carpe decorum

Hanging with the Dogs

It never occurred to me to ask Is Your Dog Fulfilled? Instead I focus on ensuring Sam gets plenty of food, sleep, regular exercise, and some play time. Nothing fancy; his favorite toy is a cheap plastic, nearly flat ball. Besides I like best hanging out with Sam while I'm reading.

Turns out this is just fine. Most need about an hour a day of exercise and do better without constant stimulation:

In natural environments, which almost no dog or owner can find anymore, dogs are like lions. They lie around much of the day, rousing themselves every now and then for food or sex or to chase after something appealing. Dogs don't have human emotions. They don't get bored in the human sense of the word, although they do need some activity. They may get anxious when left alone—they are pack animals and usually prefer company—but loneliness is a human, not canine, emotion. With proper training and acclimatization, sometimes confinement, almost any dog can spend time alone, vegging out, smelling the smells and listening to the sounds of the world, chewing on rawhide, or staring at nothing in particular. One European study suggests that dogs left alone sometimes are smarter than dogs that are smothered by attention: They get the opportunity to solve problems by themselves.

For more on what dogs want, A walk around the block with the new dog literature