Meeting your dogs needs

We seem to often forget that we have bred dogs to either work with/for us, or for companionship. Some breeds can be more independent while others are solely dependent on the human for everything.
The designer cross breeds such as the cocker poo are bred from 2 dogs, the cocker spaniel and the poodle (either standard or miniature size). Both of these breeds have been bred to work WITH us, , meaning they are also great companions because they want our attention. In the case of mini and toy poodles they were bred for companionship and being lapdogs of course they're going to struggle with independence.
As owners, we need to provide outlets for our specific breeds.
What tends to happen is that we work, have kids and do lots of things that don't involve the dog. Leaving your dog in the background and lacking that all important connection.
Their glass is empty, and they start looking for ways to fill that up themselves - In Teddy's case, he's taken it upon himself to bark for attention or out of the window, , and nip when being excluded. His message couldn't be any clearer! Give me attention, I'm bored, don't exclude me from the family!
During our session we started to give him a choice on how to fill his glass. He chose a couple of toys and we had treats too. We walked, we played, we searched for treats. We started rebuilding his relationship with his human. This meant that he was actually able to cope well with being left alone for 20 min without barking the house down.
We don't need to provide a constant flow of activities at home, but the enrichment we give him on a walk needs to fill his need for affection and attention and play... Something a dog won't get with a kong or lickimat. Quality of human - dog attention vs quantity of dog puzzles.
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