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Exhaust your high-energy dog with daily adventures

Posted on 23. Nov, 2009 by admin in Dog Activities, Dog Advice, Dog Training, Top Stories

By Ryan Henry
©2009 NoDogNo.com

Daily exercise is crucial for any dog, but some dogs just need more than others. And some high-energy breeds just never seem to get enough. If you’re finding that your dog has unyielding stamina and is always on go-go-go mode, then it’s time to review your strategy. Perhaps more adventure is what you and your dog need.

Although walking, jogging, biking or other activities have a strong benefit for your dog’s health, high-energy dogs often outlast their owners, who are already worn out from a hard day at work. What’s missing in many dog’s daily activities is mental challenges. When you combine physical activity with mental stimulation, you are spicing your dog’s life with adventure rather than an exercise routine. Adventure is important for a couple reasons. The first reason is simply that adding more and more exercise to your dog’s daily activites can condition your dog to need more exercise, just as a runner who trains for a marathon can go farther and farther every week. Simply trying to physically wear out your high-energy dog might create a super athlete that needs more exercise than you can possibly hope to provide.

But every dog–especially high-energy dogs–need exercise. That has to be part of the recipe. Adventure starts with exercise and adds mental stimulation throughout the day. Remember how tired you get writing an important paper, solving puzzles, weighing important decisions or learning a new skill. Mental activity leaves us feeling exhausted. That’s the key. Providing adventures force your high-energy dog to think, and it’s this mental stimulation that will quickly wear out your dog when combined with exercise.

Adding Adventure for your High-Energy Dog

Here’s some ideas to add more adventure to your dog’s life.

1. Become a regular at the dog park. Your dog will get exercise through play and mental stimulation by socializing with other dogs. Even when other dogs are not around, they leave scents, and your dog will be engaged in mental activity while smelling all odors every visit. Here’s where you can find a dog park in Brownsville.
2. Don’t feed your dog in a bowl. Replace your dog’s food bowl with a ball that dispenses treats as it rolls. Examples include the Omega Paw Large Tricky Treat Ball for Dogs. Throughout the day, continue to add dry dog food to the ball as needed. This trick makes your dog work for its food, solving a simple puzzle, but your dog will be more satisfied because it’s working for its food. Here’s where you can buy your treat ball.Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball
3. Take your dog everywhere you can. The more places you go, even during short trips to the bank and back, allow your dog to see and smell new things every day. Your dog will be more fulfilled and confident seeing different parts of the world everyday. While driving in a car provides no exercise for your dog, you may often find them falling asleep along the way. At stores that allow animals inside, let your dog smell the aisles as long as you are controlling your mutt. Be courteous and kind to others, and remember that people may have severe allergies to your pet. If you feel comfortable with people greeting your dog, let them. Anything out of the ordinary will not only help you socialize your dog, but it adds adventure to the daily grind.
4. Train your dog in short bursts every day. In just five minutes using clicker training or some other positive method, you can force your dog to think. Make sure the training is focused on making your dog solve the days training problem, because old compliance-based training where the trainer forces the dog to sit and sit again will not turn its brain on. In fact, compliance-based training often shuts off your dog’s creative thinking abilities during the session.
5. Consider doggie daycare. These businesses will allow your high-energy dog to socialize and exercise through play during the day while you are busy with work. Some people find their dog comes home completely drained of energy. Other dog owners find that their dog comes back without a discernibly change in energy level. The difference depends on the dog and the daycare. Some dogs need more energy, and some daycares are little more than a day kennel, which keeps the dogs locked up for most of the day. Some daycares only provide short bursts of play, perhaps for an hour or so. You’ll need to ask questions before picking a daycare to make sure that it will meet your dog’s activity needs.
6. Schedule play dates with other dogs. People you know with high-energy dogs will also need help from time to time. Set up times where your dogs can play together, perhaps playing at your home one day and your friend’s home another day. You can also meet together at a local park. If you’re busy, your friend may enjoy watching your dog if you promise to dogsit at a later date in exchange.
7. Let your dog be a dog. Let your dog rip apart its fluffy toys or gnawing on rawhide treats. Let your dog have time to smell the neighborhood or the unfamiliar trees in the park. As long as you are following laws, looking our for your dog’s safety and showing courtesy to others, you can let your guard down from time to time and let your dog just do what comes naturally. If it runs for a mud puddle during your daily walk, let it get dirty. Afterall, both you and your dog can take a bath later.
8. Focus on your dog’s instincts. Terriers want to dig. Hunters want to hunt. Herding dogs want to herd. Investigate possible activities that will fulfill your dog’s natural instincts and abilities. Your terrier might want a sand box to dig up treats you’ve hidden. A sight hound will need to run from time to time, so give it a safe fence-in area to dash around in bursts.  Just about every dog will enjoy a scent game, such as finding a hidden toy or treat with its nose. While many people think instinct-based activities such as hunting, scenting and herding are difficult to train, it’s not always so. Even if it is, you must remember that your dog is the one’s doing the learning, and the learning process will drain the dog’s considerable energy.
9. Change your routine for walks. Take a different path or leave at a different time of day. The scents and scenery will change for your dog, which means that your dog will continue to use its brain to process all that exciting information.  Even sticking to the same route will become an adventure at a different time of day. Morning dew will capture different smells than the evening air. You may cross a garbage truck in the morning and see children at play in the afternoon. Your dog will love the changes.
10. Start a dog sport. Dogs love fetch and catching frisbees. But you may also love bonding with your dog during training for agility games or other dog sports. The reward of dog sports will extend to you as well as your beloved mutt. Check out “Canine Sports & Games.”

One final tip: Be consistent. Your high-energy dog needs to have constant opportunity to drain energy and have adventure. If you let that energy pool up, your dog may be fine for a day or so. But eventually, the behavioral problems of a high-energy dog will return, and it’s not fair to your dog.