Wellness for You & Your Dog
Did you know that sharing your life with your dog has benefits like longer lifespan, less inflammation, and better stress management. People have even reported lowering cholesterol and managing diabetes as wins for dog ownership. Even more, those benefits also apply to your dog!
I’m probably not the only one spending time and effort making sure my dogs have the best life available to us, and if that’s you too then maybe you’ve also thought about ways to do it better. That’s what I’m going to write about today.
Sharing a wellness plan.
When I create wellness plans for both my human and canine clients they have many similarities, so it makes sense that creating a wellness plan for a human-canine partnership can be even more successful. There are three main components to a wellness plan regardless of the goal, health status, or limitations that the client has. They are: a nutrition plan, movement strategies, and self-care activities (also known as nutrition, yoga, and ayurveda plans). Every symptom, imbalance, chronic condition, and diagnosis - both human and dog- will be helped with those three things.
Even better, when you share these activities with your dog you are more likely to stick with it because it’s no longer just for you. As you see how your pup begins to heal and thrive you’ll be motivated to stick with it- because let’s face it recognizing success in ourselves is hard, and often we don’t trust ourselves to be able to make sustainable changes that matter.
One such win is a human-dog client pair where the owner wanted to help her sweet girl Gidget overcome a debilitating skin condition. After trying all the prescriptions and uprooting her entire life to live in a sterile house Jen decided to try something radical. The plan was simple, get Gidget outside in fresh air more often, focus on a clean anti-inflammatory diet, and give her an outlet for her anxiety (she was a barker, constantly watching the neighborhood and getting worked up over everything from squirrels to mailmen). Jen didn’t have a skin condition, but she did report to me that she was diagnosed with anxiety and high blood pressure and had some concerns with her own health.
Jen & Gidget’s Plan:
1- Daily morning walk before work.
2- Incorporate more veggies for both- aiming for multiple colors including leafy greens every day.
3-Evening “meditation” in which Jen sat quietly on the floor with Gidget, gently brushing her coat- without electronics.
Over time we added more specific diet and lifestyle strategies and Gidget was able to come off her meds and Jen’s blood pressure normalized. The changes were small and almost too easy, but they had a profound impact on their quality of life.
Sharing is caring…
If our pups are suffering then we are suffering. Usually it’s because we don’t know how to help them and we hate to watch them suffer. This causes us stress and then our pups pick up on it and carry it with them too, ratcheting up the stress level even more. It’s a viscous cycle that can get out of hand without us even knowing how it began.
No matter how hard we try to provide perfect homes for our furry companions, we share our lifestyle for better or worse. If the humans have bad habits, the dogs have bad habits.
If you aren’t sure where to start, just begin with the basics.
Food is medicine
Food is expensive. Dog food, people food- all of it. I’m of the opinion that if we make the most of the food that we do choose, we are saving money in the long run. Choose a food that makes sense for you and your dog. That being said, please stay as far away from junk brands and bargain basement products. If dry kibble is your thing, look for one with quality ingredients and produced on dates that are recent (aim for 3 months). There are a number of raw, freeze dried, and dog food services available these days, more on those in future posts.
If you choose a kibble, consider nutrient toppers like veggies, pumpkin, and other people foods that add benefits. Simply adding carrots as a treat, or topping your dog’s dinner with a few sardines can add benefits that help them fight cancer (the number one killer disease of all dogs).
Gone are the days where table food is bad, in fact, if you wouldn’t put it on your table why put it in your dog’s bowl. Not all table foods are appropriate, junk food, fried food, and those foods toxic to dogs should be avoided. When in doubt talk to your vet before adding any table foods. Don’t trust the interweb, in a cursory search I once found the same number of sources that said avocados were both good and bad for dogs (the real answer is- it depends on the dog).
When we provide good quality protein, balanced fats, and a variety of fresh veggies, and some fruits, we are giving our dogs the best chance at long term health and wellness. Ironically, that’s the recipe for healthy people too.
Movement for mental health benefits
Unlike people, who equate fitness with weight loss, dogs just want to be active. Fitness and movement is a mental health activity. Plenty of research shows the benefits to mood, outlook, self-esteem, and even cognition for both humans and dogs. Your daily walk is a chance for you and your dog to bond, an opportunity for your dog to explore his environment, and it even helps with things like digestion and cellular regeneration (important for long-life-living).
Depending on your dog’s breed, there are lots of activities the two of you can share. Here are some ideas:
Morning or evening walks for working breeds (think Aussies, German Sheps, or pitbulls), or dogs that like to explore
Chasing ball or anything that moves for prey driven breeds like shibas, Schnauzers, etc
Stimulating games like hide and seek for breeds that like to hunt or solve riddles- hello labs I see you.
Yoga for more laid back breeds or smush face dogs. They won’t be joining you in your sun series, but they will be repositioning and jockeying for the best spot on your mat. All that getting up and moving around is a good way to move the lazy dogs.
Sniffaris are great activities that any dog can do. Go out and explore without a destination. Just let your dog sniff her neighborhood.
Even fifteen minutes a day can have profound affects on both you and your dog’s mental well-being.
Self-Care (or Pup-care) fixes most things
You can take your pup for a spa day just like you would do one and after they are done they will appreciate being clean and pampered, but not all dogs like grooming, and it’s not always in the budget. Self-care is any kind of rejuvenating activity, from brushing to a nap in a sunbeam. Dogs can’t journal, but they do soak up the energy of sitting next to you while you meditate, they can also appreciate spending a day in the garden or yard, just being in nature.
Dogs experience stress too, and if it goes unchecked it affects digestion, nutrient absorption, and even long term wellness. Give your dog a safe space where they can retreat when necessary and offer times of “just being” where you and your dog can share a space- even if that space is separated by 12 feet of living room.
The difference between my Maxi when he is overstimulated and after he gets just thirty minutes of alone time in his dog house is amazing, but Ninja prefers to manage his stress with full-body contact and will often spread out on top of me or his dad. Learning what activities help your dog to be happy, calm, and well adjusted is worth the effort- and it probably increased their lifespan.
Wellness plans for the win!
If you’re not sure where to start, begin with the basics. Choose one of the three categories and slowly start to implement some changes. Changing everything at once may be tempting, but it’s a recipe for disaster stressing both you and your dog out with change that is too much too fast. I recommend my clients look for the thing they are struggling with the most and starting there. You might start to add some chopped carrots and broccoli stems to a dog struggling with poor digestion, or invite your over stimulated pup to your yoga mat for a little meditative brushing. Maybe you lace up your walking shoes and head out for a no-strings-attached sniffari after dinner with your excitable canine who can’t seem to get settled in the evenings.
Whatever you choose, I promise you can’t do it wrong. Simply be aware of how your dog is responding and be patient with the process.