Five animal welfare science tips to help dogs live their best lives

When you hear someone talk about "science focused on how dogs can live their best lives with us", it can sound like the sort of pretend career a child might invent. Yet animal welfare science is a genuine discipline, and it has real-world impact.

Because dogs are our most common companion animal - and, for many people, a working partner too - they merit serious scientific focus. In recent years, research has expanded what we know about the ways dogs resemble people, as well as the ways they are uniquely dog.

We’re often quick to notice what dogs do for us: providing company, working as detection animals, and contributing to our safety and health. Dog-centred science encourages us to view life from a four-paw perspective, then use that understanding to support dogs to experience a good life.

Below are five practical tips to help keep the tails in your life wagging.

1. Let dogs sniff

Sniffing improves dogs’ happiness. Because humans rely so heavily on sight, it’s easy to overlook that dogs primarily experience the world through smell. For many of us, a daily dog walk doubles as our own exercise - but it’s worth remembering it may also be the only time our dog gets beyond the home environment.

Allowing a dog to take a long, thorough sniff of a tree or a post gives them a wealth of rewarding information. For them, it’s much like us reaching a mountain summit and taking in a vivid, colour-drenched sunset.

2. Give dogs agency

Right now, “agency” is a major focus within animal welfare science. For anyone who remembers the frustration of strict lockdowns during the early COVID years, it’s easy to recall how being unable to go where we wanted - or see who we wanted, when we wanted - affected our mental health.

Research increasingly shows that choice and control matter for animals’ mental wellbeing as well. We can support better welfare for our dogs by increasing the options available to them and enabling them to exercise some control in daily life.

That could mean fitting a dog flap so they can move indoors and outdoors when it suits them. It might be letting them choose which interesting, sniff-rich route to take through the local park. It could involve selecting which three toys are available that day from a larger set that you rotate. Or it might be placing an old blanket in a different spot where you’ve noticed the sun pools on the floor, so they can settle there comfortably.

Offering choices doesn’t need to be difficult or costly.

3. Recognise all dogs are individuals

Many people associate particular personality traits with certain breeds. But, as with humans, dogs differ in personality and in what they enjoy. Not every dog will like the same activities, and a new dog in your household may be nothing like the one before.

One dog may love an hour at the dog park, sprinting around with other dogs at full speed. Another may much prefer staying close to you and chewing something in the garden.

We see just as much variation in behaviour within a breed as we do between breeds. For welfare, it matters that we’re ready to meet dogs as individuals, where they are.

Alongside noticing what each dog enjoys, it’s equally important not to push dogs into experiences they dislike. Watch for signs they’re not at ease - for example, turning their head away, licking their lips, or yawning.

4. Respect dogs' choice to opt out

Even at home, we can make it easier for dogs not to participate in every shared activity. A calm, quiet space that a dog can choose to retreat to is crucial if they want to opt out.

If the television is on loudly, it may be uncomfortable for their sensitive hearing. Leaving a door open to another room can give them an escape option. Some dogs can also feel overstimulated when visitors arrive; offering a safe, quiet place to go - instead of insisting on interaction - can make it easier for them to cope.

Dogs can also be excellent examples for children learning empathy. We can model consent by letting dogs come over for pats and walk away when they choose. And, much like watching exotic animals made to perform in circuses, dressing dogs up purely for our entertainment arguably belongs to the past. If you asked most dogs, they wouldn’t choose costumes or to be enlisted in your Halloween plans.

5. Opportunities for off-lead activity – safely.

When dogs have permission to run off-lead, they use space in a different way. They typically range further and move faster than they do when walking on-lead with us. This gives them valuable - and enjoyable - exercise that supports fitness and health.

A recent look at how liveable cities are for dogs mapped designated places where dogs can run off-lead. Depending on the area, “doggy density” varied from one dog per six people to one dog per 30 people.

The analysis also examined how access to these areas compared with annual dog registration fees across different government areas, and it found unexpected differences across greater Melbourne. Fees ranged from A$37 to $84, and those costs did not correspond to the number of off-lead areas available.

In dog-loving countries such as Australia, supporting our canine companions to live their best life is deeply satisfying. Science grounded in a four-paw viewpoint can prompt us to rethink everyday interactions with dogs and encourage positive changes, so that we can thrive together.

Mia Cobb, Research Fellow, Animal Welfare Science Centre, The University of Melbourne

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.