We have to keep our animals safe. This means having some rules, some boundaries, and making most decisions for them. But, it is important that animals can make some decisions too, when they can’t harm themselves. It will build confidence, strengthen your bond, lower their stress and provide mental stimulation and enrichment.
It is VERY important to remember a decision can also be an animal saying “No”. No, I don’t want to be hugged or petted right now. No I don’t want to say “Hi” to that person or animal. No, I don’t feel safe right now.
Part of animals making decisions is learning and respecting what their “No” is. Learning your animals “no” will prevent behaviors from escalating.
So what decisions can animals make safely? Below are some examples.
- Pick a walk route (horses too!)
- Pick a new toy ( take out 3 or 4 new toys, let an animal pick one). Save the rest for another day of picking!
- Let an animal pick if they’d like to go outside or not and when they want to come inside (horses too!)
- With cats, you can offer 2 or 3 kinds of litter in side by side boxes to see which they prefer!
Once your pet makes a decision, follow their lead! They will love this!! They will feel like they are showing YOU something for a change. Or that YOU are interested in what they are interested in for a change. Be excited about the decision they made and participate together.
Always remember, the most important part of allowing animals some autonomy is learning their yes and no. You can learn this by watching their eyes, their posture, and the body language. I strongly encourage everyone to learn their pets yes and no.
If someone made all of your decisions for you, you would like lack confidence, feel very insecure and unsafe, as well as feel frustrated. Animals are highly intelligent. Giving them some flexiblity in their day allows them to experience complete emotional and intellectual wellness. It will prevent many nuisance behaviors which come from frustration.
Allowing some decisions making allows a bond to deepen. You and your pet are a team. It’s you and your animals, together. Not you against your animal.
Here are a couple decisions I let my dogs make.
A few times a day I let my dogs ask me for a treat and I give in. They’ll walk up to me and ask, I walk over to the bin and get them a treat.
And then today, I left the front door open for hours (photo!). They could decide if they wanted to be in our out. They would lay out in the sun for a while, then come in and lay on the couch for a bit, and rotate back and forth.