What Do Yoooouu Do?

To drain your dog's energy? I was wondering cause I can't think of anything. I don't think tug o war is good now cause he still nips and I don't want to encourage rough play.

He doesn't like to go for walks, he'll stop in the middle of our walks and it's such a hassle. You have no idea how much I wish he was one of those dogs that pulled and actually moved... he does that on our way back to the house. He practically runs.

So what do you do? I play fetch n' stuff but he gets bored.

Give me something that doesn't require so much... like I don't want to have to teach him roll over and jump in the air and do a 360, to play a certain game... etc.

Although, I will eventually!

But something easy to do and energy draining... thanks!

Victor says BUbbles!!!!! It was the only way i keep my sanity! by jumping after every last one it helps wear him out in a way that walking with me would never do..i just couldn't walk the miles he needs to burn up his excessive energy. The flashlight at night helps as well.

Very nice picture Smkie

Thanks Richie, we go thru the big jug about once every a month.Victor thinks that 7 pm is bubble time...and will not settle down til someone takes him out for his favorite sport.

My hubby built a flirt pole for Kona to chase after. Took a piece of PVC and ran a long piece of rope through it. Tie at one end so rope can't slip through, and the on the other end tie a knot also but leave 4 or 5 feet of rope hanging off for the dog to chase. You hold the end of the pole and have the dog chase the end of the rope; you can tie a ball or something to the end of the rope for the dog to go after. This tires my dogs out and they love it. Even Max chases it. Sometimes they are quick and grab the part near the PVC instead of the piece hanging. Here's a pic:

It seems to me that it's often hard to put a puppy in the mood to play, lol. Boris would just hang out with me all day and doesn't want to play fetch with me much either (he looks at the thing I throw up then at me, like, 'why did you throw that for?'), but when my husband comes back he's all excited and will play fetch with him for one hour. Go figure. I guess it's mostly a problem of timing.

For the walks, don't give up. It just takes a while to sink in, bring some treats and when he stops like that tell him to come to you and give him a treat, eventually he should keep moving. Walks are just wonderful for socialization, and a good way of excercizing the dogs and us

Bubbles sound great lol. I need to try that

I'll have to try the bubbles too. Gracie loves to go out at night to chase lightening bugs. Sometimes I turn on the sprinkler or just spray water for her to chase the water. She loves doing that. Or take her to the unfarmed field so she can jump around in the tall grass. She thinks that fun. I'm thinking about taking her to the lake to let her play.

A puzzle ball with treats in it can be a good way to wear them down, plus it works their little noggins too, figuring out how to get the goodies to come out!

Just don't do what I did. I let Bimmer see me putting the treats in. That's all it took. He just worked the plug out after that

I would try joining a puppy play class for socialization. The fact that your pup does not like going for walks indicates a little fear issue to me. Other puppies can drain a lot of energy out of your pup, they learn bite inhibitation and social skills. It's also a great way for you to meet new people and learn a lot about your pup.

Well you know what I do . But when not doing runs my dogs looooooove balloons!!! I buy a bag real cheap at the party store a few times a month completely wind myself blowing them all up and toss them in the field. The dogs go nuts!!!! Even Tundra gets in on the mess they pop them off course but when their done their all worn out laying down panting lol.

Fear? Why would he have fear? I started walking my dog somewhat before the shots were finished as a way of draining energy and he still just didn't move. I don't know but could it be the cars they pass all the time where I live...

And I don't have the money for puppy class... balloons sounds great but what if they pop?

That would scare Rocky pretty bad.

hehe, Rocky ALWAYS wants to play...

Yeah it might scare him my dogs enjoy the popping

It sounds like he's not used to the leash yet, BigDog.

Besides taking walks, the girls play nutball dogs with eachother. Colby stands at one corner of the yard, Tippy at the other. Mayberry run around the entire yard like a nutball, and whenever she passes one of the other dogs, they jump at her, barking, trying to catch her to wrestle with her. LOL

Sometimes I'll just run around in the yard, with them, too. They love playing hide-n-seek and tag.

Do you have a yard where you can train him with the leash? Boris did the same at the start, and it's perfectly normal, it's scary for them to walk on a leash at first, especially in places they don't know. So the best is to train them in places that they know - so the yard, or the dining room. Sorry to insist so much about it, but if your dog doesn't know how to walk on a leash, he might not be socialized enough in the end, because he will be likely to just be home and not meet anyone all the time, which is not good at all. One of my parent's friend has two GSDs, and they both spent all their time in their yard, and now the dog is agressive to everyone. Walking on a leash is the most basic thing they need to know to be socialized and not fearful of leaving their home.

For the puppy classes, I know it's not always easy to afford them, but petco and petsmart have reasonably priced ones ($75 at petco I think). I know it can be lots of money, but it's really well spent. I'm planning on taking my new pup to them too even though I don't need them.

It's always easier with 2 dogs...mine wear each other out just playing together. But when I just had Addie, I gave her an old blanket...which sounds silly, but she would run with it, drag it, etc. She acted like it was something big to tackle and generally had a blast. Things like that just depend on the dog I suppose. Addie would also totally tire herself out with a large real bone...she'd go at it for hours until exhausted. In the summer I would make her a big ice cube of a little orange juice and water in a dixie cup.....she would go at it for hours, too. Not exactly 'physical' play...but worked for me (course the ice was an outdoor thing..LOL) I like Barb's idea of the pipe/rope toy...I bet Rocky would have alot of fun with that! Addie has NEVER been a good leash dog, and believe me..socialization is not an issue...she loves everyone (and thinks they love her too) She always felt best running FAST and jumping thru the woods. I don't let her do that anymore, but she sure was her happiest then. Ham likes the leash, but I've found that keeping it very short works better. He isn't socialized so walking right at my leg makes him feel comfortable, and keeps him moving.

You're a bit off... A LOT of people came over and saw him... a lot. He's only not well socialized with dogs because I didn't know anyone who had dogs + my dad works 24/7 so it's hard for me to get around. The only dogs he was socialized with were the ones that barked at him at a young age for trying to use the bathroom. Now, he hates dogs. And I take him on car rides a lot too... to the park, everywhere... the reason he's not used to the leash is because he never leaves my side, so I see no point in using it... but for walking I guess I'll have to train him.

And I've taken him to PetsMart a few times but I can't too much cause he hates dogs... which is one reason I wouldn't be able to enroll him in puppy classes... plus, the money.

Well by socialization I meant with dogs too. But I guess it's too late. It should have been done when he was smaller. Also, dogs are supposed to meet a LOT of people when puppies, and of all ages. Hopefully the people he has seen at your house will do, but he might need more than that, and he needs to know how to behave with people out of the house too. Car rides are nice, but I'm not sure he can really interact with people in a car.

You probably don't like what I've been saying, but dogs need more than staying at home and in the car. They need to meet people everywhere, and interact with them.

Last night, I tired Peanut out by havung her chase the water from the hose. It worked great. We played for about an hour. Let me tell you, multitasking is great. I tired Peanut out, gave her a bath, and watered the lawn at the same time.

The bubbles idea works great for me too! We found some peanut butter flavoured bubbles at a pet store once that have been lots of fun.

Playing hide-n-seek in the house is a great one. Works on your dogs stays and comes. If he can't quite stay yet you'll need someone to correct him when you're out of sight to put him back in his stay. Hide-n-seek uses lots of energy especially when the dog is really excited and runs a lot and you're a good hider.

My puppy was awful on leash for the longest time. It would be difficult to keep her moving when we were going away from home and then back towards home she would pull like crazy. I just kept taking her for walks and evenutally she got used to the sights and sounds and seems to enjoy be outside on leash now.

Another thing i do (even though its probably not the best for training her to give things back) is to give your dog something they're not normally allowed to play with and chase him to get it back. I give mine a big stick and she runs like crazy, i hardly have to move and she runs big circles around me. Do that for 15 minutes and you have one tired puppy.

Good luck!