Re: Thoughts on routine vs flexibility [quote author=debsie ] they like the familiarity of the sequence [/quote] I think Debsie has hit it on the nose as far as I am concerned. There are various sequences that Lilly recognises. There is a difference between my alarm going of at 6.30am, walk,shower, breakfast, work & snooze...... To Up, Shower, breakfast, dither dither housework, walk..... And at home time too - depends on who is in first, whether we change first, put kettle on first, which socks go on.... I really do think it is all pattern recognition. Lots of patterns but all tell their own story.
Re: Thoughts on routine vs flexibility Inexperienced here ! But we don't have routine routine because I have different days, Fridays for example I cook for an elderly lunch club from my kitchen, terribly distracting for Bailey as food is constantly being prepared for 3 hours, so I take him out early to tire him out for morning, Yesterday I had two elderly neighbours for lunch , one is scared of dogs so we went out at 12, so he'd sleep after his lunch! I go see my widowed father so he has his off lead walk at 3 when I arrive there I stick to roughly similar food times , within the hour, Bailey adaptable, so far, My friends dog has had strict regime (she's clipboard mum) And her dog gets angsty when this is disturbed, Maybe it's like most things the more relaxed and happy you better it is for all!?
Re: Thoughts on routine vs flexibility [quote author=Petrina link=topic=8727.msg123867#msg123867 date=1415952946] , Maybe it's like most things the more relaxed and happy you better it is for all!? [/quote] We had several excellent pieces of advice from Pongo's breeder. One was: "Get the dog to fit into your routine, not the other way around. The dog is more adaptable than you are. Don't change your lives and make things difficult for yourselves - you'll only be stressed and that's the worst for the dog. The dog can adapt to pretty much anything - trust it."
Re: Thoughts on routine vs flexibility Routine a bit awkward for us too. I work days for a week, nights for a week and then have week off in rotation. So breakfast can be anytime from 5.45am to 7.45am. Same sequence though, alarm, we come down, wee, breakfast, poo, sofa time with us. When I'm on days sofa time is short whereas when I'm off we can spend 2 hours together in front of tv. Walks are very flexible no specific time but when I'm off normally around 10am. Crated when we're out and overnight. If I'm on days and the OH is out for more than 4-5 hours at meetings then Amber's nan comes round for playtime to break up the day. She has her tea before ours at around 5-6pm (normally around the 5pm when I'm on days because I'm conscious breakfast was before 6am) and then has a little crate nap while we eat. Bedtime is toilet, crate, treat, lamp off, house alarm on so it's a sequence she knows and is normally around 10.30pm. We go out to friends houses and that sometimes delays dinner but she doesn't fret if we're out and if she's with us she doesn't notice she's missed a meal because she's just thrilled to be out and about playing etc. I think she's happy with that. If it's dark mornings/evenings when she's in her crate I put the lamp on so she knows it's not bedtime. Will most likely be changing job in 6 months ish so I guess it'll all change again so good job she's not a slave to the routine.
