Just Chill

Everyone needs down time; a time when you can just sit back and chill. But chill'n out means something different to everyone, what I might think as a relaxing activity others might hate. And as much as sitting doing absolutely nothing sounds nice, most people have a difficult time doing nothing. That is where dogs and people are very different; dogs enjoy doing nothing. It is in their makeup to just chill.

If you watch a pack of wolves throughout a day; there are many hours when they are just sitting or laying down looking, that's it, looking. My dogs do the same; although Tilley not so much, even at 12 she is my most active throughout the day. But Luke and Jessie like to sit and watch the world go by and it is as good for them as it is us. Life is so busy, that it is good for you to sit back and chill.

We all know how important it is to get our dogs out; exercising, socializing and basically having a fulfilling life right? But, it is sometimes overdone. I know some people who visit the dog park everyday or hike huge distances everyday with their dogs. And with some breeds this can be a bad thing; the dogs learn to adjust their activity level and their need for more and more activity grows. Our dogs like us; need a day off. They need to switch it up, do different things at different levels.

I discovered this morning that I really dislike routine, I don't like doing the samething over and over again and it frankly makes me pretty cranky. I like switching it up, even where I walk the dogs has to be different. More than three days in the same place and I'm getting bored. And for dogs; often too much routine is a bad thing and they become programmed into behaviors that may be difficult to get them out of.

So maybe tomorrow or on the weekend, just chill with your dog and eat some bonbons. :)