Idea's to wear a dog out a bit without too much walking!

poiuytrewq

poiuytrewq

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I have a really sore foot :( The past few days I've tried the ignore and carry on attitude but It's not just them, I need to poo pick/horses aswell 😩 By the end of yesterday I'd had enough.
Bertie dog comes poo picking with me so he has that bit of running round the field extra. They can't potter the yard while I do horses as I'm not sure I trust him 100% still not to jump the wall if another dog passes and I'm looking in the wrong direction so I just don't do that incase.
I can stand in the middle of a wheat field and he self entertains for ages chasing and pouncing on something invisible so may do that for a bit!

What can I do with him to just entertain? His nose is shocking. With the old lab I used to hide stuff and make him do find it, this one has no idea, if it can't be seen it can't be found.
Can't really afford a dog walker and not sure I'd really want someone unknown coming and taking him off anyway. He'd chase a ball all day but obviously I don't want to injure him too! Any mental stimulation idea's please?

What does everyone else do if they can't walk far?
 
What breed is he? Is he food driven? Does he even care if he doesn't get much exercise?

The Spaniel obviously loves food, so a handful of kibble chucked in the grass keeps him busy for ages. My GSD really doesn't care how much/little exercise she gets, as long as she's with me, so even a ride in the car would be a change of scenery for her and she'd be content.

How about training to do something new?
That would be quite taxing for him, but not involve physical exercise. Does he do stay or down from a distance, or 'middle'? There's loads of things he could learn that could be useful in future.
 
I'd go for doing some trick training or set up a small agility type course so you can do a small circle in the middle to guide him to the step or the hoop or through the weaves etc. Tala has had to learn some new things as part of her physio and she's definitely found it mentally challenging.
 
He's a lab. He's fine to have quiet days but I worry this may go on longer than a day or two. The hand ful of kibble thing is good, I used to do that in a thick rug with the terriers as puppies and it kept thyem quiet for ages. I think it would cause scrapping at the moment. He loves food but not to the point that he is all focussed on it. eg if I was to try tit bits for recalling out in the open he'd come back but wouldn't want the food.

I could absolutely try a bit of agility type things though, I think he'd like that. I'll see what I can find round the yard to use.

tda said:
My sister has been doing some scent training with her dog. She did go to a class but it seems quite straightforward once you've got the gist of it
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I think he's a fake dog! I could hide a pork chop under a cushion and he'd struggle!
 
When Bandit's at home and needs occupying for a bit he get a treat ball with a little opener he has to push around to get the treats out. Keeps him out of trouble.


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Target training is a good one I do if the spaniel is being a bit 'extra' and needs 20 mins mental stimulation between walks - you can start with just teaching 'touch' on the palm of your hand, then ask for a sit-stay and move across the room and cue to 'touch' your hand. I love teaching this as it's actually really useful if you have one with an unreliable recall - it's amazing the amount of dogs who will ignore a recall but will run back to 'touch' a target once it's been taught! Then once they get the idea you can build up the difficulty to 'touch' various objects and cue that, moving them around the room etc.

Trick training is another one I do a lot, we do paw, both paws, back up, spin (left or right), between the legs, crawl and 'creep' which is slow motion crawling 🤣 You can even string it together into a short dance routine if you're really bored 😁 Or free-shaping. With free-shaping I just hold the treat and wait for the dog to start offering some behaviours, when I see one that looks quite cool I cue and reward it. Then we repeat until we get that behaviour consistently. You can get all sorts from waving paws, crawling, shuffling back when sat etc. you can almost see the cogs in their brain whirring while they try to work out what to do and it's the easiest way to teach a trick rather than trying to explain to them what you want them to do 😂

I also practice basic obedience stuff in the house or garden. So sit/stay with me leaving the room, or sit/stay then call to heel. Sit, then walk away and 'down' from a distance. Walking around the house to heel. Waiting while I throw a toy and retrieving on command. 'Give' toys into my hand rather than just dropping them at my feet. Or I pick 2-3 very different toys/objects and practice retrieving them by name.
 
I've biked a lot with the dogs running beside. That way they get some steady exercise (I normally just let them keep a good trot/calm canter, vary a bit) without too much effort from me. Of course this is only a good idea if the dog does not pull hard towards animals or such (very hard to stay balanced when that happens), you're comfortable on a bike and your foot is fine with it.
 
This is my specialist subject. Cooper is forever gettting bangs and knocks and needing to be rested for a bit. We do loads of things. Puzzle games, we usually have 4 or so and once they have them down I sell and buy new ones. We play find it, which is me throwing handfuls of their food around the house and outside and they find it and eat it. I hide toys or high value treats and let them loose to hunt it. And enrichment boxes. Two big plastic boxes that I fill with egg boxes with tissue and treats/food in them, small cardboard boxes with the same, treats wrapped in scrumpled up paper, basically anything that needs work to get the food/treat out, and then loads of scrumpled up brown paper in as well. We also do clicker training, which is very basic but he likes it. Oh and muffin trays with tennis balls in an a treat hidden underneath. A towel rolled up with food in it. Treat balls that they push around the house.

Bascially anything that involves using their brains and nose has mine tired out.
 
poiuytrewq said:
He's a lab. He's fine to have quiet days but I worry this may go on longer than a day or two. The hand ful of kibble thing is good, I used to do that in a thick rug with the terriers as puppies and it kept thyem quiet for ages. I think it would cause scrapping at the moment. He loves food but not to the point that he is all focussed on it. eg if I was to try tit bits for recalling out in the open he'd come back but wouldn't want the food.

I could absolutely try a bit of agility type things though, I think he'd like that. I'll see what I can find round the yard to use.


I think he's a fake dog! I could hide a pork chop under a cushion and he'd struggle!
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use his food, so he gets no food in a bowl, all food is hidden or in a treat ball etc. Once he gets the hang of it you can split his ration for training and meals, but you want him hungry so he engages.
 
Oh loads of Ideas thanks! Some great sounding idea's. Currently sat with foot throbbing on the coffee table as I tried a proper walk again...

I'm not sure how long he would sit for actually! He will sit out on the yard and I can leave him until I call. Tbh i never leave it too long as I quit while I'm ahead and call him ao unsure how long he'd stay.
I have been looking locally- market place/ebay for a bike thinking i could go along the tram lines on the farm, certainly at the moment they are solid and flat as conctrete.
I wouldnt take them hacking, Horse is a buit nervy and worried about things , including dogs on leads coming towards her so i think if he came tearing past she may kick out, I'd never forgive myself if he got kicked.
What are food circuits?
 
Indy said:
When Bandit's at home and needs occupying for a bit he get a treat ball with a little opener he has to push around to get the treats out. Keeps him out of trouble.


www.google.com

Trixie Dog Snack Ball

Buy Trixie Dog Snack Ball for your Dogs from VioVet, FREE DELIVERY available over £35. Great prices and super easy to use website, see for yourself now.
www.google.com www.google.com
Click to expand...
We have something similar. They have phases of playing with it/ignoring it.
 
FieldOrnaments said:
Have you considered minor injuries may be a good idea for the foot. I know you're a horse person and therefore by definition a sh** pigheaded patient who'll merrily carry on regardless but you could be making yourself sore for longer than necessary/doing more damage
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Not really no. I’ve seen a Dr, had an online video call with someone else, had an xray and am waiting to see a surgeon but it keeps getting cancelled. Current apt date is now September. I don’t think miu could do much and with the hours and hours waiting times Im really hesitant to waste a day to be told that 😬
It comes and gos a bit, hopefully it will get better again!

I am going to look into private though as we have some cover via my partners job.
 
i I forgot about enrichment walks! Instead of an hour or two galloping off lead, when I'm in a bit of a state physically I drive mine to the local busy village and they get to walk round sniffing and being fussed by people, visiting shops that allow them and just generally doing things that stimulate their brains. half an hour of that and they are knackered. We also do drives with the window down on lanes where we wont meet cars so can drive slowly and he can hang out of the window, the youngest loves that! We visit people. That always goes down well and is tiring. We go to the puppy shop, aka pets at home or similar. Theres a loop in the next village over where we visit 4 charity shops. The old ladies love them and they get a biscuit and fuss in each one. We havent done it for ages, but sometimes we go for a ride on the bus. We go to a coffee shop where they get puppacinos and then sit quietly for a while. We visit the Starbucks drive through. I stopped over the winter but usually take them swimming once a week. Its so good for Floydys back legs and Cooper does 45mins of jumping in and swimming and is absolutely shattered afterwards. I go to near banbury, Phin and Paddle, which might be a bit far, but theres def one closer to you if you google it. Costs me £25 and is worth every penny!

If you want to know how to tire out a dog when you cant walk far, ask someone with a super fit working/racing dog who has days she cant walk 100yds 😂
 
Phin and paddle! I'd never heard of that! Yes too far for me but what a great idea. When the open air pool in Cirencester closes up for winter they allow dogs for the last few sessions before a deep clean!

Bert is a odd little dog, I've given up on trying to take him anywhere as it visibly stresses him out. For a long time when he was little I tried, even things like going to a little park at a quiet time and just watching or playing ball, or walking on a lead round normal housing areas. He just gets so worried. I think I've accepted he is a farm dog and thats that. It made me sad at first but he's just not happy anywhere busy.

Cecil would love all you suggested apart from the pool, water is for fish not dogs!
 
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