[NTexFoster]

I'm a software developer and I work from home most of the time. I have a Biomorph desk that I generally have in the up position so that I can stand at it.

Well, Kaiser likes to grab his squeaky ball and push his way between my knees and stand there squeaking the ball for a bit. Once he's done that enough he'll drop it and look up at me like 'ok, your turn'. Of course being the dumb human in the relationship I pickup the ball and toss it out of my office in to the entry hall. He goes and gets it and we repeat the cycle.

I'm researching puzzle toys to see if I can find some other avenues for him to express his boundless energy through.

 

[gsdraven]

Cheap option for puzzle toys is to take an old muffin tin and fill each cup with food or treats and use balls or toys to cover it.

The Muffin Tin Game (Rainy Day Scent Game Fun) - YouTube

 

[hunterisgreat]

I throw a handful of dogfood up in the air for it to scatter. Keeps them busy for a while. And quiet.

 

[NTexFoster]

Both ideas: brilliant. Thanks!

I love the muffin tin idea.

 

[Shade]

As cute as it is, don't be afraid to say "no" or cut the game after one or two tosses of the ball Once he realizes that while you're at your desk it's work time for you and quiet time for him then he should stop bugging you.

I'm one of the people that when my dog brings me something it's a good thing, but when I'm on my computer and I get a nice juicy drooled on toy dropped on my keyboard I realized there had to be a happy medium. So when I'm busy I will toss the toy twice, then it's game over and I simply tell him 'all done' when he comes back. When I'm finished my work then I call him and tell him to bring the toy back and we'll play, he's gotten the concept that 'no' doesn't mean 'never' but 'later' so he's learned patience and to wait until I'm finished

 

[Merciel]

One ultra cheap "puzzle toy" I like is to take an old Chipotle bag (any paper bag will do) and crumple it up with a treat inside, then hang it from a doorknob on a string. It's basically a doggie pinata. (Protip: close the door first, unless you want to listen to it getting banged back and forth a LOT.)

Some dogs will rip the "pinata" off right away, some take a while to get it down. If your dog is in the first category, you can make the toy last a little longer by complicating the puzzle factor -- put the treat inside an empty paper towel tube folded over on itself, or taped inside an empty popcorn box, or whatever else you've got handy by way of cardboard garbage.

 

[Merciel]

Also, you can make the pinata game take (very slightly) longer by putting the dog in a Sit-Stay in another room, hanging the pinata up somewhere out of sight, and telling them to go find it.

This is what I do to make the mutt monsters go away and leave me alone when I'm trying to get some work done.

 

[brightspot]

Ha! Ha! I tried the muffin tin game. Wylie just turned the whole thing over! Back to the drawing board.

 

[Lilie]

I throw a handful of dogfood up in the air for it to scatter. Keeps them busy for a while. And quiet.

I do the same thing! I do it in the yard too if I'm busy with yard work and everyone tries to help.

 

[NTexFoster]

*Face palm* Training starts this weekend.

My wife is a teacher, school starts next week. Kids are home too. My wife is getting her room setup for next week and came home for lunch.

Youngest is playing chase with Kaiser. They're going around the coffee table in the den. Natalie hits this decorative ball thing in the center of the table and it bounces out of the bowl on to the glass. I'm watching and its like slow motion. The ball bounced twice and the glass literally exploded.

I ran the dogs out of the house and we clean up the mess. Glass is everywhere. sheesh. Truthfully, one corner was already broken off so it was only a matter of time. Happily nobody was hurt. This wasn't really anyone's fault, just part of the chaos that perpetually surrounds me.

Calmness returns, I have a meeting with my client. I'm on the bridge waiting for everybody to join me and Kaiser comes prancing in to my office carrying a pizza! WTF! He took it out of my wife's hands. I take the pizza away from him and throw it away. As you can imagine the wife is not pleased. She's headed back to school to get her room setup, hopefully she can find something else for lunch.

In the mean time me and Mr. Kaiser are going to have to have some talkies about taking people's food. That's not cool. The basic obedience stuff (petsmart) will start on Saturday and I'm going to augment with some one on one instructions with a local trainer.

 

[pets4life]

teach the find command and prolong it so he has to search for an hour lol

 

[Dainerra]

#1 rule that all the kids and dogs in my house learn - no tag/running games in the house. End of story.

lol I wouldn't have a house if I didn't enforce this one

 

[doggiedad]

"teach him out of the (insert room)", "go to your bed",
"go to your crate", "no", "stay", etc. take the ball away.
exercise him before you start working. put him in his crate.

 

[NTexFoster]

Today he is calmer. We've gone outside a few times to play fetch and work on the clicker training.

He's letting me get work done while he sleeps in the comfy chair behind me.

This weekend will be our first obedience class. We should have fun.

 

[holland]

Right now I am reading the book Ruff Love by Susan Garrett and following it-its a short book-there are ideas in it that might be helpful to you-crate games etc

 

[NTexFoster]

I'll look it up. I'm doing the clicker training exercises from The Power of Positive Dog Training

 

[pets4life]

look up marker training also I prefer it over clicker JMHO

 

[NTexFoster]

thanks. I'll add that to the reading list.