Thank you for the advice. I bought a clicker and training treats today and plan to do those with her when I have free time. This is the advice I was seeking! Something I can do with her indoors when I come home and it's dark at night that will stimulate her. Thanks so much!
Abby, I think you have been given sound advice that targets the issue and, if taken, will solve your problem. You've said that you don't have time to do what's needed to solve the problem - that may be the way it is but that means that the problem will continue or get worse until you do have (or make) the time. It's up to you. We are all lucky that there are people in the world who are willing to volunteer their time and experience on a forum like this. Don't knock those people who have taken the time to try to help you.
I work full time and as an RN my hours are random. I can be home early some days and later like tomorrow will be. The only person home during the day is my brother in law and all he does is take him outside to go potty. He's pretty lonely until my niece comes home around 3 pm and then until I get home. I try to keep a strict predictable routine with him. I take him for a 30-45 minute walk just to burn off excess energy he's been holding in during the day. A little break then dinner. We will play tug and some fetch inside the house then a bully stick. Depending if he gets over excited he gets crated for a short time and then we hang out. And then bed time. Today, my wife was home so he had someone to play and hang out with most of the day. I get home and he is so excited and out of control. We played some tug and some training but he was still over stimulated. His Zoomies lasted a good five minutes. The rain stalled so I decided to take him for a walk. He did great walking and was tired, but when we get inside and he still wanted to play. I gave him a bully stick, and when he finished it he asked to go out right on time for bedtime . After that straight into the pen to sleep. It was quite peculiar that he had so much more energy today than usual. A sitter I interviewed a couple of weeks ago gave some great advice to burn off energy if we can't take him out for a walk. Take 2-3 balls, stand in the middle of a hallway or in between rooms and start playing fetch inside. You don't even have to move much except for picking up the balls. A few minutes of running around and you'll have a tired puppy. A 9 inch bully stick keeps him busy for 45 minutes. I am trying to get him kong obsessed again, but he's not too keen with frozen kongs. He would get at the most accessible parts first then wait for it to melt before he goes at it again. Kongs just don't last as long as I would like it to be. The sitter and I also talked about dogcare woes. She said that it was "my dog" and I really cannot count on anyone else to care for him. He is my responsibility and I have to take care of him. It's like a slap in the face, but it is so true. It will be a long while before my puppy will calm down and be "chill." I agree with what everyone in this forum is telling you. You just have to find your "own" way of satisfying what your puppy needs relative to your current living situation. Set a routine you and your puppy can follow. Find ways to keep him entertained and burn off energy. Use a crate when you need to. Get a sitter or walker to help. BTW, I also restarted clicker training. I am reading a book and I am trying to use it so he works for his "clicks." We will have short actual training sessions. But if we are together, the clicker is in my pocket or on my wrist and he will get a click for any desirable behavior I see. So training all the time whether he knows it or not.
Personally I feel like it's a comparison of apples to oranges - to expand on that, if one were to take a toddler or child to a dog park and then complain the dogs and puppies were frightening or upsetting the toddler/child is much the same as those insisting everyone should tolerate or be comfortable with dogs in a service/place which is specifically for humans (cafes/pubs/restaurants).
I haven't watched the show so I had to Google it. Having done so I can see that this seems like an apt comparison, hehe.
Ah, but if it has a policy of allowing dogs, then it's not specifically just for humans... I'm in the "as long as everyone's being well behaved, I don't care what species they are" camp. An annoying dog is no more and no less annoying to me than an annoying child. A puppy irritating people should be removed until it can settle down in public. Same for a child irritating other patrons. Both need to have their boredom thresholds raised incrementally and it's unfair to ask them to start off their "training" with settling for a long duration. I don't take my older dogs to busy places because they don't enjoy it. I did when they were puppies for experience, and have done with my younger puppy, but the second she becomes a nuisance I can't distract with games or training, we leave. I wish parents would do the same with their kids. Talking about training and kids, did anyone else see the video of Nando Brown clicker training his baby son?
Some may allow dogs, but as animals don't have credit cards or carry cash, they're still specifically for humans Dog parks too allow children, toddlers, adults, geriatrics, etc. inside, but they're specifically built for dogs...so I feel your point is moot.
Dogs still don't carry credit cards or cash to their day care, either, which also need paying for. Are you suggesting, then, that those places are specifically for humans, too?
no but my friend did her baby now daughter and still now shes 6 use some dog training principles. They work
Hi Abby6, I'm going to give you completely different advice and I hope you will try this. Face your fear of living in a dangerous neighborhood with your dogs together. I live in a neighborhood that is seemly safe but there is crime, and my walks spread out into bad parts and paranoia used to rob me of my freedom to go anywhere and do anything when and wherever I chose. After a while I realized that most people in the dark were more afraid of me than I of them. I read a book about dog language and a fear driven lady taught her dog to bark, and instead of the cue, "speak" she said "protect" to stop the barking she said "keep watch". This scared the hell out of anyone walking in her direction. This worked well for her. When a stranger walked in my direction at night my dog usually barks and scares them. They can't see that she's a goofy lab, but that she is just big and dark. In the beginning when she barked, I always said quietly to her calm down, calm down, he's not going to do anything bad. This often alarmed the approaching passer by and gave them something to think about. In the beginning, I stuck to the sidewalk, and I carried a pepper spray. As winter came I started to dress up in a big coats not so no one could guess that I'm easy prey, but to be practical. I have two. One is worn by the police force which I bought in Dover on sale for my Channel Swimming crew to stay dry and warm, while I froze my ass off in a speedo in 17 degrees. hahaha-and the other is my Australian sheep herder Duster, which I wear on rainy days with a large brimmed hat that casts a shadow on my face, with the boots, maybe I look scary and cool at the same time. Dog people who know me, make fun of me. This is my second point. You will meet other dog walkers out at this time, and you can walk together. I walk now with confidence in forests at 11 PM and I know that my girl will protect me. With the dog, everyone leaves me alone. I now walk where I want to, and even drunk vandals have run away when they saw us coming. Get a big coat, tuck your hair up into a hoodie and practice walking with confidence and before you know your real confidence will grow and keep you safe. I believe that if you put your dog first you will be protected. I don't know why I write this, but trust in life, let go and be brave for your dog's sake, because what you are doing is not really rescuing her. I hope you understand everyone's just upset because it's unfair for the dog, and it is a culture clash. Good luck and I am sending you good vibes.
@Dawn_Treader you are spot on about meeting other dog walkers. I walk my dog off leash on a mountain path every day. At first I was terrified - we have serious violent crime where I live. But then I started to meet other dog walkers. And more came - I guess they heard others were around. My husband one time asked me please don't walk there, it's dangerous. But with all the walkers and many more dogs, I think we're pretty safe.
@Dawn_Treader I also live in a relatively sketchy neighbourhood (friends used to say "is it safe to park on the street?" when they came to visit ) but I don't let that stop me from walking Xena at night. I take a torch, I pop on a beanie, I quite often have my wellies on, and I make sure that I walk confidently. You've got to be sensible, but you also can't live in fear.
I don't think any if this is about culture clashes, it's about personal preference as to how you treat your dog. I know of people in the UK that often leave their dog for in excess of 9 hours per day, and others who are able to be home all day. It comes down to you as a person as to what you do and how you do it. Some dogs are OK to be left long hours (in terms of not destroying things through boredom). But, dogs are sociable animals and not having the love and care they need, often end up being given up due to no fault of their own. Personally, I will not leave my dog for more than 4 hours. I employ a dog walker several times a week, take extended lunch breaks so I can walk her myself some days (can't afford dog walkers every day), but this means I work later. My husband works long days, but when any of us are home we focus on her until she settles for the night around 9.30pm. After this we catch up on work / coursework (I'm doing a degree). It is possible to work/study etc with a dog, but it takes planning and commitment. If someone isn't prepared to change then the behaviour of the dog will not improve. A dog is a huge commitment and needs to be planned and can't be expected to occupy itself when it's not receiving proper stimulation and human company.
