Anticipation is Prevention

If there’s one thing we can really appreciate about dogs, it’s that over time, they become pretty predictable.

If we know our dog absolutely loves having a run around off lead, it will come as no surprise when they take off the moment a front door is opened.

If we know that our dog has gone multiple times to see off the neighbour who walks at 4:15pm every weekday, we can safely assume that at around 4:10pm our dog will be alert and ready to do it again.

We can anticipate what dogs are planning to do next in their day, and that is the truly wonderful thing. Because if we can anticipate their next move, we can always be one step ahead.

If you know that your dog is going to do something, and you set up the environment to prevent that something from happening, not only do you stop potentially dangerous situations from occurring, you can find yourself with room to breathe. Not only that, but you realise that underneath the odd poor choice, your dog has a good soul and can succeed (rather than just finding ways to make your eye twitch).

Even if you haven’t seen your dog do a poor behaviour before, such as harassing the neighbours chickens or running the fence line: hypothetical situations are great to avoid as well.
Implementing good management, such as a tether point at dinner time (no snatching what the kids drop on the floor), a baby gate in the evening (avoiding any cat to dog disagreements), or a long line at the beach (emergency stop when the seagulls get too close!)... Just the idea of all these things not happening gives the feeling of lowered blood pressure.

You will have had it happen before. You think, ‘I probably should make sure to put those shoes up higher.’ Then you think… ‘They’re not a puppy anymore, it will be fine!’
Cue the moment you come home and your shoes are shredded, you feel the tension rise and your dog looks at you with a happy little smirk. A face that says… ‘You should’ve put those shoes up higher.’

It’s time to realise that if you expect a scenario to happen, it’s better to prepare for it, and then do a happy little dance WHEN nothing goes wrong. 

For those with dogs who show behaviours that are a bit more intense, such as reactivity, we have all had those moments where we are hopeful that the track will have no people/dogs/weird novel items, and that our dogs will be having a good day. And then there comes the sense of dread when you see that trigger and you have to think of emergency exit strategies in a moments notice.

The idea of preparing for a worst case scenario may seem a little bit doom and gloom, but remember: if you are ready for the worst case scenario, it’ll never turn out as bad as you expect because you’ll either avoid it, or have the tools and mindset to deal with it! 

As many mothers have said before, ‘It’s better to have it, and not need it, then need it, and not have it’.

So, go out, go forth– and make a list of those behaviours that are preventable (we can learn from our past mistakes). It’s easier to put a fence at the top of the cliff, than have an ambulance at the bottom.