Zoey: Keep Your Working Dog Busy
Integrating a working breed dog into your home brings about unique challenges for pet parents. Throughout history, many working breeds had specific jobs to do, from herding livestock to aiding in search and rescue operations. Today’s modern world, however, relies less on four-legged fur-power, so it’s up to us fur-parents to keep our working dogs busy both mentally and physically to provide them with the activity and stimulation they need to lead healthy, happy lives. That’s where PupPod technology comes in!
Zoey, a 2-year-old mixed Belgian Malinois/Dutch Shepherd, is ALWAYS ready to go on an adventure or play outside. Her all-time favorite activities include hiking, playing frisbee, and swimming - all of which do a great job of providing the physical stimulation she needs. Her pet dad, Andrew, however, knew that he needed to continually challenge Zoey to keep her mentally stimulated as well.
“If there’s inclement weather, or if I have a busy day working from home, Zoey can easily get frustrated and act out by whining nonstop or barking to get my attention,” Andrew told us. “It’s just not healthy for her and makes me feel guilty. I needed something for her to do that didn’t require 100% of my attention while I’m trying to get my work done. Since starting her with PupPod there’s been a huge difference in my ability to focus on my work during the day and not feel guilty. We still enjoy all of our favorite activities, but during the moments in between, Zoey stays busy with her PupPod and instead of acting out to get my attention, she gives herself a good mental workout!”
Another common trait Zoey shares with many working breeds is being highly impulsive. While this can be advantageous in a dog-centric working environment, in our modern world this impulsivity can lead to behavioral challenges such as chasing cars and other animals, poor leash behavior, or even jumping onto new guests as they arrive in your home. PupPod can help address these issues by giving you the ability to challenge your pup by increasing the difficulty of the game and encouraging—and rewarding—them to be patient.
“We saw Zoey’s biggest improvement early on when we made the jump to level 2,” says Andrew. “That’s when she really started to become challenged from an impulse control standpoint. Having to wait for the right time to engage with the PupPod Rocker really forced her to slow down and learn the correct cue. We replicate this in our training, but to be able to consistently incorporate it into her play sessions with PupPod and without having to be directly involved, has been a game changer for both of us.”
The challenges won’t stop at level 2 of course! PupPod pets and owners greatly benefit from the game’s ability to increase in difficulty through a combination of settings within the app. Compared to traditional toy puzzles whose difficulty stays the same after it's introduced to your dog, PupPod’s difficulty progresses alongside your dog’s as it gets smarter. This ability to customize the difficulty of your dog’s PupPod play session allows pet parents to take control of their dog’s progression and find the right balance between challenge and reward, keeping your dog interested and making PupPod a toy it will love for many years to come.
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