i live with a 2 year old male husky dog who seems to have unlimited energy and giant sized stamina. Regardless of how much i play him or take him out for physical activity, he never tires out. In fact i will get tired faster than he will.
And as a result he is often restless and very playful.
When i go to work he is left alone at home all day with sufficient food and water. How to keep him entertained and busy when he's alone for several hours a day?
How to keep an energetic dog entertained and busy when not home?
Wow--that's a tough one. Here's the deal: good sled dogs run up to 100 miles a day...in the snow...pulling a sled. That's the kind of breed you have. So unlike most who complain about this issue, your problem really is about the breed rather than an owner that expects a dog to just lay there all day and play fetch for 10 minutes.
The short answer is that there is nothing you can do that is going to solve the problem if your dog is crated for 8-9 hours during the day. Putting the dog outside will work for about 1 hour and then he'll start trying to dig under the fence or begin obsessing about birds or passing sounds (which will turn him into a barking maniac--not good). Turning on the TV will quickly become a nonfactor--it will become background noise. Putting dog entertainment CD's or DVD's on is a joke. A good bone or rawhide....well, if your dog is like I suspect he is, he probably finishes off a good rawhide in 30 minutes or less.
You've got a couple of options, none of them easy and none of them free. They all start with you being willing to give your sled dog a good workout in the morning and evening. Instead of reading the paper when you get up in the, put on some headphones, listen to the radio and take a 20-30 minute run with your husky. And plan on taking a 30 minute walk every evening. If you want variety, than get some roller blades. Also try throwing a ball for 10 minutes in the evening as well.
Also, these are smart dogs so you don't just want to push them physically (by going running or a long walk) but also do tricks with them--challenge him mentally.
1. Hire a dog walker. Have someone come to your house mid-day to walk your husky every weekday. It will cost you something like $10-25 a day. But for a 30 minute walk, it will get your dog out of his crate and take the edge off him when you get home.
2. Put him in doggie daycare. Not some place where he's crated all day with 1-2 short bathroom breaks. But one that has space where he's let out to play with other dogs for an hour or so each day. Or look for someone else who has a dog of similar size that your husky plays with well. Offer a trade: if the neighbor will let you keep your husky at their house during the day (so the two dogs can interact and he can be out of his crate most of the day) and maybe 1 outdoor potty break, you'll walk both dogs together for 30-45 minutes after work each day and then take them both to the park to run around on the weekend.
3. Sign him up for a couple of classes. If you can't do the dog walker or doggie daycare, then you need to enroll in 2-3 classes or performance activities during the week. These become things for your dog to look forward to. They get "this is thursday, it's my flyball class" or "this is saturday, time for weight pull." It will improve your bond with your dog, provide physical and mental stimulation for him but also gives him something to look forward to. Once you get into a routine, it makes it easier for him to handle the long day in his crate.
4. Join dog performance activities (agility, weight pull) that you do on weekends. This probably goes in tandem with the idea of classes (because you can't compete effectively without taking a class).
5. Push the dog harder. Get a dog backpack and load it down with water bottles so the dog is carrying more weight. Get some instruction first but then buy a harness and have your dog pull weights on your own. If it snows in your neck of the woods, have him pull you on a sled. The idea is--make the dog work harder. For indoors, there are dog treadmills. They're expensive and not all dogs love them. And you can't just put a dog on and forget him--it requires surveillance. None of these activities work unless you're willing to get up early and push the dog hard in the morning before you head to work.
Reply:How to do play with him? If you only tire your dog out with physical activity, you're merely building up his stamina, so that it takes more and more before he tires. You also risk that the dog gets hyper and stressed, which from what you've written, seems to be happening already.
My preferred breed is high-active as well. It is near impossible to tire these dogs out physically, so the solution is brain-work. Stop feeding him by putting food in his bowl, instead have him search or work for his food. Learn how to lay down a scent trail and teach your dog how to follow it. Obedience training and hide and seek are also excellent. If you don't already have one, you might want to look into getting a Kong to stuff with food and godies.
Good luck with him.
EDIT: If you activate him sufficiently before you leave, there is no need to keep him entertained and busy while he is alone. Too much activity while alone can make a dog get into mischief. Ideally, and what most dogs do, is for him to spend the time sleeping.
Reply:raw hide bones should keep him busy for a little bit of the day... maybe sticking a milk bone inside a toy that will take him some time to get out with some hard work and lots of slobber
Reply:leave the TV on for him/her. its calms them and makes them feel like some one home
Reply:He should be in an escape-proof run with a sleeping box at the end. The box should be raised so that there is a dead-air space between its floor and the ground. The run need be only a metre to 4 feet wide but should be at least 12 feet/4 metres long, preferably longer. It will need to be roofed for both escape prevention and protection from sun %26amp; rain. If you live in a snow-fall area the roof will need to be sloped enough to ensure that snow slides off on the downhill side, otherwise it can be almost flat.
In such a run he can bounce from end to end, he can see %26amp; hear %26amp; smell birds, cats, pedestrians. A dog inside a house has very little to occupy its mind, let alone its muscles, and it CAN leap through a glass window if a stray dog intrudes. Except for leaping out a window, being crated is even worse.
A "gnaw bone" (preferably such as an oxtail or knobbly spine or sheep/deer ribs; or a beef-bone that has had nearly all the marrow removed so it won't give him diarrhoea) will both entice him to eagerly go into the run in the morning, and give him something to do when the neighbourhood is quiet.
Les P, owner of GSD_Friendly: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GSD_F...
"In GSDs" as of 1967
Reply:Sounds like a typical husky.
Pick up a variety of toys like Buster Cubes, Kongs and other "dog puzzles" to keep him busy. These are basically toys that you can put treats into and make the dog "work" to get them out.
However, at the end of the day, no toy is going to keep your dog entertained for hours if he's still got all that energy bottled up inside of him. It's absolutely necessary to give your dog the necessary outlets for both his physical and mental energy.
Stimulating your dog also isn't just about physical exercise...mental stimulation is also essential. Enroll him in some classes like obedience (advanced if he's already gotten basic obedience), trick classes, weight pulling or any dog sport that you particularly fancy. Exercise his brain as well as his body.
Lastly, and I know this is obvious - walk, walk, walk. At 2 years old he has practically limitless energy. Four one-hour walks a day and agility classes are what took my friend's 3 year old Sibe girl to become knackered out at home. It's an incredible amount of time and energy, but that's how the breed is...learn it and love it, I guess.
Reply:get another dog with his stamina or you get a cat...
Reply:if you can afford it, try taking him to a doggie daycare
Reply:give my dogs DentaBones and Kong toys. You should buy your dog DentaBones or DentaStix. They require all the extra vitamins and minerals for your dogs teeth to grow healthy and strong and the Bones and Stix also protect your dog teeth from plaque and tartar build up PLUS smelly breath. They cost around $ 3-7 for a 4 bone packet depending the size of the Bone or Stix.
Also Kong Toys are the way to go. You may know about them but if you don't they are like a toy but a toothbrush at the same time. They usually come with an attached doggy toothpaste which you insert inside the toy and when they chew on the toy it cleans their teeth while they have fun chewing and trying to root out the paste at the same time, It keeps them mentally stimulated that way also. The Kong Dental Toy is a specially designed rubber Doggy Toothbrush ( as i told you) so because its special rubber for dogs it massages the gums and feels great. The paste comes in all different Flavours like Peanut Butter, Spearmint, Peppermint, Meaty Treat and much more. All the flavours are all guaranteed to smell great inside your dogs mouth. Hope this helps you! The kong toys last for up to a year or two like any other toy. They spend al least 1-4 hours just trying to get the yummy stuff out. ( Thats only for the REALLY determined dogs.) My dog spends ages on them and has little rests in between.
P.S i don't know how much the DentaBones cost.
This following website will give you los of info if yor interested in Kong Toys!! http://www.kongcompany.com/
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