Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and the Yahoo Answers website is now in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.
Trending News
How to relieve boredom when on exercise restriction?
I have a 5 year old Belgian Shepherd Border Collie mix who I am fostering from my vet tech program at my college. He has heartworms and is on exercise restriction. I am only allowed to leash walk him and he is not allowed to do any running, jumping or playing. My instructor has given me a Kong for him to help relieve boredom and has told me I can work on his commands. However even with these items he will not settle down. He paces around the house and will not relax at all. I was wondering if anyone had any tips to help relieve his boredom that does not include any running, jumping, or playing. He is not food motivated so anything involving food will not work on him. He is also not interested in his Kong that I was given despite my efforts to make it interesting. If anyone has any ideas I would be very thankful to hear them.
Lacy thank you for your suggestions. Your right I am not allowed to give him bones or other toys. I have put food in his Kong and tried moving around for him to gain his interest with no luck. He is allowed short leash walks and he does quite well on a leash. I have been using that to my advantage but when he is inside he is just bored as can be. I have been working on his commands and am attempting to teach him some new ones as well to work his mind. I never thought about the tranquilizer although hes pretty chill on the days he gets his steroid medication. Its the days he doesn't get it that hes crazy.
He is already clicker trained(thats how I've been training him) and he does not show any interest in toys despite my efforts to make them as interesting as possible. I do wonder though if he is just still nervous and thats what all of his pacing is about. I know he has been abused in the past so I wouldn't be surprised if this boredom combined with nervousness.
1 Answer
- Lacey UD, RELv 78 years agoFavorite Answer
Does he like toys? He's going to have to be allowed to do some type of activity even if it's gentle playing. Instead of feeding him out od a dish, start clicker training him. This will make him more food and training motivated. You can also look into some dog puzzles. Instead of a kong, try rawhide, raw meaty bone, or even a fuzzy toy. I know that some of these things might be products that your instructor may disagree with but a kong is boring unless it's moving or filled with food. While these require some food motivation, you might be pleasantly surprised. Finally work on obedience. Stays, heeling in place, scent discrimination, fronts, finishes, retrieving, etc. If this dog is good on a leash, some nice slow walks will help keep the edge off. Finally if you feel that this dog is too active, ask about using a tranquilizer. There are sevral safe ones out there. They do require a prescription but then you most likely know that.
Source(s): http://www.anunlimitedlife.com/101_Things_To_Do_Wi... http://www.activedogtoys.com/collections/dog-puzzl... http://www.clickerdogs.com/listofreinforcers.htm http://drsophiayin.com/blog/category/learning CVT
