Why Teaching Your Dog to Be Bored Could Be a Good Thing!

As a loving dog owner, you want your dog to live life to the fullest! You may schedule your life around taking them for walks, buy them the most exciting toys and maybe even cook them special meals. But, in this article, we’re going to talk about another perhaps unconventional way that you can enhance your dog’s life: by teaching them a thing or two about boredom!

Learning how to be bored is a useful life skill that helps regulate your dog’s nervous system, cut down on potentially dangerous behaviors, and make daily life a little easier. It can take time, but trust us, this is one training tip you won’t want to skip!

Why boredom tolerance is so important
It may surprise you to hear that learning how to be bored can be a positive thing in your dog’s life. After all, so many training tutorials are focused on eliminating your dog’s boredom so that they don’t revert to destructive behaviors like chewing and digging.

But, the fact is, no matter how many fetch sessions and chew toys and puzzle games your dog has, they will be bored from time to time. And, if they’re not prepared for these moments of stillness, their boredom could lead to a stress response that negatively affects their health in the long-term. 

If, for instance, your dog becomes restless, anxious, or “naughty” when they’re alone or you’re not interacting with them, it’s because their brain chemicals, such as cortisol, are keeping them in constant motion. Over time, studies show that these high levels of arousal can negatively affect heart health, liver function, the immune system, and more.

And, physiological problems aren’t the only concern here. Dogs that cannot relax during downtime may be at higher risk for secondary hazards, such as ingesting harmful substances like drywall, couch cushions, or toxic plants. They may also be more prone to escape tactics, whether by digging under the fence or attempting to jump out of the car.

How to teach boredom tolerance
So, how can you teach your dog to be cool as a cucumber even when there’s nothing to hold their attention? 

Start with safety
As we mentioned, high energy can lead to destructive behaviors so make sure that your dog is always in a safe space, especially during the initial stages of training. This may mean removing any toxic plants that they may chew on when they’re bored, checking your backyard fence for escape routes, and installing BreezeGuard Screens on your car windows to keep your pup safely in the backseat.

Reward moments when your dog is naturally calm
Even the most rambunctious pup will eventually rest, and this moment is when you can start your training! Without being overly excited yourself, you’re going to sprinkle some treats near your dog’s snout when they’re lying down, sitting comfortably or generally showing signs of being relaxed. 

What this will do is start to lay the groundwork for your dog to learn that being calm brings good things!

Introduce a training word or phrase
For starters, we want to start associating a set of behaviors, including lying or sitting down, relaxed muscles and unfocused gaze, with rewards. Next, we want to introduce a training word or phrase that will link the two so that later, we can invite our dog to be relaxed on command.

You can decide what you want the training word to be. Some good options include “settle down,” “calm,” “relax,” or “take it easy.” Now, everytime that you go to sprinkle some treats when your dog naturally gets comfy, you can say your training word at the same time.

Bring it all together
This process of making mental links between calm behavior, your training word, and rewards will take some time. But eventually, you should be able to coax your dog into their relaxed position with the word. The next step will be to test your training out in different contexts. 

Start small and build up
When you’re just starting to teach your dog to tolerate boredom, you can think of it like trying meditation for the first time. Initially, it can be difficult to convince the mind to stay calm for mere seconds. But with time and patience, it becomes easier to stay in that meditative state. Likewise, your dog may not tolerate boredom for long at first. But, with repeated short training sessions and plenty of positive reinforcement, your pup will get better at staying calm for longer periods.  

When to call in the pros
Maybe you feel that you’ve been working on boredom tolerance training for a while and you’re simply not getting anywhere! Your pup is still hyper-anxious, energetic, and destructive when bored. 

If this is the case, you don’t have to resign yourself to a lifetime of thinking up new ways to deal with your dog’s boredom. Instead, you might consider calling in a professional dog behaviorist to help. They’ll be able to recommend treatment options for your unique doggo. Likewise, talking to your dog’s veterinarian can be useful if you think their anxiety could benefit from clinical treatments such as medication.

Get ready to be bored with your dog!
In our world of constant stimulation, distraction, and noise, learning how to be bored is a skill that we and our canine companions can benefit from! So, while you’re going through boredom tolerance training with your pooch, you might find yourself enjoying a little bit of peacefulness in moments of downtime, too!