There are a few simple things you can do every day that'll make your dog really happy. How you look at them, where they sleep, and a little tweak to your daily walks can all make their day. But one of the simplest things you can do to make your dog happy is probably not for the reason you think. Dogs are social animals who love their humans. We play with them, take them on walks, and feed them, so we're responsible for a lot of good things in their life. However, they don't only love us for the stuff we can do for them. One study did an MRI on dogs’ brains while they smelled different scents. Can you guess which smell made them light up the most? Yep — the smell of their human caused their brain to light up even more than the smell of other dogs they knew. So just spending time with your dog and letting them enjoy your smell is a simple way to make them happy.
But you can't be with your dog 100% of the time. Eventually, you'll have to leave them home alone. For many dogs, your leaving is stressful to them — but there's an easy way to relieve that stress a little bit. Researchers have been studying dogs in kennels for a long time to see if there was a way to help them relax more. One thing they tested was putting TVs outside of their kennels. They wanted to see if there was a change in their behavior, so they showed them videos of people, dogs, and other animals. The videos did help them bark less, but the researchers seemed to think it didn’t help that much. They said dogs “may not benefit from this type of enrichment to the same degree as species with more well-developed visual systems.” So apparently, dogs' eyes aren't good enough to really enjoy TV — which surprised me.
But scientists didn't stop there. After the TV study, a new group of researchers studied the effects of playing music for dogs in kennels. The results were more encouraging than the TV — well, depending on what kind of music they played. When they played heavy metal music, the dogs shook more, indicating that they were probably nervous. I guess that shouldn’t really be a surprise. But when they played classical music, the dogs slept more and barked less, indicating that they were probably less stressed and happier. So the next time you leave your dog home alone, you might want to put on some classical gems. I’ll drop a link in the description to some of our favorite calming dog music.
And speaking of little hacks to make your dog happier, you know how when you give them a new toy they go crazy because they're so happy about it — but then a few minutes later the toy is sitting on the floor untouched, or even worse, it's destroyed? Well, there's a simple solution to fix both of these problems at once. Instead of having the toys available all the time, rotate their toys in and out. Give them a toy for a few minutes, then if they get bored with it or if they try to destroy it, put it away in a bin. A few days later, you can reintroduce it to them and — voila! — it’s just like they're getting the toy for the first time all over again. It saves you money and it makes them happy — a win-win. This is a simple way to keep them happy during the daytime. But what about during the nighttime?
We know dogs love your smell, so here's the big question: should they sleep in the same bed with you? Here's what Dr. Dana Varble, the chief veterinary officer for the North American Veterinary Community says: “In general, it is a very good thing for animals to sleep with their people,” she said. Pets that sleep with their humans seem to have a “higher trust level and a tighter bond” with the humans that are in their life. And many humans seem to like it too — according to the AKC, 45% of people let their dogs sleep in the bed with them. Now here’s another quote from Dr. Varble: “Dogs and cats who are more closely bonded with their humans get additional health benefits, including increases in beneficial neurotransmitters such as oxytocin and dopamine.” These are hormones in your brain that make us — and our dogs — feel good.
But sleeping isn't the only way to increase these. Doing the opposite of sleep also affects them. Researchers measured the level of endorphins in dogs while they ran on a treadmill. They had them jog on a treadmill at a slight incline (which was relatively easy for the dogs) or at a steeper incline (which made the exercise harder). They found that 1) the longer dogs exercised, the more endorphins they released and 2) the harder they exercised, the more endorphins they released. Endorphins make our dogs feel good, so long and/or hard exercise can keep them happy. But obviously, you're not going to make your dog run on a treadmill, so fun physical games like fetch and tug are great ways to exercise them. Plus, we know that our dogs love the smell of us, so combining exercise and our smell can really make our pups happy.
But if you're listening to this and you're thinking, "Hey, I’m a couch potato, my dog’s a couch potato — we just want to relax and forget about all these exercise shenanigans,” then this next thing to make your dog happy is going to be right up your alley — and that is treats. You can give them special treats as a surprise to make them happy or as a reward to encourage good behavior. But one study found something that might make your dog even happier than giving them treats. Researchers were looking to help keep dogs content while they were left home alone. They tested giving dogs three options: 1) a treat-dispensing toy, 2) a long-lasting chew treat, or 3) a fancy treat-dispensing device that gave them treats and talked to them in a sweet voice. They measured the dogs' emotions and time spent interacting with the toys. Can you guess which option won? It wasn’t the fancy automatic treat dispenser or the treat-dispensing toy — it was the long-lasting chew treat that helped dogs be the calmest and have the most positive emotions.
One of the reasons this was the case is probably because chewing and licking both help them release endorphins. And of course, you can give them toys or treats that they can chew or lick even when you are home. Here are three of my favorites: chew toys like this Benny Bone are obviously great for chewing; a licky mat with peanut butter on it is great for licking; and this frozen Kong that has kibble and peanut butter in it is great for licking and chewing. But part of the reason dogs love puzzle toys like the frozen Kong so much is because they get to use their brain to figure out how to get to the food inside. According to Dr. Stanley Coren, a psychologist and dog researcher, dogs are about as smart as a 2-year-old human. If you want to make your dog happy, let them use their brain to learn new things and solve problems.
Here are two ways I like to do that with my dog. The first is to play brain games. We already talked about the frozen Kong, but I also like the muffin tin game — this is where you hide treats under balls in a muffin tin and let your dog figure out how to get to the treats. I also love hide and seek, where you put your dog in a stay, go hide in another room, call them, and then let them find you. The second way is to train them. Teaching dogs new fun tricks like shake and spin — or even practicing things like walking on a leash — helps train their brain. Plus, training helps you bond with your dog. You're working towards a common goal together, and it’s a fun way to get in some quality time. And speaking of quality time, here’s something that many dog owners mess up.
Dogs are social animals, and one of the things they love the most is attention from their humans. But here’s the thing: there's no hiding anything from your dog. They know when you're on your phone and not really paying attention to them — and they can literally smell your emotions. So if you’re stressed or upset, they can tell. If you want to make your dog happy, try to spend dedicated quality time with them and show them how much you love them. And luckily for us, scientists did a study to help with this. A researcher from Japan who’s obsessed with her dog (like we are) studied what happens when dogs and their owners look into each other’s eyes. She found that long gazes into your dog’s eyes can increase oxytocin — aka the cuddle hormone — in both you and them. This is similar to the relationship between a mother and a baby. So the terms “fur baby” and “dog mom” are actually pretty accurate.
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