You may know spring fever is a thing for dogs, but did you know fall fever is a thing?

There are many environmental changes that come with the season changing and these can greatly affect our dogs behavior and habits!

• cooler weather can increase energy levels! When it’s hot outside many dog’s energy levels drop, only to return with full gusto when those cool mornings and evenings return!

• wild animal activity changes with the seasons. Migratory patterns can bring different animals into your area, often animals head deeper into the forests and up into the wilder areas during the summer when food is abundant for them, and they return back into areas where more people are during the winter. We often see more deer, coyotes, mountain lions and bears as well as flocks of birds passing through during these transition times in our valley.

• it gets quieter and that makes noises stand out. When migratory birds head out and less people are outside in the darker cooler mornings it gets quieter, so your reactive dog is going to more easily hear that car in the distance.

• we can get busier. Shorter days, holiday activities, school functions, etc. We have less time to get our dogs out and this can lead to less exercise overall. I don’t know about you, but when it’s dark out at 7pm I am ready to crawl into bed vs summer when that’s when I want to be out when it’s cooler.

• Older animals can struggle with the changing seasons. Arthristis can increase with the colder weather and less movement. Less light can make seeing harder for aging animals with aging eyes and ears leading to more anxiousness at night.

• Fall is a great time to as I talked about last week, revist training games inside!

• Put that energy to work for you by tring new things, maybe try a scent work or agility class?

• Stock up your freezer with food toys to give your dog a way to use up some extra energy.

Just like spring fever, fall fever will pass, they will settle into the new routines and get used to the changes. If your dog is affected by the changes up your supervision/management so they don’t develop new habits or get trigger stacked. Older pets might need help like adjusting your schedule to walk at more comfortable times for them, or they might need some pain meds to help with arthritis flares. Putting on white noise so your dog is not listening to animal activity outside in the evening.