Give a doggy something to do?
September 5, 2011 5:20 AM Subscribe
Keep a border collie busy?
My girl is bored and I need ways to keep her entertained when I'm not home. I give her a good long walk each morning, and try for a shorter one after work, but she is alone all day and needs more stimulation. Other dogs have stayed in the past but she tends to ignore them (she is a people dog). She is generally well behaved apart from the occasional tunnel under the fence, but I know she must be so bored during the day. They are such an intelligent and active breed.
I have looked into various doggie intelligence games but they are quite expensive and though I don't mind spending the money, I want to know it will work before I buy it. We already have a Kong-type toy which I fill with peanut butter, and that lasts an hour or so, but I don't want to give it to her every day.
MeFites, what has worked for you?
My girl is bored and I need ways to keep her entertained when I'm not home. I give her a good long walk each morning, and try for a shorter one after work, but she is alone all day and needs more stimulation. Other dogs have stayed in the past but she tends to ignore them (she is a people dog). She is generally well behaved apart from the occasional tunnel under the fence, but I know she must be so bored during the day. They are such an intelligent and active breed.
I have looked into various doggie intelligence games but they are quite expensive and though I don't mind spending the money, I want to know it will work before I buy it. We already have a Kong-type toy which I fill with peanut butter, and that lasts an hour or so, but I don't want to give it to her every day.
MeFites, what has worked for you?
Oh, this would obviously need a careful introduction.
posted by Trivia Newton John at 5:32 AM on September 5, 2011
posted by Trivia Newton John at 5:32 AM on September 5, 2011
Seconding Trivia Newton John... I actually came in here to make a joke about getting a sheep, but chickens might actually count as a possibility.
posted by pla at 5:58 AM on September 5, 2011
posted by pla at 5:58 AM on September 5, 2011
Yeah, we had three border collies growing up, and they would absolutely be engaged by chickens. The ones we had would literally stare at any kind of animal for hours. In fact, if you're desperate and don't have any room, I had pet mice when I was a kid and our border collie would sit below their cage and watch them for hours! Worth a try. But if you have the space, chickens would be the way to go.
posted by geegollygosh at 6:10 AM on September 5, 2011
posted by geegollygosh at 6:10 AM on September 5, 2011
Be sure to freeze the kong with the peanut butter in it, if you're not already.
The other thought I have is tetherball? A ball hung from the ceiling just out of reach?
posted by vitabellosi at 6:50 AM on September 5, 2011
The other thought I have is tetherball? A ball hung from the ceiling just out of reach?
posted by vitabellosi at 6:50 AM on September 5, 2011
I wonder if you know any stay-at-home parents who'd like the company of a dog during the day, at least sometimes? A border collie herding toddlers is pretty much the most hilarious thing ever, and wears everybody out. I'd borrow a dog once a week to run around with my kid (we can't own one at present, sadface).
The little old lady who lives behind me "babysits" a dog every day; she walks him two or three times, which helps keep her in good health and fitness; lets him out; throws balls for him in the backyard; and he keeps her company while she rests. She's done this since her husband died four or five years ago and it's a lovely arrangement. It's so good for the dog, and it's so good for her, while a full-time pet would be too much energy and expense and responsibility for her. But a nine-to-five dog is perfect.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:53 AM on September 5, 2011 [3 favorites]
The little old lady who lives behind me "babysits" a dog every day; she walks him two or three times, which helps keep her in good health and fitness; lets him out; throws balls for him in the backyard; and he keeps her company while she rests. She's done this since her husband died four or five years ago and it's a lovely arrangement. It's so good for the dog, and it's so good for her, while a full-time pet would be too much energy and expense and responsibility for her. But a nine-to-five dog is perfect.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:53 AM on September 5, 2011 [3 favorites]
Try feeding her with a Buster Cube. You can find them at pet stores. I have a red heeler and when she was younger used to drive me crazy. Our trainer had us feed her exclusively with the cube and it would give her something to do for a couple of hours.
This won’t help when you’re away, but we did a lot of training and taught her lots of tricks. Just working with her in quick ten minute blasts and making her work her mind tended to settle her down. It seemed to wear her out more than walking.
posted by iscavenger at 7:15 AM on September 5, 2011
This won’t help when you’re away, but we did a lot of training and taught her lots of tricks. Just working with her in quick ten minute blasts and making her work her mind tended to settle her down. It seemed to wear her out more than walking.
posted by iscavenger at 7:15 AM on September 5, 2011
Seconding Buster Cube. Our dog is both too dumb and lacks motivation to use the buster cube, but whenever her border collie friend is over, the border collie goes nuts with it. It is also Swedish, and has better, safer plastic than what you will get out of most made-in-china toys.
You can hide treats and stuff around the house/backyard for her to find while you are out.
Also, take the last 15-20 minutes of the time you use for walks and teaching the dog stupid pet tricks using clicker training. The thing about this is that it tires out the dog's brain some too, because to a border collie, clicker training is just a problem solving exercise.
posted by rockindata at 7:22 AM on September 5, 2011
You can hide treats and stuff around the house/backyard for her to find while you are out.
Also, take the last 15-20 minutes of the time you use for walks and teaching the dog stupid pet tricks using clicker training. The thing about this is that it tires out the dog's brain some too, because to a border collie, clicker training is just a problem solving exercise.
posted by rockindata at 7:22 AM on September 5, 2011
The chickens are a great idea, my mother's border collie herds the all day, introduction of a new kitten is the most entertaining!
posted by Jayed at 7:55 AM on September 5, 2011
posted by Jayed at 7:55 AM on September 5, 2011
My 3 year old rough collie needs 2 RUNS a day to wear him out, then he sleeps most of the rest of the time. If I were you I would walk him as much as I could and also get a treadmill and let him do a run, supervised of course. I don't know how you get a dog to use a treadmill but I know the Dog Whisperer uses one in some cases. He also uses rollerblades with most dogs. Can you use rollerblades on your walks? Because, frankly, most collies need to run, not walk.
posted by cda at 8:03 AM on September 5, 2011
posted by cda at 8:03 AM on September 5, 2011
I am going to say chickens or sheep or whatever are a TERRIBLE idea - herding is intended to be a supervised cooperative activity with a goal (move this group of animals from point A to point B with a person), not an all-day unsupervised neverending game (which is what will happen without supervision - this is ignorant neglect at best and outright abuse at worst, sorry). An unsupervised BC will likely end up stressing the chickens to death or just killing them (herding is modified hunting/stalking behavior), it is not appropriate to leave a dog with any prey animal without supervision, chickens and sheep are not toys.
More exercise (like a minimum hour-plus run daily - what you are describing would not be anything like enough exercise for most of the BC's I know), and more structured regular activity (agility, herding classes, flyball, tracking, whatever), and more training, in addition to appropriate solitary activities like stuffed Kongs or Buster Cubes is a far better idea.
posted by biscotti at 9:05 AM on September 5, 2011 [5 favorites]
More exercise (like a minimum hour-plus run daily - what you are describing would not be anything like enough exercise for most of the BC's I know), and more structured regular activity (agility, herding classes, flyball, tracking, whatever), and more training, in addition to appropriate solitary activities like stuffed Kongs or Buster Cubes is a far better idea.
posted by biscotti at 9:05 AM on September 5, 2011 [5 favorites]
Have you considered hiring a dog walker to come over at midday and take her for a half hour or hour long walk? My city has tons of dog walking services and they'll either take dogs for walks or even take them on a trip to the dog park for about $15 - $25 per visit, depending on how long it lasts. That will break up your pup's day a bit as well as tire her out to a degree until you get home to play with her.
You could also take her to doggy daycare a couple of times a week, which will keep her busy and stimulated all day.
posted by triggerfinger at 12:09 PM on September 5, 2011
You could also take her to doggy daycare a couple of times a week, which will keep her busy and stimulated all day.
posted by triggerfinger at 12:09 PM on September 5, 2011
I would recommend against leaving your dog home alone with chickens all day for various reasons. Even if the dog is trained to only herd the chickens and not eat them, OCD is still an issue. Just because they are compelled to herd the chickens does not mean it is good for the doggie brain. I suppose, though, that chicken herding is better than shadow chasing.
If your dog loves the Kong, then I suggest getting one of those things that will hold several Kongs and dispense them at intervals. I think it is called Kong Time or something like that. The buster cube is also a good idea. If you leave a few of those around, that will keep your dog busy for a long time, as she could only do one at a time.
I suggest classes or learning at home. Get Kyra Sundance's book 101 dog tricks or whatever it is and teach your dog a new trick every 2 weeks. Then each spare minute you have, ask your dog to do something. This will wear out the mind a bit. Try, perhaps, to find agility, nosework, flyball, tracking, RallyO, or even Schutzhund (they usually allow any breed, not just GSDs - I asked and they did not laugh at me :) classes near you. These will likely be one evening or weekend afternoon per week. When I take classes, I spend about 3 minutes 3 times a day working on the stuff from class and my dogs learn it all with no problem. It does not take much time to practice stuff at home, so don't worry about the homework. Any spare minute you have is fine.
The more you do with your dog when you are there with her, the more content she will be to wait for you when you are gone.
More exercise is a very good suggestion - however, if your dog is not actually destructive with the level of exercise that she is currently getting, I would advise against more exercise unless you can absolutely do it every day. A dog walker is a good idea for this, in the middle of the day when you are not there. Someone who can walk the dog for a bit, then play a wild game of ball or frisbee and then work on tricks or something fun would be perfect in this situation. You do not need to go out and run miles with your dog every day unless that is what you want to do. Chasing a ball or frisbee at top speed for 5-10 minutes 3 times a day is very good exercise as long as your dog will switch off and calm down when you're done with the game.
I have two border collies. I got border collies because I needed something that could keep up with me. I run 5-6 miles each morning (2.5 to 3 per dog) and walk 1.5 miles twice per day in addition to the running. On the weekends I try to visit a new place every Sunday and we go to the beach or the woods or whatever for a hike. My dogs have their Expert Trick Dog titles and can follow my scent trail or my husband's scent trail just about anywhere on any surface. We do agility and RallyO in the back yard (husband built us a bunch of obstacles) and they love that. I only recommend border collies for dedicated crazy people. My dogs sleep all day and soundly all night. I work from home so can really do the crazy dog lady thing. :) I love my dogs.
posted by AllieTessKipp at 7:39 PM on September 5, 2011
If your dog loves the Kong, then I suggest getting one of those things that will hold several Kongs and dispense them at intervals. I think it is called Kong Time or something like that. The buster cube is also a good idea. If you leave a few of those around, that will keep your dog busy for a long time, as she could only do one at a time.
I suggest classes or learning at home. Get Kyra Sundance's book 101 dog tricks or whatever it is and teach your dog a new trick every 2 weeks. Then each spare minute you have, ask your dog to do something. This will wear out the mind a bit. Try, perhaps, to find agility, nosework, flyball, tracking, RallyO, or even Schutzhund (they usually allow any breed, not just GSDs - I asked and they did not laugh at me :) classes near you. These will likely be one evening or weekend afternoon per week. When I take classes, I spend about 3 minutes 3 times a day working on the stuff from class and my dogs learn it all with no problem. It does not take much time to practice stuff at home, so don't worry about the homework. Any spare minute you have is fine.
The more you do with your dog when you are there with her, the more content she will be to wait for you when you are gone.
More exercise is a very good suggestion - however, if your dog is not actually destructive with the level of exercise that she is currently getting, I would advise against more exercise unless you can absolutely do it every day. A dog walker is a good idea for this, in the middle of the day when you are not there. Someone who can walk the dog for a bit, then play a wild game of ball or frisbee and then work on tricks or something fun would be perfect in this situation. You do not need to go out and run miles with your dog every day unless that is what you want to do. Chasing a ball or frisbee at top speed for 5-10 minutes 3 times a day is very good exercise as long as your dog will switch off and calm down when you're done with the game.
I have two border collies. I got border collies because I needed something that could keep up with me. I run 5-6 miles each morning (2.5 to 3 per dog) and walk 1.5 miles twice per day in addition to the running. On the weekends I try to visit a new place every Sunday and we go to the beach or the woods or whatever for a hike. My dogs have their Expert Trick Dog titles and can follow my scent trail or my husband's scent trail just about anywhere on any surface. We do agility and RallyO in the back yard (husband built us a bunch of obstacles) and they love that. I only recommend border collies for dedicated crazy people. My dogs sleep all day and soundly all night. I work from home so can really do the crazy dog lady thing. :) I love my dogs.
posted by AllieTessKipp at 7:39 PM on September 5, 2011
I knew a guy with a border collie and he bought her a ton of tennis balls which she supposedly enjoyed "rounding up" around the house.
posted by Wuggie Norple at 8:30 PM on September 5, 2011
posted by Wuggie Norple at 8:30 PM on September 5, 2011
Tennis balls will wear your dog's teeth down to nothing. They are like sand paper. If you want to give your dog toys to chase around the yard, get the kind from Planet Dog. Those are safe for dog teeth (and last for YEARS! Worth every penny. We love those toys!).
posted by AllieTessKipp at 9:53 PM on September 5, 2011
posted by AllieTessKipp at 9:53 PM on September 5, 2011
Lots of toys.
I have terriers and while they are not as bad as border collies both really like to to be busy. So we have 2 huge boxes of a wide variety of toys from all sources. Everyday when we are going out we pick out 4 or 5 different toys and scatter them about the house. By rotating the toys they are excited to get them every day as they haven't seen them in a while (this works with kids too)
We also will try and hide food around the place to give them something to hunt for during the day. Though with terriers this did lead to one of them trying to dig into the back of the couch so be a bit careful with this. The "new" rotated toys every day and a nice frozen kong (frozen peanut butter with bits of kibble or a milk bone wedged in in takes so much longer to get out). Maybe a nice cow hoof or something to chew depending on your POV on chew toys like that.
You don't say if you crate or not. We don't crate our dogs so they can have the run of the house so they can look out the windows. We are also lucky enough that 2 dogs do help entertain each other. Getting another dog isn't everyone's solution but maybe a dog walker could come around or she could go to doggie day care a day or 2 a week to break up her alone time.
I would recommend agility or obedience classes, which I know doesn't keep her occupied while you are not there, but you could run her through her paces in the morning during her walk time feeling like she's done some "work" might help her relax more when you are gone.
posted by wwax at 6:57 AM on September 6, 2011
I have terriers and while they are not as bad as border collies both really like to to be busy. So we have 2 huge boxes of a wide variety of toys from all sources. Everyday when we are going out we pick out 4 or 5 different toys and scatter them about the house. By rotating the toys they are excited to get them every day as they haven't seen them in a while (this works with kids too)
We also will try and hide food around the place to give them something to hunt for during the day. Though with terriers this did lead to one of them trying to dig into the back of the couch so be a bit careful with this. The "new" rotated toys every day and a nice frozen kong (frozen peanut butter with bits of kibble or a milk bone wedged in in takes so much longer to get out). Maybe a nice cow hoof or something to chew depending on your POV on chew toys like that.
You don't say if you crate or not. We don't crate our dogs so they can have the run of the house so they can look out the windows. We are also lucky enough that 2 dogs do help entertain each other. Getting another dog isn't everyone's solution but maybe a dog walker could come around or she could go to doggie day care a day or 2 a week to break up her alone time.
I would recommend agility or obedience classes, which I know doesn't keep her occupied while you are not there, but you could run her through her paces in the morning during her walk time feeling like she's done some "work" might help her relax more when you are gone.
posted by wwax at 6:57 AM on September 6, 2011
Border collies are meant to be work dogs and not really pets. They tend to go nuts when they don't have a job. That being said, put your dog in doggy daycare so that it can get the attention and exercise it craves and needs.
posted by TheBones at 6:59 AM on September 6, 2011
posted by TheBones at 6:59 AM on September 6, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Trivia Newton John at 5:30 AM on September 5, 2011