Reddit mentions: The best dog toys

Lots of big dog stuff here! Here's some nice things for the little guys (~25 lbs and under). Many of these items are good for big dogs, too; will note them with a * sign and list them first in each section.

Treats

• Himalayan Dog Cheese Chew*: Long-lasting hard cheese chews; can be microwaved to make "cheesy popcorn" for your dog when it gets small enough to pose a swallowing hazard. Comes in a variety of sizes.
  
  
• Brushless Toothpaste*: Our dog LOVES this stuff, and it keeps his breath smelling awesome. Also helps keep his teeth clean. May want to introduce these into the dog's diet slowly, as some are sensitive to the ingredients but acclimate over time. Comes in an even smaller size for the really tiny dogs, and bigger sizes for the big dogs :)
  
  
• Freeze-dried chicken*: Easy to break into small pieces and sprinkle over your dog's kibble or regular food.
  
  
• Stella & Chewy Meal Mixers*: Great to sprinkle over your dog's regular food for both nutrition and novel taste.
  
  
• Fruitables Minis: Small and low-calorie; great for clicker-training your dog. Comes in a wide variety of flavors.
  
  
• Crazy Dog Bacon Treats*: Also small and very-low calorie; another good clicker-training tool.
  
  Toys
  
  
• KONG Mini Squeaky Tennis Balls*: Great for dogs who like either balls, squeaky toys, or both! My dog had zero interest in balls before these, and they're still the only ones he'll play with. Come in lots of sizes; not good for strong dogs who like to chew up their balls.
  
  
• Dog Tornado*: Easy introductory puzzle toy that's not too big for little dogs. Good for kibble, wet food, and treats. May be too big for dogs under 7 lbs.
  
  
• Dog Tower: Another great introductory puzzle toy suitable for small dogs. Good for kibble and small treats. Not sure how this'll hold up to big dogs, although I think it'd be fine with the gentler ones.
  
  
• JW Treat Pod: Kind of like the Kong, but better suited for gentler, 'licking'-type dogs. Easier to clean out as well, IMO; the small Kongs are so hard to get completely clean even with a brush.
  
  
• Outward Hound Flirt Pole: Fun and easy exercise, the Outward Hound version is more lightweight and suited for small dogs.
  
  Harnesses, Collars, & Safety
  
  
• Pet Stairs*: Large collection of pet stairs. Some on this page are suitable for large dogs as well.
  
  
• Hurtta Active Dog Harness*: High-quality dog harness for dogs that love to run around the outdoors in all kinds of weather and elements. Comes in a variety of sizes; for dogs 7+ lbs.
  
  
• Ruffwear Swamp Cooler*: Comes in XXS, XS, and S. Great for keeping your dog cool in the summer if you don't live in a humid area.
  
  
• Hurtta Pet Overall*: Great for rain and snow; comes in a variety of small sizes. Fit perfectly on our Pom mix and very high quality.
  
  
• Musher's Secret*: Protect your dog's paws in cold weather.
  
  
• Sleepypod Clickit*: Crash-tested car harness, comes in a variety of sizes.
  
  
• Sleepypod Mobile Carrier/Car Seat/Pet Bed: Crash-tested dog bed/car seat/carrier!
  
  
• Lil Pals Step-in Mesh Harness: For the seriously small dogs.
  
  
• Ollydog Marin Collar: Completely waterproof, rustproof, extremely durable, easy to put on...the perfect collar!
  
  Grooming
  
  
• The Stuff Detangler and Conditioner*: Keeps your dog's coat looking clean and glossy; easy to apply and doesn't have a strong odor.
  
  
• Lil Pals Grooming Kit: Miniature grooming tools for your miniature dog at a very affordable price.
  
  Edited to add more+formatting!

How much training has your wife done with him? If you are the one who primarily trains him (even basic stuff like you taught him how to sit and lay down as a puppy to you are the primary reinforcer of good behavior now) he may not know that those 'rules' apply to your wife as well as he may not get reinforced for his choices on her watch. Get her more involved with his training. An easy way to do it is just to have a bag of tiny treats in your pocket - catch the puppy being good? Give him a treat and attention. Is he doing something he shouldn't? Teach her how to redirect and reinforce once he IS doing something he should be doing.

AKA: he is in the cat room, have her call him to her (recall - she can issue a treat once he gets to her feet) and have her redirect him to his bed/mat ("Go to bed") and give him a frozen kong or favorite chew to work on instead.

> but I'm looking for ways to "scold" bad behavior without being rough with him

Scolding is not very effective. As I said before, your pup will learn that the 'correction' only comes when you are around and often times will try to do those behaviors they get scolded for when your back is turned. It is much more effective to redirect - especially with such intelligent breeds - and reinforce what you WANT and ignore the stuff you dont.

A dog is MUCH more likely to repeat a behavior that MAY result in a treat than avoid a behavior that MAY result in a telling off. If I had $100 on the coffee table and you knew that if I caught you taking it would result in me yelling at you - PROBABLY wouldn't inhibit you that much. If you knew that you could get $500 for giving me a compliment, you would probably be more apt to take advantage of that. Works the same way with dogs - they can mildly entertain themselves with self reinforcing behavior (stealing things, getting on furniture, etc) or they can get really big rewards (food, attention, plays, etc) for repeating certain behaviors that often result in those big desirables.

> He's at that point where he's essentially forgotten all of his puppy training, and just "goes through the motions" of sit/down/rollover for the treat. Wife tends to treat him anyway and reinforce the incorrect behaviors.


Revisit the Training basics - particularly the rate of reinforcement. Once a behavior is proofed you should not be giving a treat every time they do X. Training is a fine line. When proofing new behaviors, frequent rewards are a great thing, but once the behavior is learned and reliable, you want to randomize when a reward will happen.

Think about it this way - why are slot machines so entertaining to people? It is not so much 'winning' but the chance to win that keeps people playing. If you won ever single time you played a slot machine you would be really excited about it at first then start to loose all interest - it becomes more of a vending machine then a slot machine. It is that balance of win/loose that keeps humans engaged. You can use that same mentality when rewarding your dog. My theme with this has been 'dogs will repeat what is rewarding' and really encouraging the use of practical rewards in tandem with things like treats - but you need to find that balance.

Especially if your wife is not holding a consistent level of criteria, treats should NOT be involved. Get back to basics - back slides with training are often human problems not dog problems.


> but the Corgi will turn his attention to the GSD and bark/bite/growl at her. Maybe a protective thing?

Depends. Maybe, maybe not. If the GSD is the one with all the energy and excitement he may just be trying to play/herd/interact with that excited dog. It probably isn't very protective unless he is putting himself between your wife and the GSD, growling and air snapping defensively, it is probably more play. Corgis can be very excitable. Read up on Canine Body Language. A happy/playful dog will have a curvy posture and be bouncy - a defensive dog will be ridged and focused.

> The crate we are using is the wire kind like you said, and it used to have a plastic tray on the inside.

If there is nothing between her and the grates on the bottom of the crate use a piece of wood or buy a new tray (if you havent already)- that is really uncomfortable to lay on for any length of time. A large piece of dense wood (not ply wood, the can easily chew off flakes) on the floor would work well or a heavier piece of plastic. You may want to find a way to fasten the tray into the bottom of the crate with zip ties to help prevent her from moving it around.

> as she'll be stuck in there for 8-9 hours without release.

How much exercise does she get in the morning before you leave? Do more. Spend an hour at the dog park in the morning or play training games in the yard. Someone letting them out in the afternoon will help, but unless they spend 1 hour+ with them playing pretty hard, your dog is still going to have a lot of energy stored up.


> Been going to dog parks more. Corgi seems more interested in being slow and peeing on everything (he's not fixed.) GSD enjoys the ball/frisbee and runs a ton.

Corgis seem to be really sniffy dogs - GSDs do have a lot of drive for balls (depending on their breeding lines, but in general this holds fairly true). Try to get them both out and running. Maybe go to the park with your wife and each of you take a dog - find some dogs they like to play with or other activities they enjoy. Flirt poles are great for corgis - they aren't typically good fetchers unless you spend a lot of time teaching them (this will vary, but I know a LOT of corgis and I only know 1 who will fetch reliably). They DO enjoy herding games and running around. Sniffing is kind of like the internet for dogs (lame comparison but not untrue) - it is good mental stimulation but your pup still needs plenty of physical exercise. Training games at home can also help -set up a small homemade agility course, work on tricks or teach him to herd a large ball around the yard.

Congrats! Asking questions like this is the first step to becoming a responsible GSD owner. I would keep up with the research as you two learn how to become good buddies; I've owned GSDs my whole life and I'm still picking up good tips from trainers and the like. I've got a detailed response below, but feel free to PM me if you want to talk further. I'm always happy to help, and I wish you and your girl the best!

To your questions:

• Yes, GSDs are totally German Shedding Dogs. But this is more manageable than you think! Make brushing fun by familiarizing her with a quick brush everyday, 10 minutes. Brushing a dog is twice as hard when they're squirmy. Get yourself a cheap self-cleaning slicker brush like this. As long as you make brushing a regular occurrence, you cut back a lot on and hassle.
  
  
• Depending on her age (how far into puppyhood), you might be facing some terrible 2's or 3's. Even older GSDs, if prone to separation anxiety or boredom, will bark and exhibit destructive behavior. The key is to boost confidence (look up separation anxiety training tips) and reduce boredom, which can often be helped with regular exercise, as you mentioned, and enrichment. If you're on a set schedule (e.g. Come home from work, quick brush, dinner for you both, then a walk), she'll be far less likely to drive herself and your neighbor nuts while waiting for you. Kong toys filled with frozen treats (peanut butter, kibble, cream cheese) are great for distracting her and keeping her occupied.
  
  
• Take a few minutes to dog-proof your house the first week you introduce her to everything. This means giving everything waist-high and below a second look; GSDs are clever and great jumpers, and will get into open cupboards more easily than you think. Does your backyard have a tall fence? GSDs have been known to clear 6 foot fences (mine did often).
  
  
• Here's some recommendations for a dog seatbelt. We have friends that use both Sleepypod and Ruffwear with good success. If you plan on bringing her along for car rides often, investing in a car seat cover is a great idea; keep hair and gunk off your car and makes the backseat a more enjoyable space for her. If you're into hiking, dog boots are absolutely the way to go.
  
  A few other things worth doing that will make both your lives easier:
  
  
• Start teaching dental hygiene now! My dog is 12-years-old and besides an old injury leading to hip dysplasia (a common GSD genetic condition), the only thing deteriorating is his teeth. Dogs that eat kibble and soft food are more likely to build-up in their teeth than dogs that eat raw (which is something you might want to research). I recommend grabbing an inexpensive doggy "finger-sleeve" toothbrush or just use a simple normal toothbrush and some special dog toothpaste and get your girl used to having her teeth brushed. She looks young, judging by her thin chest and big ears, so good habits will last her a lifetime! It'll save you a bunch of vet bills in the future.
  
  
• Familiarize yourself with which foods are not dog-friendly. For example, a lot of people know that chocolate and alcohol are bad, but are surprised that nuts and grapes are bad news. Veggies like broccoli, carrots, and pumpkin are great! We used to fill my dog's Kong with frozen pureed pumpkin in the summer as a treat; kept his coat nice and shiny.
  
  
• Raw bones are ok, cooked bones are not. Most people know not to feed dogs small chicken bones, but will often toss them a rib bone leftover from a BBQ. Cooked bones splinter easily and can hurt your dog. Swing by the butcher's next time you're grocery-shopping and ask them for a bag of marrow bones. They're fantastic for her teeth and your girl will love them! Stay away from cheap rawhide bones from Petsmart and the like; they gum up when chewed and are the opposite of healthy.
  
  
• I'm seeing a lot fewer tennis balls in dog parks these days, and for good reason, since research argues that they have some wear and tear on teeth. Chuck-It balls are rubber, bright orange, and hugely popular with big dogs because they're resistant to chew. They're meant to be used with a Chuck It Launcher which I've never seen a GSD not love before.
  
  
• Get her used to nail care ASAP and invest in a good pair of clippers or an electric dremel. Clippers are cheap, but scary to use for first-time dog owners because you're not experienced yet about where the nail's quick is. This can result in some accidental blood loss and, unfortunately, your dog deciding that you have committed a grievous injury never to be forgotten. A lot of people find using a dremel to grind nails down to a blunt edge to be less traumatic for dog and owner for this reason. Figure out which is best for you! A lot of dogs are sensitive to their feet being touched--handle her paws often (great excuse to each "shake"!) and use your fingers to gently touch between her toes. Great training for tick hunting and for nail grooming.
  
  
• Ask her politely to sit before each meal and before passing through doors and gates. Teach a "release" command (such as "OK!"). If she pulls on a leash, stop and ask her to sit; proceed when she obeys and looks up to you for your next cue. GSDs are super smart and love meeting owner expectations; let her know early which manners are standard and she will learn quickly. Her #1 priority is to be your best friend; be honest with her and she'll reward you ten times over. :)

Please know that he's not trying to get into trouble. Dogs are observant, but -thankfully- incapable of premeditation. He's just bored and making his own fun. He doesn't know he's been bad. Dog's are much simpler than that. They experience moments. He just has a history of moments where you come home through the door and the garbage can is side ways, then you get angry or loud and he feels scared. So, in his pup brain, it's more like key in lock + garbage on floor = sinking feeling out of nowhere.

On to solutions!

I second an exercise pen or crate to keep his options limited. With the right preparation 8 hours of den-time can be pretty neutral for him. Even a locked room will focus in your puppy proofing efforts. Do treat it like a crate and work up to long absences though. However, the best thing you can do is come at it from the other side as well: lets wear this boy out. A comprehensive recipe for a perfect tired boy follows

• No more free food, not cause Good Boy doesn't deserve it, just because he'll actually be happier if it's hard to get. He'll feel accomplished and less bored. Options include: a puzzle matt or feeder ball for dry food, frozen Kongs for wet food (get black for a serious chewer, and get 2), hiding his food around the house (skip the kitchen and near trashcans), doing a command for each pinch of kibble, scattering the kibble in your grass if he'll go for it... whatever works for you and your wife to put some challenge into breakfast/dinner time.
  
• One mile of walking for each hour Good Boy is going to be alone. His breed needs a lot of stimulation and activity like you say, and this is the best way to get out that destructive wiggle juice pumping through his adolescent veins. "But that's 8 miles a day? Who has time for that?" you may say. Totally fair. Hopefully you do, but let's see if we can make things more time efficient anyway. We'll say 2 miles of running counts as 3 miles of walking, so a 5ish mile jog gets you there much faster. But that's still over an hour. So we'll add a doggy backpack with 5% of his body weight (don't go over 12% until he's full grown, add on slowly) to take off one more mile since it doubles as mental stimulation. Ok we're down to 4 miles, still a fair bit if you aren't much of jogger to start. 10 minutes of tug counts as 30 minutes of walking, so we'll call that 1 mile of jogging (Example rules for good tugging!). So, we're at a 10 minutes of tug followed by a 3 mile weighted jog, to be dived between you and your wife however makes the most sense. Call it 45 minutes. And as a bonus, you get to eat more human treats. Additional Options and Equipment: ball chucker, flirt pole, doggy playground items like ramps and tubes, a pulling rig ones he's old enough.
  
• Prevent separation anxiety. Home with no humans for 8 hours is tough for a social animal, but you can make it easier. Making sure he's wore out will go a long way, but the biggest thing is to make your departure a good thing. And only Good Boy gets to decide if that's true. If you throw him a steak each morning, but he doesn't touch it until you come home then you leaving isn't a good thing yet. So I would leave his breakfast for absolute last if he has already pooped and can hold it that long. Either way, grab some high value treats and/or toys (the stuff he goes completely ape for which may or may not be cheap) and toss them in the room/pen/kennel the second before each of you leave.
  
  So a sample perfect morning might go something like this: You wake up and take Good Boy out for a leak and some quality tug time. Maybe you're wife doesn't wan't to deal with most doggie-teen things, but it was her 2018 resolution to run more anyway. So you put on his back pack, tuck a .5 L water bottle into each side, and hand him off for his 5k. While she's gone you fill up yesterdays empty kong with canned food, and pop it in the freezer. Today's kong is frozen solid and ready to go. You grab giant ball to put in his play pen and a puzzle toy with those nasty fish puffs he loves. It's been a couple weeks so you put a puff of pheromone spray on his bed so that it smells like Good Mom. You make your coffee, scroll your reddit, eat your toast and generally get ready for the day. Good Boy is back, flopped on the floor and it's time to go. You do everything you need before you walk out the door, tie shoes, kiss wife, eveerything, and then your grab and jingle your keys. Good Boy comes running. "Caaarrot tiiime" you announce reaching in to the fridge. He paces until he sees you've got the goods then runs to his pen, where you make it rain baby carrot bits before booking it to your car before he can find them all. Wife will also throw a carrot party when she departs plus a stuffed toy and a rubber chewy. You come home to an upside down dog bed and the giant ball bit the dust and deflated, but the dog is happy and the house is fine.
  
  
  
  Now, this may seem totally unrealistic, because in a way it is. Shit gets busy, runs get cut short, tug toys get lost, and humans do human stuff. Don't think of this as the bare minimum for a good day. Just think of it as what would happen in a perfect world where you had the time and brain power to do everything possible for Good Boy before heading off for work. If you can integrate any of this stuff, even slowly it will help you guys get through this teen phase with your house in tact.
  
  
  
  
  
• 0. Miscellaneous!
     
  • • Pheromone spray should work well since he's a pup, thunder shirts, and supplements could be good too. I like the ThunderShirt brand since they make lots of anti-stress products and have a long term reputation to protect.
      
  • • Bitter Apple or No Chew spray for anything he's previously gotten his boredom out on (eg. baseboards).
      
  • • If you're handy you could always build you own doggie treadmill!
      
  • • Look for toys with a replacement garuntee like West Paw's Jive Balls or Hurley. My crazy chewer has been trying to shred his ball from them every for the last two months and it doesn't have a scratch.
      
  • • Consider learning a dog sport! Agility, Nose Work, and Flyball are fun competitions that emphasize teamwork. Your local AKC or affiliates will likely have intro classes.
      
  • • Don't under estimate fresh produce as a treat. Banana, carrots, and blueberries are a few fido-faves.
      
  • • Pride Bites squeaky toys aren't indestructible, but the foam inside them is digestible and non-toxic. So, they're on the safer side to chew unsupervised.
      
  • • Also hiring a walker a few times a week is a great idea and helps take the pressure off when you can't even get close to a perfect day.
      
  • • Take pictures of your darling Good Boy and post them to reddit, remind yourself how jealous the world is of your smart, beautiful, energetic dog.

I’d focus on all around confidence building at home - obedience group class is probably overwhelming for a shy dog, so set your expectations low for slow progress in a class environment.

First of all, I’d implement a Nothing in Life is Free regime at home for now. It sounds harsh but for a fearful dog, knowing what your expectations are can reduce her anxiety and earning affection/privileges successfully by doing what you want her to will help her build confidence and trust in you - which should translate to her looking to you for leadership in all situations.

Work on reinforcing/teaching basic commands at home with really high value treats, lots of short training sessions (90 seconds to 5 minutes each session multiple times a day if possible) and way more reps than you think necessary. Once she has a command down, you can work on transitioning it to the world outside your home.

Puzzle toys are also an effective way to help build confidence. With shy/fearful dogs, we typically feed all meals in puzzle toys - solving them helps boost their morale. The Starmark Bob-a-lot is my favorite for meals, but Kongs are a good option too and the Planet Dog Orbee-Tuff Snoop Dog Toy is another great one.

Nina Ottosson makes great puzzle toys for treat puzzles (too small to feed full meals), with varying levels of difficulty. There are also tons of DIY puzzle toys on the internet. Anything that works her brain and requires her to think through to solve will help her become a more focused, confident dog.

Hopefully all of the above will translate into increased focus and confidence in class too, but if not, you might want to consider doing some in home training if you can (obviously with the caveat that in home training is expensive af, especially compared to group classes, so I totally understand if this isn’t an option). If group classes are your best option, don’t worry too much about her performance IN class, just focus on doing the homework and building up her responsiveness at home and then slowly transition to the outside world.

With regards to men, it’s probably not something you can completely “solve,” but if she’s food motivated and you have male friends she doesn’t know, ask them to come over and hand feed her. This is one of the most effective ways to build a bond. When men are around, have them give her high value treats and ignore her as best you can, so all good things come from men. But let her take it on her own terms and don’t push her either. Contractors can be scary - generally they’re wearing work boots, carrying big/loud/heavy objects, etc., so that may be a situation you just want to manage instead of trying to train her to be more comfortable - just keep her crated or confined to an area where your contractor won’t be, maybe put on a noise machine or the radio and give her a frozen Kong or bully stick to keep her calm when they’re around.

Not all of this will be helpful or apply to you and your dog, I’m sure, but these are some of the things I find the most successful with my fearful fosters! Best of luck to you and your pupper! You sound like a very dedicated owner 💕

I'm not entirely sure why the cooing at toys would work. I feel like this is just anthropomorphizing the toy and your dog's "understanding" of the situation. If it is actually working for you, it's probably the fact that you are taking away the toy from her, letting her settle, and then returning it when her energy level/fixation are more in check. The "gentle" cue is definitely nice to teach, but it is probably working due to your addition/subtraction of reinforcer. That being said, "gentle" is a tough thing to teach some high energy dogs so props to you.

Also, the exercise thing is a great point. If you exhaust your pup with a good run or hour at the park they will be far less destructive in the house. Physical stimulation and mental stimulation need to go hand in hand, and one should not replace the other.

Just a point to bring up: if your (OP's) dog is chewing things like wires, socks, etc. he probably has a lot of opportunity to do so. How are you managing his environment - supervision levels, puppy-proofing, movement throughout the house, restriction when unsupervised (crating), etc? You need to minimize or eliminate as many possibilities for your dog to "mess up" as possible and set them up for success. For example, make sure he is in "puppy proofed" rooms with all foreign objects picked up off the floor and is provided with appropriate outlets for his energy (Kongs, stuffed bones, etc). A six month old puppy probably should not have free run of the house just yet, especially since he is most likely still teething and is still learning appropriate outlets for chewing. Slowly increase his freedom once he has learned these things. Start by keeping him in one or two rooms, gated off, and slowly increase his freedom once he learns more appropriate behaviors and has matured a bit more. Am I suggesting condemning your dog to a room for life? Absolutely not. You just have to manage his environment as much as possible and eliminate possibilities for him to fail.

It would also be worth investing in some brain toys to drain more energy, such as Wobble Kongs, Busy Buddy feeders, Buster Food Cubes, etc. In fact, feeding his meals exclusively out of these toys rather than a bowl would be a great opportunity to mentally stimulate him and drain more energy. Just make sure you supervise him as some of these toys could definitely be torn up if left unattended.

Just some food for thought. Hope you found this helpful! :)

Edit: Some products I've found helpful.

Brain toys for feeding:

• Kong Wobbler for meal times. Pretty durable and my guy can't figure out how to open it. Loves eating out of this thing, even if it was simple for him to figure out. My lab took weeks to get it though. Regardless, great brain-toy.
  
  
• Buster food cube for dispensing. Pretty difficult to figure out.
  
  
• Busy Buddy Kibble Nibble egg: My guys LOVE this, although the plastic just cracked on the inside after a few months. Can definitely be torn apart if left alone but super stimulating and engaging. Worth it!
  
  
• Tug a Jug for keeping them busy when you need to do something else. Durable bottle that gets scratched up. Ours is a few months in and still kicking.
  
  Chew toys:
  
  
• Kong XL for stuffing with RB, wet food, boiled chicken, etc. Strong than the regular red Kongs. Can also be frozen which increases the difficulty and time needed to get the food inside. have several I rotate out and they are basically the same shape as the day I bought them, which is impressive as my pup is a monster chewer.
  
  
• Filled thigh bones are pretty nice. They last as a while and can be rinsed and restuffed if the bone is still in good shape. Watch out, though - some brands are more prone to cracking and splintering while others last for ever. Trial and error basis. I can't remember the brand I use that works well but it's carried at my local Farmer Supply store (I find the bones and toys at these places to generally be better quality and also cheaper than chain pet stores).
  
  
• Meaty thigh bones are marrow filled and still have some "meat" on the exterior. They tend to last longer than the washed filled variety (above) and are "stinkier" and (I would imagine?) tastier. My guys prefer these to the plain bones since there are more goodies to get at. Downside is that they are a little stinkier at first and can possibly leave a mess, so make sure the dog is eating it on a towel.
  
  
• Bully sticks! Make sure they are real beef tendons though. Many companies make pressed rawhide varieties to resemble the real tendons but rawhide is, IMO, less safe for dogs. Last a while and smell like bacon but made my stomach a little queasy. Dogs go nuts for them though.
  
  
• Jolly Ball - not necessarily a chew toy but lasts a long time. Their teeth can penetrate the ball but the design is such that the ball doesn't pop. I had the variety with the rope that went through the center. The rope came off pretty quickly but the ball itself is still kicking. It is challenging to pick it up when playing fetch so he is less interested in tearing it to pieces than retrieving. It's poked through with holes but is the only ball that has lasted this long. Still going. Maybe worth checking out.

Oh Lordy I have a ton...I'll try to categorize them...

Best for Puppies
These are all easy toys that dispense a lot of kibble with very little movement. Perfect for baby puppies or really low-confidence dogs. These can also be upgraded in difficulty later by stuffing them with wet food and freezing, or stuffing with a large, hard to extract treat (like a slice of lunchmeat).

• PetSafe Busy Buddy Twist 'n Treat...total pain in the ass to fill if you put more than half a cup of food in it, but it's a great "intro to puzzle toys" for a dog that has never had to work for food before. Also very easy to clean.
  
• Soda Pup Coffee Cup...representative of a whole genre of "rubber toys with large holes" that make great easy kibble toys or challenging stuff and freeze toys. Some other toys in this genre are the Kong and the West Paw Toppl. I like the Soda Pup ones best because they have higher capacity and a flat bottom.
  
• Planet Dog Orbee Tuff Snoop...pretty easy by itself with kibble, can be made more challenging by stuffing a Mazee ball in the large hole.
  
• Plastic Milk Jug...or a water bottle, raid your recycling bin. You'll have to supervise to make sure your puppy doesn't shred and eat the jug, but it's a relatively easy and fun (and free) enrichment item. Another puzzle toy you may find in your recycling bin is a cardboard box filled with paper balls. Sprinkle some treats in the box, fill with the balls, and let your dog forage around in your DIY ball pit.
  
  Easy Rollers
  These basically just dispense kibble by rolling. Not particularly complex, but good for the dog that prefers to solve puzzles by brute force.
  
  
• IQ Treat Ball...this toy takes the longest to empty out of all my toys, but it is way too freaking small and loud as hell on my hardwood at 6am. Really easy to fill and clean though, as it comes completely apart.
  
• Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball...a lot quieter but it empties faster and isn't as easy to fill (or clean).
  
• Kruuse Buster Cube...this one is also ungodly loud, but it takes a good while to empty despite the fairly consistent payoff per roll. It's a cube (but they also make a spherical one) and the insides have a few baffles to keep kibble from just falling out.
  
  Wobblers
  These require a more finessed rolling motion to empty, so they're the next step up from just batting a toy around.
  
  
• PetSafe Busy Buddy Kibble Nibble...more of a wobbler/roller hybrid. Surprisingly time-consuming for how huge the holes are, and it gets an A+ for filling and cleaning. Unfortunately my GSD knows how to unscrew it, so it's not much of a challenge for him.
  
• Starmark Bob-A-Lot...lots of ways to adjust the difficulty on this one, which is nice. I had a foster chew the yellow piece off of mine, but it still works well.
  
• Kong Wobbler...pretty standard toy, I actually do not have one of these but I know a lot of people that like them. They're available at big box pet stores which is nice.
  
• Nina Ottosson Pyramid...very similar to the Kong Wobbler, but the hole is in a more difficult location. Good toy but the bottom could use more counterweighting for the wobble action.
  
• PetSafe Busy Buddy Magic Mushroom...really good wobble action, but for some reason it's common for dogs to try and chuck this one down the stairs and break it. I've heard of a few dogs doing this, including my GSD. I have no idea what about this toy screams "fling me down the stairs!"
  
  Complex Action Toys
  These need movement in more than one direction (or very specific movement) to get kibble out of, which makes them pretty challenging.
  
  
• PetSafe Busy Buddy Tug-a-Jug...this toy is hard to learn but easy to master. Once your dog figures out the mechanism it doesn't last long. Also that rope gets SUPER GROSS.
  
• Nina Ottosson Board Games...I don't personally have any of these because my dogs cannot be trusted with small parts, but I've heard people say good things about them.
  
• Trixie Mad Scientist...this toy is cool because the dog has to learn to spin the tubes slowly or centripetal acceleration holds the food in. Good exercise in impulse control. I had a DIY one for awhile but my dogs decided to brute force this toy.
  
  Soothing, Low Energy Toys
  Along with the stuff n' freeze toys, these are good for dogs on crate rest or who need some extra help relaxing before bed.
  
  
• Snuffle Mat...great toy for activating a dog's foraging instincts and calming their minds. This is a good DIY project, or you can get extra lazy and chuck a bunch of food into the grass for nature's puzzle toy.
  
• HyperPet Lickimat...my cats eat their wet food from the orange kind ("buddy"), and my dogs use the green kind ("soother") with some PB or cheese as a distraction during grooming. You can spread a thin layer of something tasty on them and freeze for a long-lasting treat that promotes the calming behavior of licking.
  
  
  My dogs (and cats!) eat all their food out of puzzles so I am constantly on the lookout for new challenges! I'd be happy to provide more details on any of the toys I have, or buy and review any toys people have been wondering about :)
  EDIT: btw this Jackson Galaxy Asteroid is my favorite cat puzzle toy. They really need to make one for dogs because it is kinda quirky with its bounciness and super quiet.

Your dog sounds so much like mine when he was the same age. It drove me nuts because we have a huge yard for him to run around, but when I'd let him out there he'd run for like 3 seconds and then lie down and chew on sticks. Then, when he got back in the house, he was still crazy.

Rodney was never super into toys, especially right at first. He didn't really understand how to play tug properly, and he didn't fetch (and he's a golden retriever! That's supposed to come pre-installed!). All he wanted to do was wrestle and roughhouse. Eventually, though, with enough persistence, we got him interested in fetching balls down the hall, and he LOVES tug now. It just took time for him to figure out what he liked and what the toys were for.

I bought a lot of toys for him at the beginning of his life. Spent a lot of money on them. Now I don't buy them anymore because the ones we have are holding up fine, and he likes them. His favorites are hol-ee roller, the dna toy, the IQ treat ball, big Chuck-it, and the orka ball.

The hol-ee roller and dna toy are awesome for fetch-and-tug. The only way we could get him to start fetching was to play tug with him when he brought the item back. He loves those two toys. The treat ball has been a lifesaver. We feed him his meals out of it, and it gives us some peace while we're eating as well as entertaining him. We recently got another similar toy called a snoop. This one is super awesome because it holds more food, and it's super quiet because it's made of squishy rubber, not hard plastic like the IQ ball. The orka ball is fun because it's so squishy and bouncy. He loves lacrosse balls because they're really bouncy, too. The orka is also cool because it's hollow, so you can stick treats in there. And the big Chuck-it ball has been great because he can grab onto really easy with the ridges, and I can kick a ball WAY further than I can throw it. The ball never gets lost because it's so big!

A tip to renew interest in the deer antler: boil it in chicken broth and let it dry out completely. This just gives it a new taste, and it worked when I did it for our dog.

A really good treat if you can find them is raw bones. Not the cooked ones they sell at pet stores, but uncooked bones you buy from a butcher. Ask at your local grocery store or butcher if they have bones for dogs, and if they don't know what you're talking about, ask if they have bones for making soup stock. Freeze the bones when you bring them home, and then give one to your pup! They're totally safe for dogs because unlike cooked ones, they won't splinter or break up dangerously. My dog used to spend forever licking out ever bit of marrow from the bones. They'll also clean your pup's teeth. :)

1. Kong Wubba Friend. Summit has the fox and it's his absolute favorite toy. He likes other wubbas too, but the fox is his favorite by a long shot. It's also super durable and doesn't have a bunch of stuffing to pull out. He loves the squeaking, the floppy tentacles, and it makes a great fetch toy as well.
   
   
2. Nylabone Prime Rib. Summit loves all Nylabones. His favorite is actually the dinosaur one, but I worry about the size of it and it stresses me out when he chews it. He loves the one we got him on sale after Christmas and I like the size. Really though, any Nylabone chew could be substituted in here. Summit loves chewing and Nylabones give him a great outlet for that.
   
3. Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball. I love the idea of food dispensing toys and Summit does too. It keeps him entertained and out of trouble for quite a while and he loves pushing it around and trying to get the food out. He gets extremely excited whenever he sees us pull this particular toy out of the toy bin.
   
4. Chuck It Max Glow Ball. We're still working on Summit's ball drive and it is definitely improving with age (yesterday he was actually running into a lake to fetch tennis balls which was a big first for him), but I love the bond that fetch gives. I also love things that glow in the dark (we could play when it gets dark out!) and the durability of the Chuck It balls as opposed to regular tennis balls.
   
5. Kong. A treat dispensing toy I can leave with him that he doesn't need as much room to use as the tricky treat ball. I also love trying the different recipes to throw in his Kong and it is great for calming him down.

(1) we have used all of the above. Standard collar holds tags the best, our training class provided a choke collar and we find it easiest for walks, and when he was still very small (8 weeks came home, so for about our first month or so) had him in the harness before we started training.

(2) we have all 3 - the retractable is new and I haven't used it yet, but we got it for beach trips so he can roam, then we started with a nylon and got a leather one from the class. We now use the leather mostly... just because its nice on the human paws :)

(3) We started with a 36" crate, at basically full grown he's fitting in pretty tightly, but still fits. We also ended up adding an ex-pen. If I was buying the crate now, I'd go up a size or two so he'd have some more space. I also highly recommend the pen if you have room.

(4) We've gone through a lot of beds... he's chewed them to bits... so might as well start off simple and cheap. He put a hole in the nice one we got recently within an hour.

(5) When he first came home, his favorites were the rope toys and unstuffed animals with squeekeres. Don't get things with stuffing!! They will try to eat it, and that makes for a lot of supervision needed. Now that he's a little older, he also loves balls, particularly [with teeth]
(https://smile.amazon.com/Coevals-Club-Interactive-Non-Toxic-Cleaning/dp/B01LARUD6M/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&qid=1493386356&sr=8-17&keywords=treat+ball+for+dog)
& [brain activity] (https://smile.amazon.com/OurPets-Treat-Ball-Interactive-Dispensing/dp/B003ARUKTG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1493386356&sr=8-3&keywords=treat+ball+for+dog)

(6) Foods:

• Blue Buffalo Puppy Chow
  
• Local pet store organic puppy mix
  
• Pupperoni training treats
  
• Beggin' Bacon Strips
  
• Blue Buffalo PB Hearts crunch treats
  
• Blue Buffalo dental sticks
  
• [Bully Sticks] (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HBVSG74/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) - mostly for teething, but he does "eat" them
  (7) We did a local class. For socializing, we've made sure to introduce him to people from day one - and dogs since he was fully vaxxed unless we know the dog.
  
  (8) Biggest challenge - he has chewed up window sills, door frames, etc when home alone. We originally thought it was OK to leave him in an empty room with just his toys etc bc we had an empty bedroom. He ruined the listed items of the room. Hence, adding the ex-pen. Happiest moments - it's like when people talk about their partners and babies... its the little moments, like when they snuggle up which you don't expect because its rare for the breed, or when they accomplish something - like being house broken, or a command (sit, etc).
  
  (9) we're lucky... he loves both dogs and people. Archer is an attention whore, and the more praise and play the better. This can vary by individual dog, like individual human.
  
  (10) The only thing I wish I could change is how long my commute it, and how late I get in. My husband is able to spend more time with the puppy than me which is just my own jealousy. Also... we use a dog walker 1-2 times a day (we're moving down to 1 now that he holds his bladder/bowels longer). The mid-day visit is SO important, if you can't take lunch at home... you need to have him with someone - a dog walker, a pet daycare. He cannot be alone for that long.
  
  Also... know he's a smart breed. He's not like a lab or a collie who will live to please you. You live to serve him (or her! I have a boy, so I keep using him) which means that you have to learn about his idiosyncracies. Because he is smart, but easily bored... you will need to figure out what kind of attention and stimulation keeps your shibe baby happy. Is it mental stimulation and logic puzzles? They make more than the tops I shared... so start looking. Also, just play hide and seek. Does his hunter instinct kick in? Sometimes, when he's feeling extra frisky instead of feeding him in a bowl, I'll toss his kibble and treats into the toy, or literally around the room so he can "hunt" for dinner. Is he feeling neglected? Bored? he's going to cause trouble...so how can you make sure he knows you love him. Think of him like April Ludgate in Parks & Rec, or a cat. He wants to know he can have your attention when he wants it - but he will not just snuggle because you want to... or pay attention to you if it doesn't meet his interests or needs. You'll fall in love (hopefully) and won't care, but the shiba will rule the fam not vice versa so get ready for it.

I'm just going to start listing off puzzle toys that I like since I don't know which ones you'd used before.
Kong toys are excellent ways to stimulate using food. You can also try food puzzles, such as the IQ Ball or Trixie Pet products. Snuff mats can also be helpful, if your dog likes to "forage" for food.

Licking and chewing can also relieve stress. There's a lick mat that I recently found that my pups really love. You can put something like peanut butter or yogurt on it, freeze it, and my dogs go at it for 30 minutes. For chewing, you can look at variety of different things, such a bully sticks, chew toys, Himalayan dog chews, etc. My dogs like all of the above, but the longest lasting chews for them are Benebones.

Search high and low for these types of toys and puzzles. You can often find discounted pet toys at Marshalls or Ross, if you have these types of stores near you. I know they can be kind of expensive, but a good brand will last forever, and for my dogs, they've been great investments!

You can also make your own games, if you'd rather not purchase toys. Hide treats under plastic cups and tell Micah to "go find!" You can play hide-and-go-seek around the home. For a DIY toy, put treats in a muffin tin and cover each tin with a tennis ball for him to remove. If he is comfortable with these in the house, you can take these types of games outside, too.

Beyond just toys and physical things you can buy to help stimulate and relieve stress, working with your dog can only help. This means basic obedience training. I highly recommend using a clicker-- dogs learn very well when they know exactly what behaviors you want of them.

The benefits of working with your dog? Mental exercise can be as satisfying and grueling at physical exercise -- I'm not saying that it's a substitute for the physical stuff, but it can certainly play part of your dog's overall health. Working with your dog, teaching him basic obedience, and perhaps moving onto some fun tricks will not only turn the gears in Micah's head and give you more of a foundation to work with him in the presence of other dogs, but obedience builds confidence. You're teaching Micah that he has other behaviors he can present in XYZ situation aside from reactivity. It's always important that dogs understand they have a choice, and the choices they make have consequences. In Micah's case, he can get upset at other dogs and bark his head off or he can choose to sit with you and get tasty treats for "watch me" or "shake" or "lie down" or whatever it is you ask of him. One is far more pleasant for both you and him than the other.

You have to work up to these ideal behaviors, of course, but you have to start somewhere! You can google and search on Youtube for basic cues and tricks to teach him. There are some very comprehensive Youtube videos out there that will teach you step by step and make it fun for both you and Micah. Here are some common ones: sit, lie down, watch me, touch, shake, take a bow, rollover, play dead, spin around.

As for physical exercise, you're going to have to find something that works for you, I'm afraid. If you don't have a backyard and are limited on space in the home, you might have to get creative. This might mean taking a jog after dark when no one else walks their dog, assuming you live in a safe neighborhood -- although, with a dog as big as Micah, someone would have to be an idiot to do you harm. You might resort to a flirt pole, fetch, or frisbee in a trusted friend or neighbor's yard. Although kind of pricey, Micah might take to agility training or some other dog sport/activity. You could also engage him in an intense game of fetch/tug if you can find some room in your home.

I can almost guarantee that if Micah gets the energy outlet that his husky/shepherd heart and brain need, he'll be easier to manage and train with regards to reactivity.

I know this is a lot of information. I have more if you want it. There is always hope, and Micah really is lucky to have found you. He will get better in time!

You've gotten a lot of good opinions, I'll throw mine in for fun :-)

First. I think you're a good dog owner and I think you can make this work.

Many people have suggested a dog walker - I think that is a great idea. I have a coworker who has a dog walker who gathers up a few dogs from his neighborhood, drives them to a park and they have 3+ hour adventures! Plus they get to spend some time riding around to pick up and drop off the other dogs, I think it really fills their dogs day. My coworker does this M-F but even one day a week would be awesome.

Second. Work his brain. I'd start feeding all his meals in a food dispensing toy he enjoys. I used all of the ones I'll link below either for the dogs I work with or my pets.

[Bob-a-lot] (http://www.amazon.com/StarMark-Bob-A-Lot-Interactive-Pet-Large/dp/B001JQLNB4) This one is pretty tough and can be left alone with some dogs

[Tug-a-Jug] (http://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-Buddy-Dispensing-Medium-Large/dp/B000KV7ZGQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1426890582&sr=1-1&keywords=food+dispensing+bottle+rope+toy) This one can be dangerous if they eat the 'rope' but I love how ease it is to fill.

[Tricky Treat Ball] (http://www.amazon.com/Omega-Paw-Tricky-Treat-Large/dp/B0002DK26M/ref=sr_1_3?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1426890517&sr=1-3&keywords=food+dispensing+dog+toy) This one takes my dog FOREVER but holds her interest well. The plastic is really soft so I supervise her using it (while I watch TV or brush my teeth) so she doesn't just lay down and chew at it to get her food. The other thing I like about the soft plastic/rubber is that it is pretty quiet for her to use unlike the other options I've listed.

[Buster Cube] (http://www.amazon.com/Buster-Food-Cube-Large-Colors/dp/B0006G54OU/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1426890999&sr=8-9&keywords=food+dispensing+dog+toy) Not sure if the buster cube was the first of the roll around style food dispensers but it was the only one I knew about for a long time. They're pretty sturdy and challenging.

There are a LOT more food dispensing toys out there but I think the ones they have to move can be a little more exciting than a tightly packed kong they lick at. Kongs are great too, I'd just include them in a rotation of feeding devices.

Another thing you can do to make life more exciting for your dog is to rotate toys. If he has a lot of toys only leave out 2 or 3 on a given day and swap them out for toys you've kept hidden and occasionally introduce a new toy. Some dogs really love novelty.

Finally I think trick training is great. A few 5 minute sessions a day of learning a new behavior, or building on an existing behavior is a great way to beat the boredom.

Some fun tricks you can teach that you can use to make really complex behaviors are take it (hold in mouth), paw target (touch with foot) and nose target (touch with nose). You can use those behaviors along with others tricks to teach him to close doors, open doors, turn lights on and off, put things away, cross his legs, ring a bell, limp, pretend to pee (targeting with a back foot) etc.

Lastly, I'd teach him to search for hidden items in your house. I like to hide something while my dog is out going potty, then watch her search for it while I brush my teeth.

Hope those ideas for easy entertainment help some! Keep the dog, do what you can, you're doing SO MUCH MORE than so many dog owners already. I think he'd be fine if you kept him and just did what you're doing now. :-)

Hi! We adopted a four/five-year-old frenchie a few months ago and have had great success getting her yeast infections, fur, and overall health under control. She was in literally the same situation before she was rescued.

​

Our vet prescribed us ketoconazole wipes, which you can get on amazon (for less than the vet price! and it's the same thing!). These have done wonders for her face, paws, and bottom end. If he has yeast on his feet, he probably has it in his tail crease as well. At first, we were going through a pack of these every 3 weeks. Yikes. You can find them here: https://www.amazon.com/Mal-Wipes-Support-Healthy-Dechra/dp/B01IO9563E/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia?hvadid=178372316526&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9002006&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=10651630771226582108&hvtargid=aud-647006051489%3Akwd-33682989493&keywords=mal-a+ket+wipes&pd_rd_i=B01IO9563E&pd_rd_r=17b03f45-b65a-4d10-915a-5f2d282f3f38&pd_rd_w=LhGqy&pd_rd_wg=7jM7d&pf_rd_p=23754a30-606a-4e0a-ba42-b43d14507217&pf_rd_r=NP7E26CJCVV82H56D8V6&qid=1554385994&s=gateway

​

She came to us on a grain free diet but the vet put her on a grain-included diet for her heart murmur. We give her Honest Kitchen food and it's been working incredibly well. If you want to remain grain-free, they have an option for that. I linked her favorite flavor. Her tear stains have been clearing up, coat is all shiny, and yeast is more manageable since switching from kibble to this. Also, they have a great intro offer on prime. https://www.thehonestkitchen.com/dog-food/meals/dehydrated-grain-free/dehydrated-grain-free-chicken-dog-food

​

Our Phoebe is big for a frenchie (30-35 lbs) and loves walks. She and I do 3-4 miles a day. She also loves to go for hikes and once a week will do a short run. People will tell you that these are "lethargic apartment dogs" but it completely depends on the particular dog. As yours gets healthier, his energy level will increase a lot.

​

Also, Phoebe loves clothes. She did not have clothes before us. She will pick out a shirt to wear if I give her options. Her favorites are the Hanna Anderson dog pajamas (here: https://www.hannaandersson.com/discontinued-product/50902-AH1.html?dwvar_50902-AH1_color=AH1&cgid=). I think it's because the fabric is super soft. She also wears sweaters when it's cold, and will pick out which one she wants to wear. She has learned how to help get herself dressed.

​

Frenchies should wear harnesses, not collars, because of their lack of defined neck and general lack of skill at breathing. If you're looking to spend money, the canada pooch ones are double adjustable and comfortable. Before she got that one as a special present, she had this one that my parents' beagle used to wear. She loved it, but the elastic was getting old! link here: https://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-EasySport-Harness-Adjustable-Reflective/dp/B00HY6TFKE/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=dog+harness+with+handle&qid=1554386488&s=gateway&sr=8-7

​

Phoebe loves her toys and is a big chewer. Strong mouth. The toys that have held up best to her are these strange platypus ducks https://www.amazon.com/Multipet-Large-Dog-Toy-Yellow/dp/B000084E7Y/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=duck+dog+toy&qid=1554386781&s=gateway&sr=8-3 and her trash panda, which she picked out at home depot https://www.homedepot.com/p/Loonies-Raccoon-54021/307751080.

​

I have lots of opinions and recommendations so feel free to ask me questions! I love to talk about Phoebe. You can also follow her on instagram at @phoebephilothefrenchie.

Alright. Here's my 2 cents. Except it's probably gonna turn out to be 50 cents because I like to type, so bear with me.

1. Throw your preconceptions about crate training OUT the window. Especially with a velcro breed like a German shepherd, crate training will be your best friend and key tool. If you need the dog to not be up your ass for a little while (which it will, I guarantee you, that's shepherds for ya), you'll need a place to put it. Since it takes time to train a long down-stay, a crate is your best bet. Proper crate training teaches the dog that the crate is a safe, cozy place for the dog to relax and chew a bone or take a nap or just chill. So find some books or online articles and read up on how to do it because it's great. Seriously. I promise you, when done right, it is absolutely not cruel whatsoever. This article is a good place to start.
   
   
2. Again, read up on it. I haven't had many experiences introducing cats and dogs, so I can't give you my own anecdotal advice, but like with anything else take it slow and keep it positive. Reward the dog for calm behavior around the cats and if s/he tries to chase them, give a time-out or separate them for a while. The cats are the real wild cards here, because if they have not been socialized to dogs then they are of course liable to get angry at the dog. If the dog hasn't been socialized to cats then the dog will perceive the anger as excitement and may try to play or fight, depending on the dog. So try to keep the cats calm and give them plenty of spaces to escape to; if they like to climb, get them a tower or a shelf that's all theirs, for example.
   
   
3. Nah, not necessarily. Every dog has different toy preferences so if you get a bunch now you may find that your dog isn't even interested in half of them. I would say wait until you get the dog and then go to a pet store together and figure out what it likes then. However, one thing that is useful for almost every dog is a Kong or two (or three...). If you want to start stocking something now, I would strongly suggest putting a little money away per week/month/pay period in a savings account so you have some financial cushion if the dog suddenly needs expensive vet care. Or just for general expenses for the dog. Because they are expensive.
   
   
4. Bones are fine. Make sure they are raw, because cooked bones can splinter and cause damage. My person lrule is that if they are small enough to swallow or soft enough to break down into swallowable pieces, they don't get them while unsupervised. Also be careful with super hard things like antlers at first. I've never experienced this, but apparently some dogs have softer teeth than others and can break their teeth on antler chews. Antlers are great for puppies who are chewing maniacs but again, just supervise them at first. Rawhides are also hit or miss; many people give them to their dogs without issue but ingested rawhide can sometimes swell up from moisture and cause intestinal blockages. Apparently. Most people agree that it's unsafe to give rawhide to puppies.
   
   
5. Positive reinforcement trainer. Don't settle for anything else. Look for a trainer who is a certified behaviorist (will have a master's or PhD), has an animal behavior degree, has credentials through the Association of Pet Dog Trainers or the Karen Pryor Academy (there are a few others but those are the most common), and/or a combination of two or more of those things. You can search for one here or here. And here is a worst-case scenario story of what can happen when a dog that just has a few bad manners gets "trained" abusively and irresponsibly.
   
   
6. Hmm. I have no idea what a fourteener is, but I'll give this one a shot. Hiking, in my experience, is not too strenuous exercise for a dog. If you were running the dog really hard in a game of fetch or taking him/her on a jog without giving it breaks, that would be one thing. But leisurely hikes, where the dog can slow down or speed up or stop and sniff at its own pace, should be just fine. What I like to do with our dog is put her on a 20'+ leash and just let her drag that so we don't have to hold a leash and she can run ahead and then wait for us, which she likes to do. She sticks pretty close (she's a shepherd too), but a recent rescue may not do the same. I would recommend, if you do the long leash method, clipping it to your belt/loop with a carabiner. That way, dog gets to run ahead or lag behind, but can't run off. ...Aaand I got sidetracked. Watch for signs of tiredness: excessive panting, lagging behind, stopping and sitting/lying down, low head and slow movement, etc. Just make sure to at first give doggie lots of breaks (and offer water every break!) and work up to longer hikes.
   
   
7. Depends on what your dog is interested in. Some dogs just want to run and chase a ball, and only that will tire them. Other dogs will be entertained by a few training sessions or a game of Find the Treat/Toy. Others are more relaxed/lazy and will be content lying around the house with you. That's probably not the case for many German shepherds, but if the dog is older it may be. I like to feed our dog with a food ball or puzzle toy, because it takes her longer to eat and is more interactive and entertaining than her just guzzling her food out of a bowl. I will also give her a stuffed and frozen Kong (usually it has food and/or treats and some peanut butter) if she is especially bored and I don't have time to play with her or walk her. I suggest teaching your dog lots of fun tricks because s/he will pick them up quickly and then you can have them do the tricks if they're bored. :)
   
   Other tips, even though this is getting ridiculously long - Read! Educate yourself! Explore as many possible resources as you can to find what is right for you and your dog! Here are some good ones:
   
   

• Whole Dog Journal (website/periodical)
  
  
• The Other End of the Leash (book)
  
  
• The Culture Clash (book)
  
  
• Clickertraining.com
  
  
• Dogmantics.com, and her YouTube channel
  
  Damn. Sorry that is so long. If you somehow have any other questions after all that, I'd be glad to answer them. I have had many, many family dogs, currently share a beloved whiny baby German shepherd with my boyfriend, am pursuing a BS in animal behavior, and work at a positive reinforcement dog training facility. So I am a fountain of fun facts just waiting to be asked questions!

I've posted this before, and it's a great list! Originally posted by u/manatee1010 and I have tried several:

I keep this list of brain toy links handy to send to friends who get dogs. It's getting pretty long...

Toys that get stuffed with food and frozen:

• Kong Classic (15-20 minutes) (it sounds like Watson is lukewarm toward this… have you tried mixing a spoonful of canned food in with some kibble and freezing it?
  
  
• Zogoflex Toppl Interactive Treat Dispensing Dog Toy (this can be a stand-alone toy, or if you get a big one and little one they can fit together and dispense kibble) (15-20 minutes)
  
  
• Starmark Pickle Pocket (my big dog really likes this one… we put cheese in it) (20-25 minutes)
  
  Kibble dispensing toys, hard material (good for carpeted areas)
  
  
• Bob-A-Lot (~10 minutes… this one can be adjusted to make it harder)
  
  
• Tug-A-Jug (10-30 minutes, depending on the dog)
  
  
• Magic Mushroom (10-30 minutes, depending on the dog)
  
  
• Kong Wobbler (~5-10 minutes)
  
  
• IQ Treat Ball (~10-15 minutes)
  
  
• Pet Zone IQ Ball (this is the ONLY toy my dogs can’t get all the kibble out of. They’ll usually persist for half an hour or so before they give up)
  
  
• Buster Cube (I think this has several difficulty settings… my guys now don’t have one of these, but my dog when I was growing up had one. I’d guess this is probably a 20-30 minute toy depending on difficulty and what you load into it)
  
  
• Treatstik – I have NO idea how long this one takes to load, but it’s on my to-purchase list because it seems like it’s one of the longer lasting toys on the market. If anyone has/gets one, I’m super interested to hear about it!
  
  Kibble dispensing toys, soft material (good for hardwood/tile/laminate)
  
  
• Barnacle (this can be stuffed like a Kong as well… I lost this one when I moved but I think in terms of kibble dispensing it was shorter lasting, maybe 5-10 minutes)
  
  
• Tricky Treater (I REALLY like this one; super easy to load and clean, lasts 10-15 minutes)
  
  
• Tricky Treat Ball (another super easy one… <5 minutes)
  
  
• Planet Dog Orbee-Tuff Snoop Treat Dispensing Dog Toy – this one just arrived yesterday so I don’t have a solid rating of its durability yet, but so far it seems great… easy to load, takes the dogs awhile to empty, and super duper quiet.
  
  
• JW Pet Company Treat Puzzler Dog Toy (this one is super easy for them to empty… I’d say 3-5 minutes)
  
  
• PetSafe Busy Buddy Kibble Nibble Meal Dispensing Dog Toy (this one is okay, not my favorite… I didn’t like that I had to make a decision about cutting it immediately after opening. It takes ~5-10 minutes to unload)
  
  
• Starmark Treat Dispensing Puzzle Ball - this one is new! I almost bought it the other day but haven't yet; I think it's most similar to a Buster Cube in terms of adjustable difficulty, it's just a softer material.
  
  Time-release kibble dispensing toys (good for work days)
  
  
• the Foobler is great because it works on a timer that rotates to the next of six, ¼ cup food hoppers at set intervals of time (you pick, the options are 15-30-60-90 minutes), which makes it last way longer than most of these toys. This is hard plastic.
  
  
• CleverPet – this has a December release date. I’m way pumped about it and have been in touch with the company… hopefully I’ll be getting one of the first models off the line!
  
  Lastly, there are also these two that I haven’t tried yet, so I’m not positive how to classify…
  
  
• Starmark Crunching Barbell
  
  
• Starmark Treat Crunching Multiball
  
  
  ETA: If you have any others you like (or don't like) that I've left off this list, please chime in!

Honestly, you exercise your dog while doing things as a family. I don't have a child, but some of my friends with a dog do and them spending quality time together usually consists of them going to the beach with a dog or going to the park with the dog, or going on hikes with the dog. They were active people to begin with (their daughter went on her first camping trip at 1 month old, the dad's a marathoner, the mom's a triathlete) so an active dog fit into their lifestyle. (They have a border collie - the most active of active dogs) Additionally, once your dog is 3 years old, they should calm down a bit, although labs are notorious for acting like puppies far into their adult years.

Generally, this is why people are actually advised away from labs - they're far more high energy than most people expect. They were bred to retrieve and hunt - to work the whole day with a hunter so they've got a lot of energy.

Does your dog have all their shots? Is there a dog park nearby? My dog will get wiped when she gets to play with all the other dogs. Have you taught your dog fetch? That's another great way to get out a lot of energy fast. Do you know what a flirt pole is? It's basically a giant cat toy for dogs (I got mine here). My dog is uber prey driven, so this is the perfect toy for her. You want to go easy on it as your puppy is still very young and their growth plates aren't fused yet, but it can still be very fun and tiring.

Does your daughter have a lot of fun with the dog? Maybe you can figure out some game that will not only tire out your puppy, but allow you to give your daughter your time as well.

Here's what I think you should try:

• get an exercise pen so you don't always have to worry about your puppy getting into stuff while you're working
  
• Take 5 minute breaks from work occasionally and work on some training with your dog - training is great mental stimulation and will also tire out your dog (also it's more effective when done in short bursts throughout the day)
  
• Don't give your dog any more food in a bowl. It always goes into some sort of puzzle toy (I have the starmark chew ball and the kong wobbler but there are tons) or is a reward for training
  
• Try to extend your walks a bit and make sure you don't always go to the same place. Sniffing new things is also mental stimulation and will also help tire out your dog
  
• Try to find more activities you can do as a family that will also wear out your dog
  
• Try a bitter spray like bitter apple for things she shouldn't chew on (my dog used to chew on the table, now she doesn't)
  
• Make sure you're giving your dog really good chews like bully sticks. They're pricey, but much less of a choking hazard than rawhide. I buy em in bulk off amazon.
  
• Try dog parks
  
• See if doggy day care, even for a day or two a week is feasible - it may really tire out your dog (most of them around here have a discounted rate for a half day, so that's an option as well)
  
• Try a flirt pole
  
• Try fetch
  
• Get thee to a dog training class! Once again, training will tire out your dog mentally so they're less likely to destroy stuff
  

Just a light cotton sheet or tablecloth will do for covering. If you can find it in a dark color, that would be great, but just not being able to see around her will help.

Sitting before you open the door is totally fine. Creating a routine is a great way to get her to love the crate, the more treats involved the better!
This is the treat ball I use which works great as long as your dog isn't much of a destroyer. Holds a fair amount of food. If you're not sure about the food bowl just putting in a large object or smaller upside down bowl inside the food dish can help in the meanwhile.

Outside as a family is great, I was just thinking of those time when you're worried about her peeing but would like to give her some time outside her crate unsupervised. I'm not too familiar with heat+breathing issues so you might consult your vet just to see what they recommend based on your climate and your pup.

I'm glad I could help! I just totally know how it is to feel frustrated with your dog. I'm glad she's peeing indoors less! May also just be her getting used to her new home :)

Best of luck!

Edit! Oh I forgot about the ear cleaning. Cheese whiz! Or similar consistency stuff, peanut butter works too but isn't as convenient. Smear a long thin line of it on the floor (or other easily wipeable surface). Like, a foot of it. You can even space it out a bit. While she's busy licking, you can mess with her ears. Picked this trick up from my vet and it works awesomely.

Oh that is hard one. I work on this with mine, but I think her prey drive is just too high for me to ever take her off-leash without worrying.

Look here for some basics on teaching recall. A long line is a great start. You want to find whatever motivates your dog best. High value treats, favorite toy, play. I'm going to copy/paste a previous response I did as to how I taught my chaser recall:

> With Syd, the best initial technique was the turn-and-run. I would call Syd to come and turn around and run in the opposite direction so that she ran after and chased me, then I rewarded further either with play or treats. Syd loves chasing! I then varied the rewards, switching between chase, play, and treats. I usually use treats now with only an occasional turn-and-run, and higher value treats for bigger distractions (dogs, squirrels, etc.). Recalling with distractions is still a work in progress.

A flirt pole can also be a useful tool in teaching your dog a good leave it. My dog loves to chase the flirt pole, but I taught her to only chase when I release her and to leave it when I say.

Generally, you want to start easy, reward really well, and gradually build up distractions.

Sorry I didn't get to this right away, OP. I knew it would get lengthy, so I wanted to wait until I had a chance to get to my computer.

First, just to clear up any (very common) misconceptions you might have, Dominance theory has been discounted and should not be used as a basis for making decisions about dog behaviour or training, so forget about being alpha in your pack (from the wiki.

The dog does not see you as competition. You're simply dealing with an untrained, high energy dog.

Now, before I give you any more advice, recognize that this is not your dog, so clear any training methods with your girlfriend first. Be supportive and NOT accusatory, and suggest taking a good positive reinforcement class with her. Hell, gift her a training class as a Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/whatever present, and go together.

>He exhibits a lot of bad behaviors that she does not correct, or will even defend

"Bad behaviors" is a relative term. What you may view as "bad," your girlfriend may view as no big deal. For example, my dog is horrible on leash. I've been training diligently for years, and he just cannot grasp the concept of walking on a leash without pulling. So, I gave up. If that's his worst behavior, then I'll let it go and just learn to manage it. For me, pulling on leash is not a "bad" behavior.

She's also likely getting defensive with everyone getting mad at her.

How much exercise and mental stimulation is the dog getting every day? My guess is, not nearly enough. Start there. Take the dog running/biking/hiking, get a flirt pole, take up a dog sport like nosework or agility (agility will require a basic obedience class first, but nosework you can start almost immediately in your own living room), feed out of puzzle toys or freeze meals into Kongs (ditch the dog bowl), and pick up clicker training and start working on obedience.

>He mostly only listens to her, but when his mind is set he listens to absolutely no one

This isn't uncommon, even with trained dogs. Training is a lifelong skill, and you can't just teach a command and be done with it. You have to train with different people, in different environments/situations, and make sure to reinforce good behaviors occasionally.

>He will dig in the trash, jump on the counters, eat any and all food he can find even if it makes him absolutely sick

This is more of a management issue than a training issue. The dog is being set up to fail. Digging in the trash and counter surfing are WAY more rewarding than any training you can do with the dog. It's fun and results in food. Garbage cans need to be put behind a closed door, and food cannot be left on the counters. Bonus points if you can block off the kitchen with a baby gate. Shoes and things need to be put away, as well as anything you don't want the dog to potentially view as a toy. You need to essentially puppy proof your home(s).

>he can't stand to be separated from her and exhibits severe separation anxiety

This isn't uncommon in gun dogs. Most are naturally very handler focused (to an extent), so it's hard for them to know what to do without their owner/handler. Here is our page on separation anxiety.

>he will listen for a few minutes and then just do whatever he wants after that

You're expecting a lot out of an untrained, underexercised dog. In fact, "a few minutes" is a fantastic stay duration, and you should actually view that as impressive. The dog has to learn how to work up to a stay of greater durations, and a dog should never be put in a position to break the stay. The stays you expect of this dog should never be a "permanent" stay (meaning, the dog should never be expected to stay until you get around to giving him attention again).

He's breaking the stay simply because he doesn't understand when he's allowed to move again. If you want him out of your way, you need to be giving him something else to do (this is where frozen kongs will be your best friend). Don't leave it up to him to maintain a long stay. Manage his environment so he has something better to do.

Also recognize that he's starved of attention and exercise. This is an underexercised dog, so he's going to be annoying and demanding as fuck until you can get him to the point where he is content to just go to sleep instead of waiting for you guys to entertain him.

>There have been multiple occasions where he has knocked her over or down stairs because he just excitedly shoves his way past her/us the split second she opens the house or car door, even if she tells him to sit and stay (he freaks out whenever he thinks she is going anywhere without him

He's bored as fuck, and is hoping like hell something exciting is about to happen. Again, daily exercise and mental stimulation will help here.

>and always ensures he is ahead of her wherever she goes

Forgive me if I'm just reading too far into this, but I didn't want to potentially pass over it. It's a very common misconception that a dog is trying to "dominate" us by "leading the way." This is entirely untrue. Dogs simply move way faster than we do, and the dog doesn't know where he should go, or what he should be doing instead. Again, its nothing more than a bored, excited dog.

>When she brings him to my (or anyone else's) house, he becomes an absolute terror where, even if he gets to sit right next to her, he eventually becomes restless and starts walking back and forth from her to the nearest exit

Dogs don't handle change well, and you're dealing with an overaroused, anxious, underexercised dog. He's WAY over threshold, and is literally unable to settle down.

>If I give him a command it's pretty obvious he knows what I want and then will do the opposite

He doesn't know what you want. He may have an idea, but dogs don't generalize well. That means a dog will not easily understand that "sit" applies wherever he is, from no matter who says it. You need to take the initiative to help train the dog in your house, and create a positive bond with this dog. Give him a reason to want to listen to you, and help him to understand what you expect of him.

The best dog training occurs when a dog is taught what to do, instead of what not to do. Set him up for success instead of just assuming he knows what he should be doing.

>Locking him in the car is her solution to this, every time. Apparently being locked in a tiny car is better than being inside a comfortable house

This is a very poor solution to a problem, but it likely allows the dog to calm down in a quiet, familiar space. Do not leave a dog unattended in a car, and do not allow this to become a bandaid. Again, and I'll repeat it as often as necessary, this dog needs more exercise every single day. High energy working breeds become neurotic if they're not exercised and given a job to do.

>it has grown to a point where he is challenging me, even in my own home

Obviously, by now you should understand this, but the dog is not challenging you. He's just untrained and underexercised.

>I've tried to come come up with solutions

What have your solutions been? You both need to crack down on the house training and train properly. Here is our housetraining page. In short, make sure the dog is 100% supervised, take him out frequently so he doesn't have a chance to decide to go indoors, reward heavily when he goes in the correct spot, and just calmly and quietly clean up messes.

>I'm stuck always being the "bad guy" who gets annoyed by the dog and ends up punishing him for his aweful behavior

Do. Not. Punish. Dogs don't understand punishment the same way we do. It's an entirely ineffective way to get your point across. In 99% of cases, if the dog has messed up, it's your fault, I promise you. If he pees in the house, why was he unsupervised? If he knocks over the garbage, why wasn't it behind a door? If he pulls on the leash, why haven't you trained him? If he's sprinting around the house, why hasn't he been exercised?

A dog can only behave as a dog. We're the ones with these arbitrary human rules, so we need to be the ones to help the dog succeed.

Needless to say, there's also a relationship issue here. If the dog is to be allowed in your house, your girlfriend needs to be responsible for him. But, as I said in the beginning, avoid accusing your girlfriend and make this a team effort. It's incredibly easy for someone to fall into this trap of "my dog is hopeless" which becomes "there's nothing wrong with my dog, STFU," believe me. If this is a long term, serious relationship, you need to be equally as involved. Here is our page on how to choose a trainer, and I would also be happy to send you a list of some trainers if you PM me your zip code. ALWAYS look for a positive reinforcement, force free trainer. And, for Dog's sake, thoroughly read through our wiki and sidebar. This dog is not hopeless by any means, and almost all of your training solutions can be found in the wiki.

From what you've said here my best guess would be is that he is barking out of boredom. He's figured out that when he barks you come out and play a fun game of (unintentional) chase.

I know you've said that he gets plenty of exercise, which is fantastic, but dogs need more than just physical exercise. They also need mental stimulation and fun so I would work on making the yard more exciting.

First step is if you haven't already, getting rid of the food bowl. Food bowls are boring, there's no challenge and 30 seconds later the food is gone. Get food puzzle toys, I recommend getting at least 2 different ones so you can alternate and they don't get boring. Something like the Kong Wobbler and a Treat Ball there are so many types out there. Another really simple method is simply scattering their food around the yard so they have to go searching around and forage for it. Give him meaty bones and chew toys/treats that he has to really focus on and spend time with, not just Snap and its gone.

Does he have any toys out in the yard to play with? If so, does he actually play with them? I could surround my dog in tennis balls and soft toys and she's just sleep on them, but give her a cheap plastic flowerpot and she's running around like a lunatic. Make sure they're actually toys he wants to play with and again its a good idea to alternate them so they don't get old. There are some great ideas for enrichment here, some really good homemade (and cheap) enrichment ideas. If your dog likes to dig then maybe set up a sandpit, just get a plastic wading pool and put sand in it, hide treats and toys in there, lots of fun. If he likes tug of war then the Bungees are great (I'm sure there's a US version).

You should do daily training sessions with him. These don't require giant chunks of time, in fact its better if you only do 5-10 minutes at a time. Do these a few times a day, you can do 1-2 in the morning and then a couple more in the evening. It doesn't matter what you're teaching him, just get him using his brain. Tricks are fun for both of you and dogs love showing them off for attention.

Addressing the barking though, I think you need to stop going out when he barks. He gets your attention and a game for this behaviour, why would he stop? He only gets rewarded for appropriate behaviour. Hold out for quiet and calm behaviour, I'll warn you now that he'll most likely get worse before he gets better. This is known as an Extinction Burst do NOT give in. He is just trying harder and longer to get the reaction he wants if you give in he will simply have learned to bark more. If you feel its necessary drop a note to your neighbours letting them know that you are working on his barking and he might be worse for a little bit but it should pass quickly.
This teaches him what wont get a good reaction, so you should teach him what to do instead. When he's calm and just doing his own thing, reward it. Give him a treat or a game, or let him inside. Make being quiet the behaviour that gets him what he wants.

Can't answer anything area specific but I'll link some toys/beds/products my dogs like.

Food Dispensing Toys

• IQ ball. My dogs eat all their meals out of this one. It is quite loud on hard floors.
  
  
• Bob-a-lot.
  
  
• Magic mushroom
  
  
• Tricky treat ball
  
  
• Kong Wobbler
  
  Puzzles
  
  
• Twister
  
  
• Tornado. This one is fairly easy.
  
  
• Chess 3
  
  
• Move to pull
  
  
• Brick. Very easy but good starter puzzle.
  
  This is a nice bed for dogs who like to burrow/get under covers. They also like beds similar to this one.
  
  Food is up to you. Do some research online and read through ingredients to find a good one. One of my dogs gets Orijen and the other gets Wellness.
  
  I definitely recommend you seek out some training classes. They are also good for socialization in a controlled environment. It's a great way to bond with your dog and really fun to advance through different classes and class types.
  
  The toys my dogs like are beanie babies and kleenex. If your dog is a chewer then don't waste money on stuffed toys.
  

ACDs are quite the toy destroyers aren't they? Although my guy isn't quite as esteemed in the destruction field as an ACD, he is pretty bad. Here's what has survived him:

• Kong Sqrunch
  
• Ethical Skinneeez Big Bite Coyote Stuffingless Dog Toy (I really like this one because you can replace the water bottle inside. The only issue I have with it is that it can get kind of grimey)
  
• KONG Wobbler Treat Dispensing Dog Toy (good if he likes puzzles)
  
• KONG Extreme Dog Toy, Black
  
• Invincibles Snake Stuffingless Durable Tough Plush Dog Squeaky Toy with Squeakers by Outward Hound
  
• Jolly Pets Push-n-Play 14-Inch (might be really fun for him as it taps in to some herding dog's natural herding instinct)
  
• Benebone Real Flavor Wishbone Chew Toy, Made in USA (I'd be careful with these and supervision only at first. If your dog's chewing style is too aggressive, he can end up bleeding. I wouldn't dismiss it until you try it though. My boy is pretty aggressive, but works for him.)
  
• West Paw Zogoflex Hurley Durable Dog Bone Chew Toy for Aggressive Chewers, 100% Guaranteed Tough, It Floats!, Made in USA, for Strong Chewers (this one is awesome. Aside from some dirt, it looks exactly like the day I bought it to this day.
  
• goDog Dragons Flats Plush Dog Toy with Chew Guard Technology (My guy really likes plush toys and squeakers. He doesn't normally get them because he likes ripping them out and it's not the safest. This is the best one that I've found so far that will put up the biggest fight.)
  
• Goughnuts - Original Dog Chew Ring (a lot of people really like this, but unfortunately, Atlas doesn't seem to like the shape too much.)
  
• MultiPet Goblets Pig latex Dog toy Assorted Colors (lmfao my dog fucking loves this pig. The squeaker doesn't last, but the pig's outer shell does. He loves it a lot.)
  
• JW Pet Company Mini Hol-ee Roller Dog Toy, Colors Vary (They've also got an extreme edition here)
  
• MuttNation Fueled by Miranda Lambert Faux Suede Dog Toy (his face has come off, and his tail is frayed, but it is still chewable and he enjoys playing with it)
  
• KONG Cozies Dog Squeaky Toy (Also a really great option if you want to treat him to a plush toy. It will last longer than most others. Mine ripped off the ear when he first got it, but the rest lasted quite a while.)
  
• Outward Hound Hide-A-Squirrel and Puzzle Plush Squeaking Toys for Dogs (He loved this toy so much. He loves puzzles, but he destroyed the log fairly quickly. Surprisingly, he has had one of the squirrels for over a year ... and it still squeaks. I lost the rest of them, but that one little squirrel is still going strong.)
  
• Mammoth TireBiter Chew Toy with Rope (don't get this unless you don't mind bits of tire coming off)
  
• OurPets IQ Treat Ball Interactive Food Dispensing Dog Toy (great if your dog eats kibble and likes puzzles)
  
• Nylabone Dental Dino Power Chew DuraChew Dental Chew Toy (Like the benebone, watch him with this one at first. It's really hard and you don't want him to hurt himself. Eventually wears down, but takes a damn long time)
  
• We also do rope toys, antlers, bully sticks (special occasion- they last like 5 minutes), raw bones (we feed raw), Himalayan Yak Chews, and Flirt Pole.
  
  Reading my list, god damn my dog is spoiled. Keep in mind, these are just the toys that have made it. I'm not even counting the ones he's destroyed!
  
  Let me know if you have any questions!
  
  Lastly, I don't own a husky, but man do I respect the destruction a husky can wreck. I would recommend going to a husky group on facebook or a subreddit to see what toys they would recommend. If it's husky approved... it should last.
  
  
  

Wow aha. This sounds like my corgi puppy (female) a few weeks ago to a tee. She is now 15 weeks old.

​

I know you already know what I am going to say, but the little habits will fall away pretty quickly as he gets used to his new surroundings! At least it happened that way for me!

​

For the zero chill, I started forced nap times every 2 hours. She mellowed out pretty hard after that. They don't know how to self-regulate their sleep and a lot of the bratty behaviour is because they're overtired and overstimulated!

​

The eating of everything seems to be a common tread as well.. unfortunately that one hasn't gone away for me yet - I hold her leash REALLY tight (or even her collar) while I pick up her poo to make sure she doesn't eat it - gross. Apparently they grow out of this .. still waiting. Also, snails have become the new best thing to eat.. ugh.

​

As for the nipping, I found that yelling "OW!" really shrill and sharp, then storming away and closing the door behind me was super effective (and honestly kind of fun). My corgi is an attention fiend, so she learned pretty quick that nipping results in a loss of attention and play time.

​

Lastly, my corgi pup did the EXACT same thing with her kibble.. I tried soaking it in broth, even that got boring. So, I got her a treat dispensing toy and I load up her entire meal into it, she now LOVES her kibble. Corgis love a challenge, they're smart dogs. Maybe give that a try? It's a $10 investment on Amazon (https://www.amazon.ca/Omega-Paw-Tricky-Treat-Orange/dp/B0002DK26M/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=omega%2Bpaw%2Bball&qid=1552483475&s=gateway&sr=8-1&th=1)

​

Best of luck! And don't hesitate to message me with any corgi puppy problems!

> Can you suggest a puzzle feeder that works well?

I have had good luck with wobbler toys like the one the other user suggested. I got this ball which is super cheap and takes forever to get the food out of. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002DK26M/ The downside of the ball is that it goes everywhere. The upside is that it holds a ton of food and is genuinely difficult to get kibble out of, even for me.

> Also, how do you freeze liquid in it? I tried to stuff the hole last night with PB and dry food and poor stock in there and it just drained right out

personally, I've never tried this. Off the top of my head, I might put some peanut butter in the bottom of a coffee mug, plug the small hole of the kong from the inside with about a tablespoon of peanut butter, put the small side of the kong into the peanut butter inside the coffee mug. In my mind this makes the kong stand up straight and makes a plug for the stock. Maybe freeze the peanut butter plug for an hour or so to help give it a good seal? Sounds difficult, but I can definitely see the appeal for a low-calorie long lasting treat.

> Also, how do I feed him for good behaviors? Anytime I get up he follows me so if he were playing by himself he would stop as soon as I moved, so would he still associate it with the good behavior?

this is where a clicker really comes in handy. first you "charge your clicker" by clicking and treating and clicking and treating until when he hears a click he expects a treat. Then you train with the clicker so you click as close to the moment that the dog takes a desired action as possible. So, for sit, right when the butt touches the ground. This helps to "mark" a behavior. Always give a treat for a click, but the click abstracts the marking of the behavior from the reward for the behavior. Once that is all well ingrained, being able to click for playing alone becomes way more possible.

> And if I had the food just sitting by me he wouldn't leave me alone because he knows it's there.

The clicker is great here too. Click for when he starts to ignore you, and then toss the food somewhere else (maybe his mat/towel that you are working on "go to mat" with?). Over time, he learns that ignoring you gets him good stuff too. This is hard for the human, to be both inattentive and giving attention, but it pays off like crazy.

Hope this helps. If you're interested in the clicker stuff, this is a good video to get started with. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPDOrEEsAJ8&t=1m55s As a final piece of information, my first trainer was certified with the Karen Pryor academy, and I learned a ton from her. Good luck!

Oh man, limited exercise makes everything harder. Sorry, I overlooked that part. On the upside, keep in mind things are going to get much easier when he can exercise. It's also possible that he doesn't feel great because of the heartworm treatment...if that's the case then things will also get easier once he's feeling more comfortable.

How much is he allowed to move around? I assume running and long walks are out.

What about sniffing around outside (slowly, not covering any distance)? Even if he can't run and play, spending as much time outside as feasible will help, especially if it's on a regular schedule. For one thing, the time he spends outside is time not spent getting into trouble. More importantly though, smelling stuff will exercise his mind and help him de-stress. Scheduled indoor and outdoor time will help quell some of the anxiety--anxious dogs thrive on strict schedules.

Or, is walking around inside okay? My dogs will walk around pushing puzzle balls (e.g. JW treat ball) for as long as it takes to get the treats out. Just...start with kibble rather than something bigger or more enticing, so he doesn't get frustrated and chew through it.

>We do a lot of frozen Kongs and mind games like "find it". He has fun with those and it does seem to tire him out a little. Unfortunately most other chews/toys/puzzle toys we have tried with him, he has chewed up in about 20 minutes.

That's a great way to tire him out and release some stress. Especially since he's proven to be a chewer/destroyer inside, I'd keep a steady stream of chewables coming for him to focus on. Very smart move.

Frozen kongs are great. Sometimes if you get a kong that's slightly too large for the dog (so his tongue can't reach all the way to the back) and wedge big biscuits in there along with the mush before freezing, they last longer.

Tug a jug is also fun, a bit more of a puzzle than a kong but still relatively sturdy. If the rope gets lost (read: destroyed) you can put a ball inside instead to keep the treats from falling out too easily.

For duration, nothing beats bones. My dogs will spend four hours working on raw beef marrow bones. Just, stick with fresh raw bones so they don't splinter. I've heard good things about deer antlers as well, but they cost more and my dogs don't care for them. Maybe you would have better luck with them than I did though.

And of course, nylabones are a classic. The big monster ones are pretty durable. e.g. http://www.indestructibledog.com/collections/chew-toys/products/dura-chew-monster-bone (<--that site is fantastic for chewers, btw)

>Perhaps tethering him so he doesn't do things that get him in trouble will give him the confidence to feel happy in our home and not feel the need to do these destructive things. Or, like you put it, "set him up to succeed". Right now we're really just expecting him to be good with all these distractions around then getting upset with him when he gets into them....

Well said.

>He had diarrhea and couldn't keep much food down.

Is that better now?

>I know some people won't approve, but we started him on Prozac last week.

If he's this anxious and you haven't been able to help him despite your best efforts, and if your vet recommends it, I don't think anyone has any right to judge. Let's hope it helps, along with the training and management you're working on.

Congrats! I just got a pug puppy myself a few weeks ago. Wanted to share my experiences I've had so far.

What kind of bed should we get for a pug? I'm thinking about getting this bed in the Medium size. Is this too big for the dog?

My pug tends to like plush things, he's always making his way into my clothes/towels. I got him this one since he loves hiding under my couch, and he loves it.

Is this crate a good fit for the pug? I'm planning to get the 24"x18"x19" size.

Crate training is a god send, especially when it comes to potty training. If you have the time, I would invest in doing that. I have the same exact crate and it works for him. The crate should only be big enough for him to stand and turn around, if he's a bit smaller (younger), you can use the divider so the crate will grow with your pug.

Any suggestions on a leash (retractable, fixed or both?)

My pug isn't old enough to go on walks yet, he hasn't had all his shots so I wouldn't be able to tell you. As a previous dog owner, fixed leash is best until he's learned proper walking manners and then you can invest in a retractable.

What kind of toys would a pug enjoy? I was told we needed a chewing one and a tugging one!

My pug's favorite toy is this one.

Any recommendations for food or treats?

Like what people earlier said, low-calorie treats are good since pugs tend to gain weights easily. When training, I would recommend freeze dried liver treats... my pug loves them!! Food wise, I feed my pug Taste of the Wild puppy formula... them or Blue Buffalo are great bets for your pug.

Good luck!!

Even at my dog's worst his blood work-ups (and parasite checks) came back normal, so I wouldn't necessarily trust those as an indicator that everything is fine. That being said, my dog was throwing up blood and getting spontaneous bloody diarrhea in the house though, so those are really obvious signs that something's wrong, you would notice something like that! Unfortunately it took a long time for the vet to figure out what was wrong, but since we've gotten it figured out we haven't had a single incident, thank goodness.

Since you don't have concerns about your dog's health, one thing you can try is feeding your dog his meals in a puzzle toy. My dog is much more motivated to eat if I put his kibble in a "kibble ball" (http://www.amazon.com/Omega-Paw-Tricky-Treat-Large/dp/B0002DK26M), but you could also look into the kong wobbler or other toys where the dog can play to get his meal out. Even sticking kibble in a toilet paper tube and pinching the ends shut is fun for my dog. He thinks empty toilet paper rolls are fun though, too.

My dog is eating Annamaet, the venison/salmon formula. He doesn't do well with chicken/turkey/duck/some fish so his options are pretty limited. Annamaet does make GF foods too if you're really into that, I used to feed the red meat formula ("manitok") but 30% protein is too much for my pup. Plus I'm not opposed to grains for dogs, I'm just careful about which ones/how much. I really love Annamaet, it's really popular here, but it's definitely not available everywhere!

If you're looking for a basic guide to dog foods, this website does a pretty great job rating dog foods. Ultimately, the best dog food for your dog is one your dog does well on, but this is a nice place to see what kinds of ingredients are present in dog foods and the potential benefits/issues with certain ingredients in dog foods: http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/brand/

WALL OF TEXT INCOMING.

My GSD pupper is just about 7 months old. A few pieces of advice/warnings:

1. BE PREPARED TO GET CHEWED ON! Don't lose your temper, don't hit, don't yell - just get up and walk away. That has been the most effective way of dealing with the insane amount of chewing she has gone through (literally everything else just made her more crazy and she'd just bite harder). She is now much, much better. We taught her soft mouthing, so even when she's riled up and puts her teeth on us it doesn't hurt anymore.
   
2. HOLY CRAP SHE GETS BORED SUPER EASY. Invest in puzzle feeders, and look up trick training! I've found that one of the best ways to get her engaged is to teach her lots of fun tricks and then string them all together in new ways. Also, peanut butter stuffed kongs and this thing have been super distracting for her - give it to your pup when you need a break.
   
3. Crate train! It makes potty training much easier and helps reduce separation anxiety (we would leave her in her crate for a few hours a day in a different room when she was small, now she doesn't freak out when we leave the house). There are plenty of great tutorials on how to make the crate a comfortable, safe place and not a scary doom cage.
   
4. ALWAYS insist that your vet checks for hip dysplasia at EVERY vet exam. Just this week my pupper was diagnosed, and because it was caught young enough she is a great candidate for a TPO surgery. She will most likely recover full hip function after the surgery because her growth plates haven't sealed yet. Keep an eye out for signs and symptoms at home too - do her ankles touch together in the back? Does she sometimes lie down and not want to get back up, even for play time or treats?
   
5. SOCIALIZE SOCIALIZE SOCIALIZE! Take your pup to the park right after your first round of shots! Carry her in your arms if you have to, but do it. Let her see kids/get pets and treats from strangers. Set up play dates with other dogs that are vaccinated BEFORE she hits 12 weeks old! Enroll her in puppy classes ASAP - most places only require you to have one or two rounds of vaccines before you sign up. Look into a doggy daycare, find one that has good behavioral screening, and take her there as well. My pup is the sweetest and most friendly little girl to everyone and everything (except cats... she hates cats...) because we made sure that she was socialized from the get go. Also know that people are inherently more afraid of GSDs, and that is a stigma you will have to face down.
   
   Never be harsh with your GSD. It is super true that you catch more flies with honey, and I believe that is especially true for this breed. We have always found with our pup that she responds much, much better to a soft correction than any sort of yelling or harsh voice.
   
   Have fun! Puppies are delightful but also incredibly taxing!
   
   And here are some pictures of the little devil, Malta.

How much physical and mental exercise is he getting daily right now (in hours)?

It sounds like he's food motivated! An easy way to introduce some mental stimulation is to get some treat dispensing puzzles and feed him his meals in those! If he's never done them before I would get a few and start him off on an easy one first. This one is a great one to get started with and this one has a piece in the middle you can take out or put in for more difficulty. Other than that, just two 5-10 minute sessions of trick or obedience training daily can make a big difference. There's lots of great guides on youtube for that. Taking a fun training or sports class together is also a great way to tire out his brain and body and a wonderful way to bond and become closer.

As far as off leash back yard play time, I always like to recommend a flirt pole. They are super easy to make yourself or you can order off Amazon. I've got a BC/Cattle Dog mix and we like to alternate flirt pole, fetch, tug/keep away/chase, and blowing bubbles!

But honestly if he's getting a lot of exercise and fairly chill, not destructive or having other behavior issues he might just be fine. Not all dogs like to snuggle or be right up in your face all the time.

This is my advice from training lots of dogs and volunteering many years at the humane society (I am not a professional) - "don't work harder, work smarter." You are trying way too hard and you are burning yourself out. That does not bode well for you or your dog.

He is hyperactive and needs to get his energy out, but that said, no dog needs 4-5 hours of activity a day. That is just crazy. Instead of running or walking (save your knees, you need them!) with him, train him to do urban mushing. Since you says he pulls a lot, it would be dangerous for you to get a regular bike so I would recommend getting a cart.

Next, buy him a weighted pack. Throw this on him (and feel free to put your water bottles and snacks in there) while you are walking or for a couple of hours a day and it will slow him down and tire him out. It also makes him feel like he has a job to do. Since you think he may be a blue lacey, you really need to give him a job to do since he is a working dog. That also explains why he doesn't like doing tricks but likes finding stuff for you.

A couple of activities that are great for a working dog are agility and nose work. Sign up for your local agility and nose work class and the people there will give you great tips on how to tire your dog out without burning yourself out since they are actually experienced with training with working dogs. These kinds of jobs also train him to listen to your commands in a home setting.

Your dog is not a extremely dominant or submissive, he is what working dog trainers call a "soft" dog. This means they are very sensitive to loud, verbal yelling or negative energy. It is hard to see them react when you overcorrect but this also means that they are very trainable since they want to please you. Use a calm and low voice when you correct your dog.

For working from home, you have to learn to ignore him. I know it is heartbreaking to hear his whining but the truth of it is, if you give a dog an inch, they will take a mile. He knows how to push your buttons and he will so you have to harden yourself up not give in. Instead, get him a bunch of interactive toys
like this 1, [2] (https://www.amazon.com/Trixie-Mad-Scientist-Dogs-Level/dp/B003TOKTEG/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1469997634&sr=8-11&keywords=interactive+dog+toys), [3.] (https://www.amazon.com/Trixie-Gambling-Tower-Level-1/dp/B002XCTUIQ/ref=sr_1_38?ie=UTF8&qid=1469997634&sr=8-38&keywords=interactive+dog+toys) Fill them with his favorite treats and let him learn to amuse himself.

Lastly, this is probably the most important advice I have - get a gentle leader. It jerks their head to the side if they pull, so they stop pulling. It works amazingly for dogs who like to pull on their leash and do not respond to training. It seriously is a godsend for many of the dogs I walked in the shelter and could not control. It will save you many a more broken bones.

Feel free to message me if you need more help. I love helping people who love their dogs enough to not give up on them.

Find a good vet and positive reinforcement trainer or take classes still positive reinforcement. Makes sure to crate train. Be consistent with all training everyday. Give lots of mental mad physical stimulus during day. In morning before you leave house talk potty walk and play to use some energy up. Make training fun, exercise some before you start will help them pay attention to you. Which every way you go class or trainer you must still work with your dog daily between the sessions. Being consistent is the only way they will learn what is expected. Only working onece a week isn't going to help.

Understand dogs do not know what we expect of them and must be taught. Again be consistent use redirecting for bad behavior giving a positive experience.

Potty training again make it fun and make a solid routine. If caught in house simply sternly say "no out" and walk outside. I'd suggest bell training to ring every time you go out with out command also give dog a way to say I need out. When goes outside be excited with lots of love and treats. I'd buy a small carpet clean, use enxyme ceeaner with it, for messes they can happen when change causes stress.

They are perpetual toddlers who will always need us including entertainment. You've got this wihh everyone here to help when we can.

Also a week not hearing from a rescue is not ghosting you. They stay busy with many run by volunteers. Sometimes it takes a little bit for them to go over everything before making a choice and other people are also interested.
I am glad it worked out and you have you new family member.

A few toys ideas:

UOLIWO Dog Treat Dispensing Toy, Duck Dog Toy Squeak Dog Treat Puzzle Toy Durable Plush Chew Toys for Small Medium Large Dogs Training Playing https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N2NLBQ2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Xl7LDbJTMP3F3

AWOOF Dog Puzzle Toys, Pet Snuffle Mat for Dogs, Interactive Feed Game for Boredom, Encourages Natural Foraging Skills for Cats Dogs Bowl Travel Use, Dog Treat Dispenser Indoor Outdoor Stress Relief https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N1JYYCW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Ym7LDb7DCBKCJ

Our Pets IQ Treat Ball Interactive Food Dispensing Dog Toy (ASSORTED COLOR) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ARUKTG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_in7LDb9AX6C5Q

Trixie Dog Activity Flip Board Strategy Game (9.05 inch) (Multicolored) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076MGW9RM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Fn7LDbBAQ1KAK

The Trixie has tons of different ones.

Hello everyone! We are [Bear] (http://i.imgur.com/yJcaP4C.jpg), [Pancake] (http://i.imgur.com/ulnyNmC.jpg), and [Chunk] (http://i.imgur.com/M7ZG6mC.jpg). Mom says we are spoiled brats, but come on, look at how cute we are! Mom also says we are the most handsomest boys on the planet and we completely agree with her there. We would like to hang out with both Viktor and Hanners, since we love both puppies and kitties. We really think you both would like [this] (http://www.amazon.com/Ourpets-DT-10504-Smarter-Toys-Inches/dp/B003ARUKTG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369328903&sr=8-1&keywords=dog+toys) because your mom could put treats in it for both of you (and who doesn't like to chase a ball around?). Our mommy thinks we would like anything on this [list] (http://amzn.com/w/2QB5CR9KR71XX). But really we like just about everything and we aren't picky at all!

And some extra picture because mommy says we are adorable. [Bear with our mommy!] (http://i.imgur.com/qGMPuT4.jpg) and [The two kitties together!] (http://i.imgur.com/7DEMfR2.jpg).

Thanks for wanting to spoil us and all the other pets out there!

I want to be friends with Hanners and Viktor!

First of all, thanks for saving those babies! I've never actually raised a piglet, but I know there's an underage pig Facebook page and they're very helpful. I do think piglets can start eating very milked down pellets pretty young, but, again, they would be your best resource.

When your pigs start getting older--please find a vet and get them fixed. I cannot tell overemphasize how important this step is, so I'll just leave it there. When they're old enough to get fixed, GET THEM FIXED!!

I would also recommend harness training them early on, since my 4 year old thinks his harness is the devil and won't go near one for all the cheerios in the world. Ditto car riding. Give them lots of praise (and, more importantly, treats) so they want to wear their harnesses/go places.

As far as toys go, our pig is super lazy, but he loves this for indoors and he has one of these for the yard. Either of those can keep him occupied for an hour at a time, though you might need to check in on them from time to time to make sure their ball hasn't gotten stuck or they haven't knocked anything else. (I once got out of the shower to find my entire living room rearranged because of the path the ball had taken...)

Good luck! Your pigs are lucky to have you!

Basically, never feed your dog out of a bowl again. Every meal is an opportunity for mental stimulation!
Use:
Frozen Kongs - these are super easy to prep in advance. I usually have 3-5 in the freezer at any given time.
Puzzle toys like these are good for treats: 1, 2, 3

These are good for kibble: 1, 2, 3

For training, an easy way to get started is to go through the 101 Dog Tricks book. It's 101 tricks/skills to teach them with step by step instructions. Super approachable, and the tricks range from simple stuff like sit and down to more advanced skills like leg weaves. Any of the Do More With Your Dog series is good. I think they have a puppy specific book as well.

If your dog likes learning new tricks or skills you might consider getting into a dog sport like agility or nosework or even obedience. They're fun and challenging for both you and your dog - plus it's a great way to strengthen your relationship in general.

Right now, our favorite is The Odin. My dogs like that it's rolly and that I stuff it with good smelling things. I like that it doesn't make a bunch of noise banging around our hardwood floors.

My female dog is VERY smart. We used to have the IQ Treat Ball but she pretty quickly figured out that all she had to do was shake it the right way and the treats would fall out. The Odin is trickier and they spend more time on it.

Autumn also used to have things like this one but, again, she figured them out so quickly it was kind of a waste. That one, she can now do in under ten seconds. It's not even a challenge.

So instead of spending money on seek and find toys, I recommend making your own games like that by hiding treats under small solo cups or tennis balls cut in half.

As for training sessions...

Small, focused sessions work best when the dog is learning a new skill. It's easy to get frustrated and overwhelmed when you're learning something new, in a language you don't even speak. But once they have the basics down, you can add more variety and length. You also don't have to, say, do a 30 minute long stretch. You can do two 15s. Or two 10s.

And once they have the basics down, you can turn training into games. Sit-Down-Stand is one of my favorites because it's so useful and it can be done in a smaller space.

Games work great because you're reinforcing the "training" behavior, but you're doing it in a way that feels like fun for both you and your dog. Spending time with your dog should be fun!

I hope this helps. I have a pair of high energy, loudmouth kids of my own and this has made them a lot more managable.

I don't think I've been "formally" introduced to you lovely people even though I've seen some of your contests going on here before ;)

For gift one: Either [this] (http://www.amazon.com/Neff-Womens-Cupcake-Beanie-Velvet/dp/B005HSWZNK/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=39B8AKCSDRT5J&coliid=I1UFRCZ07903KE&psc=1) or [this] (http://www.amazon.com/Ticket-Stub-Diary-Eric-Epstein/dp/1452114226/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1NPR8WP3XYH58&coliid=IXBG9Y68EXA72) both I've been wanting for a long time because I saw that hat on a little girl at the school I used to work for and have been obsessed but can't find it anywhere, and I collect tickets from everything I go to... so having a way to organize them would be awesome!

For gift 2: Also decently under $20 is [this] (http://www.amazon.com/Kyjen-Tail-Teaser-Dog-Refill/dp/B0042I5G2I/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2IR97ZBE8XCJR&coliid=I27I9XMHLTKH2U) which I would absolutely love because I just moved (again) and need to spend more time with my pups!

So c'mon...gimme something good! :b

(I don't know you, but I love you, you wonderful and beautiful people, you!)

We originally wanted a brown/red one but we just fell in love with ours and couldn't not adopt him.

I'm not sure if you're doing it but crate training is an absolute must. It'll make your life so much easier once your little guy gets used to it. We feed Chewie all his meals in the crate and he now will go in there when he's tired and wants to sleep. He also won't pee in there so it's useful for sleeping in at night.

In terms of training - we managed to teach him sit on the day we brought him him and teaching them to drop things is really simple as well. Play a bit of tug-of-war with him and then say "drop it" or "let go" (either is fine, but only use one or the other - not both). Hold a treat by his nose and he'll drop it. Do it a few times and he'll be dropping things on command in no time at all.

What I love about ours is we just don't need to bathe him frequently. We've had ours for almost 6 weeks now and we've only showered him once. His coat just looks amazing and he still smells pretty clean!

The breed itself is just so playful and generally will love to meet every single person, dog and anything else. He'll be a useless guard dog but a fun little companion.

I'd recommend looking at getting some puzzle/IQ toys for your dog. It'll help their mental capacity and surprisingly tires them out as though they've had a run around the garden. We started him on this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trixie-Dog-Activity-Flip-Board/dp/B0054Q9TMA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1450062456&sr=8-2&keywords=dog+puzzle

Hide some high value treats in there (cheese!) and watch him entertain himself for half an hour. There are other toys but that has definitely worked for us.

Bully sticks are good options for chewers, and they come in a variety of sizes, cuts, and lengths. I recommend the Barkworthies brand because they have odorless ones that won't smell up your place - they are available on Chewy, Wag, and Amazon. They have curly ones that seem to require a tad bit more effort than the standard stick ones. The Barkworthies ones are fine on the carpet as well - never had any color transfer, and I'm cautious since I'm a renter. There are probably other just as good brands out there, but be cautious about where the product is made - no Chinese produced bully sticks (per my vet).

Another good option are puzzle games. There are tons of types, and they have the advantage of both entertaining your dog, and giving them mental exercise at the same time. Nina Ottosson ones are fabulous, but they aren't very cheap (and can be a bit complicated, and often require more interaction from the human). My dog loves the Ethical Pet brand ones for some reason this is her favorite one. They are kind of boring looking, but she seems to be more willing to engage with those than the flashier ones.

I usually get chicken jerky and use kitchen shears to cut the strips up into tiny little pieces, and use those in the puzzle games as opposed to traditional treats. I also use string cheese and carrot pieces, and she loves 'em.

Have you looked into nosework? This comment does a good job of laying out structured nosework. But, for my dog (Lhasa Apso), I usually just take the cut up pieces of chicken jerky and toss 'em around the room - they have a pretty strong smell, and she just goes off searching. It keeps her occupied for a good bit, and then she just takes a nap.

Hopping on here, I have a 5 mo Goldendoodle who did not do well with crate training at first. The woman we got him from suggested that many people had great success using Snuggle Puppy Behavioral Toy and it was an absolute game changer for us. Ollie has slept through the night (minus nights with belly aches), every night since. I would also recommend keeping the crate in your room with you, as others have suggested.

I also highly recommend Zak George’s videos on dog training, I read his book too, but the YouTube videos are extremely informational and worked really well for me when I needed help training Ollie.

For the puppy energy I took Ollie for lots of short walks, I live in Florida so the heat was a definite issue and I didn’t want to keep him out for too long, however, once he was walked he would nap for hours.

Apart from that, just give your puppy lots of love and patience and know it does get easier with time. I was pulling my hair out for the first month, almost two months with Ollie, but now, at month three, it’s like a switch has flipped. I can tell what he needs much more quickly than the first month and he’s much better about trying to communicate what he needs. Good luck OP!

why was your vet glad it wasn't a pure malinois?? they're amazingly smart, loyal, and generally great dogs. what an odd comment.

they're very smart dogs. you can take her to a reputable training school (probably not petsmart), and make sure they do POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT training. I'm new to the sub so i'm not sure what the general consensus is, but having a belgian breed dog as well, they do not respond well to the dominance stuff. they're eager to please, they just need to know how.

puzzle toys will be your best friend, too. my favorite has been this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Our-Pets-Smarter-Interactive-Inches/dp/B003ARUKU0

2 years later, it's still in 1 piece... unlike anything else we bought in 2013... lol.

if you need any other specific advice, feel free to PM me.

Hi - I have a Belgian Shepherd myself (Sheepdog variety, aka Groenendael). She is five now and much calmer than she was as a puppy, but as a pup, we were in the dog park twice a day (morning and night) for about 30-60 minutes each time, usually playing fetch (or she was herding other dogs).


You have a few options here other than just giving the dog up, but they will require you to commit time and some money to this.


First, wake up early and go to the dog park. I have something called the chuck it that I used all the time when my Belgian was a puppy. This toy let me avoid picking up disgusting tennis balls by hand while also throwing the toy way further than I typically could. Your dad working 9-5 is like my work schedule - I would wake up at like 6:30, take her to the park, come home around 7:15 and then feed her and get ready for work. She was used to be kenneled from about 8-12 when I would come home over lunch to let her out (I lived 5 minutes from my office). It wasn't much of a break, but it split up the day a bit for her. I would go back to work and leave her with a frozen kong toy that would mentally keep her occupied while I was gone. When I came home, I let her out, changed clothes, and off to the park again.


Also, have you considered doggy daycare or a dog walker? Days I knew would be long in the office, I couldn't get home, or had an event in the evening - she would go to daycare. It was about $25 a day but she basically was running and playing with other dogs for 9 hours. Great socialization and she was exhausted. Dog walker prices vary by area - I would check with some local rescue groups and see who they recommend (they should know the reputable walkers in the area).


Finally, the pup needs training. Either go to PetCo or PetSmart to get started with basic obedience and then graduate to other classes. My little girl was in advance obedience at 6 months old - she was on track for agility training when she was full grown (recommended as to not hurt her growing joints) but we moved and an agility facility was unfortunately nowhere near by. However, that said, I still kept up her training and daily dog park trips.


If you aren't willing to dedicate the time and energy to the breed, you're going to have a hell of a time. They're great dogs but you have to put the time in to working them out, physically and mentally. If you can't, see if the breeder will take the pup back (most will if they're good) and if not, contact the Belgian Shepherd rescue group - they probably have a foster system of some sort setup. Other local rescues may be able to help as well, just make sure they are foster based or have a private facility - don't just give the dog to animal control or the town shelter.

my mini wigglebutt has the same problem. He likes to be chased and chase things but doesn't like to return the ball. He thinks it is funner to drop the ball wait there and make me try and go get it and then he will pick it up and run. He gets nippy so its hard to play with him because he gets so amped up. i got him a tethertug that he will play with. https://tethertug.com I get him different squeaker toys to put on the end and he will latch onto it which is good. Although the toy is meant to be able to play by himself he does not like that. So I stay on the other end and get him amped up and swing it at him which he likes. He wont nip at me cause he will go after the toy and i don't have to go after every toy because it is in the ground. He will get tired pretty quickly which is nice. If you don't want to hammer a metal stake in the ground, I also have a flirt pole. its like the same thing as the tether tug but instead of it being in the ground you hold it and fly it around and my wigglebutt will hold on and likes to be dragged. https://www.amazon.com/Outward-Hound-41001-Exercise-Replacement/dp/B0042I5G2I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469571753&sr=8-1&keywords=flirt+pole something like this. I would recommend getting a flirt pole first to see if she likes the idea of having a toy on a pole. Hope this helps. it certainly has helped me not get nipped at, herded, or pull my shoulder out from playing with him.

I have a very high energy dog as well. He has separation anxiety and can be destructive when bored as well.
Crate training was hard and took more than 6 months but gives him a safe place while we are gone. He’s even gone into the kennel on his own one time when he saw me getting ready to leave!
Establishing a morning/daily routine also has helped a ton with that. That would also help with the house training!
As far as the energy goes, both mental stimulation and physical exercise are important. We take Benji to the dog park almost every day. If we don’t make it there, he gets a long (2-4mi) walk in the morning and evening. The exercise is good for me too! We got a martingale collar and that has helped a ton for the pulling! Highly recommend. We also got this toy which may help you as well- he loves it! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0042I5G2I/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_9ldRBbTG31S4F Mental stimulation can be new smells or behavior/clicker/treat training.

Good luck!

• I have this Crate and this seems like it would be a good size. Don't get it any bigger than you have to or the dog is more likely to pee/poop in one corner and sleep in the other.
  
  
• If she's smelly and seems scared of a bath, some pet wipes will hold you over until she seems more chill
  
  Toys:
  
  
• Get a Kong, fill with cooked sweet potato, peanut butter, plain yogurt with a little kibble mixed in, etc, then freeze till solid, and give to your dog for a treat that stimulates them mentally, keeps them busy, and helps with separation anxiety.
  
  
• Hide-a-Squirrel. An interactive toy- you stuff the log with squirrels and any other toys you have and let your dog have a blast tearing them out
  
  
• Treat dispensing toy you can use to actually feed your dog her meals if she eats too fast. I like this one because you can change the difficulty by making the hole openings smaller or larger
  
  
• Lastly if you have no idea what kind of toys she likes and are striking out (and have a little extra dough lying around and want to treat yo-self), you might want to try ordering BarkBox (you can almost always get a free month when signing up so google coupon codes before ordering). I did it for about a year and a half and was always blown away by the quality and the amazing way they curate each box to fit a theme. The toys were always adorable!
  
  I didn't know about the 2 Week Shutdown when I got my dog and while things turned out okay in the end, I definitely think it would have been VERY beneficial to do it. So best of luck and please update us with pics when she gets home!

So, there's a couple things that helped a lot with our pup that I haven't seen here yet. Daisy loooves her food egg and food cube. These are toys that also dispense food. We sometimes exclusively feed her from one of these. The cube was definitely her favorite, but became difficult for us to open. These are great because they provide enrichment during feeding, plus, if you're puppy is a gorge-and-puke eater, it'll help with that.

For toys, I'd say grab things that are varying levels of durable. They get a lot of satisfaction from pure destruction like with a stuffed animal or skineez, but having something to work on, like a nylabone or kong, is also good.

Have fun! Getting Daisy was definitely one of the best things I've ever done in my life. So yeah, good job!

No problem!

Tiring out dogs can be a real pain. Thankfully I have 2 that play well together... One that has a never ending drive to retrieve, and one that loves to be chased. I throw the ball for the one that wants to be chased, and they run in big circles around me for 30 minutes non-stop, then we go inside and they pass out on the cold tile floor in the bathroom! It's fantastic. Haha.

The best advice I can give you is to use high value rewards. One of mine loves fetch just for the sake of fetch. The other wants a food reward. We had to initially get him interested by "trading" a ball for a small slice of hot dog. Once he understood that, we'd toss the ball 2-3 ft away, and he'd bring it back for more hot dog. Then we slowly moved to 10 ft, 20 ft, then full tosses. Once he gets the hang of it, you can phase the hot dog out (1 piece every other retrieve, then every third, then every fifth) until he's really just playing fetch because they like it.

My other big point of advice would be to get a Chuck It Launcher and a pack of Ultra Balls. The launcher makes it way easier to throw for a long time, as you don't have to bend over to pick the balls up, your hands don't get nasty, and the balls go farther. And the ultra balls are great because they are a near-indestructible rubber rather than the tennis ball that comes with the launcher (and they float!).

I got the IQ Treat Ball in one of my monthly Bark Box packages (highly recommend for their great products and awesome customer service) and it is one of the best, longest lasting dog products I've owned.

My dog has abused it in many ways, including chewing. It only broke open once when I wasn't supervising but I'm guessing it was because the top was loose. However, I've tossed and rolled it across my house and hasn't broken open once. You can adjust the opening for the treats depending on how easy or hard you want your dog to get to the food.

It hold a good amount of food, definitely enough to feed my dog. You can always refill it too. The ball has a twist open top so you can clean it inside and out. Your dog must be very food motivated in order for him to play with it. At first you need to show your dog there food and treats inside to get him to play with it but she will catch on. After a while, my dog figured out how to roll the ball in a way that will get multiple treats out. One of my more prouder moments as a dog owner.

Amazon link: http://amzn.com/B003ARUKTG

I'm in the same boat you are, just 6 months in. Never had a dog before, always a cat person. Here's what I've learned (so far).

1. All they want is to be with you. If she's not with you, she probably into something.
   
2. They're smart. So smart that you'll realize you're not as smart as you thought you were. I bought ours this, filled it with treats, then anxiously awaited as he tried to solve the puzzle. He just picked the whole thing up and flipped it over so that all of the treat covers fell out. "Problem" solved.
   
3. It took ours a couple months to get the "retriever" part down, but once he did.. man he brings us everything.
   
4. Give him lots of toys that he can "work" at. Kong toys with treats in them, maze balls, etc. I'm thinking of picking up something like this for ours next.
   
5. Be ready to walk. Cold, hot, doesn't matter. Golden's need exercise and love to run. On that note...
   
6. Get him out to a dog park or visit with other dog-having friends as much as you can! Not only is it great for socializing the dog, but she'll be tired out from all of the playing.
   
7. Try to curb jumping up as soon as possible. we didn't do this, and now we're kicking ourselves.
   
8. Get some training books and start as soon as you feel your pup is ready. Ours looooves being engaged and figuring out what he's supposed to do.
   
9. When she picks up something she's not supposed to, don't chase after her. Again, this is our boys favorite game now. "Oh, daddy is trying to work? I'm just going to grab this pillow and run!"
   
10. Remember that it's always your fault. Any bad behavior is the result of the dog not being told what is allowed. Positive reinforcement is always the better option!

My advice? Crate train from the very start. It'll give your dog his own space and give you relief from those tiny teeth when you need it. :)

Puppies bite. A lot. Don't be disheartened by it.

Dogs like rewards. Check out positive rewards training like the kikopup channel listed in the sidebar. It'll save you a lot of frustration. I personally find this list of kikopup videos easier to navigate.

Dogs don't know how to walk on a leash until you give them direction. Don't expect him to walk next to you and not sniff everything in front of him. They don't know not to pull and sniff constantly. Teaching heel indoors before you ever need it outside is a lifesaver.

No pushing your dog's nose into an accidental pee. That teaches nothing and makes your dog think you're an unpredictable whacko.

Exercise, exercise, exercise! No forced leash running until he's fully grown, but until then, keep him from getting bored by getting him lots of play time. Training exercises require a lot of focus on his part, so that'll tucker him out too. Treat balls for feeding are super fun and herders seem to love them.

Be his best friend. The quality of his life depends entirely on you. No tying him to a tree out back and going on with life as if he doesn't exist.

Good luck with him. Add a pic to this thread once you get him so I can aww over him. :)

Not exactly a toy, but sometimes for meals I hide little piles of kibble around and let her sniff them out. Behind table legs, inside an old shoe she plays with, inside a box. She loves it.

She also likes her kong.

She loved the omega paw tricky treat ball when she had it ( http://www.amazon.com/Omega-Paw-Tricky-Treat-Large/dp/B0002DK26M ) but recently we left it outside and a lizard moved into it, so we need a new one. It's not hard, but it was definitely a favorite.

We made a toy (I'll try to post a picture later) that's a Gatorade bottle with a rod through it. We set it up so the rod is horizontal and she paws at the bottle, makes it spin on the rod, and gets fed.

Also, a toilet paper/paper towel roll with the ends taped up is super fun to shred.

She just got what's basically a generic pickle pocket and she hasn't quite figured it out yet, but if I put something nice and smelly in there it keeps her distracted for a while.

> was the treat something substantial that keeps her busy for the whole time you're gone, or just something regular like a dog treat ?

My pup has a slow feed bowl that looks something like this, so I used to put in some of the things that she would go crazy over, and would normally take her at least 5+ minutes to consume, like smearing a thin layer of peanut butter across all of the bowl surfaces. Be warned though, some dogs tend to have sensitive snouts and can rub their noses raw on the bowl, but my pup hasn't had that problem. You just need to find something that is truly a "high value" treat for your dog, and using it exclusively for that. My pup would go nuts over cheese, so I took a piece of old cheddar and smeared it like a crayon inside her bowl. She really liked that. Another option is a puzzle toy like this filled with something tasty (she could occupy herself for half an hour on that), or even a classic Kong with some liver flavoured spread.

> And when you say she wasn't allowed to eat the treat till you were gone - did she see you put it somewhere , how exactly does that work

That's correct! I would let her see me preparing a treat for her, and then I'd place it in her bowl so that she'd focus on waiting for the "go" command instead of building her anxiety at watching me get ready to leave (brushing my teeth, fixing my hair, tying my shoes, etc).

A quick bit of background - The first thing that I had trained her to do was to never snatch, pick up ,or take anything that I haven't specifically told her she can have - this meant toys, meals and treats. I would place treats in front of her, and she learned that she can't have it until I say so, even if I turn away or walk away. I was able to use this trait to keep her focused completely on waiting for the treats, so instead of pacing and whining that I was leaving, she would instead sit by her food bowl and wait for me while I got ready to leave. When I'd open the door and walk out, I'd give the release command "okay!" and she's make herself busy with her treat while I locked up and walked away.

I also reviewed the footage afterwards (from my home surveillance system) and after she finished her treats, she would sniff the door, whine once or twice, grumble a bit (because I'm gone), and then she'd go sleep on the couch all day.

It will get better soon! Trust me! I felt the same way you did 3 months ago. My pug puppy is 5 months old now and she is so much easier to handle than before!

I found that feeding my girl out of a treat ball was a great way for her to get physical exercise and also mental exercise. This is the one I got for her in the 3 inch option. There's a middle white portion that makes it harder to get kibble/treats out but I removed that until she got the hang of using it. It's so much fun to watch her bat the ball around the house and get her food out.

Keep up the training and be consistent. They say pugs are hard to potty train but if you keep up a routine it will really help! My girl lets me know when she needs to go now because she knows she will get a yummy high value treat when she potties outside.

I can't tell you how many times I almost gave up and regretted getting her. Now I feel so guilty for thinking that way because she truly makes me happy every single day. Good luck!

I'm sure I'm supposed to put my husband here, and he's really been making an effort lately. However, at this very moment, my dog is giving me puppy face. I just can't resist puppy face. Also, he barks to protect me from strange house noises, people passing by on the sidewalk, wind... He is very brave, and I've never had a truer friend. I hope he hides behind me and barks at the pizza guy for many years to come.

Would you consider getting Malcolm this interesting toy from his list if we win? I'm sure he'd be pretty grateful.

Thanks for the contest, and happy 8th birthday to your favorite person! (Carrot cake is an excellent choice!)

Sure!

The Buster Cube (I have this) is an awesome puzzle toy (this is the "large" version, be sure to check sizes). This is a little bit more difficult to use, as the hole that spits out the food is pretty small, and as the kibble gets to be lesser and lesser inside of the Cube, it's harder to get it out. It's cube-shaped (obviously), so pushing it around isn't all that easy, and your dog needs to be firm with it in order to get the food out. This isn't a good toy for linoleum, or hardwood - it's really only good on carpet.

The IQ Ball is awesome too! It is adjustable, which is cool, so you can make it easy at first, and more challenging as your pup gets better and better at it. This is probably a better choice for tile, linoleum, hardwood, etc.

The Bob-A-Lot is another good one. It's more challenging than the Kong Wobbler (again, check the size, I believe this one is a "large").

I also have this Busy Buddy toy for my dog. It's really really challenging for her. The rope has to go inside of it, and then the dog has to pull it out in order to get the food out. This one takes a bit of effort on your part, unless you think your pup can figure out how to push the rope in and then pull it out again.

There are also plenty of food dispensing toys like this one that force your dog to move "puzzle" pieces around to get the food underneath them!

Lots of options!

A MUTE BUTTON

Ok, but seriously...It's expensive, but I've heard of some breeders sending this home with their puppies. I bought one myself and left it with the breeder during our last visit before pick up so she could let the puppies play with an sufficiently rub their smells all over it (which resulted in us getting a photo of our puppy snuggled up to it a few hours later). It's a great transitional device for them leaving the litter.

Something I do with all my dogs, and maybe something that would be nifty from a breeder, is having a binder with important information pertaining to the dogs, and dividers for different categories. I keep their health records in there, the 3 page document with information we get when I bring them home, registration paperwork, print outs from class, certificates, etc. I think getting a binder to neatly store all important information on my dog is very useful, and getting one from the breeder with suggestions on training, expected puppy behavior, etc. would be pretty useful.

But really, I've never had a lot sent home with me after getting dogs, beyond a gallon bag of food to transition with and a toy that smells like mom.

I can totally understand not wanting to leave her in her crate for so many total hours each day. First I would recommend having lots and lots of toys on hand. The idea is to try to keep her engaged as much as possible while she's out there. Dogs can get tired of toys so I suggest investing in some new ones if you can and rotate them every few days. Have lots of chew toys on hand including hooves, horns (mine loves water buffalo horns especially) and antlers. The Busy Buddy Tug-a-jug can be a great toy once they get the hang of it. People who keep dogs in their apartment will actually give them all of their chow in these (start with small sized kibble first - any ACD mix will be smart enough to figure it out quickly) and they work to get it out during the course of the day. This will tire them out not only physically but mentally as well, which is hugely important, especially for ACD's. Along these lines, find new ways to engage her when you are home. Walks and exercise are essential but maybe start some training on new tricks (just 5-8 minutes at a time). ACD's need a job to do and helping to fulfill that in various ways can help to ease anxiety during others times of the day. It will be a process and it may not come without some trouble but it should eventually get better. I hope some of this is useful.

My dog (also big, about 110lbs) also sometimes eats REALLY fast... I know about bloat (I used to have greyhounds and according to my vet at the time the breed is particularly susceptible to it) so I'm pretty careful about feeding him. No exercise immediately before or after feeding. I very unthinkingly took my dog for a run once immediately after feeding him a big raw meal, and the poor guy threw up everything he'd eaten halfway through the run and was just miserable all the way home. (He'd also managed to drink some pretty foul ditchwater before I dragged him away, and something in the raw meal might've disagreed with him... I'm back to high-quality kibble because raw feeding was just way too involved for me.) That put the fear of the baby Jesus into me and I've been REALLY careful about his feeding ever since.

One thing I like to do when my dog is REALLY excited about dinner and I can tell he's about to wolf it down is put his food in a treat ball. I'm not really a fan of the traditional buster cube but I got one of these Omega balls and it's worked out great. Might not so much if your dog is a chewer; mine isn't, so he hasn't destroyed any of these, but just in case I do make sure he only has the ball when I'm there to supervise him. The last thing I need is surgery to remove pieces of a treat ball from his gut. :D But my dog LOVES that thing. It ensures that he only gets his kibble a few pieces at a time, and he has a grand old time pushing the thing around with his nose, then spends hours back-tracking and sniffing all over the room to make sure he didn't miss any bits of kibble. It's totally awesome.

My Boxer is a connoisseur of puzzle toys. In Minnesota, it gets way too cold for us to go on long walks to curb his energy, so I engage his brain when it becomes a frozen wasteland outside.

I feed Keenan out of a large Kong Wobbler -- he gets at least one meal a day out of this. It takes him about 30 minutes to work out all the kibbles.

IQ Treat Ball is great for pets that work out puzzles super quickly. This is a fairly difficult toy. Be warned, if you have hard floors, this is loudest thing ever. It's also the perfect size to get stuck under sofas with legs.

Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball is easier to roll around and get kibble sized treats out of. It's also a pain to fill and clean. We don't use this one much.

Everlasting Fun Ball is also hard to fill and difficult to clean, but it's tough. When Keenan is on my last nerve, he gets something super delicious in this and it keeps him occupied until he gets frustrated with it.

Monster Mouth is really tough to get things out of for pups. I'll stuff full sized milk bones in this and leave just a tip hanging out so he can try to pull it out. It keeps him pretty busy, but he gets frustrated by this one quickly.

Buster Food Cube is brilliant in design--you can make it easier and harder to get food out of by twisting the opening. This was Keenan's first puzzle toy and when he figured it out, he got a lot of enjoyment "hiking" it through his back legs at a hard surface to make it bounce off and spray kibbles around. It's loud on hard floors. So loud my ex SO threw it away.

I also pick up random puzzle toys at the store when I see them. I can't find accurate representations on Amazon. Most of them are soft/silicone that you can bend to open and put treats in. Keenan likes his big football one because he knows the yummy, big treats go in that one.

We got a snuggle puppy for our 11 week puppy and it has been a life saver!! You can find them on Amazon - Smart Pet Love Snuggle Puppy Behavioral Aid Toy, Brown Mutt https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000C9YHFS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_AYGyybQW2BN5X

Has a heart beat in it and heating pad that will make him feel like he's with his litter mates. We used the heating pads at first but found them unnecessary and expensive to use on a daily basis since you would have to buy replacements often but may be good for such a young puppy to have the heat aspect as well. Recommend watching him with it first because there is velcro at the bottom to get where the fake heart it is so just make sure he can't chew it. Our puppy treat his like his littermate and loves it.

As long as you tire her out every day you will not be disappointed! Welcome to the club.

It took me a few months of pushing myself to get more comfortable trusting our adult adopted ACD (adopted in Feb this year) but after I realized he's not going to take off sprinting when he's off his leash, the bond really solidified.

They are very smart and have a lot of personality. I've only been able to find one toy that mine wont destroy within a half an hour.

Above all other advice make sure you get pet insurance (I think we have healthy paws). Within a couple of months we had to have a few teeth extracted from ours before we enrolled. $700. They are hearty pure breeds, but they're still pure breeds and have genetic issues sometimes, or they just play hard and tear their ACLs often (my vet recommended fetch with a ball rather than a frisbee).

I also highly recommend agility training. My ACD loves it and can do a full hour before getting brain drain. I've been tempted to try taking him to a dog friendly sheep ranch but I don't want to unlock his heeling instincts, I'm fortunate to have an ACD that is more of a retriever than a nipper.

We've just abandoned any stuffed toys for Joe, because what is enjoyable for him is methodically ripping them apart. The first thing he goes for is the tag, because he knows that comes off easily, and after that he goes for the seams :)

Anyway, best toys for him are ones that we play with together: this flirt pole is great and I'm surprised how sturdy it is; we have a rope tug toy (it used to be a snake but the head was stuffed and so it got ripped apart within 24 hours!); and we have a Hol-ee roller ball which he enjoys chewing occasionally and chasing even more rarely! The holes are a little big to put regular treats in, but once I put the end of his rawhide chew in there and he had a LOT of fun with it, and another time I stuffed it with socks and an old dishcloth for him to pull out the holes because I thought it would replace stuffed toys a bit more safely. Then he tried to eat my sock, so I haven't done it since :P But it's fine if you're going to supervise!

We also have a rawhide chew for him and an antler. He really likes the antler; I think next time I would get the antlers that are split down the middle so that it's even more attractive to him.

Here are some we've had luck with:

Hyper Pet Lickimat Slow Feeder Dog Mat & Boredom Buster there are a ton of recipes out there. I've learned Maisey prefers savory more to sweet recipes.

StarMark Bob-A-Lot Interactive Dog Toy This seems pretty darn sturdy. Ours has small teeth marks on the top from when Maisey pushes it into a corner and picks it up to move it, but otherwise she uses it exactly as intended and no destruction involved. Our blue heeler, on the other hand, knew where the treats were coming from and would actively paw at the opening to try and dig them out. She would NOT push it around. Dot was special though. Being a blue heeler, she was a stubborn, intelligent dog who wasn't playing anyone's games.

VARRAM Pet Fitness Robot Pet robot that cracks me up to see Maisey play with. It has an app on your phone that you drive it around with. It's like a sphero that dispenses treats.

Starmark Everlasting Bento Ball I highly recommend this. Maisey can spend so much time on it, we've started setting a timer.

Squishy Face Studio Flirt Pole You'll see a lot of recommendations for flirt poles. They require training (for both you and the dog) to use properly - there are a ton of videos on YouTube about how to use it - don't get me wrong, it's pretty easy. Maisey didn't really go for it. It wasn't her thing. Her prey drive isn't very high.

We also have a Kong but it isn't my favorite. I don't like squeezing the toy in, I have problems every time. I know people will put in food and freeze it, but I don't have that kind of forethought. They are great for destructive dogs though.

You can also look up indoor games. You can put a treat or toy in a blanket and have them dig it out. You can setup obstacle courses. Just google something like indoor dog games or something similar.

Hope that helps!

For interactive play, I have two puzzle toys
this
and something like this

So each lunch break, we play the "Find!" game. He loves manipulating things with his nose and feet.

He is fed out of puzzle toys, which I'm around for to make sure he doesn't chew on them too much, but he works himself. That's the kong wobbler, and an IQ treat ball. For monitored play, I also have stuffed toys, which he throws around like that video of an orca playing with a seal (vaguely disturbing), and WILL tear up given the chance. I also have balls on rope toys. Again, he will toss and whip those around, chase them across the floor, generally have a grand ole time. He WILL chew on the rope though, so that toys gets picked up when I'm not in the room.

For unattended, crate time, I have two rubber kongs, also stuffed with food, usually frozen, a Starmark ever-lasting treat ball, and a full antler. I got a split antler because I thought he might not like it. That was a mistake. he was splitting shards off the split one in < 30 min. He is the second dog I've seen do that, so I cannot recommend split antlers under any circumstances. We've had the full antler for about a month, and thought it's worn, it's still very solid. I have no concerns leaving it in his crate, and he chews it like a pacifier when he gets stressed/bored.

I am caring for a SUPER mouthy lab. He will pick up and eat anything. Really.An-nee-thing. I have lot of toys and try to rotate, but sometimes he still picks up a houseplant.

Everyone so far has already recommended exercise, which I also recommend. Some people said mental exercise as well, which can wear her out and keep her busy. So, I'm throwing in food toys that make her work for her food (which I'm assuming you probably just pour kibble in a bowl) which can add some more exercise, both physical and mental. Kongs (which are actually not a personal favorite of mine) for when you leave are great. Freeze them and they are harder to get food from. I personally love IQ balls which are perfect spheres and make dogs more or less run around the house after the toy (my guys normally are panting after working to get all the food out). Here are some others since it is a good thing to switch it up and keep her thinking, not just use the same toy over and over (because that would be boring):

PetSafe Tug-A-Jug

PetSafe Egg thing

PetSafe Mushroom thing

Kong Satellite

Kong Wobbler

And in the event you are like "I'M POOR, I CANNOT AFFORD ALL OF THOSE." You can also get a 2 liter bottle and cut holes in it big enough for her to get food out of but not too easily. Also, the mushroom toy has pretty small holes so it isn't easy for bigger kibble (or dog treats), so you might forgo that one. Those are just the ones I own.

ALSO ALSO. PSA FOR EVERYONE. If you shop Amazon Smile (which is where those links take you) you can donate %.05 of all purchases to a charity of your choice. So you should definitely sign up, choose a charity and donate while you shop instead of just shopping. Nothing changes except you shop from Amazon Smile instead of Amazon.

Well yes and no - in my humble opinion.

You are doing great at taking your dog at 2 times a day - I do the same, once when I get up and once when I get home from work. We usually are out for no less than an hour each session. The big difference is that I usually have my dog fetch at least 1 of the sessions for the hour and he really get's a good run in.

One suggestion is maybe try to train your dog to play fetch? I know not every dog is going to have that "prey drive" and ability to do it as well as others, but if your's was like my dog - he just didn't know how to play "that game".

I got my dog from an adoption agency and I'm pretty sure he had terrible ill-prepared owners who ended up giving him away. When I took him to his first field and threw a ball for the first time - he just looked at me funny. I had to "teach and train" him what to do. Try this resource and maybe purchase one of these - they help out immensely.

Bottom line, it's probably not good to ONLY walk your dog. He needs to get a good run in at least once or twice a week (at the least and pending his size/breed). Teaching fetch is probably the easiest solution (and the quickest) and it requires little to no physical exertion in comparison to getting in shape to run with your dog.

I agree that your dog needs more exercise. One game that can help during the winter months is tug. If done appropriately it can even help stop bites.

Read Tug O' War is a Fun Game to Play With Your Dog for more info.

I've also heard good things about the flirt pole.

Remember, anytime she bites, play ends.

When guests arrive, I would keep her away from the door and the humans altogether. Set up a room or an exercise pen for her to stay in and give her a special treat, like a marrow bone or bully stick, for her to chew on. People entering is a lot of excitement; set her up to succeed by giving her something to do when people are entering and then let her greet people when she is calm. My dog bites for real and this has worked wonders.

Finally, learning to respond to her name as a positive interrupter, a solid recall, sit, and settle on a mat are all helpful tools to get her away from others or you and her feet and butt on the floor so drill those as much as you can, working towards increasing distractions. Desensitizing and counter-conditioning her to the sound of the door opening, knocking on the door and people entering can also help.

Oh, that sounds super frustrating!!

Here is a video showing how to make an unflippable bowl for less than $10

I think you can also buy some in pet stores or on Amazon but I'm sure you've tried looking at those already!

Have you tried feeding him out of a puzzle toy like a Kong Wobbler? That way, he's literally pushing the 'feeder' from side to side and bonking it around to get food. Here are some options:

Kong Wobbler

Maze Treat Dispenser

IQ Treat Ball

Buster Food Cube

Sorry, no ideas on water bowls, but I'm sure someone on here will have a suggestion.

My heeler doesn't flip the water bowl but he does love to stick his paw(s) in, which makes my other dog very happy, I'm sure. /s

Every dog is different! This is just a rough list, but hopefully some of these things will entertain your puppy:

• A good tug toy. Either a rope or something long and durable (we use braided sheepskin) that your puppy can get ahold of without putting your hands at risk for chomps.
  
  
• A couple tennis balls and a chucker. 99% of dogs love tennis balls.
  
  
• A soft stuffing-free plush toy for them to carry around and cuddle. Stuffing-free so you don't have to worry about them swallowing anything. Bonus if it has a squeaker.
  
  
• A couple puzzle toys. I personally like Starmark's puzzle toys, in particular the Pickle Pocket and the [Bob-a-lot] (https://www.amazon.com/StarMark-Bob-Lot-Interactive-Large/dp/B001JQLNB4/ref=pd_sim_199_6?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=GGKBW1XCD9KTGNVHJRHB).
  
  
• A chew. They sell puppy-safe plastic chews that are probably best for dogs under 5-6 months. Once he is old enough you could try him on bully sticks or twizzies.
  
  
• Bonus toy that provides a different texture/movement/challenge for your dog. Maybe one of those really tough toys made out of firehose material, or a wood burl, or ?? Some dogs just like empty water bottles.
  
  

My dachshund, Doobie, is a little terror when it comes to toys. I've found two that hold up pretty well overall.

First, this is Doobie's absolute favorite toy but it never lasts longer than a few hours if I just leave it with him. So I'll only give it to him for play and take it away later to make it last longer. I only mention this one because he loves it so much. It does have stuffing in it, so beware of that. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EB9IV2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This toy is better because it has several squeakers, and it lasts a lot longer. It also has no stuffing to clean up. Though they will still destroy them. But I use this one to play catch (since you can throw it like a frisbee) and tug of war (Since it's easier for you and the dog to hold) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BT8K7J6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is the toy that I let him have all the time. It took him a year to destroy the first one. I don't know if it's because it's really that tough or because he's getting older. But I think it's worth a try. It's also really funny watching him carry this thing around the house since it's twice as long as he is. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003RQNE7U/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And the last, honorable mention: My dachshund LOVES this, and it's perfect if you are too busy and they really want to play or the weather is bad so they can't go out or get walked. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ARUKTG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They don't have squeakers but I've had good success with rope toys. Not all dogs like rope toys, and some dogs shred them, if your dog shreds them then they shouldn't be allowed to play with them. For dogs that just chew the rope and try to untie the knots, I've had them last 5 or 6 months. An XL 3-knot like this could work (I usually get the large for a 40 - 60lb dog).

If you really like squeaky toys, you might try duckworth (the yellow one). There's nothing special about the materials or construction of this toy (meaning he'd delicate) of but for reasons I do not understand dogs that have destroyed all squeaky toys at my house have played with duckworth without damaging him. If you do try this, cut off that black thing on his head. He didn't have that when I bought him, but if he did I think it would be his undoing.

Overall though, I don't think dog toys are BIFL items. They're generally pretty inexpensive and given that your dog's jaws are strong, their teeth are fragile and you expect them to use their strong jaws and fragile teeth to chew on the toy, it's just not a recipe for a long lasting toy (or the toy lasts but the dog's teeth don't, which isn't a win overall).

We have a four month old German Shepherd and he used to do the biting and play attacks but has gotten much better about it. He never play attacks me, and does it rarely for my wife. Here's what worked for us:

1. Take him to puppy socializations. When he bites you I bet he's trying to start play with you, but hasn't learned what appropriate play is. The best way for him to learn what's okay and what isn't is with other dogs. If he bites another puppy, they'll either leave him alone or clap back at him. GSDs are smart, he'll get it fast
   
   
2. Really startle him when he does it. Other people have suggested yelling ouch and all that, but if it's not working then do it even louder. There needs to be a visual reaction from him that he's startled. After yelling, immediately end play. We would put him in a short timeout in his crate, and after 5 minutes he would usually have calmed down.
   
   
3. Tire him out. Puppies can't really do long walks yet, so we have this: https://www.amazon.com/Squishy-Face-Studio-Exercise-Squeaker/dp/B00HFFXEWE He absolutely loves playing with it, and after 10-15 minutes of play he's totally exhausted. Just have him chase the birdie around but let him get it periodically so he doesn't get discouraged. Let him chew on it for a bit, and then when he takes a break flick it out of his grasp. Don't play tug of war with the birdie, that's not really the intent.
   
   I'd be willing to guarantee that a combination of these three things will work. It's frustrating now, but he'll definitely grow out of it. So be patient, if you can. I also like to keep my puppy on leash in the house (if he's not in the crate) as a housebreaking exercise. It just gives me much more control over him and gives him more structure. Plus it's good for bonding.
   
   Anyway, let me know how it goes!

Yeah, most of those would get destroyed in minutes in our house.

Firstly, as I'm sure you know, plan to take her on a decent walk first. It's not always possible, but it helps with the process. Then there's a little wind-down time when we get back to the house.

Anyway, as for toys, your real question, I suggest one of these two:

http://www.amazon.com/StarMark-Bob---Lot-Interactive-Small/dp/B003YHB8EI/

http://www.amazon.com/OurPets-Smarter-Interactive-Inches-Colors/dp/B003ARUKTG/

We get some tiny little treats to pop in there and it has good success. Noodle still tries to play with it at my feet, but at least it keeps him occupied. But, as Aussies are velcro pups, he only plays with it in the same room that we're in.

The other thing that could help (if what you want to get done is in the same general area) is to keep treats in your pocket and continuing to reward for staying on her bed. So as you're working, toss a treat back. Maybe every 30 seconds at first and then lengthen the time. Our "Go to your bed" command is pretty rock solid at this point...but the staying part is certainly something that can be continuously worked on.

Good luck! And seriously, that Weazeball will die a horrible death in minutes. Don't waste your money.

If it's important to you, you can work on building her play drive. I used this method to get my dog from complete disinterest in toys to a reliable tug in the house. We're still working on interest in other environments.


Remember to always stop before she gets bored, always leave her wanting more. Even if that means putting the toy away after she sniffs it if you think she's not in the mood. Our agility instructor recommended that if you initiate play do whatever you have to do to get them interested, don't ever let them walk away from you first offering the toy, then you can stop once you get even the slightest bit of interest.


Have you tried chaseable toys like a flirt pole? If you're not morally opposed you could also try a toy with real fur. Clean Run has an entire category of motivational toys.


Last thing, it's probably impossible to over exercise a 2 year old pointer mix, but if she's getting all her energy out in other ways she might be perfectly content to just relax at home. My 2 year old is much more interested in play if I cut our 2 hours of daily exercise down to 1 hour for a day or two so she starts going just a little crazy.


Good luck!

There are plenty of ways to keep your dog occupied during the day. Adults at least; puppies require a lot more attention.

Kongs (which I swear really are dog toys, despite what they look like) can be filled with any number of treats like plain low-fat Greek yogurt, peanut butter, low-fat cream cheese, no-salt broth, wet food, pureed sweet potato, and more... and frozen to make the treat last longer.

Other treat dispensing toys like the Tug-A-Jug. The idea in both of these cases is to make getting their breakfast take up time and present a challenge.

And of course, it always helps to exercise them and give them short training sessions in the morning before you go so that once you leave (with a treat, so your departure is a positive thing), they're in for a nice long nap until you get back. A well-exercised/trained dog is a happy dog, and one that's much less prone to destroy your house or terrorize other people/animals. If you do get a dog, make sure you look into breeds that are known for having an energy level that fits what you're willing to offer!

Some folks crate train (and play crate games along with or as their training sessions), but I've found that the more settled my dog gets, the less he needs a crate. It's safe for him to roam part of the house.

Other people take their dogs to daycare (which sounds silly, but a good daycare with the right dog can be great for play and socialization) or hire a dog walker to come by during their work shift.

You have a pup? Creep ALLLLLL over my wish list for dog items!

Oh Canada! Eh? Our home and native land! Eh? (I'll likely be moving up to America's Hat when I'm starting a family, etc. America is a clusterfuck of horror.)

My dog LOVES this treat ball! She follows it around all over the living room, sniffing a trail behind it to see if anything fell out! She carries it to bed with her!

Here are my dogs:

Lulu's tricks!

Bonus photos of BOTH dogs ♥ ♥ ♥:

• My dogs starring in "The Cheer Up Committee"
  
  
• Hipster Lulu
  
  
• Lulu in booty shorts and a sports bra
  
  
• Lulu with a large toy she was gifted
  
  
• Compilation photo, with one of Lulu's silly upside down faces!
  
  
• The girls, relaxing together

Feed him with this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003ARUKTG/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_8?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Anyone have a dog you can borrow to come over and play with him while you work? Other dog friends are great for exhausting pups. Plus it's very good for socializing.

Just like with children, the excess of energy could be due to something more than lack of exercise. His little puppy brain might not be getting enough stimulation. He also may be wanting to chew/gnaw something. Give him the food ball, and a healthy dog bone chew.

Also, quick tip: make sure he has a dedicated space that is his own. A place like a den that is for happy feelings (give him treats in said place) and sleep; like a crate with a comfy bed. And NEVER feed your dog a meal and then overwork/ run him, it may cause BLOAT.

tl; dr : food ball, dog friend, dog chew.

My 8 week old Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (closely related to Goldens) was not a fan of the crate at all. We'd put her in there, even if she was tired, and she'd start whining up to a half hour.

I read about the Snuggle Puppy and the reviews on Amazon seemed too good to be true, but I wanted her to have an easier time and $30 seemed worth a shot. So, we got her this and honestly, it helps so much. The newer model comes with a heart that has an 8 hour setting, a continuous setting (runs until battery dies) and off.

So, what we do now is throw in some Freeze Dried Beef Liver Treats (the Ferrari of dog treats) in her Kong, top it off with some peanut butter and put that in the crate with her Snuggle Puppy. She'll go in there, work on her Kong and lay down. Once she lays down we cover the front of her cage with a blanket or towel to reduce some of the light and she goes to sleep with nary a whimper. It's been working day or night. It definitely comforts her. I highly recommend it.

I like the Kong + PB + freezer method - though I put down a towel on the carpet because my dog drools a lot with this one. And make sure it's just plain peanut butter - no additives and especially no artificial sugars.

There are also some other treat dispensing toys that are good to use with kibble - some people even use them to feed their dog their entire meals (if they fit). The Kong Wobbler is a good one for that - I save half of his breakfast kibble most days and give it to my doggy in the wobbler when I leave. He loves it. Sometimes I put a few of his little training treats like these or these in there with the kibble, which I hope he notices and thinks "aw, ma loves me extra good today!"

The Kong Wobbler is also less likely to get stuck under the couch or tv stand than this treat-dispensing ball, which is also fun and was initially the only toy my dog didn't destroy.

It may just be a matter of finding toys that can keep him engaged. There are toys that are like catnip kickers or static little stuffies, but then there are also some that are battery-operated or plug in (lasers, concealed motion toys, magnetic toys).

My personal preference, especially if I'm not home to supervise are toys that can be active with just the cat's actions alone. This woven straw is one of my cat's favourites because it catches in her claws as she swats it, so as she moves, it follows her motion until it uncatches and flings off, so she'll go chase it.

I've got this cheap little wand that I use to play with her that moves fairly unpredictably and actually got my cat panting because she was so into it.

Another thing I do everyday is spend 15-20 minutes making her chase her meal. I feed wet food during the day and offer a limited amount of kibble at night, so what I do with the kibble is toss it up the stairs or around the house within her sight so she chases each piece to get fed. I do this until she gets so tired that she has to lie down 3 or 4 separate times, and then I let her rest.

After that, I fill some foraging toys with some more kibble so she has something to work for. If your cat is food motivated, this could work well for you too because it keeps them mentally and physically busy. I have a treat ball and a Wobbert (a little more challenging than a regular treat ball) but I find they're quick to solve and not very engaging. Most of the ones I get are dog toys:

• Mad Scientist
  
  
• Jigsaw Slider
  
  
• Flip board level 2
  
  
• Brain mover toy
  
  
• Lucky Slots
  
  
• Training level 3
  
  
• Training level 3
  
  Also, I hide kibble pieces all over her furniture and any cat-friendly furniture. In toys, in any nooks and crannies, in places I want her to explode. It's a good reason to get her feeling like she has a bit of a mission and poking around.

I have a border collie, and I second this. One of the best things we ever did was get a Tricky Treat ball, which we feed her in every day. We don't even have a food bowl for her anymore, because she eats all of her meals out of this. We fill it twice a day and she does an amazing job self-pacing her eating, and it immediately calmed her down. She feels like she's working for her food, and she likes being independent, and she likes to feel useful. Every now and then if other dogs are over, we feed her normally, and she does not like it. She loves going for bike rides, but I've found that teaching a new trick does just as well at tiring her out, which is great in bad weather. She's like a person: she needs to feel like her life has purpose in a way that I haven't experienced with other, non-border collie dogs. Another easy thing to do in bad weather: play fetch up and down the stairs. Start with regular fetch, then start adding tricks to it. Make her sit and wait A LOT. My dog is two, and she's calmer than she was a year ago, in part because we moved a year ago to a house with stairs and windows that she can watch things from, and in part because we switched her to a grain-free kibble which solved her digestive issues, so be aware of that as an issue for lots of border collies!

Lol I keep seeing your posts! I saw "Riley" and I thought, hey I know that name.

Just wanted to drop a comment and say Kiba is about 17 lbs now. He got weighed at his lime disease shot a week ago so he's probably another pound by now.

He also eats about 2 cups a day, but I find that he'll graze and come back to his bowl when he's hungry again. He'll often eat the whole thing in one sitting, but not always. A few days ago I haphazardly spilled the bag into the bowl and didn't know it wasn't enough until he started pawing at the food bag. I gave him the rest of his lunch (sorry Kiba!) and he ate it and left the food bag alone.

Shibas tend to be good about eating their fill and leaving what's left. If you want to give him a little extra and see if he eats it, I can't see a problem with that.

Overfeeding dogs as puppies is a little like overfeeding kids. A bit of extra weight isn't that big of a problem, as long as they are growing into their weight and not staying plump as they become an adolescent. A good rule of thumb is paying attention to their waistline from top-down. So standing over him, does he have a defined waist? His body should curve in and then out again when you reach his hips. Fatter puppies are sort of hot dog shaped, and underfed dogs either have visible ribs or, in flyffy dogs, ribs you can feel individually when you run your hand over them.

Since he's a puppy, giving him a little bit more food, I think, is okay. As long as he's getting his walks and playtime, He'll grow into his weight as he reaches a year.

Also, want to feed him, stimulate him, and get him some playtime all at the same time? Kiba gets one of his meals in this every day (mostly at night when im too busy to play with him): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ARUKU0/ref=twister_B06XCNJCMG?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

The 3-incher is about the size of a tennis ball. Kiba can pick it up in his mouth and throw it at me when it's empty and needs more :)

Here's my list:

Kong - you can stuff it with peanut butter or canned dog food (and even freeze it!) to give to your pup. Super helpful for crate training and just for keeping the pup busy for a couple minutes.

Kibble ball like this one - keeps the pup from scarfing down it's whole meal in 20 seconds. Also - you can enjoy your coffee in the morning without worrying what the pup is getting up to.

Training treats (eg Zuke's) are great for clicker training - they're small so your pup doesn't get too many calories from training sessions

Harness and long lead (30 feet or so) - really handy for tiring the pup out. You can walk through a park/field or whatever, and the pup can zoom around and get some of their puppy fuss out.

Nature's Miracle for accidents - it's an enzymatic cleaner and works really well for getting the smell out of the carpet (and keeping them from viewing that spot as a bathroom next time!)

For the toys - it's really helpful to split them into 2-3 groups, and rotate which group is out every week or so. Otherwise they can get bored of all their toys

*This article is my go-to for crate training. It has lots of ideas for games to build up a positive association with the crate, and helps you work up to leaving the pup alone.

Along with what everyone else has said, I would recommend this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000C9YHFS/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_s_awd_d_YawFxb1PW070M

It's a stuffed animal that has a fake heart inside which vibrates like a heart beat. My puppy loved this! It gave her a little "friend" to snuggle with in her crate. It even comes with a hand warmer you can shove inside too, to simulate a warm puppy to snuggle with. That and treats, a toy, anything to make it a happy place! Try to feed meals in the crate too. Start with the door open, as the pup goes inside further and is more comfortable you can shut the door and let him out when he's finished eating.

I think Kongs are a good start.

I think with young puppies though, depending on their food drive and motivations, they may or may not take to puzzle toys early, so don't feel badly if it's too much for them.

We actually didn't start our dog on puzzle feeders for any "intelligence" benefit - she had super high food drive and kept eating quickly without chewing, vomiting out her meal, then eating her vomit, so we bought a slow feeder bowl which was perfect for her at 4 months old. We fed her out of frozen-solid Kongs in the morning starting when she was 5 months old to help curb her separation anxiety, and then eventually bought a Busy Buddy Kibble Nibble. Even on the easiest settings, she struggled quite a bit as a puppy so we cut down the stoppers to make the flow easier. When she got better at the game, we re-bought the toy and made it substantially more difficult.

My younger dog, a Samoyed, actually doesn't eat out of toys. He has a lesser food drive and while he'll occasionally eat out of a toy, he prefers to just eat his food and work for better snacks (i.e. training for high value treats), so figuring out what your future dog's preferences are is definitely going to be something you'll have to do as your dog grows up. This dog did not eat out of Kongs until he was about 6 months old, either. He's just as smart, just not as insanely food driven as my first dog!

The flirt stick I have is here (which honestly was probably way more sturdy than my dogs need XD), but you can also learn how to make your own here. It's important to limit tugging and chewing on the flirt stick anyway-- the game is the chase!

​

Rally is something you can easily start doing at home if you're interested and if your dog enjoys training with you. You can see signs and descriptions here and there's a great video demonstrating the signs here. If there's a certain exercise you're stuck on, you can generally find videos on YouTube that will teach you how to teach your dog X, Y, or Z. (This is how I learned how to teach my girl fronts.) I use a treat pouch when I train, and my dog gets SO excited when she sees me put the pouch on! In novice, you don't really need any equipment (some signs include cones, but you can either avoid those signs or use other things you have around to act as cones), which makes it a little more accessible than agility off the bat.

Maybe a toy you put food in? Mine likes her food out all the time as well so she can pick at it, but if I put it in a toy she loves to knock it around and get little rewards. It's like a job, or a puzzle, it makes her feel accomplished and it's fun! I only mention it since she's making a lot of noise with one right now.

We have this and this and this and few ones with flippy little doors and whatnot that are good for holding a snack. It might be too stressful and frustrating for him at first, but if you stick with it and show him how it works he might take to it. Best wishes to your doggos!

The thing that causes this behavior is that he is a working breed dog who is extremely energetic. You basically described almost every lab I have ever trained. His owners need to give him a lot more mental and physical stimulation.

Since he is a lab, a chuck it ball thrower would be a great way to play fetch. A flirt pole is another really great toy for tiring dogs out.

For mental stimulation, mealtimes are a perfect opportunity. Have them get either a Bob-A-Lot or a Kong Wobbler for daily feeding and get rid of his food bowl. I recommend the Bob-A-Lot because you can make it easier or harder. This gives him ~10 extra minutes of brain work every day and you don't have to do anything extra.

Then basic obedience and chew/puzzle toys (kong marathon ball, nobbly nubbly, squirrel dude) will also help.

I've been there. Everything you don't want chewed needs to be kept it out of his reach. Hide EVERYTHING. The teething and chewing does eventually get better, but in the meantime, crates and puppy-proof rooms are VERY important. Baby gates and wire playpens are good for blocking off hazards in common areas. Keep a close eye on him for now, check his stool for potential problems (blood, irregular, or lack of elimination = drop what you're doing and go to the vet). If you see a string, don't pull it.

I know you didn't ask for advice, but here are some things that really helped with my dog:

• Kong brand toys - practically invincible, and they give the dog something to do. Just make sure you get the appropriate size. That goes for all toys.
  
  
• Hard plastic toys are hard on the teeth, but you also want to avoid soft plastic that can be broken off and ingested. Find some with rubbery plastic like the kong toys.
  
  
• Rope toys are good for supervised chewing. Replace as necessary (ingested strings are bad).
  
  
• My dog really likes to chew on antlers. The sound he makes when chewing them makes me cringe, but he loves them and they are relatively safe (supervision is still important- edit: see the important notes about them below). Avoid rawhides (they can easily cause blockages). Bully sticks are safer if you can get past the smell and knowing what they're made of (I don't find they last long, though. Antlers work better for us and last for months)
  
  
• Tennis balls should only be used for fetch, never chew toys. They wear down the teeth.. When we were in a puppy class, I saw young dogs that already had permanent damage from them.
  
  
• Treat balls are wonderful. I put my dogs whole meal into one (if you cut off the top of a water bottle, it can be used like a funnel to get food into it). It not only slows down his eating for better digestion, but it gives him something to do so he doesn't get himself into trouble. The one I linked is the one I use.

Aww. Glad they were so generous about it.

Here's some unsolicited chewing dog advice. Take it or leave it.

With a dog that loves to chew, here's a few recommendations and a blog that is really great for hyper / anxious / chewy dogs. Goes without saying if you're already doing these things then keep on keeping on.

1. change all meals to puzzle toys like the tug jug and the wobbler. Make them work and think for their food
   
   https://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-Buddy-Dispensing-Medium-Large/dp/B000KV7ZGQ
   
   https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003ALMW0M/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493834636&sr=8-1&keywords=kong+wobbler
   
   
2. more exercise and consider adding a backpack like the outward hound or ruff wear. Use filled Nalgene bottles for weight for an excellent doggy workout.
   
   https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00B2KAACK/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1493834678&sr=1-3&keywords=ruffwear
   
   
   
3. More training. A trained dog is a confident happy dog. Do a new trick a month. Join a class. Etc.
   
   All this is a recipe for a less chewy dog. If they're tired both mentally and physically and are confident, unwanted behaviors like chewing and barking generally decrease.
   
   Here's the blog - 3lostdogs (dot) com

This - make eating fun, engaging, and mentally stimulating!

My guy eats every single meal out of either a Kong or one of these. I do a lot of work and mental development with him, and if I could only do one thing, it would be the practice of active feeding.

I very seriously cannot recommend it enough. The mental exercise every meal seems like nothing, but the dog is not only doing it a few times a day, every day, but also getting rewarded for problem solving. If you want a smarter, more resourceful, calmer, and happier dog, practice active feeding!

Hi. I'm late, and my stuff is similar to yours but I'll show you anyway.

Our piglet LOVES this thing, we put cheerio halves inside: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YHB8EI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00

I made this rooting box last wknd during the snow storm and he now uses it once a day. I went the cheap route w the pans until I knew he'd actually use it. That's regular hay sprayed down with water and we add raw cut up veggies.
http://imgur.com/YM4DK4r

Also, this bed is the best. He roots in it 24/7 and tires himself out. I also have a hot water bottle in there that is kind of heavy, he likes digging under it and rooting into it too.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008GQV68U?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

Good luck!

My 10 lb dog loves the IQ ball and we've got the larger size (4"). We've also got a Wobbler that she enjoys, but I think I should have gotten the Bob-a-lot instead. I borrowed a Bob-a-lot from a friend, and it seemed like it was more challenging and I liked that the hole size is adjustable (I taped over most of the Wobbler's hole to make it smaller). The Busy Buddy Twist & Treat is pretty good too.

My family's big into Bostons...my mom has had 8 total in her life. They are notorious toy destroyers. My first Boston is 1 1/2 now.

The owner at a pet store in town advised that we have "play" toys, and "chew" toys... so if we notice her chewing on a "play" toy, we take it away. For chew toys, I've given up on a lot of things and I advise either getting an edible antler or a bully ring It's completely digestible and doesn't mess with their stomach.

I've had some good luck with Chuck-It. As for balls, my BT loves this huge one, which is pretty durable because it's twice her size: kick fetch ball They also make small rubber balls and "indoor" balls that work well.

My BT loves fetch so we got her both a Kong and Chuck-It frisbee. They've lasted a while but we take them away from her once we're inside, otherwise she'll destroy them.

There's also this company called Helping Udders that is fairly durable toys, made from recycled stuff, and you can donate 15% of your purchase to a BT rescue. Mine loved those :)

Last bit of advice: if a toy doesn't last very long, take a picture and write the company a letter. I've done this a couple times and without fail, the company will send you a more durable product to try out. With one, it turns out it was a design flaw that they had fixed; the new product lasted much, much longer.

Good luck!

You can feed him exclusively through food dispensing toys which will help occupy him and drain some energy. I'd pick up a couple different ones like this and rotate their use. See the recommendations below that, most of those toys are pretty good. The Bob A Lot is nice because you can put a decent amount of Kibble in before you have to refill. For hard puzzles, there's one called the Tug-A-Jug which lasts a long time. Freeze creamy stuff or wet food in Kongs to make them last a bit longer. If you can find a type of bone he really likes, keep a bunch in stock; chewing can be great for tiring him out.

And like other posters have suggested, practicing a little training every day will make a difference. Teach new tricks or mix in some basic obedience cues with a game of fetch or tug, using the toy as the reward.

Is he paws-y in general? He may need one at first that he can see inside of like the Busy Buddy "Kibble Nibble." Some dogs need a lot more encouragement and praise and excitement to see the fun in dispensing toys, including you pushing it around to get food to fall out. A regular Kong Classic with dry kibble inside is a good one to try too as food falls out easily. The more full the toy is, the easier the food falls out so have it full the first few times you use it.

If your dog just isn't into it, you can also try puzzles. Kyjen and Nina Ottosson have good ones. You can DIY with a muffin pan or egg carton.

Limit her access to unsupervised rooms and give her something to do! Any dog, but particularly a young doberman, needs mental stimulation the same way as you or I do. We can pick up a book or watch tv, but if a dog isn't provided with stimulation then they will find stimulating things to do. Like tear things up or throw cushions around. Great fun!

Suggestions:

• Take a five-ten minute break from your work to give her a training session, every hour, or whenever you feel like she's getting restless.
  
  
• Invest in treat-dispensing toys like the Kong Wobbler, the Twist n Treat, and/or a Star Spinner.
  
  
• Invest in puzzle toys like the above spinner, a Paw Flapper, and/or a Slide n Seek.
  
  
• Buy a Kong and stuff it full of kibble, bits of ham and peanut butter, then freeze it. Give this to her and she will take time to work it all out (time she's not tearing up your house!)
  
  
• Shut the doors to rooms that don't have any people in them, so that she can't do anything "out of view" of you or your wife.
  
  Any and all of these options should help your situation. The problem is likely just plain boredom.
  

how old is she?

leashes/collars:

our puppy was cleared to go home at 7.5 weeks and 9 pounds. we went to target and got a boots and barkley size XS collar. it was $4. we only spent $4 because within a month she was in a M collar. she's going to need a large collar in the next few months.

we had a lighter leash from our other dog (cocker spaniel) that we used until we switched collars, then we got a heavier duty 6' nylon leash off of amazon. 6' is a good length for training because you can do come and stay with 6'.

it's really tempting to spend a lot on cute collars and leashes when you get them, but they grow so quickly that it really is kind of a waste of money...

toys:

a puppy kong would be good (believe this is the baby blue one). she'll be learning to mouth. we also got some softer plush toys for her, smaller, because she can't get her mouth around the bigger ones. samus REALLY liked small flat toys and there isn't stuffing for them to rip out of with their razor sharp puppy teeth. the stuffing can make them sick if they ingest it. also, some of the flat ones have a crinkly paper sound and not a squeaker, which can also be better.

https://www.jefferspet.com/products/flat-farm-toys

goldens are REALLY smart so you have to keep them busy. there are a lot of 'puzzle toys' out there but samus always figured them out within 10 minutes. even as a 2-3 month old puppy the ones that say 6 months + were way too easy (she is just turning 4.5 months).

my husband found this toy on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/OurPets-Smarter-Interactive-Treat-Colors/dp/B003ARUKTG

it is our LIFE SAVER. it is the ONLY toy that keeps samus interested for HOURS. it has to roll on carpet though, so if you dont have carpet it might not be a good choice. we tried other ball/puzzle toys and she would figure them out. we put a handful of her food or some treats and her food in the ball and she is so busy. the kicker with this toy is that the inner platform has an adjustable hole to make it more difficult for the food to fall out of, and then it falls into the ball and has to fall out of the second (outer) hole. so, out of everything we have ever purchased, this was the best $8 we have spent.

bowls:

we used a small 2 cup pyrex like dish for the first couple of months and now she is in a Kong slow feed bowl from PetSmart.

https://www.petsmart.com/dog/supplies-and-training/bowls-and-feeders/food-and-water-bowls/kong-slow-feed-puzzle-dog-bowl-5231739.html?gclid=CJTgksmI9dECFY62wAodQoEK5A&lsft=utm_source%3Agoogle%2Cutm_term%3A5231739%2Cutm_medium%3APLA%2Cutm_content%3AGSC%20-%20PLA%20-%20Hardgoods%20%7C%20Dog%20-%20Supplies%20

food:

we do natural balance limited ingredient lamb and brown rice puppy food. puppy food is important because they're growing. our vet told us large breed isn't necessary because large breed is more for your dane sized puppies. whatever you feed her, make sure you are starting with an 80% breeder provided food/20% your food, next day do 70/30, 60/40, etc...slow moving or it will upset their bellies and you'll be sad because they can't hold their liquid poops in since they are puppies. ask the breeder for a weeks worth of food for the transition.

misc:

• clickers to do clicker training.
  
• soft treats for when you start name recognition
  
  if you have a petco near you, ask them for the puppy coupon book. it'll come with a lot of 50% off coupons for treats that you can use with price matching and manufacturer coupons.
  
  I took these 50% one bag of 12oz tricky trainer treats, looked on their website, got a price match (it's usually a ton cheaper on their website) and then got the 50% off of that price match.
  
  I ended up with 3 bags of treats for about $4
  

I'm not sure what budget you're working with, but with the fitness/snowboarding interest, maybe a camelbak would be a good gift! I think it'd be fun to throw in a gift or two for their dog, too. You could get a hide-a-squirrel or a tricky treat ball.

I have a 6 month old ACD mix, so we're in the same boat! They LOVE to learn new things and are very easy to train for the most part. The problem with ours is carrying those skills over to distracting environments, as he wants to pay attention to everything besides me.

Doing all you can to give him as much exercise and mental stimulation as possible will go a loooong way. If you don't, he'll probably become a terror.

If you're not making him work for his food, you're doing it wrong! Get a Buster Cube or a Tug-A-Jug or any similar food toys. It will make him think, and it might help you separate his food from the other dog's.

You need to always make him sit or down or some other command before he gets his food. I usually make mine sit, then I put the food down, and he won't go eat it until I release him. Once he can do that, it should be pretty easy to keep him from eating your other dog's food.

Do as much training with him as possible. Working his mind will wear him out pretty fast. Games like 101 Things to do with a Box really make him think. Teach a bunch of commands and give him pop quizzes by doing a bunch of them in random order for 5-10 minutes.

One cool thing I did was buy one of those big inflatable balls for kids you always see at Target or Wal-Mart in those big tall bins. He LOVES it! He herds it around the yard and wears himself out and I don't have to do anything except kick it around every once in a while. It's also really cool to see his herding instincts kick in without ever being taught how to do it.

You also need to embrace his velcro dog qualities. ACDs are great off-leash dogs because they always want to be by you. Find an empty softball field, an empty dog park, any large area with a fence, and get to work on it!

I've got three little monsters! Their names are Bandit, Bubbles & Butters. Bubbles & Butters are both rescues and Bandit was purchased from a farm.

A new fleece blanket for the musketeers would be wonderful! They absolutely love my SO's baby blanket, but I think it's probably time to retire that before it becomes completely destroyed (through love, of course)

I don't have a dog (yet), but my friend purchased this for her dog and she says it's wonderful! I'm not quite sure how it works, since it looks like a hard chew toy but it's bacon flavored, so that must be good, right?

I switched from normal bowl-feeding to [this food dispenser toy] (https://www.amazon.com/StarMark-Treat-Kibble-Dispensing-Puppy/dp/B01CP7B9L4/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468270533&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=bobalot+feeder) and my dog LOVES it. It's hilarious to watch him knock it around and he just about does cartwheels at meal times.

Is it possible to start taking your pups for walks to tire them out? Or teaching fetch to tire them out quicker in the backyard, or tug of war?

I've also been thinking about getting a [flirt pole] (https://www.amazon.com/Outward-Hound-41001-Exercise-Replacement/dp/B0042I5G2I/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1468270723&sr=1-1&keywords=flirt+pole) as my dog got to play with one at our training class this weekend and about crapped his pants (he really liked it). I think the trick is to figure out what activity your dogs likes best – chewing? squeaky stuff? chasing? digging? nosework? and then finding more focused activites related to that. Good luck!

My 9 month old puppy loves his benebone (http://www.amazon.com/Benebone-Bacon-Flavored-Wishbone-Chew/dp/B00CPDWT2M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411690320&sr=8-1&keywords=benebone). I just got him his third one a few days ago. There's two flavors, bacon and peanut butter (http://www.amazon.com/Benebone-Peanut-Butter-Flavored-Wishbone/dp/B00IK243R6/ref=pd_sbs_petsupplies_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1WFNGHN8B9FBJXC180JX), but my dog likes his bacon flavored benebone so much that I'm worried that he won't like the peanut butter one, so I haven't purchased that one for him. These last for a pretty long time. When he was a very young puppy, it lasted 3-4 months. His second one lasted 2 months. He used to spend 30 minutes to an hour chewing on it, but this has tapered off slightly.

I've bought him lots of chew toys, like a couple of different nylabones, an elk antler, bully sticks, etc. He chews on his elk antler once in a blue moon. He likes bully sticks, but can finish a 12" one in about 20 minutes, which is way too expensive for me. He never really liked his nylabones, especially the ones that are original flavored. Benebones are a lot like nylabones (they're both made of nylon), but the wishbone shape makes it easy to hold and it smells pretty strongly of bacon, which I think is why my dog likes it so much.

Jumping in to recommend the Bob-A-Lot that I got my dog a few months ago. It seems to be a little more work for her than the Kong Wobbler since you can adjust the hole that the food comes out of. If I don't feed her out of that, I use this dog bowl. Another good way for me to wear her brain out is to take the meal with us on our walks and train a little as we go.

Just recently my friend got me this toy and she loves it. She'll pull all the toys out and play with them for a while, then wait while I stuff them back in again.

Good luck!! I really hope you get to keep your pupper!

Grand Pyrenees are super active dogs that are incredible escape artists. So in addition to a really good crate you should make sure you fix up your fence. Make sure you install a dog proofing system or consider a dog specific fence. Invisible electric fences are useless on them when they get older. They definately need to run around. They are crazy diggers.

Other than that make sure you get dog food toys like this. They have lots of energy. More than regular pups. They also will get annoyed of you crate them for 10+ hours a day like some people think they can do.

The biggest thing with them is to remember that they need to play a lot. Puppy play dates in your own yard will help them out a lot.

A cool way of giving your dog a great work out, without overstressing the body, is a flirt pole. I got one for Capone, and he's loving it! As am I!!! It get's him nice and tired, way more than any walk ever would. I've heard you shouldn't run or weight train them until at least 1.5 so that you don't mess up the hips, growth plates, or bone development... I've talked to my vet about it and he says the flirt pole is great!!


Here's what I use

Enjoy!!

We have three not including Kongs! She gets bored easily lol.

This is my favorite one because it's really easy to change the difficulty and it's too big to get caught under the furniture.

You can change the difficulty on this one too by closing it more tightly but is pretty easy

And this is the easiest one out of the three we have but she still really likes it.

There are like hundreds more to choose from! Someone posted this and I'm probably going to pick a couple from there, too.

I have a 2 year old red nosed pit.

none are affiliate links

My pit is obsessed with large circular balls, and she'll easily deflate a soccer ball in minutes, so I bought this rubber soccer-sized ball that doesn't deflate. I kick and throw this ball around, and all her attention is on it. She's a gnaw-er, so she try to bite through basketballs and soccer balls as quickly as she can. This ball has stayed un-deflated for weeks now: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EMSVVAI/

For fetching with smaller balls, I bought two lacrosse balls, as they are very durable. And the reason they're durable is because they're not mostly empty inside, like regular bouncy balls you'll find at Petco. My pit isn't good at dropping the ball at me, so I throw the second when she gets close enough to me with the first, and she'll drop the ball: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006JANLLU/

Nylabone, super durable and a great chew toy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002ASNAM/

This food dispensing toy for mental stimulation: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ARUKTG/

I also have the luxury of having a co-worker who had a dog supply ecommerce website (closed shop last month) and he gave me these large deer antler(?) bones as well as several other items for free. But the antler bone is easily the best chew toy the dog has ever tried to chew on, and it was free.

• Lupine collars and leashes - they have a great guarantee of free replacement if the dog chews up the collar or leash. Perfect for puppies. You can find them in most specialty pet shops.
  
  
• Kibble Nibble - this is an interactive toy that I recommend feeding your puppy and grown up dog from. It keeps them busy and they have to work for their food.
  
  
• Nylabones - start with the puppy ones and when your pup starts getting adult teeth move on to the regular versions. Rotate teething toys so your pup always has something interesting to chew on.
  
  
• Sterilized Bones
  
  When you buy Kongs make sure you get the large or x-large size. Don't fall into the marketing scheme where you buy as they grow. Large Kongs are great because you can stuff all sorts of things in it to keep them busy.
  
  Kong Recipes
  
  If you have an Amazon Prime account I'd order a lot from them. Free shipping saves you a lot. If you don't have Amazon Prime then you should look at ordering from a bulk pet supply place like Pet Edge. You have to order $60 worth of stuff to avoid the surcharge but you can get some good deals depending on how expensive shipping is. I try to split an order with a friend to keep costs down.

I feel your pain. I just had my pup spayed in late December. Your pup sounds like she might be more energetic than mine but my lab definitely wasn't happy about being kept inside that long.

People here told me puzzle balls too but I'll try to be a little more specific. Out of all the puzzle balls I found this one to be the best one http://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-Kibble-Nibble-Dispensing-Medium/dp/B001F0RRUA/ref=sr_1_9?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1393869755&sr=1-9&keywords=dog+puzzle

I fed her her meals out of that when she was housebound. It typically takes her maybe 30+ minutes to get most of the kibbles out. Sometimes longer. Between 3 meals you will probably keep her entertained maybe 2 hours with no work on your part (other than having to listen to the ball roll around).

Another game my dog likes to play is hide and seek. I'll tell her to sit and stay in a room and then call out "come!" from another room and have her find me. Hope that helps.

Kongs are the simplest and its really easy to "level up". Start by just putting in dry kibble, then wet kibble, then freeze the wet kibble and seal up the big hole with yogurt or peanut butter. Then you can layer it so its frozen wet kibble, cheese, kibble, yogurt, kibble, peanut butter etc. It'll start taking longer and longer to get everything out. My pup loves the Kong Wobbler too! Not only does it tire him out, but it spreads out his meal so he doesn't eat it as fast. Same with the IQ ball. The puzzle board was great for awhile but then got too easy for him. Snuffle mats are pretty easy to DIY too if you don't want to fork over the money to buy a real one.

1. "An adorable puppy" and "my favorite day of adventures"
   
   
2. Leila and Fiona are wonderful sisters! I do plan on taking more pictures of Fiona sometime this week, she's too cute not to have "good" pictures taken!
   
   
3. This would be good for them because they're both Border Collies and need lots of mental stimulation. There's lots of games we could play with this little device!
   
   
   I'm sorry for your loss :( She's gorgeous and I know she's getting lots peanut butter in doggie heaven!

Are you looking for training treats, or longer lasting things? I'll give examples of both. Bobb only has 4 teeth and is about 10 years old, also from horrific unspeakable neglect (he also only has 2 legs). Things that have worked great for him:
-Treats: Baked sweet potato. I bake them at home so I can leave them a little bit soft. Super easy, I do peel them but you don't have to.
-Treats: Small bits of meat, cheese, pizza crust, fries, etc. Everything in moderation!
-Treats: Kibble. Bobb loves kibble and this is our #1 treat. We use high quality grain free kibble as treats for his physical therapy exercises and for a lot of our training and enrichment. Dogs don't need to chew kibble so it's great to use for training treats. Easy to factor in to his diet too.
-Long lasting: Himalayan Chews have been a big hit, they are too hard to chew but provide hours and hours and hours of licking and gumming. There are different sizes available.
-Long lasting: Licking stuff out of a small Kong or the Busy Buddy Twist n Treat. Peanut butter, plain yogurt, mashed potato, cottage cheese, canned food, cream cheese. If you're using it for training or reward, you can let him get a few licks.

Oh I love the idea of making him work for every bit of kibble! I am going to try to use this!

To piggyback off of this comment, my pup LOVES this toy: http://www.amazon.com/Our-PetsSmarter-Treat-Inches-Colors/dp/B003ARUKU0

The nice thing about it is that you can increase the difficulty of the treat release. My puppy blasted through the levels, but the hardest level is still pretty challenging and he loves running around the house with it :)

I would suggest that you definitely keep up the crate training. Are you putting treats in his crate when he goes in? Sometimes it's best to associate the crate with these types of positive reinforcements so he is more inclined to think the crate is a great place. If he has separation anxiety, I heard this heartbeat toy works quite well for young puppies.

My other suggestion is, the meantime, while you are crate training him, why don't you get one of these playpens if you have to leave him in the kitchen. That way he is at least away from the walls and in an enclosed space. If he starts to chew the playpen, you could spray it with this bitter spray which really helped my dog when he was teething.

Good luck!!

> she won't take treats outside or when she is scared so I don't know how to make it work?

If she won't take treats, it means she's already too afraid for counter conditioning. If you open the door so she can just see outside, but remain inside, does she react this way? Maybe you could start there first.

Also, if you're struggling with exercise you might have better luck with a flirt pole. If you can take her somewhere secluded and just keep her on a harness and longline, you could play that for ~15-30 minutes. Even high energy dogs tend to get worn down pretty fast because of the fast paced chasing and turning.

Also, you say she's pretty smart. How often is she getting training sessions every day? Do you give her puzzle toys? Mental stimulation can really reduce a dog's energy.

Hi there! Yes, I too have a big strong reactive pit. I agree that getting in some work to tire her out physically will go a long way. Will she play fetch in the yard? You could always play some fetch or use a flirt pole to wear her out before going on your joyride. Then she could actually enjoy the joy ride without having pent up energy.

Hm. When you did nosework in the past, did you do it on oils? Formal nosework uses their search/scent instincts, but the prize is usually an essential oil scent (like birch), which doesn't smell at all like any prey animals. If you haven't already done that, it might be worth a shot without the risk of bringing home other animals.

A puppy's first fear period is 8-11 weeks. Welcome to your dog's second fear period. It could pass quickly or it could last until he's a year or 14 months.

The first thing to remember is not to push him. You are correct for not dragging or carrying him. It's important that he learn coping strategies. For the next week or so while you teach him the basics of coping with fear, is there a "safe" area you can exercise him without pushing him past threshold? Do you have a yard you could use to exercise him with a flirt pole?

What you need to do is teach him how to be brave. The two best things you can do are to (a) teach him to touch stationary objects with his nose, and (b) teach him the engage-disengage game.

(A) At home, teach him how to touch objects with his nose on command. Here is a little bit about teaching a nose-palm touch, which is very useful. I extended this skill further and taught my perpetually worried pup to walk up to objects I point to and touch them with his nose. I taught him using basically the same technique as you'd use to teach a hand target behavior.

Start with non-scary objects, and move your way up to things that might be a little scarier inside (a newly opened umbrella gets a lot of dogs).

Then start practicing this in your yard, first with safe objects and then with scarier things. Then move to a walk 100' past your house on either side. Pick random objects to ask him to touch his nose to, and lavish food and praise when he touches them.

(B) Teach him the engage-disengage game. It's a "game" that will teach him to look to you for guidance when he is frightened. When he looks to you, stand confidently and offer him praise and food.

You should see pretty fast progress once he starts figuring out the game. Just make sure not to push him too hard - if he's struggling, always remember to make what you're doing easier and/or less scary.

Haha I know all about rubber toys and the millions pieces you'll have to pick up afterwards. I remember seeing an online list of the best toys for Pits and bought some.

Currently, I have the Benebone Wishbone both Bacon and peanut Butter flavor. I bought this for her about 3 months ago and theyre only halfway destroyed. Definitely worth it.

I also have this Nylabone toy and just like the Benebone, it has lasted the past few months as well. This one is wearing down more, but 3 months is fine with me.

Finally, these Goughnuts toys are great. I bought both the Stick and the Donut, even though my Pit likes the stick more.

And I have a large amount of tennis balls because you can never have enough lol. Hope this list helps!

https://amzn.com/B00CPDWT2M

I have a boxer/plott hound and she's not obsessed with chewing but once she gets a good start on a rawhide she powers through it as fast as possible. I've tried a bunch of treats/toys and this one holds up the best and keeps her interested long term. Can't say how well this will work for a daily/constant chewer cuz luckily my dog is happy to pick it up a few times a week for an hour or so and then forget about it.

SO and I keep our pup in an open area and just keep tabs on him, which inevitably results in a lot of us saying "stop chewing on the chair, stop chewing on the plant." So I feel you there.

If we need time where we can't watch him constantly (folding laundry, for example) we'll put him in his enclosed space, usually with something to chew on. Sometimes he barks at us or lays on top of the couch and stares at us like, "uh, guys? You forgot to let me out..." It's definitely not his favorite but sometimes it's necessary. If we really need him to be occupied we give him a bully stick; we might as well not exist when he has one of those.

As for toys, my dog loves his frizbee, his Chuck-it! ball (we can't give him regular tennis balls because he eats the fuzz off, but the Chuck it balls are pretty sturdy), and rope toys, which he can only have if we're around. Currently we have a Flossy rope toy and the Kong Tugga Wubba. He also has a few rubber chewy bones, which have held up to his chewing so far. Amazon seems to have better prices for toys than anywhere else I've found. The Flossy rope toy is huge and it cost me like $3, I think?

Another thing that keeps him occupied is a wobbling food dispenser, which another poster suggested and I also highly recommend. It makes dinner time a little more interesting for him and lets you do your own thing for a bit. We have one of these. You can adjust how difficult it is by adjusting the two openings in the toy.

Do you rotate toys out? If I introduce a new toy I always put one away and don't bring it out again for a few weeks; he goes nuts for ones he hasn't had in awhile.

I’d be interested to see if he was actually being “aggressive” or if he was just playing. As stated earlier pits have extremely high pain tolerances. (But they do in fact feel pain). I have bruises and one pretty gnarly scar from playing with mine who is about 80 lbs. Mostly, it happens when we go out to play fetch. He gets over worked and extremely excited and starts to come at me instead of the toy.

My suggestion: shut it down quickly. Simply grab the collar and get him to sit down, and don’t let him move until he is calmed down. The more you push, hit and kick, the harder he is going to try to bring you down, because that is how pits play, by trying to pin each other. Hitting your dog is never the answer.

Get or make a flirt pole , as it creates a greater distance between you the dog and the toy, which will help keep his attention focused on the toy and not on you.