Boredom Busting Ideas Please

[Michelleva]

Our sheltie pup is 5 months old and this last week I've had to work a lot more than usual so have been out of the house most days. The neighbour has just informed me that she's been barking constantly while I'm not home. My biggest concern is if I don't fix it now, it will become a big problem and then someone will complain to council about her, thats just what I don't want.

When she goes outside she goes into guard dog mentality, like she's really alert, ears pricked and listening for any noise and then barking at it. I've got a couple of different kongs, I've tried putting dry food in them, I tried closing it off with peanut butter and she wasn't interested. The neighbour suggested vegemite, so I'll try that next. I'm also going to give her her own personal sandpit where I can hide some toys and doggy bones to keep her amused a bit longer.

I'll also make sure she's always walked before I leave in the morning. Anything else would be appreciated. The neigbours been good about it so far, but I don't want to push it.

Please help with some ideas to keep her mind occupied.

[furballs]

My dog has Aussie Dog home alone toy, swimming pool (clam shell or like), soccer balls, squeaky toys, big bones to chew on, and tonnes of other various toys. She could never get bored.

[Tilly]

My youngest loves his "home alone" and "bungee chook". They also get kongs, balls and various other toys as well as a large meaty bone a couple times a week.

[Nushie]

My youngest loves his "home alone" and "bungee chook". They also get kongs, balls and various other toys as well as a large meaty bone a couple times a week.

What is a "home alone"?

[Rileys mum]

My 5 month old is exactly the same. Not interested in kongs. Will play a bit with toys but gets over it all quickly. I've started spreading his food out around the yard so he searches for it. I also give him a meaty bone ( my pups on a raw diet so it works well for me ) which keeps him occupied for a bit. The best thing I find is to take my pup for a walk before I go to work. Excercise is the real key I feel. It's an in built thing for a dog to excercise, eat and then sleep.

I find the hardest thing for my guy is entertaining him once he wakes up lol. He is not ball orientated so I just provide a few different toys every few days to keep him interested ( eg put 3 out, take 3 away so the toys always vary)

hope that helps :-)

[Michelleva]

Rileys Mum, thanks your reply makes a lot of sense to me. How much exercise do you give your 5 month old? I've been walking Georgia for about 15 mins or so, because she's still young. Maybe if I increase that she'll improve.

Edited May 29, 2010 by Michelleva

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

At five months of age, your pup is growing, both physically and mentally. They do get bored quickly, plus you have a Sheltie, which is a very intelligent breed. Your pup needs jobs to do, otherwise she will find her own activities that may not please you or your neighbours.

Start with the exercise. A 15 minute walk is not enough IMO. A good dog is a tired dog, nothing truer than this statement. Walk her for at least 30 mins twice daily. I know she's young and growing, but some other form of exercise will help - try agility equipment at your local dog park as she will have to think about this as well. A thinking dog becomes tired more quickly than one not required to use the brain. So get lots of different activities and make your pup work for her food. Kongs are okay, but there are treat balls with varying degrees of difficulty - they are great! You can also get a range of other interactive toys. Make your pup work for her meals, don't serve them in a bowl.

What I mean is this: if she's on dry food, scatter her meal throughout wherever she's kept through the day. Put some in treat balls (we also used old softdrink bottles as a cheaper alternative but replace them the second they start to crack), some in a sandpit, some in the garden (if you know she won't dig the plants up!), and some perhaps in her kennel. A sandpit is an awesome tool for you to help your dog. Digging comes naturally to dogs, so work with that and place toys and food in there. If she's on a raw diet, you can safely scatter her meaty bones throughout the yard too. Just don't leave her unsupervised with a "recreational bone" as she may get a larger bone stuck on the roof of her mouth. Make sure that the bones are soft enough that she can chew through them readily. In the warmer months, you can use a 2 litre ice cream container to freeze treats in, such as sardines or chicken wings/necks. She will have a ball trying to melt the ice to get to the food.

Can you also leave a radio on where she can easily hear it? If so this will provide her with "company" when you are out, and is likely to reduce her desire to bark, as she won't be as easily influenced by outside noises.

Hope these tips are helpful.

Oh, one more thing: obedience training before/after the morning walk is a great idea...the brain has to work in order to tire the body out!

[Tilly]

Home Alone and Bungie Chook (Turbo Chook) are toys from the Aussie Dog toy range.

[Michelleva]

Lillysmum, those tips are very helpful thanks. Georgia is always at her sleepiest after we've been to obedience, like today.

[grabit]

Does your dog spend time outside during the day when you are at home? I have met alot dogs that freak out when they are left outside by themselves due to seperation anxiety outside=mum/dad is leaving if being outside alone is part of their routine when you are home it lessens the stress/they are less likely to notice when you are not there

[all that glitters]

If the dog has a habit of watchdog barking at any noise how will toys (whether it be a few or a hundred) stop this?

[Michelleva]

Does your dog spend time outside during the day when you are at home? I have met alot dogs that freak out when they are left outside by themselves due to seperation anxiety outside=mum/dad is leaving if being outside alone is part of their routine when you are home it lessens the stress/they are less likely to notice when you are not there

She has spent equal amounts of time indoors and outdoors. I made a concious effort to not make her dependant on being indoors while I was home. She loves being outside, I usually need to convince her to come back inside.

She was just whining at the back door to go out, so I let her out thinking she needed to pee. I followed her out to see what she wanted, and she could hear a dog barking, not a direct neighbour, probably a street away. I couldn't hear it till I was outside. I think she feels she needs to defend us from every dog in the vicinity of our house. I called the come command, and she did, then I bought her back inside.

[Michelleva]

If the dog has a habit of watchdog barking at any noise how will toys (whether it be a few or a hundred) stop this?

Exactly, I'd love to know that answer too. I'm going to try increasing her excercise and training and see if that wears out her brain a bit.

[persephone]

Some of this is discussed in your thread from a couple of days back...

HERE

I would suggest increasing your walks.. and also do some obedience with her before you leave.Aussiedog toys may help keep her busy for a while

Unfortunately , she may be a dog who IS hyper alert and noisy Perhaps a private trainer can come and see her , and give yyou some help? If you give us your location, someone will probably recommend one for you. ..as personal recommendation is a good reference!