Ideas For Burning Off Energy For A Staffy X

[iltby]

Other than walks, what're some things I could do with my Staffy X to burn off some of her energy?

TIA!

[persephone]

Trick Training /obedience drills/sandpit full of stuff to excavate ...

remember - mental gymnastics will tire most dogs .. where physical exercise may not ;)

Several shortish work sessions a day will help in settling a dog.. that and some frozen bones/kongs ....

[ruthless]

The more physically fit a dog is, the more exercise it will require. I learned that the hard way with Chopper Like Pers said, train some tricks, work the mind Maybe one of those Nina Ottoman puzzles that Wagsalot sells?

[iltby]

Cheers guys! She's very fit and has a heap of energy. I'll work on the mental stimulation

Haven't heard of those puzzles, I'll go have a look now!

[Aidan3]

Nosework, it can be as simple as hiding a treat under a towel or hiding dinner around the yard.

[huski]

Yep mental stimulation will tire my dogs out more than physical exercise Drive work, shaping, scent games, training targeting etc.

[Guest Panzer Attack!]

I've been doing some very basic hide and seek games with Scooter, which he LOVES... to the point where he has started finding things I never sent him to seek!!! A few days ago he found me a costume jewellery ring in the house (I live with two men so who knows where it came from!) and yesterday he found Luke's car key that he lost a few days prior LOL.

I started by naming a couple of his toys every time he fetched them, until he'd look at the toy when I said it's name (which didn't take very long). Then I'd throw it a small distance away and say "where's tuggy?" and praise him like crazy when he brought it back. Then I'd throw it further and now I very obviously hide it so it's half sticking out from behind a blanket, for example. As he gets better at it I'll make the game more difficult.

I believe you can also train it with food, if your doggy is more food driven than toy driven.

[Polgara's Shadow]

In addition to what everyone else has said...chew toys. Stuffed kong-like things and edible bones/rawhide. Allows you some down time while keeping them occupied. Chew toys don't last as long with Staffy's as it does with other breeds, given their strong jaw muscles and tenacity, but usually long enough for a bit of peace.

Vulcan is knawing on a kangaroo bone as we speak, I can watch him out the window while I'm on the couch with the laptop, a packet of tissues and some lemsip (yep I've got a cold). He'll be ready for a nap when he's done.

I also feed him whole chicken carcasses a few times a week.. Takes him longer and works his jaws and mind.

I strongly suggest you supervise your Staffy with chew toys as they have an incredible ability for breaking things into choke-able peices. I also put the scrap peices of bone in the bin when he's done.

Aussie dog toys are great we have the home-alone and the staffy ball.

Edit to add...clicker training, they need to think and figure out what your asking...fun for the humans too (I find it fun anyway)

Edited May 15, 2011 by Polgara's Shadow

[iltby]

Nosework, it can be as simple as hiding a treat under a towel or hiding dinner around the yard.

Have done that in the past, will remember to do it again

Yep mental stimulation will tire my dogs out more than physical exercise Drive work, shaping, scent games, training targeting etc.

What sort of drive work and training targeting do you do?

I've been doing some very basic hide and seek games with Scooter, which he LOVES... to the point where he has started finding things I never sent him to seek!!! A few days ago he found me a costume jewellery ring in the house (I live with two men so who knows where it came from!) and yesterday he found Luke's car key that he lost a few days prior LOL.

I started by naming a couple of his toys every time he fetched them, until he'd look at the toy when I said it's name (which didn't take very long). Then I'd throw it a small distance away and say "where's tuggy?" and praise him like crazy when he brought it back. Then I'd throw it further and now I very obviously hide it so it's half sticking out from behind a blanket, for example. As he gets better at it I'll make the game more difficult.

I believe you can also train it with food, if your doggy is more food driven than toy driven.

That sounds like a great idea, will definitely keep it in mind. Scarlet knows 'get your toy', but I hadn't thought about naming the individual toys.

In addition to what everyone else has said...chew toys. Stuffed kong-like things and edible bones/rawhide. Allows you some down time while keeping them occupied. Chew toys don't last as long with Staffy's as it does with other breeds, given their strong jaw muscles and tenacity, but usually long enough for a bit of peace.

Vulcan is knawing on a kangaroo bone as we speak, I can watch him out the window while I'm on the couch with the laptop, a packet of tissues and some lemsip (yep I've got a cold). He'll be ready for a nap when he's done.

I also feed him whole chicken carcasses a few times a week.. Takes him longer and works his jaws and mind.

I strongly suggest you supervise your Staffy with chew toys as they have an incredible ability for breaking things into choke-able peices. I also put the scrap peices of bone in the bin when he's done.

Aussie dog toys are great we have the home-alone and the staffy ball.

Edit to add...clicker training, they need to think and figure out what your asking...fun for the humans too (I find it fun anyway)

I've found the best thing for Scarlet is the Orbee toys. Really tough, stretchy rubber that's pretty hard to tear. She's also never destroyed a Kong thus far. And they do all get a bone once or twice a week

I've given clicker training a go in the past but never really done it properly. I'll look into it again.

Cheers guys!

[huski]

Josie we train in food drive but it would depend on what Scarlett's strongest drive is.

Definitely get the clicker out and do some reading up on shaping, you can teach them so much and it really gets their brain engaged.

[Zug Zug]

Work the mind - definitely!

And don't overlook the simple fetch. Great one to stretch their legs, without you needing to be overly athletic.

[shelby-001]

I give my two Amstaffs Buffalo Pizzles, the long ones they are about 40cm long and provide a nice long rewarding chew. They normally (8/10 times) go nuts when I give them out and run around like crazy, an added bonus as it burns a little physical energy as well.

We have a walk first up, bout half an hour and about a 5 minute stop for some off site training. Once home hey generally jump in their pool for a few minutes (or now it's winter sunbake) and then get comfy. While I'm eating my breakky I let them rest. Then when I'm done they get their breakky.... it's ALWAYS something they have to go off and 'work on'. The easiest they ever get is a chicken frame. But I give them frozen roo tail, lamb shanks, pork hocks etc.... they go off an eat and I go get ready for the day. When they are done and I am done, they get their individual obedience training for the morning, bout 10 minutes each out on the front foot path. Once we are done, they are generally ready for a sleep. They are tuckered out til after lunch.

If I'm going out, I hide the buffalo pizzles so they find them when they wake up. I always hide the two of them together coz as soon as one finds them the other is right there to suss it out. They take them a good 20 minutes to chew (but like I said above they normally go rank running around first). Sometimes I only hide pigs ears. Or I put pig snouts in the sand pit for them to dig out. After they've found and had their 'chew play' they go back to sleep. Bout 5pm they are up and they have a crazy play.... they go NUTS for bout half an hour, round n round the yard, dig in the sand pit, barrel each other, chase each other, it's FULL ON.

I give them another training run when I get home from work (I do a 2 hour shift 5.30-7.30pm) weekdays, bout 5-10 minutes each in the back yard. Then they get dinner. Some nights they go straight off to sleep after that, other nights they play til 10pm.

That's how I keep two amstaffs out of trouble, LOL

[shelby-001]

Work the mind - definitely!

And don't overlook the simple fetch. Great one to stretch their legs, without you needing to be overly athletic.

My two look at me like 'you threw it stupid, you go get it', LMAO.... they are so not into fetch!

[iltby]

Thanks again all, much appreciated!

[Leelaa17]

I've been doing some very basic hide and seek games with Scooter, which he LOVES... to the point where he has started finding things I never sent him to seek!!! A few days ago he found me a costume jewellery ring in the house (I live with two men so who knows where it came from!) and yesterday he found Luke's car key that he lost a few days prior LOL.

I started by naming a couple of his toys every time he fetched them, until he'd look at the toy when I said it's name (which didn't take very long). Then I'd throw it a small distance away and say "where's tuggy?" and praise him like crazy when he brought it back. Then I'd throw it further and now I very obviously hide it so it's half sticking out from behind a blanket, for example. As he gets better at it I'll make the game more difficult.

I believe you can also train it with food, if your doggy is more food driven than toy driven.

Very cool! I might start doing that with my boy and girl. they would LOVE things like that to do!

[Leelaa17]

Work the mind - definitely!

And don't overlook the simple fetch. Great one to stretch their legs, without you needing to be overly athletic.

My two look at me like 'you threw it stupid, you go get it', LMAO.... they are so not into fetch!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH mine are like that too!!!! Jenna will chase it and then think 'hold on, wtf am I chasing it for?' and then she runs back to me! lol Max just goes over to it, sniffs it, and then decides its not worth playing with. lol

[Skye GSD]

Work the mind - definitely!

And don't overlook the simple fetch. Great one to stretch their legs, without you needing to be overly athletic.

My two look at me like 'you threw it stupid, you go get it', LMAO.... they are so not into fetch!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH mine are like that too!!!! Jenna will chase it and then think 'hold on, wtf am I chasing it for?' and then she runs back to me! lol Max just goes over to it, sniffs it, and then decides its not worth playing with. lol

Must be a GSD trait - Skye does exactly the same thing but get the flirt pole out, and she just loves it.

[wagsalot]

When Riley was a puppy he just had so much energy. He was so good when we first got him, as we had a pet duck (who was in a pen when we were at work) and Riley used to sit there all day next to the duck pen. It was company for him I think. They were great friends. When our duck died, Riley went on a rampage.

All his energy was used to dig holes in the backyard, and chew the wooden decking

I ended up walking him before and after work, and we built him a sandpit. We used to bury toys and treats in the sand, and he'd spend ages digging around for them. It was also a cool spot to lay in summer.

It ended up teaching him that was his designated digging space too, so saved the yard.

I used to load treat balls up too for him to chase round the yard after, and freeze kongs on hot days. I'd alternate it all so he had a different challenge each day.

Edited May 17, 2011 by wagsalot

[boxagirl]

Dog sledding/scootering