How To Tell A Working Dog, You Are Retired?

[sporti]

I have a 9 1/2yr old GSD. Who has been tracking, herding trei balls, dock diving, IPO. Very high octaine dog. From birth, and still has same energy and drives are pretty full on.

I attempted to decrease physical exercise, increase mental stimulation. He doesnt like this plan:( I intro'd scent detection as sniffer dog, which he nailed as has a good nose, and yes mental does tire dogs, but not in the same way.

He's hyped up, needs to run it off!

He packs his own bag for training. Drags his blanket and leash to the car, at 6.30pm every wednesday and friday (training days). Has my gum boots outside my bedroom door at 5.30am daily for me.

On the one hand, i think, he'll have to run into the ground. On the other, when i hear him yelp with pain on some moves, i feel guilty for allowing him to keep training.

How? how do you slow a dog down, and keep his needs, that i have instilled & drilled into him over a decade now, met?

[Scottsmum]

I'm sure others will have better ideas than me but I think continuing with the treiball and scent work is a great idea.

Can you introduce some low impact conditioning work too? Really low level stuff always tires my (much smaller) dog out. I'm talking balance work on a donut, sit/stand/drop combos, walking on a (low) balance beam just really low level conditioning 101?

We also had to take some tough love & have all but stopped playing fetch with a tennis ball after a particularly roudy game saw us in the vets on a sunday seeing the locum

[J...]

I think making sure our older dogs are still part of the action is really important - we owe it to them.

My 10 y.o still does everything that my youngsters do. She still does the same strength and balance work - not only to keep her involved but also to help keep her strong and well balanced into her older years. She still does the same fitness work - beach runs, hill work, water retrieving etc. She even gets to play agility occasionally, no bars - just wings and tunnels, or be my demo dog at training when I need a dog to demonstrate something low key like a contact behaviour.

He will adjust to a lower key work regime, I'll bet you're having just as much trouble adjusting :) Dogs are creatures of habit and they would be happy just doing something with you. So yes it's a habit for your boy to go to training on Wed/Fri nights and go for a walk/run or whatever at 5.30 am every morning and that's fine - but scale it down, find alternatives, work him in less physically demanding activities and don't get sucked into working him in the physically demanding work because "that's what he wants".

The other thing I would do for him is find a decent physio/rehab vet etc and get a treatment plan for him - a good strength program to work on areas he needs help with, and whatever medications that might help him out. Darcy has a Zydax course every 6 months (4 shots spread over a month) and I think it's really helped her out.

[sporti]

I think i am being sucked in. The amount of guilt i feel leaving him out, is a big clue to him sucking me into thinking, he must keep going.

I have a wellness plan: meds/supplements for joints, that he/i like more in summer, when i can swim him daily, and know he's had enough exercise. keeps him toned to keep somethings going, as suggested. ITs the winter, that i get the guilts.

more treiball he'd like, I might have to beef this aspect up in his life, to compensate for exercise.

You do have to include the olds, regardless of how many feet they have, OF COURSE, but how they are involved has to change.

[The Spotted Devil]

I think i am being sucked in. The amount of guilt i feel leaving him out, is a big clue to him sucking me into thinking, he must keep going.

I have a wellness plan: meds/supplements for joints, that he/i like more in summer, when i can swim him daily, and know he's had enough exercise. keeps him toned to keep somethings going, as suggested. ITs the winter, that i get the guilts.

more treiball he'd like, I might have to beef this aspect up in his life, to compensate for exercise.

You do have to include the olds, regardless of how many feet they have, OF COURSE, but how they are involved has to change.

Hey sporti - great that you are working through this. I do love how SG works her old dogs still - body awareness, core strength, Recaller games, teaching completely new stuff. That's how I approach training my Dally - he's 9 and still sound so I train and exercise him a lot but have really cut down the amount he trials. I reckon when I retire him from agility I'm still going to do jump grids with him - just with puppy jump bumps. Otherwise he'll equally drive me nuts even though he's nowhere near as full on as my Springers. He's just used to being trained nearly every day and loves it.

[Tassie]

Definitely agree with keeping the older ones going ... and just making appropriate modifications. When my 14 year old agility girl says she wants to join in, she gets to go search for thrown treats to keep her out of the way while I work Rory for a while, then I'll drop the jump heights for her (all 2 or 3 of them) and do a bit of handling and tunnels. The training sessions are short anyway. She still gives me her trademark High 10 after she's done a sequence.

If he's doing obedience, she's not so pushy . not her thing :laugh: .. but she does like to do a bit of rally. Even on a walk, she'll be throwing me prancy heeling with a cheeky look on her face.

Better to wear out than rust out, I reckon .. but keeping up the body awareness, conditioning, supplements etc.