Quote:
Originally Posted by latetotheparty
Bailey and Dave have access to the backyard while I am at work all day. Even with that, Dave is showing signs of being bored..... he has been getting destructive over the past week or so.... I injured my knee pretty badly 4 weeks ago today, so there have been no walks in the interim.... after being used to going 2-3 miles in the evenings and a half hour or so most mornings..... We are going to try a half hour walk in the neighborhood this morning and see how that goes.... cross your paws for me......
they have 3 puzzle toys that i fill with mostly kibble with some treats for added interest, and as much as they love those, it is still not enough for the entire day.....
the back yard has enough room for some runnin' ..... but i am trying to think of some sort of simple games or toys i could set up back there to keep him occupied for a while each day...... mentally and physically.......
he is doing well with "sit" .... sort of slow with "down" and "wait" .... which is probably some my fault as well..... he also seems to suffer from that common teenaged boy syndrome known as short attention span......
y'all are some SMART dog people..... what can you suggest for me??
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I'm sorry about your injury! Especially being a dog owner, that must be so hard!
Hopefully everything will be back to normal soon enough though. I am sure that the lack of walks is the main problem here.
So, with that being said, I have 1 word for you.. Treadmill!
If you don't have a treadmill, you could probably get a used one for pretty cheep. It's not like you need anything nice and new. But, for now at least, while you can't go for the nice long walks/runs that you usually take your dog on, a treadmill would be great! There is a myth (I think it's normally a "pit bull" myth) that treadmills are only used for dogs that are being trained to fight. That couldn't be more false! Treadmills can be a wonderful thing, especially if you are recovering from an injury and physically can't walk your dogs as much as they need, or even for the days where you might just be too busy to take your dogs on walks. Many responsible owners utilize treadmills to help exercise their dogs.
Now, I have to say, I am a firm believer that nothing can really replace a good walk.
Walks are not only wonderful for exercise, but they are great for training, they are great for bonding, and they are great for socialization. So, I would never suggest that someone just start using a treadmill to replace walks, but to help out on the days when you can't go on walks, a treadmill can be a wonderful thing!
So, if you already have a treadmill, that's great. And if not, like I said, I am sure you can get one for cheep. It will most likely take a few tries to get your dog to warm up to using the treadmill, but we made it work for Brooklyn (our male APBT). He didn't like it at first, but after several tries, he was okay with it. So, the chances of your dog just loving the treadmill right away are probably pretty slim, but don't get discouraged, it normally doesn't take too long to get your dog to warm up to it.
Okay, so, if you do like the treadmill idea, you will need to first, make this time a positive experience for your dog. Introduce the exercise experience as play time with treats as a reward. Over time your dog will learn to trust you, his fear will diminish and your bond will become closer. Start out very slowly, leave the treadmill out somewhere, where your dog can see it and walk by it. You walk on the treadmill for a few minutes at a time to get your dog used to the noise. When your dog comes to investigate the treadmill, give him a treat. Once he becomes used to the noise and presence of the treadmill. Put him on a leash, walk him onto the belt, have him stay for a few seconds then give him a treat. You never ever want to tie your dog to the treadmill though. Work your way up to being able to turn the treadmill on. Then you can work your way up to speed. Your dog will love you for treadmill training. He can work of his excess energy and you will have a happier dog. Never leave him unattended on the treadmill though. At least be in the same room.
Some people seem to think that when training a dog to use the treadmill they can take his leash and tie it to the little bar underneath where all the buttons are. Please don't do that, it is not safe for your dog. Also, do not reward the dog if he messes up at all, or he will think it's a good thing. You can also use a regular adult treadmill. Put your dog on a leash, but first you get on the treadmill and start at a slow speed. Let your dog get a good idea of what it's about. Many dogs love to do almost anything a human does. On leash, put your dog on the treadmill along with you (just as if you were going for a walk outside.) For the first couple of times the dog will jump off because they can feel something moving underneath them, but be patient and before you know it your dog is running along with you just fine. Don't go too fast and ALWAYS start out very slow.
If you don't want to do the treadmill thing, for whatever reason, obviously that is fine too. Hopefully you will be able to start taking him on his normal walks soon enough anyway. As far as toys, treats, games, etc. I don't really know what I would suggest. All of our APBTs LOVED Kong toys, but it sounds like you already have something like that for your dog. What about a nice big bone? Our dogs would stay distracted with a big bone for hours at a time, until it was gone!
Have you ever considered having a dog walker come walk him once during the day while your at work? Or have you ever considered doggy daycare? That's really pretty much all I can think of. I wish I could be of more help.
Oh, where do you live? Is it still warm there? If it's really cold outside, I don't know if you'd want to do this, but one thing our dogs use to love in the summer time (in FL) was doggie popsicles!
You can do this a couple different ways. Buy a cheap roasting chicken and cook it in the crock pot. It cooks off the bone and falls apart. Let it cool and take the good meat off and save for your favorite casserole dish, soup, chicken dumplings, etc. Hand remove all the bones. Take the extra meat left over and hand pick through it again to be sure the bones are gone. Divide it and put into ice cube trays. Add some of the chicken broth from the cooker (there will be quite a lot of broth). Pour into the trays compartments to add flavor. Freeze. The next day, pop them out and put them in a big doggie bowl outside for him when you leave. You can also make some in advance, and store them in a big zip-lock in the freezer.
Now, like I said, you can do that a couple different ways. You cold do it exactly like it says above. Or, you can do it the same way, but instead of using an ice cube tray, you could use something a little bigger. We use to use these silicone baking dishes when we did this for our dogs. Something like this..
Blue Silicone Round Cake Pan Bakeware or whatever size and shape you want. We got a set of these silicone baking molds from Target and we had all different shapes and sizes. Because it gets so hot in FL, the little cubes seemed to melt too fast. You could also just use just chicken broth (with no chicken meat in it), and freeze those, either in the ice cube trays or in the bigger dishes.
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I solved it by buying a cheap radio controlled "4-wheeler type vehicle" and attaching a string with a tennis ball at the back of it. I'd sit on the patio with my leg up and laugh at my furkids chasing this thing around the yard
It gave them the exercise they needed and kept my spirits up watching their antics
