"A typical dog needs a balanced day of social interactions, outings, enrichment, and downtime," Amanda Yocom, CPDT-KA, Dog Behavior Specialist at Best Friends Animal Society, told Bored Panda. "An adequate amount of exercise and mental stimulation are essential in keeping dogs behaviorally sound."
According to Yocom, the importance of providing a balanced day for dogs is to help reduce stress in the environment and to prevent behavioral declines. Which can happen if a pup gets too much attention! And it's not just celebrity pets that can get into this sort of trouble.
Imagine you take your four-legged friend to the park, cafe, or some other public place. It often doesn't take long before your cute bundle of joy starts attracting stares and maybe people even start coming up to ask you to pet it.
"When a dog receives too much attention in public spaces, [some of them] can become overwhelmed or overstimulated and revert to defensive or inappropriate behavior to communicate their discomforts," Yocom said.
"It is important to always read your dog's body language to indicate what their comfort levels are. Dogs who have had enough social engagement may hesitate to approach, may want to create distance from the unfamiliar person, bark, have their ears back, etc. Sometimes their body language may be more subtle like a closed mouth and lowered body posture or more apparent like growling or snapping."
The dog behaviorist stressed that it is very important to respect your dog's body language and communications to prevent them from feeling like they have to react to stop the interactions. You have to do it for them. For example, if you start to notice signs of discomfort, you can politely ask people to toss a treat to your pup instead of approaching it to pet it.
For more on dog socialization, Best Friends Animal Society put together a really comprehensive article that has all the information you need to raise a friendly, calm, and confident pup.
