Having a relaxed dog is best. Having a voluntarily submissive dog is best. Both keep your dog’s energy levels low, paradoxically reinforcing their low energy levels, and keeping problems at bay since problems appear when their energy levels are high. Problems appear at the high energy range because that’s when their brains disconnect, Nature takes over, and Nature puppets a dog to do progressively more and more ugly things—your dog’s wild animal has arrived.
Happy is not a dog behavior.
Sleeping is a behavior. Eating is, too. So are running, barking, retrieving, digging, peeing or pooping.
Happying is not. Here’s the more important point: a happy dog is not the type of dog that’s the best to have—a relaxed and voluntarily submissive dog is.
Every time you see a dog sleeping, that’s identifiable and measurable Every time you see your dog with a cold, wet nose, with relaxed, open mouth breathing, that’s measurable, too. So, relaxation is measurable. Voluntary submission is measurable. “Happy” is not measurable. Happy is in your head, not in your dog.
You always want a relaxed, voluntarily submissive dog, with a cold, wet nose, and relaxed, open mouth breathing. Once you have them there, keep them there.
