The maxim "a sound mind in a sound body" is extremely
relevant when it comes to taking care of our pets. Nearly every behavior
problem I have encountered in my thirty years of work with animals is
directly attributable to lack of exercise. Does your dog chew the
furniture when you're at the office? Does he grab food from the table or
annoy your guests? Is your cat impervious to any and all attempts to be
trained to a litter box? Does he scratch and claw without provocation?
These behavior problems are usually due to misdirected energy.
Your dog would rather have a long run in an open field than jump on
your dinner guests, but when he is denied his favorite pastime, he reverts
to bad behavior. Excessive barking, biting, racing out the door,
hole-digging, acting badly in the car, not staying, not coming, not doing
anything when told - all of these problems and many others vanish entirely
when a consistent exercise program is instituted. Diverting all that
misspent energy into organized activity does for a dog what it does for
you - it calms you down, lets you sleep better at night, and make you
generally kinder to others.
Very often, pets' bad habits are related to their home environment.
Their nervous so-called "hyperactive" behavior may in fact be a reaction
to the pressures and tensions of the family members around them. Animals
do empathize with humans, and the preoccupied, angry, or hysterical
behavior of a beloved owner may actually rub off on a dog or cat.
I don't
have any panacea for human emotional ailments, but I can suggest that both
pet and owner would benefit from a good, exercise program. Chasing a
Frisbee eliminates the need to chase a tail or chew a paw. The most
anxious or high-strung pets can be calmed by a dip in the ocean or a run
around the park. And what appears to be a serious emotional problem may be
simply a desire to release a lot of pent-up energy. Lack of physical
fitness in an animal creates a host of difficulties, and these can worsen
if not attended to promptly.
© Warren Eckstein
