Does anyone give much thought to their pet’s freedom of choice? I read an article a year or so ago about how walking your dog is an experience for them. Sniffing stimulates their brains, and by allowing them to make some choices on a walk, we’re giving them a small bit of freedom.
I don’t have a fenced yard, and I don’t really trust Stanley to be loose in it. I do take him off-leash in the yard when we’re training, but I keep a close eye on him. He also gets some off-leash time when we’re playing fetch outside, but I can’t just let him wander — he would eventually take off into the woods, and we have a lot of wildlife around here.
An article I saw recently talked about how little freedom most dogs have. They live in our homes. They’re fed on our schedule. Walked and let out on our schedule. Playtime on our schedule, training also on our schedule.
I’ve been trying to come up with little, safe ways to give Stan some more choices in life. Now he gets some canned food for breakfast and some dry food. The dry food is left out all day, so he can choose when he wants to eat it. When we go on walks, I try to let him have some choices. I let him stop and sniff, and I even give him some choice in what route we take.
In nice weather, he gets the choice to be outside in the sun on our back porch, or in the house with me. He has a basket of toys, so he can choose what he wants to play with.
Do you ever think about freedom for your dog? Do you have any routines where you try to give your dog choices? I’d love more ideas on ways to allow some freedom if anyone has any. Leave me some of your thoughts in the comments!
