19 Things That Make Dogs Happy (According To Science)

there are a few simple things you can do every day that'll make your dog really happy how you look at them where they sleep and a little tweak to your daily walks can all make their day but one of the simplest things you can do to make your dog happy is probably not for the reason you think dogs are social animals who love their humans we play with them take them on walks and feed them so we're responsible for a lot of good things in their life however they don't only love us for the stuff

we can do for them one study did an MRI on dogs brains while they smell different scents can you guess which smell made them light up the most yep the smell of their human caused their brain to light up even more than the smell of other dogs they knew so just spending time with your dog and letting them enjoy your smell is a simple way to make them happy but you can't be with your dog 100% of the time eventually you'll have to leave them home alone for many dogs your leaving is stressful to them

but there's an easy way to relieve that stress a little bit researchers have been studying dogss and kennels for a long time to see if there was a way to help them relax more one thing they tested was putting TVs outside of their kennels they wanted to see if there was a change in their behavior so they showed them videos of people dogs and other animals the videos did help them bark less but the researchers seemed to think it didn't help that much they said dogs quote may not benefit from this type of enrichment to

the same degree as species with more well-developed visual systems so apparently dog's eyes aren't good enough to really enjoy TV which surprised me but scientists didn't stop there after the TV study a new group of researchers studied the effects of playing music for dogs and kennels the results were more encouraging than the TV well depending on what kind of music they played when they played heavy metal music the dogs shook more indicating that they were probably nervous I guess that shouldn't really be a surprise but when they played classical music the dogs slept more and

barked less indicating that they were probably less stressed and happier so the next time you leave your dog home alone you might want to put on some classical gems I'll drop a link in the description to some of our favorite calming dog music and speaking of little hacks to make your dog happier you know how when you give them a new toy they go crazy because they're so happy about it but then a few minutes later the toy is sitting on the floor untouched or even worse it's destroyed well there's a a simple solution to

fix both of these problems at once instead of having the toys available all the time rotate their toys in and out give them a toy for a few minutes then if they get bored with it or if they try to destroy it put it away in a bin a few days later you can reintroduce it to them and voila it's just like they're getting the toy for the first time all over again it saves you money and it makes them happy a win-win this is a simple way to keep them happy during the daytime but

what about during the nighttime before we get into that if you love your dog and want them to be as happy as possible subscribe to Doggy digs so you never miss any of our future doggy videos now we know dogs love your smell so here's the big question should they sleep in the same bed with you here's what Dr Dana varal the chief Veterinary officer for the North American Veterinary Community says in general it is a very good things for animals to sleep with their people she said pets that sleep with their humans seem to

have a quote higher trust level and a tighter bond with the humans that are in their Liv and many humans seem to like it too according to the AKC 45% of people let their dogs sleep in the bed with them or does your dog sleep now here's another quote from Dr varble dogs and cats who are more closely bonded with their humans get additional health benefits including increases in beneficial neurotransmitters such as oxytocin and dopamine these are hormones in your brain that make us and our dogs feel good but sleeping isn't the only way to

increase these doing the opposite of sleep also affects them them researchers measured the level of endorphins and dogs while they ran on a treadmill they had them jog on a treadmill at a slight incline which was relatively easy for the dogs or at a steeper incline which made the exercise Harder They found that one the longer dogs exercised the more endorphins they released and two the harder they exercised the more endorphins they released endorphins make our dogs feel good so long and or Hard Exercise can keep them happy but obviously you're not going to make

your dog run on a tread so fun physical games like Fetch and tug are great ways to exercise them plus we know that our dogs love the smell of us so combining exercise and our smell can really make our Puffs happy but if you're listening to this and you're thinking hey I'm a couch potato my dog's a couch potato we just want to relax and forget about all these exercise Shenanigans then this next thing to make your dog happy is going to be right up your alley and that is treats you can give them special

treats as a surprise to make them happy or as as a reward to encourage good behavior but one study found something that might make your dog even happier than giving them treats researchers were looking to help keep dogs content while they were left home alone yes we already talked about playing classical music to help dogs relax but these researchers went at it from a different angle they tested giving dogs three options when they were alone one a treat dispensing toy two a long lasting chew treat or three a fancy treat dispensing device that gave them

treats and talked to them in a sweet voice toys then they measured the dog's emotions and time spent interacting with the toys can you guess which option won it wasn't the fancy automatic treat dispenser or the treat dispensing toy it was the long lasting chew treat that helped dogs be the calmest and have the most positive emotions one of the reasons this was the case is probably because chewing and licking both help them release endorphins and of course you can give them toys or treats that they can chew or lick even when you are home

here are three of my favorites chew toys like this Benny bone are obviously great for chewing a licky mat with peanut butter on it is great for licking and this Frozen Kong that has kibble and peanut butter in it is great for licking and chewing but part of the reason dogs love puzzle toys like the Frozen Kong so much is because they get to use their brain to figure out how to get to the food inside according to Dr Stanley Corin a psychologist and dog researcher dogs are about as smart as a 2-year-old human if

you want to make your dog happy let them use their brain to learn new things and solve problems here are two ways I like to do that with my dog the first is to play brain games we already talked about the Frozen Kong but I also like the muffin tin game this is where you hide treats under balls in a muffin tin and let your dog figure out how to get to the treats I also love hide and seek where you put your dog in a stay you go hide in another room call them and

then let them find you the second way is to train them teaching Dogs new fun tricks like sh shake and spin or even practicing things like walking on a leash helps train their brain plus training helps you bond with your dog you're working towards a common goal together and it's a fun way to get in some quality time and speaking of quality time here's something that many dog owners mess up dogs are social animals and one of the things they love the most is attention from their humans but here's the thing there's no hiding anything

from your dog they know when you're on your phone and not really paying attention to them and they can literally smell your emotions so if you're stressed or upset they can tell if you want to make your dog happy try to spend dedicated quality time with them and show them how much you love them and luckily for us scientists did a study to help with this a researcher from Japan who's obsessed with her dog like we are studied what happens when dogs and their owners look into each other's eyes she found that long gazes into

your dog's eyes can increase oxytocin aka the cuddle hormone in both you and them this is similar to the relationship between a mother and a baby so the terms fur baby and dog mom are actually pretty accurate now how long the dogs and their owners looked into each other's eyes had an effect too the longer the owners and dogs looked at each other the higher their oxytocin levels were but here's the interesting thing they tried to recreate this rise in oxytocin in wolves raised by humans but it wasn't the same there's just something special about

the human and dog relationship and gazing into their eyes can help increase feelings of love and happiness if you like staring into your dog's eyes let us know by clicking the like button on this video now these next two ways to make your dog happy are actually opposites but I promise it'll make sense in a second the first one is getting your dog into a good routine since pet dogs don't determine when they eat go to the bathroom or go for a walk life can be pretty nerve-wracking for them but to ease that anxiety keeping

your dog on a schedule helps them relax and be confident that you'll take care of their needs they know when they're going to be able to go to the bathroom soon or that dinner is right around the corner some dogs like and expect their routine so much that if dinner is late for even 1 minute they may accuse you of neglect and starvation but the other way to make your dog happy is to mix it up and give them new experiences new sights smells and environments are fun for many dogs just like they are for

us but how do you find a balance between new experiences and sticking to your routine one study tested 2117 border Coles to see what their personalities were like then 4 years later they retested them they found that as dogs hit about middle AG their desire for new experiences slowly started to decrease so if you have a puppy you may want to try more new things with them but as they age they probably won't want quite as many new experiences but no matter how old they are here's a simple way to make your pup happy we

all know that most dogs love their ears rubbed but do you know why there are a lot of nerve endings around their ears that make them feel good and release endorphins when you rub them but do you know where else there are a lot of nerve endings they're butts many dogs love a good booty scratch but all dogs are different so it's worth it to spend some time seeing where your dog's favorite spots are it might be their booty behind their ears under their chin their belly or another spot on their body now here's an

interesting question to ask yourself what was my dog bred for many dogs love doing things that satisfy their Natural Instincts for example golden retrievers were bred to retrieve so playing fetch every day helps fulfill that desire Jack Russell were born to hunt and dig so giving them an outlet to dig can keep them happy but if you have a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel then you're in luck because these dogs were bred to sit on the laps of European royalty so just plop them up there and bask in the glory you deserve but no matter what

breed you have your dog will probably love this next game we've talked about how dogs like to use their noses and we know the dogs love food so putting these two facts together brings us to this fun game a scavenger hunt they'll love when you SCA food around the house or give them a trail to follow to find the jackpot this can be a great way to feed them their meals or just give them a midday snack to mix it up we've got some fun activities your dog will love coming next but these next few

things might be the most important ones on this list if you don't do them then your dog won't get to enjoy life as much as they could and that is keeping them healthy with a regular vet visits good hygiene and feeding them the proper amount not to mention training and socialization which can make life a lot easier and more enjoyable for the both of you all right now back to the fun stuff since dogs are such social creatures setting up puppy play dates is often a great way to make their day running around wrestling and

sniffing each other can be loads of fun for them and a helpful Outlet to get some of their energy out and speaking of sniffing there are two little tweaks you can make on your daily walks to help your dog enjoy them more researchers did a study where they looked at how much dogs sniffed while on different leashes dogs on a 16t leash spent 2 80% more time sniffing than dogs on a 5ot leash and the more they sniffed the lower their heart rate was meaning that they were probably more relaxed and happy I love taking

my dog on walks in the park with a Long Leash but to get a little bit of this benefit even with a regular leash you could take your time on walks and let your dog sniff as much as her furry little heart Desir now their lowered heart rate is a hidden sign that they're feeling good but if you want to see the hidden signs that they love you click on this video on the screen to watch hidden ways dogs say I love you next