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Possibly stupid dog questions
Things with the foster pup are going well but I have a couple of questions.
1. Do you guys give your dogs blankets to sleep with? R sleeps on his dog bed but last night DH commented that he was probably cold. We don't have the heat on in the house yet so it's definitely chilly but I don't know if dogs need blankets. I never worry about the cats since they climb on the bed with us and snuggle if they're cold. I was so paranoid last night that I tore the house apart for a blanket to give him and then after twenty minutes he climbed out from under it and slept on top of it instead.
2. He follows me EVERYWHERE. If I get up, he gets up and comes with me, He stares at me with his sweet puppy face and I just don't know what he wants. I give him loving and attention but I feel like he's bored. He doesn't like to be in the backyard alone so I can't let him out there to just run around for a while unless I plan to be out there also. He really likes walks but I can only take him so often. I don't want to start an every 20 minute trend while I'm on vacation since I won't be able to maintain that while I'm working. He doesn't show any interest in toys so I guess I just don't know what to do. I feel bad. I'm pretty sure he's happy but I feel like I should be doing something more. Any suggestions?
Re: Possibly stupid dog questions
1. Our dogs sleep in their crates. They have dog beds in there, but DH gives them blankets to burrow in and he calls it their "mattresses" when they just sleep on top of them. lol
2. That's normal from my experience! Our dogs followed us around for months when we first got them. Now they don't give a sh!t if we leave a room or enter it because they're too busy chewing a bone or more likely asleep. I think he just isn't sure of his place in your house yet and hasn't established his routine yet.
What kind of toys does he have available? Nylabones are clutch for our dogs. If he doesn't care about those, what about interactive toys that he has to work to get food out of?
1) I don't think they need them for warmth, but Brodie enjoyed having one to burrow in. He used it. A lot. He also had a pillow.
2) Ditto LB on the interactive toys and it being normal that he follows you around. A lot of dogs are just like that. Brodie wasn't overly interested in playing by himself either. He liked to go lay outside and nap in the sun, but once he got bored he'd look for me to interact with him. Have you tried a tug-o-war toy?
I think he's just adjusting to his new space. It can take awhile and they can be antsy in the process.
I am a crazy dog mom and put blankets on both of the girls at night if it is cold and they usually lay there with the blankets on for a few mintues then shake then off and sleep on top of them on their dog beds.
As far as the following you around, I think I remember Cabela doing that when she was younger, now both dogs don't care if you leave the room. They will kind of look up and watch where we go but continue to lay where ever they are or keep playing with toys.
Cabela has the tug a jug thing (2 picture) and she LOVES it! We call it "her purple" and she will play with it as soon as we fill it with dog food and carries it into the bedroom each night to sleep with it. We also got the Nina Ottosson spinny toy (http://www.nina-ottosson.com/Dogspinny-Plastic-2.php) and that was fun for Cabela and kept her occupied in the beginning. Now, I think she finds it kind of boring since she can spint the top part with her nose fairly quickly and get the treats.
Bowzer has a blanket in his crate. He usually just sleeps on top of it.
He's on top of us about 90% of the time. I don't know if he'll out grow that or not. We try to give him a lot of different types of toys. He loves the kong and that purple tug a jug thing (and anything with a squeeker).
Also, to answer your questions, Pumpkin sleeps on top of her blankets, doesn't ever go under. Char and Belle are burrowers and sleep wrapped up like burritos, so you can give him blankets and let him decide what to do.
Pumpkin couldn't care less when I leave/enter a room, but Charlotte and Belle follow me EVERYWHERE still. 2 years later. So yeah, you'll just have to see how your routine goes. Every dog is different!
Google "dog interative toys" or I think that have a category for them at Petco and probably any other pet stores. Amazon does too I think. Or you can find one you like and then find it cheaper on Amazon. That's what I do.
I really like the Busy Buddy brand toys. The tug-a-jug is awesome, but ONLY the one with the rubber string and not the string string! Very important.
We also have the dumbbell and the clam that are big hits.
The Nina Ottosson games are supposed to be awesome, but they're expensive. You can find knockoff brands by googling I'm sure.
Sorry it took me so long to respond. I'm unpacking the "nursery" aka the room where we had stuck all the boxes we didn't need to unpack right away.
I feel better about the whole following me around thing. It doesn't bother me, I just worried that I wasn't giving him something he needs. I'll also designate a blanket just for him and he can decide what he wants to do with it.
As for the toys, he has a Kong, some balls, and one of those hot dog shaped squeaky plush toys. He showed interest in the squeaky toy (it was a Christmas present) for a few minutes and hasn't touched it since. The woman who runs the rescue says he's never shown any interest in toys but she thinks it's because he was never played with and doesn't really understand. He was essentially kept in a pen outdoors 24/7. The other issue is that he has digestive problems so his treats are cheerios and stale bread. He can't have the Kong filling or anything like that. We made a Kong filling out of cheerios, water, and very little peanut butter based on her suggestion but he lost interest pretty quickly.
Did he lose interest because he got the Cheerio paste out or there was still lost of stuff in there? If he just got it out quickly, try freezing it. It takes them way longer to get frozen stuff out of them.
The interactive toys like tugajugs are awesome because you can just put their regular kibble in it and feed them breakfast or dinner that way instead of in a bowl. My sister does this with her ridiculously high energy dog everyday at both meals.
I hate to be a broken record about Nylabones, but they're not chewy or anything (get the durabones) so they shouldn't mess with his stomach (our dogs have sensitive stomachs too). Try to get him involved (tug of war, keep away, etc.) so that he wants it and once he does maybe he'll get hooked onto chewing them?
All that said, our dogs (even the little one now!) sleep probably 22 hours a day. They're not bored, they're just dogs.
Neither of our boys sleep with blankets - if I give them one, they lay on top of it. Buddy is content to lay in one place all day long (he's older), but Sammy still follows me around, I can't even pee in peace when it's just me at home.
Amsterdam follows us everywhere. He loves his toys. He has a Nylabone, a rope for tug-o-war, a squeaky plush toy, and now a plush duck with a rope tail. He totes his toys around all day and brings them to me when he wants to play. He's only a fan of the Kong until he gets the treat out of it.
As for blankets, he sleeps with us and will burrow under the covers. He also burrows under my blanket on the couch. It has to be his idea to cover up though. If I cover him he wants it moved immediatly.
I was just going to suggest this. Brodie's treat cube was always filled with his regular dog food. He ate a lot so I didn't actually feed him that way, just subtracted whatever we put into the cube from his nightly dinner.
I agree with the bolded part. There are times Cabela won't eat food from her bowl but as soon as I put it in the tugajug she gets all excited and starts flipping it and moving it around woth her paw to get her food out. Best.toy.ever.
He just lost interest. It was frozen and he hadn't gotten all of it out but he stopped playing with it.
I really appreciate all the suggestions. I'll definitely try some of the tips you guys gave me. I think he's pretty happy overall but just figured it couldn't hurt to try some other ideas.
Totally. Didn't you say he'd been left in the backyard all the time? He's probably excited to have a person or two that actually pays attention to him.
As far as the blanket thing goes, Cosmo never used one but Kayne sees a blanket & immediately crawls under it. A lot of it has to do with dog personality.