All dog owners should know this…

I used to think I “should” be doing certain activities with my dogs, like daily pack walks for example. Then on days where I had lower capacity, I would go for a pack walk even though I was already frustrated to begin with. Instead of knowing to check in with myself, and realizing I wasn’t in the headspace to provide leadership for a pack, I would just go anyway. I’d be frustrated, which would stress out the dogs, and I’d just end up feeling guilty about stressing them out.

It took me time to understand that not only does my capacity for my dogs vary day to day, the different types of activities we do together require different amounts of emotional energy from me. And, I can strategically pick which activities to do depending on how I’m feeling that day.

For example, on a “high energy” day I might take my dogs to a store and let them freely interact with people.
On a medium energy day, I might take them to a store and not engage with strangers.
On a low energy day, they would stay at home or wait in the car while I shop.

I’ll only hike on the trail near my house on a high energy day because of the risk of unknown dogs rushing us.
I’ll go to the fenced baseball diamond on a medium energy day so my dogs can run around with less supervision from me.
On a very low energy day, I might not even walk them at all, instead providing enrichment treats or indoor play, or sometimes literally the bare minimum of food and bathroom breaks.

I encourage anyone reading this to make a list (even if it’s in your head) cataloging which activities, or which variation of an activity, you’re up for depending on where your capacity is at that day.

Don’t feel bad or guilty about off days, we all have them. It’s all about learning to navigate those off days by checking in with yourself, and being honest about how much you have to offer.