TikaAkita Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Moving to the suburbs from a rural town has been a challenge for Tika and I. And I've only been here for a couple weeks! I want to ask HOW do you manage your high energy breeds with a 'small' (normal for suburbs) backyard? My dog isn't even a particularly high energy breed but she is struggling to entertain herself and get enough exercise. Owning a dog on acreage was tonnes easier. Free play and exercise:) I woke up this morning to Tika pulling the chilli plant out of its pot and dirt everywhere. She saw me opening the door and bolted round to the other side of the house. Knew she was being very naughty! I think I saved the plant. OH was not happy as he only just bought it. Unfortunately there were no mature chillis on there to teach her a lesson while she was doing it. She hasn't done something so naughty for quite a while. Though I haven't hung the clothes on the line for fear of tempting her! She's just bored in a small yard. I have just returned from walking Tika, she's never liked her gentle leader but it softens her pulling strength so I've persisted with it, plus I barely had to use it on her, just a lead to take her from A to B then let her off to run. Now however, her daily walk is a snuffling grunting struggle. She tries to get the leader off at least 5 times per walk. If I try and run with her, she just goes faster and with enough momentum it can be hard to stop without falling over (luckily that hasnt happened!) Clearly, I need a loose leash training plan. Please tell me how you trained your stubborn dog to do this? And how do you give your dog enough exercise to keep them happy and fit? Tika is a bit more complicated as I cannot take her to off lead parks nor can I let her off lead in unfenced spaces. We took her to Brighton dog beach on the weekend. Was a fair failure. We kept her on lead because I wanted to manage her behaviour and not just send her off to cause trouble. Any dog that approached does not like her. Its her 'meet and greet' that doesnt go down well. She puts her foot on the other dogs chest almost as soon as they are with in reach, they instantly growl and of course she will not turn down an arguement and growls back. Then its snarling and snapping until they are seperated! I will not put us in that situation again as I feel with the right dog, it could get nasty and I can only pull back on dog at once, making it difficult to break up a fight. She hasn't met really any other adult dogs as an adult dog herself. I know this is poor. I had her booked in to the local obedience training (where she would meet other dogs) from when she was in puppy school in August. But a spot didnt open up until January when we'd just moved away. There is a class in Kew I'm looking to book her into, maybe that will help her social skills. *I walk her a half hour a day, after that I kind of run out of small streets to walk down. An hour would be more ideal, but just means driving somewhere better to walk. Thanks for reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellyblush Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Hi there. The Chilli plant made me laugh! Do you have a bike? I ride with my dog and it wears her out. Maybe not appropriate for you if she is strong. Can't be very helpful, but I am happy to meet you for a dog park walk with my dog anytime. Williamstown dog beach is fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 I'm on the iPhone, so I can't post a long reply. Re: her greetings, I think she really needs to see a behaviourist. Her greeting isn't appropriate. Socialization doesn't mean making friends with dogs, it means knowing how to act appropriately - including ignoring other dogs. I don't think an obedience school can help with this. Most onstructors dont have the skills and naive owners just want their dogs to say hello - and this will only reinforce her behaviour. Re: exercise, I walk, train and play games with my dogs every day (training is 3 mins TOPS). I don't train every day, but they also go to agility every week too. The good thing about having a small garden is that it forces you to exercise and train your dog - you can't just rely on self- exercise. I drive to walking spots at least a few times a week so that walks are interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Also, the Akitas tail ( always raised) can be misread as aggressive body language by many dogs (as a stiff, raised tail is a sign of high arousal in most dogs). If she is having tiffs with most dogs, I personally feel that a meeting at an off leash dog beach is way too risky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 2 dogs and 3 dog sports, mine are just grateful when I leave the house so they can get some sleep :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esky the husky Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Can you do something to stimulate her mind? Training tricks helps tire out the brain, zaps them for longer than just physical excercise. You could try a dog sport, if she loves pulling you around perhaps you could harness that and try weightpull :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Don't expect her to entertain herself. That's rule one for dogs in the burbs. Stimulation and exercise will have to come via you. Discipline yourself to walk her more. Either drive to better walking or walk her twice a day. Her socialisation boat has sailed. I'd be focussing on the loose leash walking and forgetting about her meeting new adult dogs. If it goes wrong it will go badly wrong. Obedience clubs aren't usually much help on behavioural issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Miss Emma Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 (edited) I have 2 BC's and live in a unit. Most nights we walk for close to an hour. We go to training classes twice a week (some weeks there may be an additional evening). I train them a little bit each day. I have found a couple of places I'm happy to let them off lead, but we may only go there once a week. When I go to work (1 usually comes with me so the other is home alone) they are left with their food in kongs, boxes, etc and they get a chewy. Once it's routine none of this is that hard! Mine do fine if they have a night where a walk is missed, but it does mean we have to play games and do more training! Have you taught your dog to settle and to entertain himself? That was a priority of mine and I have to say my 2 are pretty good at it and that helps make life easier! I'm on my phone so can't see where you are. But can you figure out a series of road walks that will be long enough? If you walk far enough there's bound to be a few parks, etc you can walk through for a bit of variety! Edited February 7, 2013 by Pretty Miss Emma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TikaAkita Posted February 7, 2013 Author Share Posted February 7, 2013 Hi there. The Chilli plant made me laugh! Do you have a bike? I ride with my dog and it wears her out. Maybe not appropriate for you if she is strong. Can't be very helpful, but I am happy to meet you for a dog park walk with my dog anytime. Williamstown dog beach is fantastic. Thanks :) A bike would mean I could go further... something I'll look into if I can get her under control on foot first! I was just reading these replies and I hear the same suspicious scraping sound I heard this morning, plastic on concrete. Sure enough shes out there with the plant on the ground! I've again replanted it and sprinkled it all with chilli spice. I dont know if it will survive being ripped out twice on a hot day though I'm on the iPhone, so I can't post a long reply. Re: her greetings, I think she really needs to see a behaviourist. Her greeting isn't appropriate. Socialization doesn't mean making friends with dogs, it means knowing how to act appropriately - including ignoring other dogs. I don't think an obedience school can help with this. Most onstructors dont have the skills and naive owners just want their dogs to say hello - and this will only reinforce her behaviour. Re: exercise, I walk, train and play games with my dogs every day (training is 3 mins TOPS). I don't train every day, but they also go to agility every week too. The good thing about having a small garden is that it forces you to exercise and train your dog - you can't just rely on self- exercise. I drive to walking spots at least a few times a week so that walks are interesting. Yeah I was really worried by her greeting. Comes across so dominant and invasive. So i guess avoiding all dogs in the mean time would be best. I didnt mention, we also run around the yard with her while she does zoomies, picking up which ever toy she wants to play with with us. Also, the Akitas tail ( always raised) can be misread as aggressive body language by many dogs (as a stiff, raised tail is a sign of high arousal in most dogs). If she is having tiffs with most dogs, I personally feel that a meeting at an off leash dog beach is way too risky. I have read that before, thanks for reminding me of it. Yes I agree, I was taking her for an outing but did not really intend to let her off lead, particularly when I saw there was at least 30 dogs there! 2 dogs and 3 dog sports, mine are just grateful when I leave the house so they can get some sleep :laugh: :laugh: Can you do something to stimulate her mind? Training tricks helps tire out the brain, zaps them for longer than just physical excercise. You could try a dog sport, if she loves pulling you around perhaps you could harness that and try weightpull :) She would probably thrive on a sport involving pulling, I've thought that the last couple times i've walked her. She sure is strong. I'll admit I dont know anything about dog sports. I'll look up what weightpull is :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 I only walk onleash at onleash places. One dog off leash and one on leash means that one dog can't get away. Brighton is great for big, bomb proof dogs that back down from fights - not really suited to any other kind of dog! The botanical gardens before 9am o. The weekend is a beautiful, interesting walk that will stimulate her senses. There aren't too many people there early in the morning and we haven't had an issue with off leash dogs there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESCS Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Would hiding treats around the yard keep her busy for awhile? When we just had one tibbie , I hid treats in puzzle balls,kong wobbler, frozen kongs and planted them around the garden. It kept him going for some time although admittedly, he isn't a high energy breed. I once hid a bone in some palm fronds (we have a lot of palm trees!) and he ended up finding his own entertainment by shredding the fronds! Kept him going for many hours and made it much easier for us to dispose of the fronds. We did obedience training once a week and I found he would sleep all day after one hour of training. Our tibbie is reactive but I found that he settled down quickly in class as it was a controlled environment and no dogs off leash to worry him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Another idea is to pop into the reactive dogs thread in the training forum for tips on keeping her entertained that don't involve off leash runs at dog parks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuddleDuck Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 I have a toller and a kelpie x shepherd in a unit, and it works fine. We have a yard which we split into 2 sections (half for kid, half for dogs) and the dog bit is mulch. When I was working (am a stay at home mum now) I would sprinkle cat food through the yard and go over it with a rake so they had to find it in the mulch (cat food works best cos it is tiny), they got kongs, giant frozen ice blocks with treats inside and food hidden through the unit (we have a dog door). Once I got home it was a few training sessions and walkies. They have always been quite content with it. My kelpie x I had before we moved here, he was used to coming to work with me all day then up to the horse paddock and home to a huge house and yard. After we moved he had to stay home days and within a month he was fine with it, provided he had stuff to do. You may find things settle down with time too. Also can you pop the plant up high? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TikaAkita Posted February 7, 2013 Author Share Posted February 7, 2013 Don't expect her to entertain herself. That's rule one for dogs in the burbs. Stimulation and exercise will have to come via you. Discipline yourself to walk her more. Either drive to better walking or walk her twice a day. Her socialisation boat has sailed. I'd be focussing on the loose leash walking and forgetting about her meeting new adult dogs. If it goes wrong it will go badly wrong. Obedience clubs aren't usually much help on behavioural issues. I will be driving to different reserves and walking tracks as often as I can for sure. The only hold up on that is that OH takes my car to work instead of his fuel guzzling V8, which I cannot drive as I'm still a p-plater. Hopefully it will be sold soon and we can get back to normal. Until then I'm just walking her around my streets and taking her out on the weekend. I have 2 BC's and live in a unit. Most nights we walk for close to an hour. We go to training classes twice a week (some weeks there may be an additional evening). I train them a little bit each day. I have found a couple of places I'm happy to let them off lead, but we may only go there once a week. When I go to work (1 usually comes with me so the other is home alone) they are left with their food in kongs, boxes, etc and they get a chewy. Once it's routine none of this is that hard! Mine do fine if they have a night where a walk is missed, but it does mean we have to play games and do more training! Have you taught your dog to settle and to entertain himself? That was a priority of mine and I have to say my 2 are pretty good at it and that helps make life easier! I'm on my phone so can't see where you are. But can you figure out a series of road walks that will be long enough? If you walk far enough there's bound to be a few parks, etc you can walk through for a bit of variety! :laugh: Sorry this just reminded me that Tika burried her last kong and we never found it (so we assume it got burried). Tika settles fantastically in a crate and will lie in the yard and sleep, chew bones or run round playing with her toys. I think theres just so much time spent in a yard (23ish hours!) that it gets boring, naturally. She also does not bark at pointless things (or anything really) so thats one thing I dont have to worry about :) Theres one park on our route, 10mins there, 10mins through/around and 10mins home. Maybe I should just walk around the few courts on the way home to add another 10 until I can go to more interesting places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Have you considered giving her access to the house? Time inside with you is time in company and that's important for a social animal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TikaAkita Posted February 7, 2013 Author Share Posted February 7, 2013 I only walk onleash at onleash places. One dog off leash and one on leash means that one dog can't get away. Brighton is great for big, bomb proof dogs that back down from fights - not really suited to any other kind of dog! The botanical gardens before 9am o. The weekend is a beautiful, interesting walk that will stimulate her senses. There aren't too many people there early in the morning and we haven't had an issue with off leash dogs there. That reminds me, I've got to come up with a phrase to yell out to dog owners with off lead dogs who approach Tika while she's on lead. Maybe something like "Call your dog back, mines not good with other dogs'. Not very clean cut though. Any ideas anyone? Would hiding treats around the yard keep her busy for awhile? When we just had one tibbie , I hid treats in puzzle balls,kong wobbler, frozen kongs and planted them around the garden. It kept him going for some time although admittedly, he isn't a high energy breed. I once hid a bone in some palm fronds (we have a lot of palm trees!) and he ended up finding his own entertainment by shredding the fronds! Kept him going for many hours and made it much easier for us to dispose of the fronds. We did obedience training once a week and I found he would sleep all day after one hour of training. Our tibbie is reactive but I found that he settled down quickly in class as it was a controlled environment and no dogs off leash to worry him. Tika was actually doing that this morning, chewing up the palm things that are apparently called fronds? :laugh: She had a sand pit at our last house and we would re-bury all her bones several times a week. Another idea is to pop into the reactive dogs thread in the training forum for tips on keeping her entertained that don't involve off leash runs at dog parks. I'll look there, thanks I didnt think to label her as reactive or that there was a thread for it. I have a toller and a kelpie x shepherd in a unit, and it works fine. We have a yard which we split into 2 sections (half for kid, half for dogs) and the dog bit is mulch. When I was working (am a stay at home mum now) I would sprinkle cat food through the yard and go over it with a rake so they had to find it in the mulch (cat food works best cos it is tiny), they got kongs, giant frozen ice blocks with treats inside and food hidden through the unit (we have a dog door). Once I got home it was a few training sessions and walkies. They have always been quite content with it. My kelpie x I had before we moved here, he was used to coming to work with me all day then up to the horse paddock and home to a huge house and yard. After we moved he had to stay home days and within a month he was fine with it, provided he had stuff to do. You may find things settle down with time too. Also can you pop the plant up high? Theres really no where to put it, its already on the deck but there are no ledges or any other options for height. We could block off half the deck if it becomes a haibit of hers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TikaAkita Posted February 7, 2013 Author Share Posted February 7, 2013 Have you considered giving her access to the house? Time inside with you is time in company and that's important for a social animal. She has somewhat limited access to the house. I'll let her in on and off for a few hours during the day. I like having her near me. Even if I do have to vaccuum 10x as much. OH is more funny about it. He comes from a family where dogs are outside pets. My family had dogs sleep on our beds. So its a bit of a comprimise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Have you considered giving her access to the house? Time inside with you is time in company and that's important for a social animal. She has somewhat limited access to the house. I'll let her in on and off for a few hours during the day. I like having her near me. Even if I do have to vaccuum 10x as much. OH is more funny about it. He comes from a family where dogs are outside pets. My family had dogs sleep on our beds. So its a bit of a comprimise. Even a compromise is good. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Miss Emma Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Have you considered giving her access to the house? Time inside with you is time in company and that's important for a social animal. Agree with this. If you don't want her inside that's also ok, but to me that means you'd be committing to spending more time outside with her to give her the social interaction she needs. Mine are inside whenever I'm home, so while we may only gave about 5 hours or so if awake time together they get to spend usually 13+ hours together each day including sleep time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esky the husky Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Weightpull is exactly as thename suggests, the dog is harnessed and attached to a cart. They have to pull the cart 5 metres in under a minute, easy at first but the weight is gradually increased until there is only one left. The alaskan malamute club in your state runs events. Most clubs are really good to help you get started and can lend you gear so you can give it a go without paying for a custom made harness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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