🤔 Have you heard of ‘Post Exertional Malaise’ in people?
This is when every day basic tasks can be hard work for a person and drain their energy meaning things that would be just a couple of easy tasks for most people will be an uphill struggle for someone who is chronically unwell. 😴
For example – I have to rest for a couple of hours after washing my hair. Many people love a good shower and find them refreshing but I find the whole process painful and exhausting! Thank god for dry shampoo lol!
😵💫 Similar happens with dogs but it’s not identified as PEM (Post Exertion Malaise). It can be called trigger stacking, decompression or being overwhelmed but the concept is the same:
A dog may find what look like easy situations or tasks much harder than another dog does and so takes longer to recover from it. For example many dogs come back from a dog walk having had a great time and are ready for a nap then they are ready for something else but dogs who are anxious, find being outside the home stressful, have had an incident on a walk the day before or have chronic pain can come back from a regular walk feeling stressed, needing many hours to nap or alternatively cannot settle, are sound sensitive suddenly from being fatigued. The list can continue.
While another dog may be fine with dog walks and having unknown dogs approaching them, people wanting to fuss them, loud traffic passing etc as examples, another dog may not and all this happening can cause an affected dog to struggle with normal tasks and activities later that day or for the next one or two days.
It’s hard to plan and pace as someone who has chronic illnesses and it’s harder with dogs who need time to rest and recover as they may have been fine before or do an activity that didn’t appear difficult but you can see what your dog is telling you so you try to help where you can!
Top Points for Post Activity Recovery:
- After a busy day such as a dog show, competition, training day, longer hike or stressful situation dogs need a ‘rest’ too
- It can take up to 48 hours for dogs to feel rested properly after an active day and longer for stressful situations
- Signs a dog has reached their social battery limit include being restless, not wanting touch, panting, lip licking, trying to find a quiet place
- A usually social, happy dog may appear quiet, irritable, uninterested in usual things – they just need a full rest!
- Having several dog activities, situations etc in a day or consecutive days can also cause overwhelm, like PEM Eg: Dog walk with a dog pestering them, then a dog show that is busy, then visitors round that evening with noise etc – that’s a lot!
- People and dogs who struggle after too much activity need quiet time, low stress or pressure, patience and understanding
- What seems easy for one dog to cope with can be incredibly hard for another. Work on helping your own dog – book less in short time spans and give rest
So how can we help our dogs after a busy day / weekend?
- Ensure they have somewhere quiet to rest which might be their usual bed, a covered crate, puppy pen, area under a table or beside the sofa. This must be known as quiet and calm so no family or visitors should pester your dog while resting there.
- Opt for walks that are quiet – less popular routes, try an enclosed dog field instead of communal dog park, try to not go through the local 5-a-side football matches or alongside schools during lunch etc.
- Look at additional support such as Pet Remedy (see below for a link!), using Self Selection (offering various scent for dogs to ‘choose’), feeding calming foods like Blueberries, Turkey or Sweet Potato with their usual meals.
- Offer a snuffle mat or licky mat with treats / food in to provide some sniffing / licking which can promote calming and lowering stress. It can also provide some mental stimulation so on a day when your dog might need to do less overall this can give them something to do.
- If you will have visitors the day after a big event for your dog let visitors know to leave your dog to rest. Don’t encourage your dog to go say hello etc unless they particularly want to on their own accord.
Enjoy activities, events, dog walks and more with your dogs and help them recover successfully. We can learn a lot from our dogs – we should have time to recover mentally as well!
Check out the Pet Remedy range of spray, pet wipes and more here
If you fancy some enrichment for your dog at home how about trying our online Intro to Nosework Masterclass? A self paced Course you work on any time you like, as often as you like, from the comfort of your own home. This is great for dogs needing a quiet day away from the big wide world or for dogs who can be nervous, don’t travel well to get to classes or for people who have limitations on transport. You have 24/7 access for life so if you work shifts that’s not a problem either!
For under £40 you and your dog can have additional quality time together without any pressure from regular life.
See info for our Intro to Nosework here
Check out our other Blogs for more tips!
Joe
