15/10/2026
🍂🐾 OPTIMISM OCTOBER — DAY 5
💜 How do we grow optimism in our dogs?
Over the last few days, we’ve explored what optimism means for dogs, how it can relate to learning, mood, stress and sleep, and why some dogs find everyday situations harder to cope with than others.
So, where do we go from here?
How do we help our dogs feel more confident about the world around them?
First, I think we need to change one thing.
Confidence isn’t about teaching our dogs to be fearless.
It’s not about making them approach every person, greet every dog or cope with every situation we put them in.
And it certainly isn’t about pushing them through something they’re frightened of in the hope that they’ll eventually get used to it.
Instead, we can start by changing the experiences we offer them. 💜
🐾 GIVE THEM CHOICES
Allow your dog to investigate, move away or take a break. They don’t have to interact with everything, and walking away can be a perfectly sensible choice.
🐾 MAKE SUCCESS EASIER
Choose activities your dog can manage. Scatter some food to find, introduce a simple game or let them explore something interesting at their own pace.
Small successes count.
🐾 CHANGE THE DIFFICULTY
If your dog is struggling, look at what you can change. Can you create more distance? Reduce distractions? Make the session shorter?
We don’t always need to ask for more. Sometimes we need to make the task easier.
🐾 LET THEM EXPLORE
Sniffing, searching, licking and investigating can offer valuable opportunities for dogs to engage with their environment in ways that suit them.
Not everything needs to be a training exercise.
🐾 CELEBRATE RECOVERY
Look beyond whether your dog managed to do something.
Could they recover more quickly after a surprise? Could they disengage from something worrying? Did they choose to investigate when they previously would have walked away?
These little changes matter.
And please remember that confidence isn’t built overnight. Your dog’s history, temperament, health and individual needs all play a part.
We can’t promise that every dog will become optimistic in every situation, but we can work towards giving them safer, more manageable experiences and opportunities to develop positive expectations.
💜 The goal isn’t a dog who never struggles. It’s a dog whose needs we understand, whose choices we respect, and whom we help to cope with the world a little better.
Because we’re not just teaching behaviours.
We’re building a relationship, too.
And that starts with understanding the dog in front of us. 🐾
📝 Today's task: Let your dog lead the way.
Offer your dog a simple choice between two suitable activities — for example, sniffing scattered food or investigating a safe toy. Or perhaps allowing them to dictate the walk?
Put both options within easy reach and allow them to choose, change their mind or walk away.
Which direction do they choose to go?
There's no need to persuade them to choose the activity you prefer.
🔍 Ask yourself: What did my dog choose? What did I learn about their preferences?
I’d love to know: What’s one little change you’ve made that has helped your dog feel more comfortable or confident?
