Exercise the Mind...

Discussion dedicated to promoting the well-being of your dog through diet, exercise and general health tips.

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bendog
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Re: Exercise the Mind...

Post by bendog »

Thanks Fundog, don't know why I didn't think of that, since I have a tennis ball wrapped in a sock already to stop them chewing it up!

I got a delievery yesterday and it was in a big cardboard box stuffed with layers of paper so I'm planning to let her burrow in that tomorrow, but the towel idea is good too.

She's bright as a button and when shes got no-one to play with she'll sit and bark at my other dogs instead. I don't want her to be bored, but I also don't really know what kind of training to work on or how much as she is only 14/15 weeks old. She'll do "sit" "high 5" "down" "stay" "roll over" "leave it" . I don't want to bore her by pestering her to train too much, but she seems eager to learn so I think its ok, but I'm stuck for what else to teach, apart from lead walking.

Am very wary of getting things wrong now and having a bored barky destructive dog later on!
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minkee
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Re: Exercise the Mind...

Post by minkee »

A good one to teach is 'bed!' or mat, or whatever - teach her to go to her bed or mat on command. It's especially useful if she's bothering other animals, because then it gives those animals a chance to get away while she trots off to her bed.

There's tons and TONS of ideas for tricks on youtube. I particularly like Kikopup: http://www.youtube.com/user/kikopup?blend=1&ob=4
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minkee
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Re: Exercise the Mind...

Post by minkee »

and don't forget you can train all the more practical things, like teaching her to settle at your feet, sitting before she's allowed out the door or over the road, and all the little things that might actually be useful in day to day life, as well as the cool + fun tricks.
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bendog
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Re: Exercise the Mind...

Post by bendog »

Thanks, I guess I just wondered how much its ok to teach her at once...like should I practise the few commands she knows until they are perfect before adding more.

(side note - who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks...mine is nearly 9 and doesn't really like his feet being touched so I never taught him "paw" however not to be outdone by a puppy he'll now "high 5" as well)

(p.s. your link reminded me a bit of this dog - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9Fyey4D5hg (trained with positive reinforcement/clicker training)
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minkee
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Re: Exercise the Mind...

Post by minkee »

Well, I have a new VERY VERY messy game for pup that kept her so occupied that I think it was just about worth it!

I had a bag of hay left over, so I put it in a box and with a good handful of frozen mincemeat (it was the separated kind, rather than the big block of meat kind) - if you don't feed raw then kibble would work perfectly well. I sealed up the box so that she had to break in to it like usual, but picking out the meat from the hay kept her busy for a very long time! And at this point she was actually very neat about it, keeping all the hay in the box.

The cats also had a good sniff and chew on it once they were done, and it was only later when Scout decided she wanted to roll in it that it sent hay absolutely everywhere.

So if you can put it outside, or aren't too precious about your flooring or cleaning up, then I heartily recommend it!
Fundog
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Re: Exercise the Mind...

Post by Fundog »

Oh, lordy-- my girls would prolly eat the hay as well as the tidbits. :roll:
If an opportunity comes to you in life, say yes first, even if you don't know how to do it.
yummybagel
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Re: Exercise the Mind...

Post by yummybagel »

So, just a quick question. As I was reading through the post, it kind of occured to me that my dog usually sleeps when he has nothing to do..Is that...healthy?? Sometimes, when I'm trying to engage in some games, he looks at me like he has no idea when I want him to do, or like he's wondering if he is supposed to be interested. So if I'm not playing games with him, or if he's not interested he just sleeps. Just wondering if that much sleeping is healthy.
MPbandmom
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Re: Exercise the Mind...

Post by MPbandmom »

I have recently gotten a couple of the plastic puzzle games. Sirius is a wiz at them. They also seem kind of pricey if one's dog repeatedly masters them in one or two sessions. As a result, the inexpensive box puzzle is looking more appealing. When I wrapped treats in paper though, my dogs just ate the paper along with the treat. It didn't really seem to hurt them, but it isn't the kind of thing I would want them to eat on a regular basis. My next thought was to just ball paper up on the box and stash the treats in between. The paper ends up smelling like treats, and of course, it has to be replaced.

Then I was trying to think of something that would be inexpensive, washable, and reusable that Sirius would be interested in. Sirius likes soft and furry things. I gave some consideration to knitting little tubes and stuffing them. While I was considering this, I read under the training section where Nettle suggested loading a box with tennis balls and treats. :!: This lead me to think, that I am on the right track with my thoughts of some soft, washable, stuffies to put in the box for Sirius to take out or root through to find the treats. My thoughts went from knitting, to inexpensive, 1 dollar or less, small, stuffed dog toys, to baby socks. Baby socks would be small. They should be relatively inexpensive. I could stuff them with polyfiberfill and sew the end closed on the sewing machine. They would be machine washable. Hopefully I can find some kind of fuzzy ones. I already have polyfiberfill.
Grammy to Sky and Sirius, who came to live with me, stole my heart, and changed my life forever as I took over their care and learned how to be a dog owner.
Fundog
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Re: Exercise the Mind...

Post by Fundog »

Oooh, that's a great idea, Bandmom! :idea: :D
If an opportunity comes to you in life, say yes first, even if you don't know how to do it.
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minkee
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Re: Exercise the Mind...

Post by minkee »

Here's a link that's got a whole bunch of videos within. I haven't watched them all yet but there are certainly some good ideas and it's nice to have a 'compilation' as a resource :)

edit: cough http://pawsitivedawgs.wordpress.com/201 ... richments/ cough
doggiedad
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Re:

Post by doggiedad »

when you play hide and seek does your dog see what direction the person is going when they hide?
have you ever hidden something and send your dog to "find it". "find it" is something you can do indoors.
lablver2 wrote:Belgian and I play some mind games. He loves hide and seek. You need two or more people to do this. One person holds the leash and the other person hides. I always have the person hiding bring a toy or treat so Belgian is rewarded for finding the person. When the person says ready I let them call Belgian's name out once unsnap the leash and tell him to find it. He loves it.

I also will put a treat in my hand and make him sit. I let him take a quick whiff of my hand to smell where the treat is then he has to ges where it is. However I make him paw at it like he's giving me knuckles.

I also play soccer with Belgian and he loves it. He goes nuts for soccer balls.
WufWuf
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Re: Exercise the Mind...

Post by WufWuf »

minkee wrote:Here's a link that's got a whole bunch of videos within. I haven't watched them all yet but there are certainly some good ideas and it's nice to have a 'compilation' as a resource :)

edit: cough http://pawsitivedawgs.wordpress.com/201 ... richments/ cough
Cool link minkee thanks for posting :D
Operant conditioning rocks but classical conditioning rules
kerryvis
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Re: Exercise the Mind...

Post by kerryvis »

It is good by this way you can fresh your mind.
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minkee
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Re: Exercise the Mind...

Post by minkee »

This one looks like a really neat idea: http://leopolds-crate.blogspot.co.uk/20 ... ke-to.html

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I just don't know if we can get balls like that over here in the UK
JudyN
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Re: Exercise the Mind...

Post by JudyN »

minkee wrote:I just don't know if we can get balls like that over here in the UK
Yes, you can - I bought some like that, I think from Pets @ Home. Jasper loved them, but then decided to rip them to pieces.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
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