Max has been on foot rest for the past week, now he's become a devil of a dog!!!!! Hes stealing anything he possibly can and not returning it or worse hes destroying them!!! I know hes only having onlead walks but i really miss his off lead walks, they make him obedient and calm. im now worried that this naughty behaviour will carry on and wonder if theres a way to nip it in the bud before he becomes unbearable !
Re: Naughty 17th Month Old Boy!!!! [quote author=Tori_lizzie link=topic=10826.msg161307#msg161307 date=1430854818] they make him obedient and calm. [/quote] Something to do makes your dog more likely to be calm - although it is much easier to train a young dog that has burned off some excess energy, walks are not just about physical exercise, they are also about sniffing, and exploring and just a billion exciting things for your dog. On lead walks contain only a fraction of that interest to a dog. If your dog can walk well on a loose lead, letting him sniff round unfamiliar places (eg new parks or places you don't normally go) with new scents and smells can be very tiring for him. So you need to replace the stimulation of off lead walks with other activities for your dog. This can take the form of training, games, safe chews etc. We have started a thread with some ideas here: http://www.thelabradorforum.com/index.php?topic=10783.0 And in terms of time fillers: [quote author=JulieT link=topic=9253.msg132847#msg132847 date=1419721848] There is now a book that might help. It's called "No walks? No worries! - Maintaining wellbeing for dogs on restricted exercise". Here are some ideas that I wrote down for people before - hope some are helpful to you. [quote author=JulieT link=topic=7855.msg110148#msg110148 date=1410898390] In terms of keeping your dog occupied on restricted exercise, this is what I did: Write down everything you can do with and for your dog - eg 10 minute on lead sniffs round the garden, packing up meals in frozen kongs, clicker training, allowed safe chews, teaching tricks, massages, find kibble in boxes, tearing up paperback books, teeth cleaning training. Write everything down. Then stock up on what you need - kongs, save packaging etc. Then look at your schedule and work out how many activities you can fit into a day, and spread them out as much as possible - or grouped around the times when your dog is least likely to settle and go to sleep. Then stick to that routine. In between activities, if the dog won't settle put her in a crate or pen, if that's necessary - it certainly is for us - and they just have to learn that means quiet time. [/quote] [quote author=JulieT link=topic=4350.msg52625#msg52625 date=1391691150] In terms of time fillers, I can't claim credit for them - I think every one of these has been suggested on the forum and I've just collected the ones that work for us: 8in1 filled rawhide (small - only one a day) Anco roots Pizzles Frozen kongs Hard packaging with kibble inside An entire newspapers scrunched up in one big pass the parcel with a bit of kibble in each sheet Frozen rice hedgehogs filled with soaked kibble Kong goodie bones (I fill these with sea wraps - sticks of sweet potato wrap in fish skin) Kong wobblers Kibble hidden between the balls of a trixie cube The best quiet game is he has to lie very still (if he moves, we don't play) and catch a soft ball (we use the trixie cube balls) and give it back to me. He loves it, and will play it for ages. [/quote] [/quote]
Re: Naughty 17th Month Old Boy!!!! THANK YOU Julie theres a lot of good information there. Max is quite good on the lead so hes on a longer lead to sniff, only time he gets frustrated is when he sees other dogs He has frozen kongs once a week as we're trying to keep his weight down as hes 4/5 kgs over weight. The tricks idea is very good i just got two new books for tricks, would you recommend anything to help keep him calm for trick training. I only C&T when hes calm but he gets frustrated very quickly, i keep the sessions short around 2-3 minutes each time. Ill look into the cubr trixie ball, sounds like a game hed enjoy, slightly obsessed with balls.
