Max#1 Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 I love the pictures of hoover and albie on the bed, so cute!the treadmill is actually our human treadmill which we bought for us years ago I would like everyone's opinion on this - I am concerned about how much energy Echo has, it seems everyday his energy levels get higher, I am beginning to wonder if I will be able to meet his requirements, he has some really high drives, he absolutely loves to tug and he is nonstop moving and running around, he is destroying anything he can and is digging holes everywhere, I play/walk him daily and the walks are over 5km atm with running here and there, then the treadmill, I am actually quite a laid back person so I do worry about not being able to give echo what he needs, I would hate to see him go insane because we cannot meet his energy requirements. I try to mentally challenge him daily but even then he still keeps going. Some days I wonder if I got the wrong breed <_< the Dobermann has always been my dream dog and I was pretty sure I could handle the temperament of one, but I did not expect Echo to have the energy and drives that he has, If I let him off-lead he would be running nonstop (I know because he does this at the dog park). I do question myself daily if I made the right choice, I am fine with all the work etc and try my best to do my best for Echo, I just dont know if it will be enough? What do you all think? what more can i do to bring down the energy? I am not keen on doing any dog sports for the moment, nor have the time to with work and art etc. I do not really want to attend obedience etc atm either, its just not what I plan to get into atm, I planned to later in life but for the moment its clear its not something I am up for doing. Hey I know how you feel. With Max - I was aware he would be a high energy dog - and I was prepared for that and wanted that. So fine. But the actual reality of it is something else. He can go all day. Problem is - we both work full time, so he doesn't go all day - which means he goes all night . He gets walked twice a day without fail (okay except for once I was sick) - with both walks involving at least 50% off lead. I figure that way he's running around as much as he wants, and he plops down when he wants a breather. There's no way I could fulfill his energy requirements by pounding the pavement!!!! I'd still be out there!!!!! We do flyball, but to be honest, I wouldn't say its that much extra exercise. Once a week training for two hours, its hardly record breaking. So don't worry about that. He's nearly 12 months now, and we notice that he's settling down ever so slightly. Did I say slightly????? Right now he's dropping a ball behind me to make me come play. When I see all these photos of sleeping dogs I do have to wonder! What can I say? Hang in there? That's what I'm doing! I love that when I get home from work he's ready to go - and I don't sit on the couch all night. I love it and wouldn't swop it for anything. I sometimes wonder if a second dog would help take the edge off - in that they could play together instead of only wiht me or the OH (the OH and Max have a delightful routine of some bitey face before bed... )....... we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betsy Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Kyliegirl - I think that Echo sounds pretty normal, maybe a bit more drivey/high drive (like aussielover said)? And although I don't have a dobe, I do have a 'working' dog. I think I was walking my dog for about 45minutes at that age (sometimes an hour) easily. I remember well getting up at 5.45am to fit it all in. Then I worried about having a really fit dog. I found as he got a little bit older his "off switch" is a bit more noticeable, and I am able to miss a day's walk here or there - but instead will play in the yard, or do a bit more training at home. Also, as he has matured, he is much more eager to please, which makes playing games/training at home much more enjoyable for the both of us, as he has enough basic obedience to then do other stuff. I notice that at the beach when he is off lead he is all go go go, but relaxes a bit more at home. He certainly has more stamina than a lot of other dogs at the beach. He is now at that pleasant stage where if I needed him to be active all day, he could and would be, but if I am not so active, and its a game and walk then he's ok lounging around with me at home too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 (edited) Ava was an insane little puppy, she was go go go go all the time. Very tiring. She's now 16 months and is great. She really only gets attention and play on our terms. She gets about 45 minutes to an hour of walks a day. She gets some training most days which ranges from 5 to 15 minutes. She knows what happens when we're at home and generally that is relaxing. I get home of an afternoon after she's been alone (well, with our older dog, who barely acknowledges her anyway) for 9 or 10 hours, we have a 2 minute play then she goes to her bed and sleeps. She might follow me around the house but in general she just chills. That's just what happens so she has accepted it. Have you tried training stays and "on your bed" with Echo? Ours have always been expected to lie in their beds while we have dinner and now they pretty much stay there the whole night. Despite this, Ava is FIT. The vet said so, and her heart rate is really low! She would go forever if you let her. She gave me such a sad look after agility tonight because she didn't want to go home after the hour My older dog is calm and laidback and 6 years old. He'll lie in his bed from 8pm at night until midday the next day. But he still digs holes. Lots of them. He lunges at dogs on walks. He squeals if we take Ava out and leave him at home. He is very hard to train. He can't be let off leash. But I still think he's one of the easiest dogs ever... Edit: I know you said you didn't want to get into obedience but I would credit this very much to both calming Ava down and building the bond between us. Edited April 13, 2011 by wuffles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Yeah I'm actually thinking of getting a second dog just to tire Mindy out a bit and keep her entertained. Naughty I know, but i still think i can provide another dog with a loving home. I mean what dog wouldn't want company all day (human and dog) and 4 walks a day! I think its alot better than the alternative for pound/rescue dogs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted April 13, 2011 Author Share Posted April 13, 2011 (edited) And I don't think I could do a puppy again! I know what you mean. We seriously thought we were totally going to be cool because we had gone through Elbie's puppy hood but Elbie was so well-behaved, house-trained and trained that it was weird ending up with a 'blank' new puppy that didn't even know how to wait for his food. When we got Hoover - he was guzzling for his food like his name and it was almost horrifying because Elbie would never do that anymore If you're willing to skip the super cute baby wombat, roly poly 8 week puppy stage - do what we did and get the 3 month pup. Still cute but heaps less work. Hoover whined for two nights tops and was house-trained really fast compared to Elbie (got at just under 8 weeks). He was also larger so we didn't worry that Elbie might accidentally injure a tiny puppy. kyliegirl: I sympathise with you, I really do. Hoover is the most chilled dog in the world. If you want to rev him up, he's revvable, if you want him to lie down and be quiet, he'll do that. He gets excited at obedience school but settles down. At home, he'll sleep and be dead to the world. By contrast - Elbie seems like he's never really asleep. He's almost on constant alert - one ear cocked, eyes partially open - body poised to leap out of the dog bed I am very lucky, however, that at home, Elbie is a total couch potato inside. I can send him to his dog bed or crate and he'll stay there, very, very chilled and relaxed. If we want to sleep in until 11am, both dogs sleep in, too. Absolutely no hyperactivity at home unless Strangers come to visit. By contrast, outside the home he can be a maniac. He's calm on his walks but before obedience and agility he's lunging, barking, whining, spinning and just being a complete crazy dork. People who do not know him, always tell us to run him around to try to tire him out/calm him down. This does not work with Elbie. Other people have suggested that we take him on runs or put him on a treadmill to try to take the edge off of his energy. Those who know Kelpies have warned us against this. A Kelpie can run 80km a day - they'll run until they drop dead - it's not possible to tire one out It would be fine if OH and I were the slightest bit athletic, but we are anything but ... we were warned that if we made the dogs too fit, then we'd end up with very high energy, highly fit dogs that would go absolutely nuts if they didn't get the exercise they were used to. This wasn't going to be sustainable for us given that neither of us are that sort of person ... Our dogs were going to have to fit in with our lifestyle. So as it is, our dogs can go for a week or more without a walk and be totally fine - no destructive behaviours, no crazy hyperactivity at home. Part of the reason is that they self-exercise - they chase each other around the yard several times a day like absolute crazies and I'm sure they burn off heaps of energy that way. Some things I've found work with my two in terms of 'tiring' them out: We praise them and reward them when they're sitting around chilling. In the early days, we sent them to their beds constantly and praised them when they stayed there For Elbie, crating was very helpful in calming him down - when he realised he couldn't get out, he'd just rest/sleep. In time, even with the door open he'd stay there and just chill out We make them work for every single bit of food - even if it's just a sit or a stay or a spin We take them on short walks (20 minutes to half an hour) but do lots of focus-work on those short walks I've been taking them for little training sessions on the street and in the front yard - heeling, and tying the leash to my belt to practise Elbie's loose-leash walking (which can be horrific if he is not focused) Innocuous things become toys of enrichment - boxes with holes cut out, juice bottles with food inside etc We found toys that tire them out - Hoover still gets tired out by the Kong Wobbler. Elbie isn't tired out by any toys any more but in the early days, a new toy used to be able to make him tired. Obedience class used to tire out Elbie - not any more but it certainly did when he was younger. This lazy slug suggests you tone down the exercise and find games within the yard and house that will keep Echo's mind occupied, otherwise he's just going to get even more fit and more frustrated and demand more of your time and energy than you have to give. Tonight at agility, Elbie was focused much earlier on which made my life easier. I've found with my high energy dog that it's not about tiring him out, it's finding some kind of trigger/thing that will make him focus on me. Once I can do that - he's an angel. Sometimes I do things like take two or three steps towards him and then back up two or three steps to make him follow my movements. Sometimes I run and then slow down. Anything that makes him pay attention to what I am doing and not other distractions. I have also been using a behavioural interrupter word (K9Pro method) which snaps Elbie's attention away from other things and onto me. Sometimes it's as simple as waving a piece of food around and making the dog chase it. Once you have your dog's attention, you'll know you've got it and then everything is easy from then on - you just have to search for what that is. Good luck - don't lose heart. If I didn't have Hoover, I'd be wringing my paws thinking that I was a terrible, terrible dog owner who doesn't know how to calm my dog down but I really do think that owning Elbie has taught me a LOT of things I would not have learned otherwise if I'd had an 'easy' dog like Hoover for my first dog Edited April 13, 2011 by koalathebear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Hey Kyliegirl- do you have a bike? It might be a good idea to train echo to run alongside it. You can cover a lot more ground that way and perhaps he will get a little bit tired I used to do 30-40 kms with my aussie shep on the bike. Would love to take Mindy riding but sadly i do not have a bike at the moment and I'm not really near any good bike paths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted April 13, 2011 Author Share Posted April 13, 2011 (edited) aussielover: if Echo's energy is anything like Kelpie energy - running him more won't tire him out, just make him more fit and more high-energy ... It seems more important to work on focus and calming exercises ... Edited April 13, 2011 by koalathebear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyliegirl Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 thanks all for the reassuring info KTB you are right a dobermann is like a kelpie, if i run him, he would keep running until he dropped dead, dobermanns are extremely fit dogs their body is an athletic body and they were bred to be athletes. While a bike run will really get him running (no doubt he would LOVE this) it will not tire him out. just check out ths dobermann running for a good example of their stamina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted April 14, 2011 Author Share Posted April 14, 2011 How cute and talented is with his bag of tricks??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilli_star Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 How cute and talented is with his bag of tricks??? Wow! What a clever doglet! I have no idea where you would start teaching all those tricks! They're in Hungary too- seems strange to me to see an Australian Kelpie in Hungary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KumaAkita Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Wowzers! That walking backwards through the leg thing is weird and clever! There's your benchmark KTB! I expect to see Hoover and Elbie walking their back legs up a wall next time I see 'em! D'ya reckon I could get Kuma to jump through my arms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Rumour~ Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Thats an awesome assorment of tricks. If i tried to get my boy to do half of those he'd just look at me and be like 'What's in it for me?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted April 14, 2011 Author Share Posted April 14, 2011 D'ya reckon I could get Kuma to jump through my arms I still expect to see you skiing downhill with Kuma flung over your shoulders like that Extraordinary Lab :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KumaAkita Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 I can get him through my legs, but only if I lift one leg slightly off the floor and he ducks (my inseam obviously isn't 74cm!) Well, you've seen the photo of Mr KumaAkita with Kuma on his shoulders, and that was a fleeting moment captured in time. So having him perched on my shoulders for an extensive period of time is a long shot. That, and I can't ski! I do believe I forgot to welcome Diesel&Ryder to the thread! So sorry for my rudeness. I adore the colour of your pupplets! beautiful! Kuma is like your guys... "you expect me to do what? But why, dear lady? It seems pointless to me and on that basis I respectfully decline your request". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilli_star Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Wowzers! That walking backwards through the leg thing is weird and clever! There's your benchmark KTB! I expect to see Hoover and Elbie walking their back legs up a wall next time I see 'em! D'ya reckon I could get Kuma to jump through my arms :D :D :D :D :p Yeah I saw that and thought "Good Lord, there is NO WAY I could do that with Roo!" I'm unco enough as it is without trying to catch 28kg of Labrador behind my back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted April 14, 2011 Author Share Posted April 14, 2011 Yeah I saw that and thought "Good Lord, there is NO WAY I could do that with Roo!" I'm unco enough as it is without trying to catch 28kg of Labrador behind my back! The video footage would be worth it, though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilli_star Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Yeah I saw that and thought "Good Lord, there is NO WAY I could do that with Roo!" I'm unco enough as it is without trying to catch 28kg of Labrador behind my back! The video footage would be worth it, though! Oh God, it would be Funniest Home Videos worthy, that's for sure! You'd hear "Ruby! Up!" then *crash!* *Sound of breaking bones* Followed by me sprawled head first into the dirt. "Ooffff..owwwwww...getoffme...Ican'tbreathe!Ruby!" And Ruby going *Bum wiggle, bum wiggle* "Did I do it? Huh? Mama? Did I do good? Hey? Whaddya think? Mama? Geddup!" :D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KumaAkita Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Yeah I saw that and thought "Good Lord, there is NO WAY I could do that with Roo!" I'm unco enough as it is without trying to catch 28kg of Labrador behind my back! The video footage would be worth it, though! Oh God, it would be Funniest Home Videos worthy, that's for sure! You'd hear "Ruby! Up!" then *crash!* *Sound of breaking bones* Followed by me sprawled head first into the dirt. "Ooffff..owwwwww...getoffme...Ican'tbreathe!Ruby!" And Ruby going *Bum wiggle, bum wiggle* "Did I do it? Huh? Mama? Did I do good? Hey? Whaddya think? Mama? Geddup!" :D :D :D Yeah, do it! When you win AFHV you can spend the money you win on physio and restorative treatments!! I really want to teach Kuma "up" so he puts his paws on my shoulders, but am wary of setting a bad precedence (i.e. he'll do it when I don't want it). He already paws up to my waist and tries to hug me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilli_star Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Not to mention paying people to stop pointing and laughing at me in the street "Aren't you the girl who was squashed by your dog in the trick that went horribly wrong?" :D I'm hoping to go to the Easter Show next weekend and really want to watch the Flyball (I even posted in the Flyball thread :D ). Last night I was watching some YouTube videos on Flyball and I'll be really disappointed if I can't go. Flyball looks amazing to watch. I found some of TerraNik's videos too of Flyball and agility- her dogs are fantastic! It may have been the flu making me delirious, but I'd really like to try and teach Roo to do some of that. No Flyball club around here though :D Sometimes DealsDirect has agility jumps and tunnels and stuff for sale...Hmmmmm..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Rumour~ Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Flyball is awsome and highly addictive I'll be at the Easter show tomorrow for the flyball demos and next weekend as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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