dog sports for active dogs with lazy owners
November 27, 2022 1:20 PM
I recently adopted a rescue dog who is more active and intelligent than any dog I've had before. I think he'd enjoy some kind of dog sports, but I myself am old and tired, with limited time for training. None of my old dogs were interested in anything more athletic than a walk. What might be some good dog activities we could do together, with a lot of activity and stimulation for the dog, and less of it for me?
He loves to jump up and down on high places. He is intensely interested in chasing squirrels, and to that end can run up the side of a tree higher than my head and still land gracefully. Because he's new to me, I've never let him off leash, and I want to teach him to moderate his squirrel chasing before I ever let him off the leash, but maybe he could put some of that energy towards chasing balls or frisbees or something. Because of the leash, I've never seen him really run, but I've walked up to 2 hours with him and never fully tired him out.
He doesn't seem at all unhappy with his current level of activity (1-2 hours of walking a day) - he loves to nap all day when he's at home. But I bet he would enjoy something more, and I could use a bit more exercise myself.
He loves to jump up and down on high places. He is intensely interested in chasing squirrels, and to that end can run up the side of a tree higher than my head and still land gracefully. Because he's new to me, I've never let him off leash, and I want to teach him to moderate his squirrel chasing before I ever let him off the leash, but maybe he could put some of that energy towards chasing balls or frisbees or something. Because of the leash, I've never seen him really run, but I've walked up to 2 hours with him and never fully tired him out.
He doesn't seem at all unhappy with his current level of activity (1-2 hours of walking a day) - he loves to nap all day when he's at home. But I bet he would enjoy something more, and I could use a bit more exercise myself.
You can get a device that throws balls for him to fetch and bring back and then you just sit in a chair next to it feeding it balls while reading or whatever
for example: Limited-time deal: PetSafe Automatic Ball Launcher & Accessories - Interactive Dog Toy for Enrichment - Tennis Balls Included - Motion Sensor Promotes Safe Play - Indoor & Outdoor - Adjustable - A/C Adaptor or Batteries
https://a.co/d/aWx8RK0
posted by Jacqueline at 2:33 PM on November 27, 2022
for example: Limited-time deal: PetSafe Automatic Ball Launcher & Accessories - Interactive Dog Toy for Enrichment - Tennis Balls Included - Motion Sensor Promotes Safe Play - Indoor & Outdoor - Adjustable - A/C Adaptor or Batteries
https://a.co/d/aWx8RK0
posted by Jacqueline at 2:33 PM on November 27, 2022
Maybe dog agility? My active sheltie loved it.
posted by probably not that Karen Blair at 2:40 PM on November 27, 2022
posted by probably not that Karen Blair at 2:40 PM on November 27, 2022
I think dog park is good solution if there's one convenient to you. The other option to consider is mental stimulation. I can't tell about Ozzy but a lot of high energy dogs have working dog in them and they're looking for jobs and problems to solve. So puzzle toys, hide and seek with treats and just general training can tire dogs out in a different way than physical motion but with might be easier to do inside, especially heading into winter. Depending on your living situation and comfort with mayhem, you can do catch and fetch training in a medium sized room too which has a physical aspect but also can be mentally stimulating. Teach Ozzy to sit and wait on one side of the room, walk as far away as possible and toss a soft ball or toy that he has to jump / move to catch (this is where the mayhem comes in - make sure he's not near breakables!) and then he has to bring it to you and you reset. You can do this outside with a long lead too if you don't have a place that you can go off leash.
Something like this works great as a long lead and give them some room to roam but is strong enough to hold most dogs (for us, the limiting factor is the human on the other end of the leash).
posted by macfly at 2:56 PM on November 27, 2022
Something like this works great as a long lead and give them some room to roam but is strong enough to hold most dogs (for us, the limiting factor is the human on the other end of the leash).
posted by macfly at 2:56 PM on November 27, 2022
Tire out his brain! Brain activities tire them out just as much as physical activity. Instead of structured walks, let him on a "sniffari" where you basically let him sniff whatever whereever he pleases. Don't expect to get too far!
The search term you want is "canine enrichment". There's a ton of ideas out there. Everything from throwing their meals in the grass (to let them sniff out the kibble) to snufflemats (basically the indoor version) to brain toys to frozen kongs. Recently I've been giving my pup all her treats (chews, etc) wrapped in a towel and tied with hair scrunchies. She loves the challenge of getting it open as much as the treat!
For actual activities, I won't recommend agility (I'm doing that with my pup and it's way harder on me than it is her!) but maybe scent work, if there's a class near you?
posted by cgg at 6:36 PM on November 27, 2022
The search term you want is "canine enrichment". There's a ton of ideas out there. Everything from throwing their meals in the grass (to let them sniff out the kibble) to snufflemats (basically the indoor version) to brain toys to frozen kongs. Recently I've been giving my pup all her treats (chews, etc) wrapped in a towel and tied with hair scrunchies. She loves the challenge of getting it open as much as the treat!
For actual activities, I won't recommend agility (I'm doing that with my pup and it's way harder on me than it is her!) but maybe scent work, if there's a class near you?
posted by cgg at 6:36 PM on November 27, 2022
Nose work is great if there's a class near you. It's low effort for the human (walking, giving treats), but the mental exercise involved reliably exhausts my puppy for the rest of the day after an hour-long class.
This inside activity is guaranteed to tire out our girls with minimal effort from us: we sit at the base of the stairs, tell the ladies to sit or lie down, throw a few treats up the stairs, release them to run up and eat, tell them to come, reward them when they run back down to us, and repeat until they fall over or we run out of treats. Good exercise, fun game, and obedience reinforcement all in one! And now that they know the drill, we also practice it on walks if we come across any steps and we remembered to bring the long leash.
posted by picopebbles at 6:05 AM on November 28, 2022
This inside activity is guaranteed to tire out our girls with minimal effort from us: we sit at the base of the stairs, tell the ladies to sit or lie down, throw a few treats up the stairs, release them to run up and eat, tell them to come, reward them when they run back down to us, and repeat until they fall over or we run out of treats. Good exercise, fun game, and obedience reinforcement all in one! And now that they know the drill, we also practice it on walks if we come across any steps and we remembered to bring the long leash.
posted by picopebbles at 6:05 AM on November 28, 2022
Barn Hunt would make good use of your dog's prey drive and athleticism.
NB: the rats used in Barn Hunt are pets and are not harmed in any way. Some of the rats in my Barn Hunt club are spoiled so much they have to go on a diet to fit in the hide tube comfortably.
posted by workerant at 8:09 AM on November 28, 2022
NB: the rats used in Barn Hunt are pets and are not harmed in any way. Some of the rats in my Barn Hunt club are spoiled so much they have to go on a diet to fit in the hide tube comfortably.
posted by workerant at 8:09 AM on November 28, 2022
Another vote for snufflemats, in their infinite variety, and turning mealtimes into challenges/games in general. My dog loves the kind that looks like shag carpet, i.e. a soft, indoor version of rummaging through tall grass for kibble. When he was younger he liked the (big) kind that have all sorts of pockets and cubbies and hidden spaces to find ways into. This is brilliant:
Recently I've been giving my pup all her treats (chews, etc) wrapped in a towel and tied with hair scrunchies
Scent tracking games can be fun, too. Think easter egg hunt for smart dogs. You can get into this as a one-off thing or turn it into a focused way of teaching skills that keeps you both engaged without a heavy emphasis on, you know, RUN RUN RUN EXERT EXERT EXERT!!! If you're interested, scentwork is a helpful search term.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 2:09 AM on November 29, 2022
Recently I've been giving my pup all her treats (chews, etc) wrapped in a towel and tied with hair scrunchies
Scent tracking games can be fun, too. Think easter egg hunt for smart dogs. You can get into this as a one-off thing or turn it into a focused way of teaching skills that keeps you both engaged without a heavy emphasis on, you know, RUN RUN RUN EXERT EXERT EXERT!!! If you're interested, scentwork is a helpful search term.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 2:09 AM on November 29, 2022
Thanks for all the great suggestions!
To start: he already has a snuffle bowl and a sliding doors puzzle, but I'll get him some more food puzzles. And once he's safe off-leash, we're definitely making a flirt pole!
I like the idea of tying up his treats in a towel, but I have a feeling he'd just chew a hole directly to the treat, as he did to my pants when I accidentally left a treat in the pocket and left them lying around!
posted by moonmilk at 6:39 AM on November 29, 2022
To start: he already has a snuffle bowl and a sliding doors puzzle, but I'll get him some more food puzzles. And once he's safe off-leash, we're definitely making a flirt pole!
I like the idea of tying up his treats in a towel, but I have a feeling he'd just chew a hole directly to the treat, as he did to my pants when I accidentally left a treat in the pocket and left them lying around!
posted by moonmilk at 6:39 AM on November 29, 2022
Not a sport, but a good activity around the house. First get him trained to stay somewhere. After you know he'll stay (or you close the door to a room), you hide a few pieces of kibble (or treats) around the house. Release the hound and tell him to find it. Leave a few in obvious places so he knows what's up. Great nose exercise.
My dog is now at the point where I can tell her 'kennel', and she'll go wait until I call her. (though I do find her starting to peek around the corner sometimes... gotta work on that!)
posted by hydra77 at 9:00 AM on November 29, 2022
My dog is now at the point where I can tell her 'kennel', and she'll go wait until I call her. (though I do find her starting to peek around the corner sometimes... gotta work on that!)
posted by hydra77 at 9:00 AM on November 29, 2022
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posted by arnicae at 2:28 PM on November 27, 2022