It is interesting. The more I think about it, the more I know it is true. My dog serves as a motivation to me. Often, I set myself goals and time limits in my school and work life in order to fit in time with my dog. This can include training sessions, walks/runs, and play-times. For my dog, this serves as a basic need; but for me, this serves as a mental break, relaxation, the chance to soak up some sun, and the opportunity to fit in daily exercise or, in other words, hedonic motivation (Babin, CB7, p. 93). Not fulfilling this basic need for the dog has repercussions, as it causes serious health and behavioral issues.
I grew up in a family where I was one of five kids. As young children, my siblings and I always dreamed of having a dog and would go to the library to check out so many dog books. My mom, however, was always against the idea of getting a dog, because she had so many children already to take care of and couldn't imagine additionally taking on the responsibility of a dog. When we got to the ages where we could do most of the work of caring for the dog, my mom opened up to the idea. The summer before we finally purchased a dog was dedicated to researching dog care and responsibilities. There is this TV show series called The Dog Whisperer by Cesar Millan, who is a dog behavior expert. He would get called to work with clients, who were seeing severe behavioral issues, such as aggression, fear, and dominance, in their dogs and were often at the point of entirely giving up hope. He would train the owners on what caused these issues and how to fix them and then rehabilitate the dog to achieve better behavior. His website includes training, behavioral, and adoption tips and dog basics. It is a very helpful resource that I would recommend to any new or current dog owner. It definitely made my dog experiences rewarding and beneficial.
I grew up in a family where I was one of five kids. As young children, my siblings and I always dreamed of having a dog and would go to the library to check out so many dog books. My mom, however, was always against the idea of getting a dog, because she had so many children already to take care of and couldn't imagine additionally taking on the responsibility of a dog. When we got to the ages where we could do most of the work of caring for the dog, my mom opened up to the idea. The summer before we finally purchased a dog was dedicated to researching dog care and responsibilities. There is this TV show series called The Dog Whisperer by Cesar Millan, who is a dog behavior expert. He would get called to work with clients, who were seeing severe behavioral issues, such as aggression, fear, and dominance, in their dogs and were often at the point of entirely giving up hope. He would train the owners on what caused these issues and how to fix them and then rehabilitate the dog to achieve better behavior. His website includes training, behavioral, and adoption tips and dog basics. It is a very helpful resource that I would recommend to any new or current dog owner. It definitely made my dog experiences rewarding and beneficial.
In the Dog Whisperer, Cesar works with many problem dogs and trains the owners for success*
Ever heard the saying, a tired dog is a good dog? From all the episodes that I watched, the most common cause of anxiety, aggression, and other behavioral problems was not giving the dog enough exercise. A lot of people think that for a dog running around the yard or a brief 20 minute walk per day is enough. In reality, dogs need a lot more than that - the amount varies depending on breed, age, and health. Each grouping of breeds (herding group, working group, sporting group, terrier group, hound group, toy group, non-sporting group) have different needs when it comes to exercise. For example, the herding and sporting dogs need at minimum 60-90 minutes of high intensity exercise per day - twice a day is even better. From the hound group, the greyhounds are sprinters; so they typically can drain their energy from a short run. For more interesting information about the exercise requirements of different breeds, this website is very helpful.
My motivation for taking my dog out includes the happiness I get from seeing him enjoy the outing, the exercise, the self-esteem from feeling fit, the mental break I receive from my work, and the opportunity to bring someone along and spend time with. From Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, this falls into the category of hedonic value and high involvement, which I would say is completely true for me (Babin, CB7, p. 93). As is the case for most people, I often have to juggle a lot of different things and therefore have to weigh in my mind if I should take the time to go for a walk or if my dog will be fine without exercise. When it comes to my dog, I have learned to think with long-term orientation, which entails a prioritization of future rewards over short-term benefits (Babin, CB7, p. 185). When I do decide to put off my dog's needs, he usually causes a lot of trouble; and I end up losing as much time, if not more, as if I would have gone for a walk in the first place. Making it a routine to fit that daily exercise in mostly results in good behavior from my dog for the rest of the day. However, temporal factors sometimes come into play (Babin, CB7, p. 228). Time pressure caused by an imposed deadline influences my decision-making and gives me the urgency to act by quickly deciding to either squeeze in some exercise or finish the assignment (Babin, CB7, p. 229). It often changes the way I value the exercise. Hedonic value plays a large role in creating commitment (Babin, CB7, p. 320). This applies in this scenario. Because the value I associate with spending time with my dog is hedonic, most of the time I make it a point to prioritize his outings.
My outings with my Great Dane Jordan
*Picture taken from web:
https://www.amazon.com/Dog-Whisperer-Cesar-Millan-Season/dp/B003H8F5TI
