If you have ever felt completely bewildered by this question, where on one walk you have a sweet dog, calmly trotting along beside you and the very next walk you have a lunging, barking, fire breathing dragon on the end of the lead – then I am here to help you. And more importantly, with an answer that is likely a lot more straight forward than you previously thought. 

There is a way forward and it comes down to something I like to call, ‘Your Dog’s Bucket’.

Just like us, emotions play such a big part in your dog’s behaviour choices. How they feel on the inside, shapes how they behave on the outside. 

When they are calm, the world feels manageable. A person jogging past or another dog across the road is like water off a ducks back. When they are overstimulated though, the story is very different. The smallest trigger can over fill their bucket and cause an emotional outburst. 

So let’s look into what the bucket is…💦🪣

Imagine your dog carries around an invisible bucket. You can imagine you carry one around as well if you like – it is amazing the similarities between us and our dogs. 

Every time something excites, stresses, or overstimulates your dog, a little water gets poured into their bucket. Side note, if it is something majorly stressful for your dog, like fire works, this could be the equivalent to a hose completely filling their bucket in seconds. 

On an ordinary day for your dog, this is what their bucket could look like:

• The fridge door opens, 🐶”Food? Did you say FOOD?” Zoomies into the kitchen  = a glass worth of water into their bucket.
• The doorbell rings, 🐶 Barking and racing to the door to say ‘hello’ to the postie = another glass of water into their bucket. 
• A neighbour’s dog starts barking and fencing running in the garden. Your 🐶 joins in = several more glasses of water into their bucket. 
• Time for their walk, the harness and lead appear and…breakdancing in the hallway, ‘Woo-hoo, I’m going for a WALK” = bucket almost full now. 

Your dog’s bucket has overflowed and they have had an emotional outburst. 

This is where, as their owner, you can now start to see why some walks are calm and others are total chaos. Where previously you thought your dog was completely unpredictable, you now know that with an emptier bucket, your dog can calmly stroll past another dog. You also can now recognise that with a nearly full bucket before you even step outside, there is a very high chance that your dog’s bucket will explode the second they see another dog.

Your dog does not ‘forget their manners’, on these walks, they simply have a full bucket.💦🪣  

If you are reading this, thinking, ‘yes, this is my dog…and me’, then you are amongst good friends. Our buckets can over fill in the same way a dogs can. 

You may have had a busy week where you feel like your feet barely touched the ground (pouring quite a bit into your bucket). You are then planning a calm weekend so you can relax and ‘re-charge’ (also known as emptying your bucket). 

• You get up early on Saturday to find your washing machine is not working – oh no, nothing to wear out to dinner tonight.💦🪣
• You call what feels like ten numbers looking for someone to repair your washing machine, with no availability for a week. 💦🪣
• You then decide to head to the shops to find something to wear out to dinner – the shops are HEAVING.💦🪣
• On arriving home, feeling all flustered, you put your key in the lock and it snaps. At this point you simply want to scream or cry hysterically.💦🪣                                         

So what can you do to empty both of your buckets? 

❤️This is the empowering part, you can absolutely empty both of your buckets, and best of all, you can learn how to empty them before they overflow. 

For your dog you may – 

🐶❤️Look at skipping the walk on a day that has had a lot going on for your dog already. You can play some calming sniffy games in the garden instead. If you are worried about your dog missing out on a walk, I think you will find this BLOG post helpful. By skipping these walks and only going out for walks when your dog has a fairly empty bucket, you are also allowing your dog to rehearse the behaviours you love, like calmness.

🐶❤️Offer them a frozen kong or lick mat with their dinner in. Licking helps release those lovely calming endorphins your dog needs to help empty their bucket. 

🐶❤️Build in some quiet time, so their system has a chance to reset. 

I love this VIDEO by Dr Julie Smith, where she helps explain our stress buckets. The only main difference between you and your dog, are the suggestions of going for a walk and seeing friends. These can be fabulous ways for you to help empty your bucket. For your dog though, it could be the total opposite. There are so many areas that are out of your control in the environment that could be too much for your dog. The other dog could equally be having a fairly full bucket kind of day. You want to empty your dog’s bucket and you could accidentally end up overfilling it.  

They really will be best skipping the walk and staying home.🐶🐾❤️🧘‍♀️

I like to put it this way when I am working with owners, they want their dogs to have their pyjamas on rather than their disco pants. 

You know your dog best…

You know your dog better than anyone else. Start watching for the signs that their bucket is getting full. You may notice they are not wanting to settle in their bed, or maybe they are whining and action prompting you. Dog’s that have a fairly full bucket are quite similar to toddlers who have had too much going on, so if you have spent time around a toddler, you will know what I mean. Observe your dog and you will be amazed how you start to recognise the signs. 

Final Thoughts

You really are your dog’s best trainer and I am here to support you along the way, if you would like. If you want to dive deeper into spotting the signs and preventing your dog’s bucket from over filling, then send me a message HERE and together we can help you and your dog enjoy those peaceful and happy walks you have been longing for. 🐾 🐶💫