Simple Ways to Upgrade Your Dog’s Life

As pet parents, all we want is for our four-legged friends to live a happy and healthy life. Introducing small, thoughtful changes can have a positive impact on a dog’s life, improving their day-to-day routine. Making sure that your pup has mental stimulation, time for emotional bonding, and play are all simple ways to upgrade your dog’s life and well-being. 

In this blog, we’ll explore ways to brighten up your dog’s daily life and answer the question, “How to make a dog happier?” After all, a happy dog means happy dog parents, and that’s a true win-win!

Let Them Sniff When Out and About

The first way you can upgrade your routine for your dog is by letting them sniff when you’re out on their walks. Sniffing is a form of mental exercise for dogs. They experience the world through their noses, so sniffing is like reading the news for them! In fact, allowing time for your dog to sniff and explore can reduce stress and provide mental enrichment. 

Try going on slower, more exploratory walks with your pup and let their nose lead the way. You can even use a long lead in safe areas to avoid being dragged around too much when your pup sniffs something out that they simply must investigate more closely! 

Varying your walks is also a great form of mental stimulation for your dog as they can learn and discover different scents while exploring.

You can also keep the fun going at home with different scent games. Studies have found that dogs that engage in scent work are more optimistic, so encouraging them to sniff more is a great way to keep your dog happy!

Make Time For Play

Incorporating daily playtime into your routine for your dog is a great way to strengthen your bond and provides both physical and mental stimulation. It also helps prevent boredom-related behaviours such as chewing or barking. 

The best thing about having a daily playtime with your pup is that you can try different fun activities and tailor your play to their personality. Games like fetch, tug-of-war and hide-and-seek are all brilliant ways to keep your dog stimulated and entertained.

Spend Quality Time Together 

A valuable dog care tip that can help upgrade your dog’s life is spending quality time with them. After all, dogs are a human’s best friend and thrive on companionship. So, spending quality time with your furry friend can help them feel closer to you, building your bond and trust together. 

Set time aside each day to simply be together. Whether this is in the form of training, playing, exercise, or grooming, your pup will love nothing more than to spend time with you. 

Training sessions are a great way to bond as short, positive training sessions reinforce wanted behaviour and deepen your connection. A physical and mental exercise top tip we love is training your pooch to complete certain ‘jobs’. This could be them tidying away their toys into a basket, closing doors or picking up other safe, dropped items.

Create Safe, Comfortable Spaces

Although play, walks and exploration are all brilliant ways to make a dog happier, your pup also needs a place to retreat in between all of the excitement. Dogs need a quiet, cosy spot where they can relax and recharge undisturbed. Create an area that your dog can easily access and use whenever they want some security. It’s important that everyone in the household knows that if your dog is in this space they should be left there undisturbed. 

You can use soft bedding, blankets and familiar scents to create their own safe space. If your dog has a favourite room, build them a den there and plug in an ADAPTIL Calm diffuser to give them extra reassurance. The calming pheromones will help them feel safe and secure in their own space. 

A designated safe space can help your dog feel more secure during loud events like fireworks or other challenges when they are at home. 

Support Your Dog’s Emotional Well-being with ADAPTIL Calm

When making your dog happy, it’s important to focus on their emotional well-being as well as the physical. Nurturing emotional well-being throughout a dog’s life can help improve their health, happiness and behaviour.

ADAPTIL Calm can help support your dog by simulating the calming pheromones that mother dogs naturally release to comfort her puppies. These pheromones have the same calming effect on all ages of dogs to help them feel safe and more at ease when adapting to modern life’s stressful situations. You can use the ADAPTIL Calm diffuser, ADAPTIL Calm Collar for continuous support, or ADAPTIL Transport is available as a spray to help your dog stay calm when on the move.

More Simple Dog Care Tips 

• Enrichment feeding – Use puzzle feeders, snuffle mats, chew toys or simply scatter their food to make mealtime more stimulating. 

• Variety – While dogs enjoy a good routine and predictability, they also appreciate some variety to keep things interesting! Make sure you’re introducing different toys, games, training activities and treats to keep them engaged.

• Physical exercise – A lack of exercise can result in frustration and boredom so it’s important to ensure your dog is exercised daily. Exercise also helps to maintain their weight, muscle and bone strength, so is crucial to keep them healthy!

• Regular grooming – Brushing, nail trimming and teeth cleaning not only keep your dog healthy but also reinforce your bond together.

• Social time with other dogs – Arrange safe playdates or visits to dog-friendly spaces to encourage socialisation. When doing this, be sure to keep an eye on your pup to make sure they’re comfortable. 

• Regular health checks – Preventative care is crucial for a healthy and happy dog. Regular checkups can also help to detect and address potential health issues early. Speak to your vet about how regular your dog’s check-ups need to be.

Upgrading your dog’s life can be simple! Spending time each day playing, exercising and bonding helps strengthen your relationship and helps you understand your pup better. 

For more advice on life with your four-legged friend, continue exploring the rest of our blogs online. Or if you’d like to receive the latest news and advice straight into your inbox, don’t forget that you can also sign up to our newsletter.