Ideas For A Large Dog Who Is Getting Bored?
October 22, 2009 by admin
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
I own a 50lb greyhound/boxer mix who is fairly well behaved and in training to conquer the few things she struggles with (greeting people calmly). However, one issue we can’t seem to conquer is what seems to be her boredom. During the day she just lays around and sleeps a lot, but around 7:00pm she tends to get very wound up. Whines a lot, obviously wants us to play, and barks at us if we won’t play with her. However, when we play catch or anything else she gets quickly bored with it and wants something else. By the time she wants to move around (evening) we’re already exhauseted from the day. Any ideas on what we can do around the house to keep her occupied, or on how to make her more active during the day when we can play?
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Two 30 to 45 minutes walks a day can help. If you don’t have the time to devote as much time but want to give your dog a job and a challenge – get a doggy backpack. Put a bottle of water in each side pocket and walk 30 minutes. That walk will seem twice as long for your dog since they are carrying weight.
Try and find someone with a dog the same size and age for a play date. Two dogs having a good romp would definitely do the job.
try working on toy drive and getting the dog to be active earlier in the day. The key is to be able to read your dog. Play with the dog using a “tug”, just a 6″ long sausage shaped toy with a loop at one end. Move the toy away from her in short bursts as if it were a small animal. When she starts snapping at it allow her to only grab it occasionaly. Frustration builds desire, but remember to let the dog “win” every now and again. But the instant you feel the dog is near the height of it’s excitement hide the toy behind your back and stand there with no facial expression, just completely boring. This will build the drive to play when you decide to play.
From there you can maybe move on to playing fetch with frisbee’s. I suggest hyperflite frisbees, they’re really tough and stand up to a lot of abuse and fly rather well even in the hands of a butterfingers like me.
It’ll take time so be patient and start slow with regular walks at about say 2 and move from there.
Exercise earlier in the day should help this issue. You also might try feeding your dog in the evening closer to bedtime. I have a GSD and noticed if I fed him earlier, he had a tendency to get his second wind about the time we were ready to go to bed.
Before you are worn out take her for a good fast walk or a run for about 45 minutes. (If you have roller blades strap them on and get moving). This way she will have less energy at 7pm when you are tired out.
We have a lab puppy that is like a moose with ADHD on steroids. (she gets bigger everyday) I take her to a park out in the country that has a stream. I throw the ball in the water and she fetches it till she is satisfied. Then she swims around like an otter till she is exhausted. Also you could take your dog to an open field to let her run. Big dogs need wide open spaces. Especially breeds that have the running instinct. We have to take ours out in the country because she does not do well in the city off her leash. She thinks the world is her oyster and everyones yard is her play ground. LOL
maybe you should try to play with her during the time that she normally sleeps. just keep her busy, take her for a walk or run around in the yard. it worked for my Weimaraner and he’s 105 lbs. Jumbones also work wonders for bored dogs.
long long walks in the morning, dog parks where can socialise and play with other dogs.
A tired dog is a good dog and your dog needs to be walked for at least 45 mins per day. Pent up energy can be destructive and annoying. Some dogs don’t like to play catch. Do you have place that she can swim. Greyhounds are very laid back dogs, boxers are more hyper, I think the walk will help a great deal. Good Luck
get a kong and fill it up with snackies that should keep him busy
I am dealing with the same problem (on a smaller scale-I have a yorkiepoo!)….everyone I talk to tells me to get another dog. They say that they keep each other entertained during the day, and wear each other out-plus having the company is good for them!