Hi. My name is Sparky. As a prominent member of the pet community, I accepted this honor of sharing my tips for easing stress.
Some people think that pets have no stress. Are you kidding? Every night I battle Ralph and Fido to snag a few scraps of dinner from our food dishes. Afterwards, I report for the night shift of house surveillance duty – preventing potential prowlers from breaking in. That constant barking and growling wears me out so much that I sleep most of the day. On weekends, while my owner relaxes outside, I patrol the yard for unwanted pests and critters. For all this, my owners only compensate me with a few measly treats – and I have to play several rounds of fetch and beg to even get those.
It might look easy, but being a pet is no picnic. It demands lots of effort, energy and diligence, which can be quite stressful. To keep myself calm and focused, I developed several strategies to ease my stress.
Sparky’s Tips for Easing Stress
- Go for short walks several times a day. Fetch a leash and deliver it to your owner or whimper loudly at the back door. Then notice how only a few minutes of brisk walking does wonders for your mood. For resistance training, tug your owner by the leash. This will get you both moving a little faster.
- Find engaging hobbies. My personal favorites are hiding my owner’s shoes and chewing the couch pillows until the stuffing is all over everything in the family room. Then I hide and let Ralph and Fido take the blame.
- Encourage someone to pet you. Look pathetically innocent and a little sad while you open your eyes real wide and tilt your head to one side just a bit. Trust me. This works every time!
Hope this helps. Woof! Gotta go! My owner just came home with treats!
For more tips on easing stress, check out my new blog, Pet Ways to Ease Stress.
Easy Ways to Ease Stress 