Skip to content

Ways to Tire Out High Energy Dog?

Behavioral Issues
  • @ownedbyspencer:

    Wow, 13 days sounds like such a long time! Ava also has an umbilical hernia, which will make her incision larger. I'm really worried about keeping her quiet. The vet will send us home with pain pills, but I'm hoping they'll prescribe some tranquilizers as a backup, in case she gets rowdy before it starts to heal. I would like to wait until she's a little older, but everyone feels it's best to do it before the first heat, so I guess the time is now.

    I never kept mine quiet for more then 1 day…. As said, the feeling of pain will naturally slow them down. I used pain meds the first night and then none.... when Mickii was spayed (and she had a huge herina) the incision was really not any bigger... she came home and was "sort of quiet" the first night from the effects of the anesthesia... next day she was up and around as normal.... she did try and jump on the bed, squeeked... and waited a few days to try that again.... they feel the pain, they don't do that... I fully agree that sometimes the pain meds do more harm then good....

  • I agree with the advice and that's what I'll try– pain meds the first day, then see how she does. Hopefully, she will self-monitor to avoid hurting herself.

    How about stairs? Better to carry her up? And that e-collar? I can't see her putting up with that at all. (Spencer wouldn't, either, but his neuter didn't seem to bother him much at all.)

  • @ownedbyspencer:

    I agree with the advice and that's what I'll try– pain meds the first day, then see how she does. Hopefully, she will self-monitor to avoid hurting herself.

    How about stairs? Better to carry her up? And that e-collar? I can't see her putting up with that at all. (Spencer wouldn't, either, but his neuter didn't seem to bother him much at all.)

    I never worried about stairs, mine did just fine with them and we have three different sets of stairs… And I never had to use the e-collar either. I would use Tea Tree oil around the incision if it seems that they were interested in licking.

  • Excellent idea about the tea tree oil– thank you! I had forgotten about that. Ava is taste-sensitive-- Bitter Apple was a lifesaver-- so that should stop the licking.

    I made the appointment, so there's no turning back. I hate it, but it has to be done... and the sooner it's behind us, the better.

  • Oakley came home tied up with gauze string to keep his collar on…the contraption they came up with made him look like a mummy..he was incessant about his stitches so I bought an inflatable collar and that he couldn't get off or lick his undercarriage..I have photos- he looked might embarassed to be seen that way ;)

  • LOL, when we just had Kobey neutered, Carly kept taking off his inflatable collar for him!

  • Lmao…that's exactly why I'm hesitant to add a second!! I can handle two basenjis but not two Oakley's...I need to be SURE the second wont be influenced by Oakleys naughty naughty ways!!

  • Do agree with them being able to feel some pain as I found that Kaiser knew what was painful to do and he adjusted his movements to get on the sofa etc, the hardest part I found was getting him in the car and out not easy with a bad back and a 13kg basenji(he is big boy, biggest in his litter), he was fine with our stairs at home. Did find out that he is a gentle boy as I did hurt him lifting him out of the car when we got home after his neuter and expected a nip but he just looked at me soooo sad and then I had to try again and he let me, though he did nip the Vet. As usual I worried more than I should of and everything turned out way better than I thought so here is hoping the same for you and Ava.

    Jolanda and Kaiser

  • I have a feeling you'll get a call for Ava as soon as she wakes up! ;-)

  • @Chealsie508:

    Lmao…that's exactly why I'm hesitant to add a second!! I can handle two basenjis but not two Oakley's...I need to be SURE the second wont be influenced by Oakleys naughty naughty ways!!

    LOL– what if you added a second and ended up with an Oakley and an Ava?!

  • Thank you, stash; I hope it goes easy, too. Surely Miss Ava can behave for a week. Surely.

    But you're right, agilebasenji, they'll probably have a post-it with my mobile # stuck to their phone, and I'll receive a call as soon as she rouses. She won't be a happy girl– and when Ava's not happy, nobody around her is happy.

  • I would have to be admitted to a facility Pamela, it would be my worst nightmare…lol. I love Oakley more than anything but I don't think I could do it again..he has been the most difficult puppy/dog I've ever had! ..and as many leaps as he's made, he will always be difficult in his own ways. I bet Ava will be the same, they certainly won't ever be easy going pups. Bless us for loving the crazy ones!!

  • I hear you, Chealsie! I'm still not sure I'll survive Ava's adolescence. I'm pretty good at managing stress, but there have been times– many times-- that she has almost sent me over the edge. I had wanted to get another B puppy in a year or two... but no more.

Suggested Topics

  • Aggression towards other dogs

    Behavioral Issues
    8
    1 Votes
    8 Posts
    7k Views
    farabuttoF
    @DebraDownSouth Thanks Debra, you've given me a lot to think about. I think I'll start immediately with the "leave it" training at home and then get in touch with some trainers/behaviorists in my area. I'm not expecting any miracles here but, like you said, even just learning to ignore other dogs would make such a difference.
  • Endless energy

    Behavioral Issues
    8
    0 Votes
    8 Posts
    4k Views
    eeeefarmE
    @neve said in Endless energy: @eeeefarm I think I would like to expand her vocabulary (and yes, I would love some insight into teaching her to find named toys). And then get her into agility in a few months! This is how you proceed. First, teach "pick it up" as a generic term. Use a favourite toy. You can clicker train this behaviour easily, moving from clicking proximity to touching to picking up the toy. Perhaps she will offer picking it up without going through all the steps, but you don't want to throw it for her, just have her pick it up from the floor. After she is doing this reliably (and not before!), add your cue words "pick it up" so she understands the meaning. Once she is reliable you can generalize the behaviour with other objects and in other places. When she is reliably picking up anything you indicate, start again with one object. This time say "pick up the ______" (whatever it is). Get her doing this reliably, change to a different item. Again, use "pick up the ______" but with the new name. Then put both items together. Start with the one you know she prefers, and ask her to pick it up. If she gets it wrong, don't reward, but ask again. A few repetitions until she is getting it correctly, then ask for the other one. Again, don't reward until she gets it right. Practice until she differentiates with the two objects, then add a third and name it.......and so on. Don't go too quickly, give her time to understand. Once she is reliably managing to pick up the correct item by name, you can gradually move to having her find and bring you the item you desire. I like Charles Eisenmann's methods, so I would start using full sentences and let her find the meaning, e.g. I could say to my boy, "I sure wish I had a red bone right now", and he would go find it and bring it to me. Or "I wonder where the frog is?", and again, he would search for the item requested. Makes for great games, especially when you hide the items around the house! :)
  • Problems with other dogs

    Behavioral Issues
    9
    0 Votes
    9 Posts
    3k Views
    DebraDownSouthD
    djaan, how about removing your spam link… then people might think your posts are serious.
  • Its Me Or The Dog…..

    Behavioral Issues
    19
    0 Votes
    19 Posts
    7k Views
    hdolbowH
    i'm feeling your pain on this one. dan and i broke up a few months ago so i moved home and mia went from sleeping with rocky and maggie on the couch to sleeping in bed with me. if i'd go out at night, my mom, instead of crating her would let her sleep in bed with my parents. (because she cried and mom felt bad) then dad told mom he didnt want her in bed with them so mom would sleep in a spare bedroom just to keep her from crying in her crate! (typical grandmother.. she spoiled her rotten) Now dan and i are trying to work things out so i brought mia with me last night to stay over and he keeps maggie and rocky in the laundry room with their beds and they are content with that, but Mia was NOT having it. she sat at the gate and cried for a good 2 hours. They aren't allowed in the bedroom because he got new furniture, so she has to get used to it i guess.. Only time will tell i suppose.. but uggh that crying.. its enough to make you wanna pull your hair out. im hoping when the 3 warm up to each other again she'll stop..
  • Fear of dogs

    Behavioral Issues
    14
    0 Votes
    14 Posts
    6k Views
    C
    My son has been afraid of animals his entire life. We didn't know it until we were visiting a friend when he was 1 year old and their cat WALKED across the room. He freaked out. From that point on he was afraid of any live animal, but loved stuffed animals. He is 6 now and we just got an 8 week old Basenji. We talked about it alot, (he has slowly gotten used to our friend's cat, but every time the animal made a sudden move he jolted). He was excited to get the puppy, and we sat with him while he got used to exactly what the puppy would do. It has only been 2 months and my son is so good with our dog that he is not afraid of the dogs across the street who are high strung little fluffy things that always sent him runnning and screaming into the house. When I asked him about it he said he wasn't afraid now because he had one now. We waited to get a dog until both of our kids were older and could handle some responsibility. It was the best decision we made. He is still uncomforable around large dogs and other large animals, but has made remarkable progress. I don't know how your nephew will respond, but as he gets older he may realize that he has some control over the animals and that may help. Good luck!!!
  • There was a little dog…

    Behavioral Issues
    9
    0 Votes
    9 Posts
    3k Views
    J
    Thanks for your replies. I guess in the spontanaity of the moment I did as I do with my other dogs, a no and then a quick taking the thing away since I'm boss and I'm the owner of everything ultimately. I do believe Rowdy was not being the bad growling type bite – he took his front teeth and nipped at my arm, pinching it, but it hurt! I will try to work on the "leave it" command, since I taught that to my mom's poodle and it worked well. Rowdy is smart and is finally getting some of the house rules down. Though he's sneaky when he isn't resting beside you and you forget to watch him... :)