Boredom Busting For Non-food Oriented Dog?

[halfthewords]

Hey guys, my almost 11yo Min Pin, Mischa, has just been diagnosed with arthritis. She has it quite bad mid-spine and the vet has recommended crate confinement for a month, as well as no walks... You'd think that being an older lady might slow her down, but she's used to walking 5+ kms daily. She's not food oriented at all, either, so clicker training isn't going to occupy her very long, and she puts on weight easily so I don't know that giving her bones or chews is a good idea (plus she won't eat them, just stare at them). Any ideas?? She is super high energy and I just envision her developing self-mutilating habits or something!

[espinay2]

While she is not food oriented can you change the way her normal food is delivered? For example feeding her out of kong toys etc rather than a bowl.

[Guest Ams]

Tie random knots in a piece of fabric so the knots will fit through the holes in the crate but will require some effort to pull it through. Every third or fourth knot can contain a piece of kibble or small treat.

Gather up all your old socks and make a sock ball, every second or third layer put a small treat in. The dog spends the day pulling it apart, you spend the night putting it back together.

You can get those pet balls with the big holes in them. http://www.petco.com/product/9437/JW-Pet-Hol-EE-Roller-Dog-Toy.aspx and put pieces of fabric in them so the dog has to pull them out individually. You restuff as needed.

Kong wobblers are good for interactive feeding, Nina Ottosen training boards (use high value treats such as small cubes of cheese or raw chicken). Dog has to work out how to pull out the pegs to get the treats. The maze plate is another option where the dog has to learn to push the food through the groves to eat it. http://www.sacredpetboutique.com.au/xsls/index.php?product=DLC-dmaze

Tie a toy to a sturdy curtain rod with elastic. The toy just fits inside the crate and the dog has to pull it down to play. When they let go it pops back up (interactive). Destroying toilet rolls, cardboard inserts from plastic wrap etc. You can make food bon bons out of toilet rolls. Put one or two pieces of kibble in the middle and fold the ends over.

Use frozen peas and corn as the treats instead of kibble as they are "free calories" (almost).

Think of some brain training you can do with her such as pulling tissues out of a tissue box. Differentiate between right and left paw for high fives. Bark on command. Put bells under cups and get her to work out which cup has the bell. Teach her to lift each foot separately, progress into a high prance. It will slow down her walking and make a toilet break take forever. (kinda like doggy dancing stuff)

Is she able to be taken swimming?

[Guest Ams]

If you can let me know if any of these sound like they may work then I can set my brain to working out some more.

[julesluvscavs]

If you can let me know if any of these sound like they may work then I can set my brain to working out some more.

Ams I might implement some of your great ideas on Miah, thank you for sharing them. We have a Nina Ottosen training board but she does get bored of it after about 5 mins lol Shes only 10 months old tho ;-)

[Guest Ams]

If you can let me know if any of these sound like they may work then I can set my brain to working out some more.

Ams I might implement some of your great ideas on Miah, thank you for sharing them. We have a Nina Ottosen training board but she does get bored of it after about 5 mins lol Shes only 10 months old tho ;-)

Have fun. Please let me know which ones are more successful. I seem to have a lot of dogs that need crating but always up for making new games.