I wouldn't simply tie a toy to a crate, not because it could be dangerous, but because your dog is seeking attention from you. Yes, it's exhausting, but it's part of bonding. Tug'o'war also builds strong hip muscles as well as coordination and with rope toys acts as a flosser. There's just not enough room for all of this to happen in a crate.
A more "independent" chew?
My pup insists on chewing "with" us. It has to be tug-a-war or throw the toy through the house (she'll pick it up and toss it in the air, and I'm worried it will break a window). We have a huge rope that she loves to use for tug-a-war, and we had a soft toy and some bony time toys (nyla, beef bone, etc), and a kong, but she insists on tossing them in the air or needs us to play with her.
Is there a toy that will encourage her to just settle and chew on her own? Or is she just not that kind of dog?
We've taken to giving her the hard toys and kong only in her crate, during crate time. The rope stays out and we play with her for a bit, but if we stop she starts chewing her leash or the tags on her collar (even if we've played for 1/2 an hour til our arms ares sore).
One idea I had was to tie a toy inside her crate so it can play tug-a-war with her without us having to wear ourselves out? Not sure if that's safe, or if she'll go for it.
Is there a toy that will encourage her to just settle and chew on her own? Or is she just not that kind of dog?
We've taken to giving her the hard toys and kong only in her crate, during crate time. The rope stays out and we play with her for a bit, but if we stop she starts chewing her leash or the tags on her collar (even if we've played for 1/2 an hour til our arms ares sore).
One idea I had was to tie a toy inside her crate so it can play tug-a-war with her without us having to wear ourselves out? Not sure if that's safe, or if she'll go for it.
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I understand that but it's constant. I don't mind playing with her for 20 minutes or so but I get tired and have dishes to do.
That's when you just tell the dog "no" or "not now" 20 minutes is good play time and I doubt the dog would get any benefit of a rope toy in a crate save curbing a bit of bordem. Better to let him get used to the rythm and flow of your house. You can give some bordem busters-kongs, chews, etc, but you mentioned he likes to toss them around. Perhaps finding a safer place for his entusiasm or a safer toy would be better. A smaller Kong shouldn't break a window.I understand that but it's constant. I don't mind playing with her for 20 minutes or so but I get tired and have dishes to do.
Thanks, but I'm not really sure how to tell her "not now." I mean, so far, that doesn't mean anything to her. We've tried just ignoring her but even after an hour or two she still doesn't settle down, and if anything she gets increasingly needy, biting and chewing at us, jumping on us, etc. Keeping the leash short just makes her freak out more and makes her try to jump and bite whatever she can reach.
I'm at my wits end. I took her on two walks today, and both times upon returning she started jumping and lunging at me, open mouth. Playful, but still dangerous. And nothing I did seemed to slow her down.
We have her in the crate right now because we're so overwhelmed, but I don't want it to be this way, since she was in the crate so long today while we were at work.
I'm at my wits end. I took her on two walks today, and both times upon returning she started jumping and lunging at me, open mouth. Playful, but still dangerous. And nothing I did seemed to slow her down.
We have her in the crate right now because we're so overwhelmed, but I don't want it to be this way, since she was in the crate so long today while we were at work.
You may need to find a dog sitter or doggy daycare. It sounds like she simply has way too much energy. Just ignoring a dog will make things worse. My dog can't tell time but I'll say "give me 5 minutes Olivia" and then do something. She knows that when I say something in the tone of voice and it includes "give me X minutes" she has to wait. The minute is just a reminder for me. When I am done, I turn and play with her. This is similar to how shepards train their dogs. They have "at the ready" and then the dog knows it will have to wait, but pay attention to the next command. I use this same concept to have my dog wait for me. The key is to reward the dog for waiting.Thanks, but I'm not really sure how to tell her "not now." I mean, so far, that doesn't mean anything to her. We've tried just ignoring her but even after an hour or two she still doesn't settle down, and if anything she gets increasingly needy, biting and chewing at us, jumping on us, etc. Keeping the leash short just makes her freak out more and makes her try to jump and bite whatever she can reach.
I'm at my wits end. I took her on two walks today, and both times upon returning she started jumping and lunging at me, open mouth. Playful, but still dangerous. And nothing I did seemed to slow her down.
We have her in the crate right now because we're so overwhelmed, but I don't want it to be this way, since she was in the crate so long today while we were at work.
Dogs are needy and playful, chews and self-regulating toys will help, but she really needs attention of either a person or other animal. Walks are great but you either need to go farther, harder or longer because she should show some readiness to settle after appropriate exercise.
So when we walk I fast walk and she races back and forth and is probably going twice as fast as me (we haven't started leash training yet). I go for one or two 15-20 minutes walks like this per day, more on the weekends. I also play tug-of-war with her multiple times a day usually in 15-20 minute increments (and she really goes crazy with it) and do a lot of 5-10 minute training sessions. I also usually stick in a stuffed Kong or juicy marrow bone in her crate for the 4-7 hours I'm out of the house each day.
I'm not sure what level of exercise this constitutes but I think total I'm working or playing with her for around 2-4 hours a day.
I'm not sure what level of exercise this constitutes but I think total I'm working or playing with her for around 2-4 hours a day.
Which is great. That's more excercize than my German shep/basenji mix could handle becuase she's a low-energy dog.So when we walk I fast walk and she races back and forth and is probably going twice as fast as me (we haven't started leash training yet). I go for one or two 15-20 minutes walks like this per day, more on the weekends. I also play tug-of-war with her multiple times a day usually in 15-20 minute increments (and she really goes crazy with it) and do a lot of 5-10 minute training sessions. I also usually stick in a stuffed Kong or juicy marrow bone in her crate for the 4-7 hours I'm out of the house each day.
I'm not sure what level of exercise this constitutes but I think total I'm working or playing with her for around 2-4 hours a day.
But my previous dog---a fox terrier? Nah, that would of been just enough to get her started. She and I spent a weekend mountain climbing (way, way more difficult for her as she was tiny) and she swam in the ocean endlessly trying to eat waves for hours while I rested. Then the Monday I got back home my friend took her on an 8 mile bike ride and she still was not exhausted.
These puppy days won't last forever, but right now her energy needs are greater than 2-4 hours a day, apparently. You can not meet those needs and deal with the behavior until her natural puppy energy subsides or you can find ways to do so.
Your dog is simply a very, very high energy dog with high energy needs. What you're doing may be more than enough for most dogs--and more than enough for her as an adult---but its not enough for her now, and that's what's important.
So I'm uncertain about what that means. I can't give her more exercise than that just because of my schedule and my own energy levels. And I don't have the money for daycare or dog walker. A day at daycare is about how much I make a day.
Do I just get her through her puppy days and hope she's lower energy as an adult, or am I not the right owner for her?
Do I just get her through her puppy days and hope she's lower energy as an adult, or am I not the right owner for her?
I can't predict how high energy your dog will be. You can try to bring the dog down to your speed, but that dosn't always work. Give it a few more months before you think about getting a different dog. Try to make some friends that you can trade off dogsitting...that's a free thing that always worked for me.So I'm uncertain about what that means. I can't give her more exercise than that just because of my schedule and my own energy levels. And I don't have the money for daycare or dog walker. A day at daycare is about how much I make a day.
Do I just get her through her puppy days and hope she's lower energy as an adult, or am I not the right owner for her?
Good news! This weekend we've had time to take her to the park and let her run on the extendable leash (I know, not ideal, but there are no fenced areas we have access to, and she's not trained for off leash yet). Yesterday after the run she crashed for a long time and then was pretty mellow the rest of the day. She got playful late in the evening but only for about 1/2 an hour and then she settled again. Hoping today will be the same. So far she's been asleep for an hour, but we have a playdate scheduled with another hound up the road in the afternoon so she'll have to wake up a little for that.
I dislike extendable leash, but in a park it's pretty safe. I'd encourage you to switch to a regular leash when ending the walk, but otherwise let her go for it.Good news! This weekend we've had time to take her to the park and let her run on the extendable leash (I know, not ideal, but there are no fenced areas we have access to, and she's not trained for off leash yet). Yesterday after the run she crashed for a long time and then was pretty mellow the rest of the day. She got playful late in the evening but only for about 1/2 an hour and then she settled again. Hoping today will be the same. So far she's been asleep for an hour, but we have a playdate scheduled with another hound up the road in the afternoon so she'll have to wake up a little for that.
It sounds like the two are figuring out how to make things work. YAY on the playdate, that will help considerably.
That's exactly what we did. She has a cable leash that's almost 6 feet (because her chewing destroys a leash in days), so we carried the extendable leash to the park in a bag and switched it out for the running.
She had a great time at her play date, but tired her poor friend out, who's an older lazy hound.
She had a great time at her play date, but tired her poor friend out, who's an older lazy hound.
I had a similar issue with my lab/border collie/mutt- she was just way too much dog for the way we were living our lives. We had a 5 year old Boston Terrier who was very low energy and she played so rough she hurt her a few times and they were constantly fighting because of it.
We had to re-arrange the way we were living our lives and honestly it's the best thing my family ever did- my parents started getting out more and my brother and I (who always had a rocky relationship) grew much closer. For awhile our lives became all about this dog and tiring her out. We are NOT an inherently active family, so she did great things for our health.
I'd suggest fewer but longer walks- I find short walks throughout the day just keep my dogs whipped up since it takes about 15 minutes for my dogs to calm down after we come back inside- try for 1 30-45 minute walk and 1 shorter walk at least.
We sent our girl to daycare because we could afford it, since you can't try to schedule a few playdates a week- there's nothing to tire a dog out like wrestling with other dogs. If you're on social media you could try posting looking for playmates, definitely try to find other young dogs.
Also, use those days off/weekends to get rid of her big bursts of energy! That's what really saved my family with our dog. Luckily she has good recall, so we take her on trails and let her run to her heart's content and she does big 100ft circles around us- gets out of sight and then comes back when we whistle for her. With a hound (I think that's what you said she is?) I wouldn't ever trust her recall 100%, but a *GOOD* extendable leash is a solid compromise. Keep taking her to that park!
Definitely don't get down just yet thinking that you can't provide her with a good home. You may need to be willing to rearrange your life for a little while and maybe become a bit more active but puppies almost all mellow out after a time- some more than others, but none of her behavior sounds neurotic, just like she has a lot of energy, which IME/O is the most likely to mellow out once they reach 1-2 years old (as opposed to, say, belgian malinois I've heard of that have to live in the garage because they destroy the house even after a 2 hour jog). My dog took until she was 2, and she'll never be a low energy dog, but it's now much more manageable.
We had to re-arrange the way we were living our lives and honestly it's the best thing my family ever did- my parents started getting out more and my brother and I (who always had a rocky relationship) grew much closer. For awhile our lives became all about this dog and tiring her out. We are NOT an inherently active family, so she did great things for our health.
I'd suggest fewer but longer walks- I find short walks throughout the day just keep my dogs whipped up since it takes about 15 minutes for my dogs to calm down after we come back inside- try for 1 30-45 minute walk and 1 shorter walk at least.
We sent our girl to daycare because we could afford it, since you can't try to schedule a few playdates a week- there's nothing to tire a dog out like wrestling with other dogs. If you're on social media you could try posting looking for playmates, definitely try to find other young dogs.
Also, use those days off/weekends to get rid of her big bursts of energy! That's what really saved my family with our dog. Luckily she has good recall, so we take her on trails and let her run to her heart's content and she does big 100ft circles around us- gets out of sight and then comes back when we whistle for her. With a hound (I think that's what you said she is?) I wouldn't ever trust her recall 100%, but a *GOOD* extendable leash is a solid compromise. Keep taking her to that park!
Definitely don't get down just yet thinking that you can't provide her with a good home. You may need to be willing to rearrange your life for a little while and maybe become a bit more active but puppies almost all mellow out after a time- some more than others, but none of her behavior sounds neurotic, just like she has a lot of energy, which IME/O is the most likely to mellow out once they reach 1-2 years old (as opposed to, say, belgian malinois I've heard of that have to live in the garage because they destroy the house even after a 2 hour jog). My dog took until she was 2, and she'll never be a low energy dog, but it's now much more manageable.
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