Do you ever worry that your dog must be bored to screaming? I take Lady for her morning walk then give her breakfast and a dental stick then pretty much get on with my day. I work from home so I'm around most of the time. Lady lies stares at me a lot which is a bit disconcerting. Then she flops somewhere often giving out a sigh of such depth that I think she must be bored. She changes position between house and garden if it's fine, and comes out and flops next to me if I do a bit of gardening. If I am in the garden I play with her a bit then she flops again when she's had enough. Evening walk is short if it's hot and longer if it's cool. Then she has supper and pretty much flops until bedtime. Seems pretty boring to me, but I'm not a dog. Do you think they are content with that lifestyle? (The exception to this is in the winter when she works picking up and obviously really enjoys that.)
Re: Is my dog content? Sounds like our house and I do worry about it. With the exception of dogs that work every day I think that's pretty standard though and better than some dogs. Its also one of the reasons I'm thinking of getting another dog......
Re: Is my dog content? Its an interesting point. I wonder if boredom is purely a human thing. We seem to fill our lives with things to do whereas animals seem much better adapted to inactivity. Holly seems comfortable with a routine that includes inactivity at certain times, specifically her afternoon nap and evening snuggle. I think she's more worried by changes to her routine than inactivity.
Re: Is my dog content? I think about this often, especially in relation to my previous dog, Nicolae. He always seemed happy to accommodate to us - just lying quietly if we were occupied and never demanding anything. Obi, current dog, seems to need a lot more stimulation, and is restless if he doesn't get enough. We put a lot more effort into entertaining him. But maybe our other dog needed just as much and was simply too polite to ask. Maybe he was bored witless when we thought he was just relaxed. I don't worry so much about it with Obi as he is very capable of making his need for attention felt. It's the non-squeaky wheels that we're talking about here.
Re: Is my dog content? Interesting....I think the same and I know the sigh you are talking about David....I make myself feel better by saying if he was bored and needed to do something he would fuss...Dexter will go,and get a toy and drop it quite literally on your foot ,ouch or he will go and stand by the back door to let you know he wants to do a garden check.... I think if they are well excercised body and mind and well fed ,generally they are happy to,relax but you know what I always say....I only have knowledge of the one dog to base my observations on x
Re: Is my dog content? It is an interesting point. I've never really thought about it before. Not long after we got megs, hubs took early retirement and we moved onto our narrowboat and she got so much stimulation there. She used to watch for boats going past and bark at them and once they said hallo to her she'd shut up. She had other dogs there as well to play with, they all got on well together. Basically for 12 years of her life she was there. Hubs died in 2007 but I stayed on the boat. When mum died and dad needed caring for I sold the boat and moved in with dad to look after him. Now she spends most of the day asleep, we go for our walks and in between she just sleeps. She seems contented, but now I don't know. It's such a change in lifestyle for her. Although because of her age, maybe that's why she does sleep a lot. She does do her happy thing where she rolls on her back on the floor and wiggles about, she's always done that. So maybe she is contented. Really don't know now. :-\
Re: Is my dog content? Don't worry, Jen!! It's a really interesting issue, but no-one should feel sudden angst about it I'm sure that all forum dogs actually do pretty well compared to most And old dogs do sleep an awful lot....
Re: Is my dog content? Hi Rachel, thanks for that. You're quite right, meg does do pretty well. Think it's me, I worry about her too much And yes because of her age she will sleep a lot.
Re: Is my dog content? I worry about that until I heard a gundog chappy say his dogs lie contentedly in the kennel all day; in cold weather just her nose pokes out. I asked if they came in the house in the evening, he said occasionally! Doesn't seem much of a life to me, three months of working and nine months of doing nothing. So I now think my dogs are fortunate to lie around the house, potter in the garden, see my friends, have a couple of walks a day, do some retrieving, a bit of training if I can remember Forgot to mention they get a training class once a week each.
Re: Is my dog content? So pleased that you raised this David, as its something I also worry about too . Sam is a split personality, at home he is so laid back that he is almost horizontal , snoozes a lot of the day away, but get him out and its like a switch has been flicked on , a totally different dog , alert and eager . I often think that I am letting him down, not allowing him to reach full potential but all in all, he seems hapy enough . These working bred dogs do need stimulation and I believe that if we give them this , thats fine, but I do understand where you are coming from
Re: Is my dog content? I often think this too but I wonder if it's because I also work from home so get to see her more during the day. Folks who have to go out for work worry about their dogs being on their own and separation anxiety etc. Working from home you have the worry of being present but not being able to give your dog they attention they look to you for, it's actually much tougher than I thought it be. I wouldn't have it any other way as I get to spend time with her but I do sometimes feel guilty when she looks at me and clearly wants to play but I have to ignore her to focus on a boring work laptop. I think overall she's content but i'm sure she'd always prefer more play time, chance to see other dogs or visits to other people - as those things are what make her the happiest and who doesn't want what makes them the happiest.
Re: Is my dog content? I agree Stacia, kennelled dogs don't get a lot of human time.....they're often kennelled in pairs though I think? I'd find their lives awfully dull though and reckon Riley does pretty well in comparison
Re: Is my dog content? Thank u for raising this topic David all that u mentioned in ur post is the exact version of hw Cooper has been behaving nd i was worried especially the sigh and the flop!!! may be i should do something to simulate him but wid his hip condition and from the place wer i come from i don possibly think tat i cant do much abt it i jus hope he is content...
Re: Is my dog content? Ah yes something I ponder too...cuillin is in the Obi camp and makes her boredom very plain sometimes. However they get a stack of exercise and mental stimulation and pub trips, and visits from/to friends, and brodick seems very contented as far as I can tell... Cuillin needs to 'work' a lot more than brods so I do make more time to engage her in worky stuff, but she still looks bored sometimes. But when she saw a behaviourist when she was having her dog anxiety issues he said she had a great life and not to worry, and that she just needed to find her Off button...but I still do worry sometimes
Re: Is my dog content? [quote author=Stacia link=topic=7262.msg100242#msg100242 date=1407489395] I worry about that until I heard a gundog chappy say his dogs lie contentedly in the kennel all day; in cold weather just her nose pokes out. I asked if they came in the house in the evening, he said occasionally! Doesn't seem much of a life to me, three months of working and nine months of doing nothing. So I now think my dogs are fortunate to lie around the house, potter in the garden, see my friends, have a couple of walks a day, do some retrieving, a bit of training if I can remember Forgot to mention they get a training class once a week each. [/quote] All the working dogs I know work hard for a much bigger chunk of the year than most people seem to think. Rounding up the birds and pushing them back towards the pens, or dogging in as it is called, has started on a daily basis here, usually twice a day, followed by a swim. In between there is constant training and polishing learnt skills. The dogs are grateful for every little nap time they can grab. The other day I stopped to chat to the game keeper of the shoot I work on and his spaniels were nodding off sitting on the quad bike while Caddie was asleep at my feet. Being a working dog is a pretty full on life.
Re: Is my dog content? Been snowed under all day so just catching up on this. Seems I'm not alone. Good point, Heidrun. Will pin my farmer friend in a corner and demand more work for Lady. The birds have just arrived. ;D
Re: Is my dog content? hmmm...well. I think Charlie has a better social life than I do. All week gundog training, being ferried about, down to the river if he's hot, me fussing over his ice packs for his car crate fan so he gets a cool rest (while I sweat in the sun), flat on his back on the sofa while I do our homework.... Rest day tomorrow, then a play/training date on Sunday, another swim date on Monday, down to Cornwall for more gundogging on Tuesday. Bloomin' heck - I'd swap places with him I reckon!
Re: Is my dog content? Lots of exercise, training and obedience here with plenty of cuddles and snooze time . I have my own theory that the more you do with a dog the more it requires. I don't feel bad as Hattie & Charlie are well looked after and loved which many dogs are not :'( xxx
Re: Is my dog content? [quote author=JulieT link=topic=7262.msg100338#msg100338 date=1407529685] Bloomin' heck - I'd swap places with him I reckon! [/quote] You may have to join a queue.
