How to Bring More Joy Into Your Dog's Life

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In a fast-paced human world, it’s easy to forget that for our dogs, every moment with us is their whole world. That gives us a precious opportunity and responsibility: to fill their “now” with bliss.

Providing a joyful life for our canine companions starts with two guiding principles: Be Kind and Do No Harm. From that foundation, we can begin to build a daily practice of joy. And because keeping dogs in homed environments can reduce the richness and diversity of their experiential world, we have an obligation—not just to meet their needs, but to nurture their capacity for happiness, pleasure, and contentment.

In fact, what if we go one step further?

What if we deliberately seek to evoke in our dogs feelings of ecstasy and joy?

Although there’s a growing body of research on animal welfare and happiness, surprisingly little attention has been paid to how dogs—and animals more generally—experience joy. This is an area ripe for exploration. And while science may not yet have all the answers, the daily lives of dogs offer us compelling glimpses into the possibilities.

Zoomies and the Mystery of Joy

Take, for example, the well-known canine behavior lovingly called “zoomies.” These sudden, wild bursts of energy can leave even seasoned dog owners laughing in amazement. Dog trainer Steven Lindsay gave one of the only formal descriptions of this behavior, naming it “frenetic random activity patterns” (FRAPs). He writes:

“The spectacle may cause first-time dog owners to suspect that their dog has momentarily lost its mind. Dogs exhibiting such behavior appear to be possessed by a torrent of spontaneous locomotor impulses. They rush about as though careening around obstacles or fleeing from a nonexistent pursuer closing in from behind… As the playful release reaches a climax, the dog may display a wide open-mouthed smile, wedging its ears back.”

Do we know if zoomies are joyful? Not definitively. But everything in the dog's body language suggests a high-energy, emotionally expressive experience that could very well be joy.

Flow States and Ecstatic Moments

Joy may also look different for different dogs. My pointer mix, Maya, used to gallop through a field of tall grasses behind the local high school. She ran full speed, not chasing anything in particular, just letting loose. It seemed to evoke in her a state of pure flow, even ecstasy. Before her CRCL knee injury, Bella, my frisbee-loving athlete, radiated exuberance when leaping into the air to catch a flying disc. And on quieter days, she perhaps feels another kind of joy—more subdued, more sensory—when she lifts her nose and drinks in the complex scent of the wind.

I'm careful to say “seemed” and “perhaps” not because I doubt dogs experience joy, but because joy is a subjective experience. I can’t climb into Maya’s or Bella’s mind. And there may be species-specific ways of perceiving the world that I will never fully understand, no matter how closely I observe.

There are two ways to approach that uncertainty:

• With skepticism: “We don’t have scientific proof of dog joy, so we can’t talk about it.”
• Or with curiosity: “There’s so much we don’t yet understand—so let’s keep exploring.”

The second approach feels not only more humane but also more productive. After all, what is the difference between happiness and joy? Is it quantitative—more of the same—or is it something qualitatively different? How and when do dogs experience joy? How does it compare to human joy? And what role does joy play in the canine good life?

Practicing Daily Joy

While science catches up with our questions, we can still take meaningful action in our daily lives. Here are a few simple ways to offer our dogs more joy every day:

1. Start the Day with Connection. Just a few minutes of quiet affection or a calm walk sets the tone for a joyful day.
2. Engage Their Mind, Not Just Their Body. Sniffing games, puzzles, and play tap into natural instincts and offer mental enrichment.
3. Observe and Respond with Compassion. Pay attention to body language and behavior. Respect their signals, and meet them with kindness.
4. Create Spaces of Comfort. Make their resting place cozy, safe, and personal—every dog deserves a sanctuary.
5. Be Present. Put down your phone, forget your to-do list. Just be with them. Dogs notice.

From Kindness to Ecstasy

The more we learn to recognize joy in dogs—not just happiness or comfort, but real delight—the more we can begin to actively foster it. From everyday pleasures to those rare ecstatic moments of zoomies or wind-chasing, we have an opportunity to build lives for our dogs that are as full, rich, and joyful as possible.

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And as we do so, we might just find that our own lives become more joyful too.

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