German Shepherd Dog Forums - View Single Post - Creative exercise and stimulation for dog

pancake · 01-17-2013, 05:32 AM

I'm always on the lookout for some creative exercise and stimulation for my dog especially things that reduce the ratio of energy spent for me vs my dog. It can't be 1 to 1 because within a few months my dog will have more endurance and energy than me.

I also find walks to be quite useless in terms of expending energy especially for a working dog. They're nice, they're relaxing but dogs need to run, chase and bring out that predator hunting side of them to be burnt out.

So far I have the following:

1) Throwing a ball. Pretty straight forward. I'm getting those ball flicker handles so it requires less energy and shoulder endurance on my part.

2) Chasing an RC car in an enclosed large grass field. Had to research quite a lot to find the right RC car and setup but she loves chasing that thing.

3) Tug - good way to teach and proof commands, teach impulse control, control drive

4) Tracking - nothing crazy I dont know if I can even call it tracking. All I do is have her sniff the ball and give her the stay command while I go hide the ball in the next room where she can't see. Then I tell her to find it and she goes sniffing around and gets big praise when her nose leads her to the prize!

5? I just bought a bicycle. I would like to get a harness and bike leash so i can walk her while riding. She's 5 months old so I have no plans on jogging or running her, just slow walks. I am however considering selling my bike to get a scooter. Dog scooters are pretty popular and there is a website that talks about how to get into it.
The way they do the scooters though is to have the dog PULL it. My question to anyone who knows the answer is, if you train your dog to pull a scooter or cart, sled, etc. does that mess with advanced obedience training involving heel commands? I like that if the dog is in front, they have to pull and exert more energy which is good exercise. They have less risk of darting around the scooter or bike and getting run over by the front wheel. But there is less control and unless they know right, left, stop and go commands they may derail the scooter or bike entirely taking the lead. Also may mess with heel commands. And no leash control for training or restaint if they see another dog or require a correction.
Should I not have them take lead and just walk them on the side?

6) forgot this one. Flirt pole with animal at the end.

Does anyone else have any other creative exercise and mental stimulation exercises they do with their dogs?

01-17-2013, 05:32 AM	#1 (permalink)
pancake Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 175	Creative exercise and stimulation for dog I'm always on the lookout for some creative exercise and stimulation for my dog especially things that reduce the ratio of energy spent for me vs my dog. It can't be 1 to 1 because within a few months my dog will have more endurance and energy than me. I also find walks to be quite useless in terms of expending energy especially for a working dog. They're nice, they're relaxing but dogs need to run, chase and bring out that predator hunting side of them to be burnt out. So far I have the following: 1) Throwing a ball. Pretty straight forward. I'm getting those ball flicker handles so it requires less energy and shoulder endurance on my part. 2) Chasing an RC car in an enclosed large grass field. Had to research quite a lot to find the right RC car and setup but she loves chasing that thing. 3) Tug - good way to teach and proof commands, teach impulse control, control drive 4) Tracking - nothing crazy I dont know if I can even call it tracking. All I do is have her sniff the ball and give her the stay command while I go hide the ball in the next room where she can't see. Then I tell her to find it and she goes sniffing around and gets big praise when her nose leads her to the prize! 5? I just bought a bicycle. I would like to get a harness and bike leash so i can walk her while riding. She's 5 months old so I have no plans on jogging or running her, just slow walks. I am however considering selling my bike to get a scooter. Dog scooters are pretty popular and there is a website that talks about how to get into it. The way they do the scooters though is to have the dog PULL it. My question to anyone who knows the answer is, if you train your dog to pull a scooter or cart, sled, etc. does that mess with advanced obedience training involving heel commands? I like that if the dog is in front, they have to pull and exert more energy which is good exercise. They have less risk of darting around the scooter or bike and getting run over by the front wheel. But there is less control and unless they know right, left, stop and go commands they may derail the scooter or bike entirely taking the lead. Also may mess with heel commands. And no leash control for training or restaint if they see another dog or require a correction. Should I not have them take lead and just walk them on the side? 6) forgot this one. Flirt pole with animal at the end. Does anyone else have any other creative exercise and mental stimulation exercises they do with their dogs?