COVID and dogs

[GSD Woman]

I recently had COVID and was in hospital. Yes, I am fully vaccinated. Some friends kept my 2 at their kennel. What I'm having trouble with is getting the dogs enough exercise. We play tennis ball in the back garden but I have only about 1 hour of energy. I don't have the $ to hire a dog walker. Any tips for keeping the dogs from becoming couch potatoes?

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Brain training. If you feed dry food, throw some meals out over the floor, or in the grass if you have that in the back garden, and let them work to find their food.
Look up Nina Ottosson dog toys, she's created several different brain training toys. If theye're too expensive for you at moment, perhaps they still can inspire you for how to make your dogs exercise their brains.

Serve frozen gnaw bones/filled Kongs.

Many, many years ago, I went to a dog club with one of my late bitches, and just let her lay down in a stay the whole time we were there. Like 45 minutes. I'm guessing your dogs can do lie down and stay, but are they used to you asking them to do it for e.g. an hour? Longer than that?
Make them sit for 10 minutes?

Hope your recovery goes smoothly.

 

[SadKen]

CC on here told me I’ll never physically tire my working line boy, and she was right. 10 mins of focussed training did it though! I looked up how to train ‘attention heel’ and that really wore him out, as did some of the stuff FH mentioned above. Find it (tracking stuff even in the house for favourite toys) was a good one. You can watch telly while they look! (Committed owner speaks…!). Having said that I doubt a break will do any harm whilst you recover, couch to 5k is a thing and I’d not worry at all if they aren’t distressed or destructive!

 

[CorvusCorax]

Scatter feeding, flirt pole, cheap treadmill (a human one will do). Or food circuits, literally throw the food from side to side, back to you, away again.
If I am in a hurry/not in good form/ill I train article indications (lie down and look at the article) or a long downstay or dumbell hold in front with me in a chair.

 

[misst]

No ideas but just wanted to say hope you feel better soon. xx

 

[GSD Woman]

Thanks everyone! I had totally forgotten about brain games. Today I was too worn out to do much. I had a dietician appointment and went to the library. I came home and slept. Fortunately I have some huge half beef knuckle bones that were too big for a friend's boxers. those keep the dogs happy for about an hour.

Tomorrow we'll have the old man do some of his utility exercises and the 4 year old will practice her distance exercises. And I hope to work on the one rose bush and kick the tennis balls while I work.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Hope your recovery is going smoothly. I saw this short video on YouTube, about a DIY hiding dog treats thing, and thought of you. If it's too easy, I suppose you maybe can pull the knots tighter, or add another towel.

 

[Keith_Beef]

Hope your recovery is going smoothly. I saw this short video on YouTube, about a DIY hiding dog treats thing, and thought of you. If it's too easy, I suppose you maybe can pull the knots tighter, or add another towel.

Or put them in the fridge and see how long it takes the dog to learn how to open the fridge door...

 

[GSD Woman]

Keith_Beef you're funny! I actually had one that knew how to work the ice maker.

I do like freezing the towels for a bit to make it more challenging.

 

[Keith_Beef]

Keith_Beef you're funny! I actually had one that knew how to work the ice maker.

I do like freezing the towels for a bit to make it more challenging.

I lived in a house where the cats learnt to open the fridge... They would wait until everybody had gone to bed, then go and raid the fridge for their own food but also for anything edible. What wasn't edible would be dragged out of the fridge to see what was behind.

We went to mothercare to get some child locks.