just had a 6 year old datsun given to my little girl. great dog, peaceful, house trained. only problem we see is he wants to fetch all the time. cannot make him tired. any ideas on how to break this.
just had a 6 year old datsun given to my little girl. great dog, peaceful, house trained. only problem we see is he wants to fetch all the time. cannot make him tired. any ideas on how to break this.
I assume you mean Dachshund?
If fetch in the house is the only exercise the guy is getting, he will need a couple of good peppy walks to help burn some of that energy; these are small be quite athletic energetic dogs. Also make sure you are stimulating him mentally too; these are bright little dogs as well...teach him different tricks, and obedience skills each day; this will help him settle down too, because mental stimulation is just as tiring as physical; but both are necessary.
Also, when you are done playing with toys, put them up; if it's not there, he can't focus on it, and will eventually chill out and relax. You can always use a crate to help him recognize 'down time' too. Just put him in his kennel when you want him to wind down for a while, and let him be. Give him a raw bone, or stuffed Kong to occupy his time in there for a while, he will get tired of those, and eventually curl up and sleep. Just don't let him out of the kennel until he is quiet, and relatively settled in. If he is sleeping, LET HIM SLEEP...that's what you want!
Last edited by Love's_Sophie; 05-11-2008 at 10:46 PM.
get a stick and some twine...take one irresistable toy/chew. tie the toy/chew to the twine and the twine to a stick. find comfy chair and good book. read at leisure whilst swinging toy in circle around you. good arm stretching, tired little dog. can be done at anytime....it's called a flirtpole. i've only heard of it's use in reference to pit bulls but I think any active dog would enjoy it....my dog goes bonkers for it...
CP- That's cute, but good lord... if I had that... My dogs would drive me bonkers, running up and down the hall all the time. lol.
(Datsun- I had a mental image of playing fetch with a car)
My Golden is so incredibly fixated on any type of ball that if he sees a kid playing basketball on the other side of the street, he'll go get it. My boys hava tons of chews, tugs, kongs, plushes, squeakies and nylabones but only one ball. He gets to play in the backyard or when we are at the beach, but he gets fetch with no other toy... When he comes in, the ball gets taken away and he goes and finds another toy. It's worked out for us, he doesn't drive us insane or ram his head into a wall, chasing a tennis ball.
(On a side note, Ubi and Steel just ate... I am getting ready to go to work and Ubi just smeared dog gook-- kibble and saliva-- all over my arm. You know you are a dog lover when you look at it and find you are not even grossed out.)
just had a 6 year old datsun given to my little girl. great dog, peaceful, house trained. only problem we see is he wants to fetch all the time. cannot make him tired. any ideas on how to break this.
Have you tried taking him out for a walk? And I don't mean a short stroll...I mean a good 45 minutes, minimum.
thanks to all that responded with great advice. not to be the devils advocate, but a walk is out of the question considering that after 35 min of fetch in yard throwing the ball as hard as i can and letting him run for it did not even get him tired, he still wanted to fetch more when we were just standing in yard and when we came in house.
They are not saying JUST a walk. A walk would be in addition to playtime. A dog needs both. As for the value of a walk, a walk isn't just exercise, it often provides mental stimulation too. A dog needs to get out of the house sometimes and smell new smells and see new things.
It's kind of like with a human kid. They can run around the house all day and they will remain wired, but take them to Chuck E. Cheese for an hour and they are sleeping on the car ride home. It's the novelty of a new place that contributes to taking the edge off.
They are not saying JUST a walk. A walk would be in addition to playtime. A dog needs both. As for the value of a walk, a walk isn't just exercise, it often provides mental stimulation too. A dog needs to get out of the house sometimes and smell new smells and see new things.
It's kind of like with a human kid. They can run around the house all day and they will remain wired, but take them to Chuck E. Cheese for an hour and they are sleeping on the car ride home. It's the novelty of a new place that contributes to taking the edge off.
Exactly!!!
Dachshunds, as I mentioned in my previous post, ARE ACTIVE little dogs...He needs MORE exercise, as well as mental stimulation.
Why would a walk be "out"??? Given his energy level, that is what he needs...more exercise than what you are giving him; some dogs just need more than others. You didn't get a "slug" of a dog...you got one who has a high need for physical stimulation. Fetch just obviously isn't doing it. Take him to a dog park, or somewhere else that you can really let him out to run and play. Get one of those ball tosser things, so that tossing the ball is easier, and can help tire him out more, because it goes further.
Max'sHuman, that was one of the best analagies I have read in a while!
To the original poster, how about the park? Not even a dog park, just a regular one. We (my 2 kids, 2 and 6, and my 5 month old puppy) load up and go to the park as much as we can. We come home with two worn out kids and a worn out puppy!
Also, puppy obedience class wears Bo out once a week, and the training gives him great mental stimulation several timea a day.
It's kind of like with a human kid. They can run around the house all day and they will remain wired, but take them to Chuck E. Cheese for an hour and they are sleeping on the car ride home. It's the novelty of a new place that contributes to taking the edge off.
That's a very good observation. In animal training it actually has a term, it's called enrichment. And a walk dedicated to sniffing is much more enriching than one dedicated to heeling.
I think it was Rbark who said besides running his dogs daily he also takes them out to do dog things. I wish more owners did that.
need advice 
It's worked out for us, he doesn't drive us insane or ram his head into a wall, chasing a tennis ball. 
Re: need advice 
