my dog needs amusement. help, pls?

threenorns · 01-19-2012

on youtube, search "dandy tricks".

in addition to those, he picks stuff up and puts it in a box; climbs trees and playground equipment; jumps up on things on command (this summer i hope to get a picture of him posing atop a fire hydrant - the ultimate irony1) and a tank (the real army kind - they love him when they visit town every year). he opens the door at the bank and the post office (hits the access button).

the only local agility trainer won't take him on - she prefers the little yappers (he's a 70lb border mix) and requires that i run alongside him which i simply cannot do (arthritis and sciatica). i'd rather just walk him around, show him the stuff, then tell him what i want - but it's her equipment, her rules, so outta luck there.

he won't play tug, either, which sucks - he'll play as long as i'm down on the ground but the moment i get up, he drops his end and sits.

any ideas? what about those intelligence toys? i looked into them - he'd probably just run through them like a bandsaw (he's eaten and digested rocks and a tree stump).

piratekitty · 01-19-2012

I would just keep teaching new things or working on the ones you already have. Just working your dog on tricks or training works their mind, and sounds like your dog enjoys it. Heres a few things, weave thru your legs when you walk, reverse,, a good heal off leash with head up. You could always take a advanced training class.

Lunareclipse · 01-20-2012

Want Buster for a few days? He's amusing.

threenorns · 01-20-2012

oh lordy - i'm having a hard time keeping the one dog amused, i couldn't imagine keeping two of them occupied! they'd probably gang up on me - one keeps me distracted while the other portions out the roast (and rewires the lightswitch so it'll zap me while they sit back and laugh)

thing with dandy is that it takes me 20min to teach him a new trick, then 2wks to cement it - once he's learned it, he's almost instantly bored with it. i have to get him past that "moving on!" phase. it's why treat based training or clicker-based training or any kind of stimulus-based training is a disaster - he hyperfixates on the trigger and as soon as he twigs he's not going to get one any more (the phase-out part of the training) he goes on strike. explaining it to him, telling him "unh-unh!" when he's getting it wrong and "yes!" when he's getting closer then praisepraisepraisepraise when he does it right is all he needs.

i need to get him a set of opposable thumbs, is what i need to do.

Lunareclipse · 01-20-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by threenorns

oh lordy - i'm having a hard time keeping the one dog amused, i couldn't imagine keeping two of them occupied! they'd probably gang up on me - one keeps me distracted while the other portions out the roast (and rewires the lightswitch so it'll zap me while they sit back and laugh)

thing with dandy is that it takes me 20min to teach him a new trick, then 2wks to cement it - once he's learned it, he's almost instantly bored with it. i have to get him past that "moving on!" phase. it's why treat based training or clicker-based training or any kind of stimulus-based training is a disaster - he hyperfixates on the trigger and as soon as he twigs he's not going to get one any more (the phase-out part of the training) he goes on strike. explaining it to him, telling him "unh-unh!" when he's getting it wrong and "yes!" when he's getting closer then praisepraisepraisepraise when he does it right is all he needs.

i need to get him a set of opposable thumbs, is what i need to do.

Buster would be great at keeping your dog amused.

lange · 01-20-2012

Sounds like you have a real working dog that thrives on working. My condolences...
I don't know where you're at in the world but some places have herding for dogs. Maybe you can find one that will take on your dog for you on practices, or runs, or whatever they're called.

Lunareclipse · 01-20-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by lange

Sounds like you have a real working dog that thrives on working. My condolences...
I don't know where you're at in the world but some places have herding for dogs. Maybe you can find one that will take on your dog for you on practices, or runs, or whatever they're called.

True that. We have an aussie mutt and drives us batshit because we can't keep him amused 24/7. He's tore up 2 crates and chewed the whole back off of our couch and other such things. I tied him to Buster once and that kept him out of trouble for one whole day, but I couldn't keep him like that. He was driving Buster insane.

lange · 01-20-2012

LOL Buster has to pay it forward for all he's made you go through!

Well your guy is more high maintenance in every area. You need to get him a job in Hollywood. He loves the camera & the camera loves him, it just might work! Wouldn't it be nice if our dogs could make a living for us instead of them just mooching off our gullible, loving butts.

threenorns · 01-20-2012

i think i got it! it's called "trick dog" certification - he already qualifies for novice trick dog certification and is 2 away from intermediate and 1 away from expert.

there's a *whole boatload* of tricks i can teach him - over a hundred.

today, it was pee on command. that was one i did when he was a puppy and kind of fell away from as he got older. he remembered very quickly and for the first time EVER he ran dry! 2hr walk and by the time we were done, i'd tell him "go pee" and he'd just kind of flap his back leg at the tree or pole or whatever then give me a sheepish look and head off.

also bought him pawz rubber booties - watching him walk around the shop the first time we put them on him, my stomach is gonna hurt for days! ever see a cat trying to walk with vaseline on its paws? like that. he's over it now - thank goodness i don't have to worry about vet bills for frostbitten pads!

Lunareclipse · 01-20-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by lange

LOL Buster has to pay it forward for all he's made you go through!

Well your guy is more high maintenance in every area. You need to get him a job in Hollywood. He loves the camera & the camera loves him, it just might work! Wouldn't it be nice if our dogs could make a living for us instead of them just mooching off our gullible, loving butts.

I still need to post pics of Buster standing in the corner. That is a trick I taught him and he has to go stand in the corner when he's being to rough in the house.

threenorns · 01-22-2012

LOL - and he's probably standing in the corner thinking "yeah - i was right: 2 degrees off the vertical. need to do something about that."

Lunareclipse · 01-22-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by threenorns

LOL - and he's probably standing in the corner thinking "yeah - i was right: 2 degrees off the vertical. need to do something about that."

no. Buster is an equivalent to a blond. He's probably thinking. You look familiar. Didn't I see you yesterday?

threenorns · 01-22-2012

ooooh, okay - you didn't mention the corner was mirrored!

Lunareclipse · 01-22-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by threenorns

ooooh, okay - you didn't mention the corner was mirrored!

The idiot barks at his reflection in the window.

threenorns · 01-22-2012

oooh, i dunno - maybe he feels it's the only way he can get an intelligent conversation going? LOL

i remember the first time dandy saw his own reflection in mirror - i thought i was gonna herniate from laughing! but the wierd thing is, once he established what he was looking at - he looked behind the mirror!

CorkyMax · 01-27-2012

You said he has eaten and digested rocks and a tree stump! I don't think he has digested them--The rocks are still in his stomach or worse! That can be very dangerous--I have read about this a few times before and it wasn't good!!!
As for a game--I posted a couple of days ago about a game--treibball, that should be good for a dog who wants to herd especially. Here is the link to the thread: Treibball---Fun Game to teach your dog

threenorns · 02-02-2012

trust me: the rocks are not in his stomach any more. that's how i knew he'd eaten them.

DobermanGuy · 02-10-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by threenorns

oh lordy - i'm having a hard time keeping the one dog amused, i couldn't imagine keeping two of them occupied! they'd probably gang up on me - one keeps me distracted while the other portions out the roast (and rewires the lightswitch so it'll zap me while they sit back and laugh)

.

You would be surprised at how well a couple of dogs can entertain each other.