Keeping A Young Dog Entertained During The Day?

[nikivds]

Hi all,

I have a rescue whippet x from the RSPCA (Nos) who is now just over 2 years old (and I also have a small staffy x who is 7 but this isn't about him). I have always lived at home with my parent's dogs (bc and acd) where my mum works from home so the dogs have never really been alone for extended periods of time. I compete in agility and regularly travel so they are used to being in the car or in crates for extended periods.

I have recently moved out (as I am doing uni in camden) and am renting a 1.5acre property (with my own agility paddock!yay!).

Now for the problem...

The fences are decent but only 1.5m high and Nos is a very good fence climber/jumper (he had jumped the fence at my parent's place so we had to make it higher). I can't really alter the fenced because I am renting. The house has a QLD room at the back (cement floor, wooden walls, glass doors and windows all the way around) which is about 5x10m) so initially I decided to keep the dogs there while I'm at uni (2 days full time (9-1 and 1.30-5) and 1 day part time (about 3 hours)). It gets a little hot in the Qld room around lunch time so I left the window open a crack (1.5m up and with a closed fly screen) and left the dogs with 2 frozen kongs and 2 buster cubes, lots of toys, 2 beds and a shell pool with water (I had also taken them on a 1hr walk). When I got home Nos was sleeping in the drive way.... (still within the 1.5m high fence though as there is a gate at the end of the driveway). It turns out he pushed the window further open and broke through the fly screen (Pepe was still happily sleeping in the QLD room, such a good boy). The next day I left them inside the house and Nos chewed/scratched the wooden front door (def not on as it is a rental! lucky dad knows how to fix it) and knocked down a photo frame which he broke (scary!). so obviously that is also not an option.

Now what I think I will do is ask dad to build a run and place it in his favorite spot outside where he lies all day when I am home because it's the only way I can think of that he will be safe and won't destroy what is not my property!! Also I live on a 80km/h road so I don't dare try leaving him in the yard where he might jump out.

Now in terms of advice...what can I do to keep him entertained while I'm gone because I feel terrible locking him up in a run all day. He's not a particularly active dog (much less active than my very well behaved staffy x who is never an issue) but I take him on walks, to the park or do an agility training session every time before I leave and I plan to leave him with kongs, bones, buster cubes and the shell pool and toys. Any other ideas?? Should I also put pepe in there just to entertain Nos (pepe doesn't care where he sleeps as long as there's sun and he has a kong he will stay there all day and night). Also do you think he will eventually adjust like he did to being in crates at shows? Also how big should I build the run?

I am getting a new pup (ETT) in about 8 weeks who will be crate trained from the start (nos was rescued at 5 months old but I still crate trained him from then) so I don't know if nos will settle down once the pup is old enough to be kept in the qld room/house/run with him when I'm out because at least then he would have someone to play with (pepe isn't really interested in playing). I will be getting the pup at the start of a 6week holiday so plenty of time to adjust before he will be left alone.

Barking is not an issue as my neighbours race and breed greyhounds so there is barking all day anyway, it's more that I don't want him t be really really bored.

Hope I didn't forget anything.

sorry for the essay...

Thanks in advance!!!

Edited April 22, 2010 by nikivds

[Rileys mum]

Just a quick thought. There was a post on here about temperary fencing the other day which had some great ideas. Is it an option to build a fence around a section of the paddock/yard that you can take down when you leave??