. A feeling of hunger can cause nervousness and reduce impulse control. We have already mentioned how nerve food can have a positive influence in the article on impulse control . You can practice calmness with your dog, but other general conditions play a role in your dog. You can find more information on this in the blog "Causes & reasons for a restless or stressed dog". These include, among others:
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Aids for lack of rest - dog does not come to rest
Calmness can be supported by various aids in addition to exercises. It is important to mention that aids promote calmness, but without training they are not effective. In our blog you will find effective calmness training with free training plans. The aids work on different levels. The effectiveness is different for each dog and must be tested individually for you and your dog.
Music
Music therapy is widely used in some areas in humans. Music can promote relaxation in dogs. Findings by Lindig et al (2020) suggest that animals (not just dogs) appear less stressed or anxious when exposed to classical music. To date, there has been little research examining music and relaxation in the context of animals. Music can provide relief from anxiety in the home environment. In most studies, quiet time and duration of barking were assessed and measured as indicators of stress. Measured by cortisol levels and heart rate, classical music was able to induce calm. In addition to the genre, conditioning and association with experiences and the music can also have a good effect. If your dog always lies relaxed next to you while you listen to your favourite music, the positive experience can lead your dog to calmness.
CBD
CBD can be used in many ways as a natural supplement for dogs and humans. Dogs have their own endocannabinoid system, which is why CBD can also be supportive for them . CBD is an active ingredient of the hemp plant, which is extracted from the female plant. Unfortunately, there is not much evidence that CBD has the same positive properties in dogs as in humans. However, it is believed that CBD can help dogs with pain, cramps, anxiety and stress, to support the immune system or against inflammation. But it is important to know that it is used as a support and not as a sole problem solver.
If you are planning to give your dog CBD, make sure it is of good quality and organically grown. There are special CBD manufacturers for dogs. The dosage should be increased slowly. It is best to seek advice from a specialist. We personally use Hunreys oils for our dogs, which you can get 10% cheaper with the discount code "VITOMALIA10".
Herbs and fragrances
Camomile, lavender and valerian have long been said to have a calming effect - on both dogs and humans. The herbs can be given to the dog via the food to work internally or as an essential oil via a diffuser. The herbs should be started during a calm phase. Only use high-quality and carefully prepared herbs and essential oils.
RelaxoPet
The RelaxoPet is a device that emits specially tuned sounds for dogs, cats or horses, depending on the device. We could not find any evidence or studies that confirm the effectiveness of the RelaxoPet. Some dog people have already had good experiences, others noticed no difference. However, if we think of conditioned relaxation, you can use the RelaxoPet to condition relaxation without disturbing humans because the sounds are hardly perceptible to humans. If you set up the RelaxoPet at home in a quiet environment as a relaxation sound while the dog relaxes, after a while the RelaxoPet can also be used in stressful situations (e.g. when driving a car) without disturbing you.
Cyclène and Adaptil
Zylkène and Adaptil can be used as natural remedies to promote relaxation. Both remedies promote calmness in temporary, transient stressful situations.
Zylkène is made from skimmed milk. The calming effect is due to α-casozepine, which is produced in the intestines of puppies while they are digesting their mother's milk. α-casozepine in turn enhances the effect of the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-amino-butyric acid). GABA is responsible for all functions related to emotions, including stress. Adult dogs no longer produce α-casozepine, but the effect remains. Zylkène therefore creates the familiar comforting feeling in adult dogs and helps them to react more calmly to stressful situations.
Adaptil is now available in different product forms: as a Collar, as tablets, as an atomiser for the socket or as a spray. Adaptil works in the form of pheromones. Pheromones are messenger substances that help dogs to obtain information about each other. A mother dog releases pheromones through her udder to give her puppies a feeling of safety and security. Adaptil sends these pheromones into your dog's environment and gives him a sense of security. The feeling of security in turn creates relaxation.
Thundershirt and Tellington TTouch body tape
Ist die Unruhe bei deinem Hund auf Angst zurückzuführen, kann ein Thundershirt weiterhelfen. Thundershirts sind eng anliegende T-Shirts für deinen Hund, die gleichmässige Kompression auf den Körper einwirken, sodass es beruhigend wirken soll. Das ist verwandt zum Pucken bei Babys. Die Kompression soll eine enge Berührung nachahmen, die Geborgenheit vermittelt. Das Tellington TTouch Körperband ist im Gegensatz zum T-Shirt variabler einsetzbar, bedarf aber mehr Übung beim “Binden”. Wir empfehlen bei beiden Hilfsmitteln diese bereits mehrfach vorher anzuwenden, bevor sie in wichtigen Situationen angewandt werden. Ob und wie beruhigend beides auf deinen Hund wirkt, wirst du selbst herausfinden, indem du deinen Hund beobachtest. Hunde, die Harnesses oder andere Kleidung als störend empfinden, werden wahrscheinlich sowohl das Thundershirt wie auch die Körperbänder als unangenehm wahrnehmen. Die beruhigende Wirkung ist somit individuell vom Hund abhängig.
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