What you allow is what you get.

[JamieHalverson]

On leash at all times except crate - doesn't it create a frustrated dog with too much energy? Just asking. Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

Not if the dog is also properly exercised and given appropriate mental stimulation. Yogi was 1 1/2 when we adopted him and a terrible cat chaser. We kept him on leash at all times in the house for at least 2 weeks when we first brought him home just for the purpose of protecting the cat and teaching good house manners. Yes, he was very frustrated that he couldn't chase the cat; too bad so sad. He got to run around and release that energy in the back yard and we trained a lot.

 

[teodora]

What does "enough" mean? Jack is running - zooming - at least 1 hour and I mean running. It's either at the beach, lake or on the hills. It can be done in the empty dog park as well. I obviously walk him but I don't do his speed. We exercise on long line and leash. I can increase the amount of exercise - still not sure he ll have enough physical activity to get him tired at night

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[Hiraeth]

The umbilical method is generally recommended to people who have young puppies or brand new dogs. I don't think it's something I'd implement with any of my three adults, unless their dog aggression issues came back.

"Enough" depends on the dog, I think. Sounds like what is "enough" for my Shepherd/Malamute wouldn't be enough for Jack. So I think that has to be a judgment based on the individual dog.

 

[teodora]

Thank you - that's what I thought... no problem implementing it with me neos (couch potatoes) but jack would probably do better with a different approach.

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[JamieHalverson]

Sometimes they need more mental stimulation rather than the physical exercise. We go to an hour and a half nose work class where Yogi spends about 20-30 minutes maybe actively searching and he comes home and passes out like he ran a marathon. That's just an example, but I really see a truely worn out dog after their mind has been exercised. They all need physical activity, of course, but look at it this way - if you keep increasing their physical activity in an effort to wear them out, you end up increasing their stamina and in turn they need more physical activity.

Just like with people, if I walk until I feel like I'm going to pass out today that might be 2 miles, but I do it every day, my stamina will increase until I could walk 5 miles without being tired. But after working an 8 hour day and thinking really hard while sitting at my desk, I'm pretty freaking worn out.

 

[teodora]

Correct - no I don't want to increase his energy level lol, I spend enough time in the bushes with him, especially in rainy or cold weather. I'll try more sophisticated mental games to see whether it works or not, thank you.

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[Ssams]

With the leash, are you saying keep hold of him as well?


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[teodora]

when we go at the beach no, he's not on leash. We walk on leash in town. He's on long line in the yard at all times - indoor no need for it as he's very obedient. He's perfectly fine on the line/leash as well. What I don't like is the recall when he's free, especially in the first 20 min or so. If i cut therunning free he'll have plenty of energy indoor and he will be pacing and "complaining" for hours: that's what happened when i was really sick and couldn't get him anywhere.

 

[Ssams]

Sorry, I meant inside


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[season]

Thank you - that's what I thought... no problem implementing it with me neos (couch potatoes) but jack would probably do better with a different approach.

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You can really tire your dog out with mental exercise too. Example, place command. Especially if they are wound up, anxious, excited. Takes a lot of work to lay in one spot. Did a lot of that with Solo early on. It amazed me watching that energy just melt away


Carpe Diem

 

[season]

With the leash, are you saying keep hold of him as well?


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I didn't necessarily keep hold of him but he was definitely within my reach. If not he was in his crate.


Carpe Diem

 

[season]

On leash at all times except crate - doesn't it create a frustrated dog with too much energy? Just asking.


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Not at all. Training and mental stimulation is happening all the time. Seriously start working on place command. Work on the structured walk. Work on thresholds. Work on waiting for food and treats. Work on the crate. All this is work for a young dog. It tires them out. It's not your job to constantly feel the need to entertain your dog. That's the beauty and value of place. You are literally teaching your dog an "on/off" switch. It started with a couple min. Kept working on duration. Now I can put Solo in place for as long as I want. It may be an hour. Chill out. Relax. It's good for u and the dog. Trust me.


Carpe Diem

 

[season]

On leash at all times except crate - doesn't it create a frustrated dog with too much energy? Just asking.


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And in the end it's the humans that create frustrated dogs because they aren't given enough structure, rules and boundaries. When they have to figure it out themselves that causes anxiety, frustration, brattiness etc.


Carpe Diem

 

[teodora]

They all know "place" (I use "off" command, same meaning). Jack responds to signs as well. He goes to sleep in his place: and he sleeps. Wait for food: this is the video (I've posted it before):[video=youtube;EDUIbVfRA7M]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDUIbVfRA7M[/video] I'm looking now for more complex exercises for his brain. He has a good focus and he's interested in games and play, this can be a really good thing to try.

 

[season]

Great example of impulse control.


Carpe Diem

 

[season]

Nose work is great too. Especially if u have snow. You can make things as "complex" as u want really. Make some simple for it more challenging by adding duration/distraction etc. Play tug or with the flirt pole and add things to it to make it more challenging.


Carpe Diem

 

[teodora]

We don't have snow here unfortunately. He's good but he gets overexcited with tug and tends to jump up on the "opponent" so I don't tug, wrestle or play power games with him. If I do, then I have to restart the game/"reset" the dog every few minutes. I hide things he knows - ie ball - and he's good at finding. I'll add more complexity. He does fetch. I added 3 identical balls to the game - to see what he does. He was busy for quite a while trying to chose or to bring all of them in the same time. Beside obedience, he's a smart boy and I'd like to see how i can let him add his own "creativity" to the game. I've got some ideas to try in the next weeks.

 

[Boxergirl]

We have a ring stacker that Al likes. You would probably have to make something a bit larger for a bigger dog. It takes a lot of concentration and practice for the dogs to put the rings on the stick. I used a clicker to shape this and because he loves it, but a marker word would work. It's particularly hard because they can't see what they're doing.

We also play a toy version of 52 pick up. I scatter their toys around and then ask them to clean up. You have to teach a drop it first in order to teach them where to drop the toys.

Red light, green light. I really like this one for impulse control. Red Light, Green Light Game to Teach Dogs Impulse Control - YouTube

 

[season]

We don't have snow here unfortunately. He's good but he gets overexcited with tug and tends to jump up on the "opponent" so I don't tug, wrestle or play power games with him. If I do, then I have to restart the game/"reset" the dog every few minutes. I hide things he knows - ie ball - and he's good at finding. I'll add more complexity. He does fetch. I added 3 identical balls to the game - to see what he does. He was busy for quite a while trying to chose or to bring all of them in the same time. Beside obedience, he's a smart boy and I'd like to see how i can let him add his own "creativity" to the game. I've got some ideas to try in the next weeks.

If he gets overexcited during tug (not sure what u mean by power games, they're just games) that's a perfect time to work with him at not being excited. Sure it's a challenge but it's a great chance/opportunity for work. Same with the flirt pole.


Carpe Diem

 

[teodora]

both games have to be stopped within minutes. With tugs, he growls (play growl), dilated eyes, starts to jump/ try to take my end of the rope from my hand. Same with flirt pole. Another unwanted consequence is that he initiates tugs with different objects in the house. I determined him to forget it and respond to "give' or "drop" command. I don't want to reinforce the fact that if he doesn't "give" then we play tug.