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dog behavior suggestions please
We love our dogs and are so glad that they are getting along but they are starting to work together to cause puppy mischief and are starting to behave badly. For reference they are a 5 year old lab/pit mix and a 9 month old lab mix (our vet and 2 vet cousins think shes a beagle mix not a basset mix like the shelter thought). We've been pretty busy with work so we think it is somethign we are doing/not doing....DH and I took a look at what we are doing and came to 2 conclusions...
1)they are only getting about 30minutes of exercise a day (we've been very busy and did not schedule their walks so they were very short). Our solution to this is to schedule 15 minute walks in the morning after their breakfast, 30 minutes in the middle of the day and 15 minutes in the evening after their dinner. Sound good?
2)maybe they aren't getting enough mental stimulation (despite chew toys, food dispensing toys & puzzle toys) so we would like to train them daily (instead of several times a week). How long would be a good amount of time to work with them? 15 minutes? 30minutes? 10 minutes twice a day?
Once Bellatrix (the puppy) comes when called, we would like to start taking them to the dog park a few times a week. My schedule changes weekly, but I have every Saturday off so we plan on taking them on a nice long walk then.
We aren't new dog owners but we are new to having 2 dogs (esp 2 dogs of different ages). so we would love to hear any advice y'all have!
Re: dog behavior suggestions please
Have you seen my monkey?
Playtime with each other? If so, they easily get 1.5hours of that in a day.
I, too, like to do 10-20 minute sessions several times a day. I'll keep the treat bag on me so they don't immediately start doing tricks when I grab it. I'll also work with Lily on toys names and having her bring me something specific. She has to work her brain really hard to bring what I want and not what she wants to play with. Sit stays are exhausting for Lily too.
Do you have a fenced yard? If so, a good 30 minutes of throwing the ball can be a quick way to get some energy out.
If your house has stairs or even a long hallway, you and your husband can call them back and forth from one to the other over and over again. Rewarding when they come to you when called.
That sounds good. So...what "mischief" are the pups getting into?
Have you seen my monkey?
No yard, but we have a set of stairs...I love the idea of calling her up & down them (we need to work on come when called anyways).
They just want to wrestle/play all the time, sometimes they play tug with each other.
2 days ago they somehow got Bellatrix out of her crate. We thought all was well (no damage) but then noticed one of them (probably Bella) had peed and covered it up with their mat (the mats are a slippery material so we know it didn't soak through).
Yesterday they got her out of the crate again but we came home to a roll of torn up paper towel, clothes strewn everywhere and a pile of poop near the front door (she's not a 100% potty trained and now only has accidents when she gets really excited).
Mendel is such a calm guy that it is a big change for us to have a high energy puppy around the house!