Dog exercise help, long

[motzie]

I have this issue with one of my dogs. I take them out twice a day with both girls in the stroller. When I see another dog coming I stop and lock the stroller and try to get them to sit for a treat. If I can distract them with the treat early enough, they ignore the other dog. My dogs are both 22# so they are manageable for me if they do react.

I try to have H take them to the off leash dog park at least once a week because that usually calms them down for a few days after. Do you have a park you could go to? We've also considered doggy daycare for the socialization and to wear them out.

I get it though. It is really stressful. I have shoulder pain from him jerking me around on the leash, and I just hate being that person with the bad dog. When he go nuts his sister will go after him and then they end up fighting each other.

[mrsjrd23]

We also have a leash reactive dog. DH does most of the walking and makes sure he gets a good walk in the AM to tire him out before work. I won't walk him with DS. We also tire him out by playing hide and seek with him where one of us hides with treats and calls him and he has to run all over the house to find us.

[cleosprite]

Our dog isn't super leash reactive, but she's VERY energetic. One thing a trainer suggested we do is tie a tug-of-war toy to a sturdy branch in our backyard. We found a rope toy thing with a ball at the end, and she LOVED it. She'd pull on it, and the branch would eventually "win" and so she could go chasing after it. There wasn't a lot of running involved, but she'd jump after it. And pull on it as hard as she could.

She did eventually destroy it and we haven't replaced it yet, but it was a great way to get some energy out for her.

[pinotgrig]

You've gotten good advice I would just add:

Step up nilif - use it for everything but water

Have you tried clicker training? It's a great way to mentally wear out your dog, and you can teach him some new commands.

Backyard games/exercise are great! Look into the frozen ice stand thing. You can freeze toys in it and it will keep him occupied for awhile. Also, get a jolly ball. They're made for horses and are durable. Our dog goes crazy for it and it's a great way to burn some energy.

We have a fear aggressive dog and have been working with a behaviorist for 5 years now. He's also on several meds. If you have any vet schools in your area they're a grea resource, as well. Our behaviorist is actually a professor at our university and runs the behavioral unit as clinicals for students.

Good luck! Your pup is lucky to have you.

[magpie]

I have a high energy dog that can be difficult to walk alone with DD. We usually go on walks together, so one of us can manage the stroller and the other can manage the dog. I imagine this would be hard with 2 dogs though...

Does he respond well to training? My dog sometimes needs mental exercise more than physical, so she'll respond really well to a few sessions of doing tricks for treats out in the back yard (or even in the living room).

How old is he? I had a three legged dog and he slowed way down around age 6 in terms of needing physical exercise. Before that, he could keep up pretty well, but he started having trouble on longer walks at that age and we had him on glucosamine for years before he eventually needed to be on pain management drugs. He needed less and less exercise as he got older, but he still enjoyed doing tricks/getting mental stimulation. He was missing a front leg, which is harder, but he lived a very good, long life though

[magpie]

Apr 24, 2015 12:45:49 GMT -5 @simpledog said:

magpie - he is four. He is on glucosamine but he is also missing his front leg. He seems fine but I know that doesn't mean much for dogs and pain.

I'm definitely going to add more tricks. He knows very few which is totally our fault. Thanks!

aww, I bet he'll love learning some new tricks!  

I know that all dogs are different, but by around age 6, my tripod stopped doing regular walks (I mean, he could walk just fine around the house/yard, but he didn't want to go on longer walks anymore).  We actually decked out a wagon for him and pulled him around the neighborhood/to the park for a while, but, honestly, he was such a happy couch potato.  He had physical signs of arthritis when he needed the pain killers (his front leg got very stiff).  He was on previcox, which also helped with the inflammation, I think.  He lived to be around 14.

[pinotgrig]

I will also add our behaviorist is surprisingly inexpensive. Much moreso than I was expecting. Our initial eval was a couple hundred bucks and his annual re-check (required as she's dispensing meds) is less than $100. His meds are also inexpensive. He has his own Walgreens w-card and we pay maybe $50 a month for 3 different meds. Most are generics of ppl medicine like Paxil.

It'd be worth looking into on a cost-basis, is my long-winded point. Our behvaiorist is a top one in her field and is at a very well-known vet school so I was pleasantly surprised at the fees. We also get one year of phone and email support as part of his annual visit fee. Lolol

[pinotgrig]

Apr 24, 2015 14:44:14 GMT -5 @simpledog said:

pinotgrig the one the regular vet recommended was $750 plus more for an extra/travel. Doable but I need to get my H on board with spending the money. I am going to call the vet school though too!

@fivedogs the regular vet said she wasn't comfortable treating anxiety. This is a new vet since we moved. Tbh my H thought she was afraid of my dog (maybe because he is a pit bull, and I called ahead to get the first appointment/give a heads up about leash reactivity). We definitely should find a new regular vet as well.

Ouch! That's pricey. :/ hopefully the vet school will yield better options!