OMG my dog is driving me crazy

wittyschaffy

Hi ladies - any brilliant suggestions to entertain my 2 year old lab/golden mix?  She is driving me insane and getting into trouble just so she gets attention - not that she doesn't get it any other time. 

It is freeeeeeeeeezing cold here in MN so I can't take her to the dog park or out for a walk.  It wouldn't be good for her feet and with the windchills in the  -20s, it isn't good for Hubby and I either!  I dont' want to buy her boots because I've read lots of reviews of people saying that they come off now matter how tight you cinch them and it seems silly to spend money on that if they don't work. 

Today while I was in the shower, she stole and shredded a nearly full roll of T.P. off the dispenser in the bathroom AND relocated my shoes and mittens to various hiding spots of hers. We've tried rotating her toys so that she doesn't have ALL of them available to hopefully keep things interesting but other than that, I'm out of ideas.   Dog lovers out there - any brilliant suggestions?  Spring can come to MN any time now. 

dvshaw

I think I've mentioned this before... but I love Kongs! We usually fill them up with peanut butter or a mixture of peanut butter and yogurt, and then put them in the freezer. Freezing the kongs makes it take a lot longer for the dog to get everything out.

Sorry about the nippy weather... do you have doggie day cares in your area? In atlanta they're usually $20 a day or something, so once and awhile we take our doberman. She just runs around and plays with other dogs all day, which totally wears her out for the next few days. It adds up, but it's cheaper than a pair of shoes  

wittyschaffy

We do have doggie daycares and she totally loves going to the one we use - however she was just there for 4 days  (they do boarding as well and are amazing at it!!) while hubby and I took a mini trip to go skiing.  Awesome idea about the Kong.  She does get peanut butter in hers every now and again but I'd never thought to freeze it!

Karen2905

Bummer, sorry to hear about the problems. 

I know winter in MN sucks, but it's not -20 windchill every day (THANK GOD).  When we first got Pugsly and it was in the single digits, we were worried about what you're worrying about now.  But she did just fine - seemed completely unphazed by the several 20 minute walks we took her on a day.  I think -unless your furbaby has health concerns I'm not aware of- that if little Pugsly is okay in the bitter cold for those periods of time, your dog probably would be too. 

Can you take her out for shorter periods more often?  Maybe take her out and walk her 6 shorter times a day rather than 3 normal times? 

Or do you have a treadmill? 

Are there any indoor dog parks in the Twin Cities? 

wittyschaffy

I wouldn't normally be opposed to walking her in the cold but we've had a lot of ice storms this year for some reason so there are a lot of road chemicals on the streets/walks which is the biggest problem for their feet right now.  She doesn't have a ton of fur between the pads of her paws to help keep them protected from getting chemical burns from the salt and whatever else gets mixed in there to melt the ice.  She's sorta a princess about the cold - when we were outside this a.m. to do her business, she was doing the tripod stand method and rotating which paws were on the ground. 

kelliejo83

Ditto PP about the Kongs and the treadmills.  I haven't tried treadmills (our dog is super lazy) but I've heard they work wonders.  I also saw some dog "puzzles" this weekend.  They're like a big version of the Kongs where you put a treat in a puzzle and the dog has to find them.  It spends their energy on that and not ruining your house.

Karen2905

kelliejo83:

Ditto PP about the Kongs and the treadmills.  I haven't tried treadmills (our dog is super lazy) but I've heard they work wonders. 

 

I've heard the treadmills don't even need to be good/expensive ones. If you have the room, see what's floating around craigslist in your area.

As for the chemicals, that's tough...  You may want to ask the Pets board if they have any suggestions on how to avoid that... I take it walking her in the snow isn't an optimal possibility?

Karen2905

I have no idea if you're wanting to a lot of money on this, but I just found this on the MN Craigslist for treadmills.  Cheap, as far as functioning treadmills go.

 

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/spo/1573127817.html

 

dvshaw

Another game that our dogs love... We take those plastic solo cups (think frat parties) and hide a treat under them and put them on the kitchen tile. Both my dogs will push them around with their noses trying to get the treat out... one dog is smarter than the other, so he usually gets under the cup pretty fast... but it does keep them entertained for a bit.

EMNI

Brain games!  The cups are great idea; you could also use an old muffin tin and use tennis balls to cover the treats.  We also put treats (mostly kibble) in a old ball with a hole in it so, he'll nose that around for awhile to get all the treats out...it's our cheap version of the Buster Cube (Target may have it, but Petsmart should). 

Hide-and-go-seek is great too.  We'll cover Nemo's eyes and hide is favorite ball or one of us will hide.  With the ball start hiding it near him and praise him when he finds it, then you can start hinding it in harder places.

Kongs are super!  You can fill it with peanut butter, plain yogurt (frozen), green beans, kibble, and maybe some of his favorite treats. 

Chewing is a good activity; Petco has Bully Sticks (they last for a good long time and come in different sizes).  If you can find it, I hear that deer antlers are good too....not all dogs go for them, but they say they are the best for strong chewers (that is if your dog goes through rawhides like they were cupcakes). 

Hope this helps!