facebook
Lez Graham logo
Lez Graham logo

Blog - Rest And Digest...

Lez Graham talks about our dogs 'rest and digest' phase

Rest and Digest aka...eyes open, brain long gone
Rest and Digest aka...eyes open, brain long gone

When your dog is lying with his eyes open and staring into space, don't think for a minute that he’s sad, bored, lonely, or unhappy… as it's just the opposite.

He’s chilled out and is in his 'rest and digest' phase (also known as 'rest & recharge' or 'rest & rejuvenate') or, as I used to say when I was a kinesiologist, “he's in his spleen”.

Its during this crucial time that the parasympathetic nervous system takes over, and your dog's body is focussed on digesting food, repairing cells and conserving energy.

The spleen, which is part of the lymphatic system and serves as a reservoir for blood, plays a key part in the ‘rejuvenate’ element.

As well as functioning as a storage area, the spleen helps to maintain a healthy blood supply for our dogs, by breaking down, killing off any dying red blood cells, and cloning white blood cells during an immune response.

This is one of the many reasons why it's so important to teach our dogs to switch off and settle down

first published 28 October 2024

buy the book - https://thepetgundog.co.uk/Home/Books
join the club - https://www.lezgrahamonlinetraining.com/the-pet-gundog-club