Is Your Dog Fulfilled?

Do you know the difference between training and rehabilitation?
Training has to do with teaching your dog to do things by voice or hand command.
Rehabilitation is helping a dog that has one or more issues the owners can't handle. They need a professional to help. If you do, i suggest you get one right away for his safety and yours.

Remember to treat your dog like a dog and not a baby. He deserves that respect. Fulfill his needs and your dog will have a long happy healthy life. I will share with you how you can fulfill your dogs life. This way he won't need rehabilitation in the future.

PREVENTION is key
This is a great fulfillment formula that i like to follow. It really works if you commit 100% to help your dog. I hope you will give it a try so you can see your dog change. You will build a deeper bond with your best buddy.The formula is simple to have a balanced dog. The formula has to be done in the order in which it is presented to you.  
1. EXERCISE
2. DISCIPLINE (rules, boundaries, and limitations, consistently)
3. AFFECTION
You may wonder, why is the order important. The reason is due to the natural order of your dogs inborn needs. But because we love our dogs we give them affection affection affection. It's great to love our dogs but they need exercise and leadership first.

Exercise
This is the first part of the formula and is very important. In general dog troubles start when your dog is not getting enough structured exercise. He needs to get tired out from some kind of exercise daily. A tired dog is more easily compliant to your commands. Exercise also builds trust between you and your dog, and allows your dog to burn off lots of pent up energy.
Do you have so many dogs that it is easier to just put them out in the yard? Do you walk any of them on a leash? Do you give them any structured play time? Putting them out in the yard is not a way out of going on a leash walk. Walk one at a time if you have to. Has your dog ever had a leash on? Does he let you put one on? Does he wear a collar at home? They do need a collar on at all times. For reasons i'll get to later on.

Discipline
The word discipline has a negative to it. Dog lovers have a hard time with the word. It is usually associated with punishment of some kind to get the desired result. In the dog world however, it has a very different meaning altogether. It means rules, boundaries, and limitations, all done in a kind way. If you don't have discipline in your life it may be a challenge to do it for your dog. As it is said "we get the dog we need, not just the one we want". Rules, boundaries, and limitations exist in every species. Our children need them to know their place in the family. It is the same for a dog in his pack family. To succeed at anything you must have discipline in your life. Dogs need to know from you the leader when to eat, and how to interact with other dogs, when to dig hole, when to chase a critter, and so on. Rules, boundaries and limitations are for the good of your dog and for your relationship with them.

Affection
It is important to understand how affection at the wrong time can damage your dogs state of mind. Never give affection to an unstable state of mind. Nervous, fearful, dominant, anxious, possessive, aggressive, whining, begging, or barking. When you do it sends a signal to his brain that is it good to be this way. Only give affection to a stable mind. ONLY.  Let him work out some issues on his own. He can do it, and it's okay. Then when he is calm give him a treat or a belly rub or a toy, all are affection to your dog. Your dog needs to always earn his treats and his affection. It will mean more to him and to you.

Fulfillment
Are we fulfilling our potential, living each day to the fullest? Do we exercise all the talents and abilities we are born with? It's the same for dogs. A dog's life is fulfilled if it can live comfortably in a pack, feeling safe and secure under the guidance of its pack leader. A dog is fulfilled if it has frequent periods of primal exercise and feels she is working for her food and water. A dog is fulfilled when it trusts its pack leader to set consistent rules and boundaries to live by. Dogs love routine, ritual, and consistency. The love new experiences and a chance to explore, especially when they have a reliable bond with their leader.

Dogs fulfill us in so many ways. They fill in for human companions when we're lonely. They give us love, softness and warm cuddles. They serve as alarm clocks and burglar alarms. They win us money in competitions. We don't ask them to do so, they just do it. They can't tell us what they need. But giving them these simple things, exercise, discipline and affection, in that order, will go a long way toward thanking our dogs for everything they bring to our lives.