Recommendations to challenge 3yr old Collie

brij2006

Our 3 1/2 year old Collie, Sadie, is in need of some new challenges.  She is overall well behaved, and doesn't get into things or mess with things while we are gone.  But we can tell that we aren't mentally challenging her enough.  She will play fetch, but only fetches a couple of times and then is bored. We have to bounce the ball off of something or make it go behind something to give her a challenge in retreiving it.  I also run about 2 miles with her, 4 times a week. She keeps up with it, and gets excited whenever I put my running shoes on.  But when we get home, she will be ready to play. So we know it isn't challenging her enough.

Any recommendations?  We have thought about agility training, or taking her through a class to be a therapy dog for the local nursing home, but she is pretty hyper and excited around people. So we aren't sure if she will be calmed down enough to focus on those. 

GrayGhost13

For smart dogs like BCs, physical exercise is important, but mental exercise is even more important.

Any type of class where she's learning a new skill is great (could be agility, obedience, tricks, whatever floats your boat). Check out what classes are in your area and see what feels like a good fit.

Puzzle toys...We feed ALL our dogs' meals in puzzle toys, like the Kong Wobbler or Tricky Treat ball. There are some more challenging but lower capacity puzzles, like the Nina Ottosson wooden puzzles or some of Kyjen's plastic puzzles that we use as special treats.

You could do simple nose work "find it" type games, hiding a treat in one hand or under cups or boxes and having her find the treat to claim it. Or do the muffin tin with tennis balls on it and treats hidden in some of the compartments.

You can also teach simple tricks at home with a clicker. Pat Miller has some simple clicker tricks in her books and Kyra Sundance has a book of 101 dog tricks with some funny or creative ones to try.

You could also try mixing up your walks and runs to go new places or, if her obedience skills are strong enough, do an outing where she has to "work" and use her obedience skills the whole time, like going to a street festival or going out to lunch at a dog-friendly cafe. It sounds silly but for my high-energy weimaraner, an outdoor event where she is heeling, sitting and staying on and off for several hours usually wears her out more than a long run.

Even if you just do a few of these things or alternate between them, I bet it will help a lot. In my experience, my dog needs much, much less physical exercise if I keep her mentally engaged.

MichKev2012

Wow!  Those are some great suggestions!  I am going to try the muffin tin and tennis ball game with my dog when I get home today.  

Thanks! 

LuckyAngel07

GrayGhost13:

For smart dogs like BCs, physical exercise is important, but mental exercise is even more important.

Any type of class where she's learning a new skill is great (could be agility, obedience, tricks, whatever floats your boat). Check out what classes are in your area and see what feels like a good fit.

Puzzle toys...We feed ALL our dogs' meals in puzzle toys, like the Kong Wobbler or Tricky Treat ball. There are some more challenging but lower capacity puzzles, like the Nina Ottosson wooden puzzles or some of Kyjen's plastic puzzles that we use as special treats.

You could do simple nose work "find it" type games, hiding a treat in one hand or under cups or boxes and having her find the treat to claim it. Or do the muffin tin with tennis balls on it and treats hidden in some of the compartments.

You can also teach simple tricks at home with a clicker. Pat Miller has some simple clicker tricks in her books and Kyra Sundance has a book of 101 dog tricks with some funny or creative ones to try.

You could also try mixing up your walks and runs to go new places or, if her obedience skills are strong enough, do an outing where she has to "work" and use her obedience skills the whole time, like going to a street festival or going out to lunch at a dog-friendly cafe. It sounds silly but for my high-energy weimaraner, an outdoor event where she is heeling, sitting and staying on and off for several hours usually wears her out more than a long run.

Even if you just do a few of these things or alternate between them, I bet it will help a lot. In my experience, my dog needs much, much less physical exercise if I keep her mentally engaged.

As usual, GG nails it all!

I downloaded an app for my phone that's got a bunch of tricks to teach your dog, and how to work through them. It was a free app, and I'd already taught her a bunch of the commands in it before I got it, so it's worth a shot! 

brij2006

GrayGhost13:

For smart dogs like BCs, physical exercise is important, but mental exercise is even more important.

Any type of class where she's learning a new skill is great (could be agility, obedience, tricks, whatever floats your boat). Check out what classes are in your area and see what feels like a good fit.

Puzzle toys...We feed ALL our dogs' meals in puzzle toys, like the Kong Wobbler or Tricky Treat ball. There are some more challenging but lower capacity puzzles, like the Nina Ottosson wooden puzzles or some of Kyjen's plastic puzzles that we use as special treats.

You could do simple nose work "find it" type games, hiding a treat in one hand or under cups or boxes and having her find the treat to claim it. Or do the muffin tin with tennis balls on it and treats hidden in some of the compartments.

You can also teach simple tricks at home with a clicker. Pat Miller has some simple clicker tricks in her books and Kyra Sundance has a book of 101 dog tricks with some funny or creative ones to try.

You could also try mixing up your walks and runs to go new places or, if her obedience skills are strong enough, do an outing where she has to "work" and use her obedience skills the whole time, like going to a street festival or going out to lunch at a dog-friendly cafe. It sounds silly but for my high-energy weimaraner, an outdoor event where she is heeling, sitting and staying on and off for several hours usually wears her out more than a long run.

Even if you just do a few of these things or alternate between them, I bet it will help a lot. In my experience, my dog needs much, much less physical exercise if I keep her mentally engaged.

These are some wonderful suggestions. Thank you very much! I am definitely going to look into the Kong Wobbler and Tricky Treat Ball. That's something she would be like.

I will also look into the training app for my phone. She likes learning new commands (except roll over).  Do you mind sharing what the name of the app is?

LuckyAngel07

brij2006:

I will also look into the training app for my phone. She likes learning new commands (except roll over).  Do you mind sharing what the name of the app is?

Sorry, I was being lazy before not looking it up to give you the name!

It's called 52 Dog Tricks. I'm sure there are a ton of others available. Some might be better for more advanced command/trick training; this one includes a lot of basics to begin with. 

GrayGhost13

So glad I could help!

I forgot to add that, if your local pet supply store doesn't have those puzzle toys, you can definitely order them from Amazon. That's where we usually get ours. 

Also, YouTube has a ton of funny dog tricks and dog sport videos if you're looking for inspiration.

Best of luck!