I recently worked with a woman who was at her wit’s end. She had a very active Border Collie and a new baby. During one of our first conversations, it became apparent that her dog wasn’t getting the exercise or attention he needed and he was becoming destructive. The woman, who had even considered purchasing a pet insurance plan for her dog, loved him, but she was ready for a rescue group to take him. Thankfully, the group recommended she see if I could help before surrendering her dog.

Border Collies are very smart dogs that were bred work long hours herding livestock. This breed is not the easiest to live with, as they feel that they need to do a job. Because these dogs are highly active, they are one of the many breeds that can benefit from pet health insurance.

As a trainer, when discussing concerns with dog owners, I immediately start developing a training plan to solve the dogs’ issues. I had to develop a plan to help them keep their dog busy and active, without taking time away from the client’s new baby.
So I suggested we teach the dog to help his owner with the laundry! First, we taught the dog to pick up items and hold them in his mouth, then we taught him to carry items, next we taught him to drop items. To put it all together we put a laundry basket on the floor, asked the dog to pick up and hold a towel, then carrying the towel followed us to the laundry basket where we asked him to drop the towel. Next we moved into the laundry room and asked the dog to get a towel out of the laundry basket and bring it to us which we then deposited into the washing machine. Ta Da! A dog that could help with the laundry. I have some clients who even ask their dogs to take the laundry out of the dryer. Because even the best trained pets can still get into mischief, I always suggest my clients look into health insurance for dogs and cats.

So what else can you teach your dog to do around the house? The possibilities are only limited by your imagination and the dogs’ ability. They can bring you a ringing phone, learn to clean up by putting their toys away in a basket, close doors, cabinets and drawers with the push of their nose, or bring you a newspaper! We even taught one dog to gather small sticks in the yard and take them to an area by the firewood pile to use as kindling.
The above mentioned Border Collie, who was once so destructive, is now happily helping his family with the laundry and has completely stopped being destructive.

For more information about pet health, behavior or dog health insurance, visit Pets Best Insurance.