# How do you keep your dogs busy?



## Apdfranklin (Jun 23, 2008)

Sometimes I just need some time to relax and my JRT's are not having it. We freeze peanut butter in Kongs and let them go at that for a couple of hours. I know some of you guys/gals have some pretty big dogs that would tear through a Kong.

How do you keep them busy?


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Raw bones. Keeps my power-chewers occupied for about an hour and then they get their calcium for the day! And their teeth cleaned!


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## rockymtsweetie82 (Jul 24, 2008)

My Pits will not take to the kong. If I put a treat in them, they'll chew at the treat until it comes out, then leave the kong there feeling lonely. Tennis balls work the best with my two. And surprisingly they don't chew them up into little pieces. They just tear the green off them and bat them around like soccer balls. That entertains them for hours upon hours.


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## Kalina174 (Jul 15, 2008)

*Options*

There are a couple of options you can choose. If your JRT is one to sniff out trails you may try and hide food all over the house. Basically lock him in a room and hide around 6-10 bits of food (I use hot dogs) in areas where your dog can access it. Then open the door and use a "search" or "find it" command and let him do the hunting! It may take a while but eventually they may catch on. Be sure though to remember where you put all the food!

If your dog does not like to use his nose then you should try marrow bones or some other raw bone (which was suggested above). These are wonderful for their teeth and are so interesting that many dogs will ignore you for a hour or so! Give it a try and see what works best for your dog.


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## Oz'sMommy (Sep 9, 2008)

when i get up in the morning i put a bit of kibble in a small kong then layer canned food on top of that and then frozen yogurt (it's a dog brand..youghund or something like that) on top. i throw that in the freezer in a plastic baggie and then take oz on his walk. once we're back and i've gotten ready for work i take it out of the freezer and toss it to him as i walk out the door.

oz also has a kong ball that i leave two small pieces of venison jerky in. it bats the thing around running until he gets the pieces out.

he also has a kong treat bone that you can stuff treats into the ends. it takes him all day (sometimes two to get those out).

(yeah we're big kong fans over here, lol)


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## Yorkie Mom (Aug 25, 2008)

We really like the kongs too. But we also have "freezer bones"; they are made of a material similar to denim and you run it under water, place it in a ziplock and freeze it. My pups go crazy for it!They also have lots of squeeky toys, and ropes and tennis balls. 
When I leave, I usually turn on animal planet. I know some people think dogs can't see tv images, but I swear they can! My guys watch and growl and bark at the animals on tv. They love it! They don't seem to like horses though... Horses get mean barks. lol


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

I entertain my dogs by just letting them sleep. :smile:

Dogs definately can see TV. I remember when my dearly departed Skylar was a puppy, the first time she saw a dog on tv, she barked then ran to the bathroom (this is the room on the other side of the wall behind the tv) lookiing for the other dog. :smile:


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## domari (Jun 17, 2008)

GreenDog said:


> Sometimes I just need some time to relax and my JRT's are not having it. We freeze peanut butter in Kongs and let them go at that for a couple of hours. I know some of you guys/gals have some pretty big dogs that would tear through a Kong.
> 
> How do you keep them busy?


Ha, this is why I will never ever have a JRT, or any of those dogs that doesn't know the meaning of relax. 

I posted a photo here once of a super duper heavy duty Kong that was ripped apart in less than one day. The dog that did that has never been able to chew through a big fat beef marrow/femur bone. I have bones that the dogs have chewed on forever and still keep them busy when bored. 

Other than that, I make sure all the dogs I have are as lazy as I am.


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## Yorkie Mom (Aug 25, 2008)

RawFedDogs said:


> Dogs definately can see TV. I remember when my dearly departed Skylar was a puppy, the first time she saw a dog on tv, she barked then ran to the bathroom (this is the room on the other side of the wall behind the tv) lookiing for the other dog. :smile:


My youngest, Chloe, just fell in love with the mirror. We have one of those door mirrors, it's just leaned against the wall, but she charges it and barks. she looks behind it and starts whining because she can't find the "other" puppy. Lol, then she looks back at her reflection and repeats the whole thing. It is too funny!:biggrin:


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## BabyHusky (Jul 21, 2008)

One of my dogs from when I was younger was in love with Beethoven (the st b. from the movie). Whenever I watched that movie, she'd sit there hahaa.

My current pup frantically looks around the room if a tv dog barks haha. Then she sighs and plops down out of frustration.


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## Yorkie Mom (Aug 25, 2008)

Haha that's funny. What would we do without them?


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## BabyHusky (Jul 21, 2008)

my sibe pup also has her own "security blanket" toy haha. Its a stuffed animal cat that she took from my room when she was about 2 months old. She has torn through over 15 stuffed animals since then...but this cat, she carries around with her haha. she always has it to sleep and if we go somewhere, she brings it along. its the cutest thing...everytime i see her do it i just cant help but go and hug her.


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## Yorkie Mom (Aug 25, 2008)

Aww, that's so sweet! Cooper, our lil guy, has a toy like that too. It's one of those Serta Counting Sheep, lol. I won it in a drawing and since I brought it home, he drags it everywhere, he even cuddles with it!! But for the most part, I think they are each others security blankets. They love to cuddle each other, and I swear the love to cuddle up and take naps with me. I just love these babies!!


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

My pup will sit there and stare at me so sadly and eventually try to climb in my lap and hug me (he's 50 pounds already) if I try to watch tv at night instead of watching him. I try to take him for an hour walk after breakfast and then again after supper each day. That helps a lot with his activity levels. Then to occupy him at night I give him one of those balls with big holes in it and stuff a few pieces of Baa Baa (dried lamb lung) or other big treats in it and he pushes it all around the house trying to get the treats out of it. Little crumbs fall out and he spends a lot of time vacumming up the crumbs after he gets the whole pieces out. He totally ignores his Kong toy but he likes the soft vinyl ball that I got at Target. It can hold a bunch of treats and rolls really easy so he can go all over the house with it. If he's being really bouncy, we can go out in the yard during commercials and play "bucket". Get a 3 foot long piece of rope from Home Depot (like the stuff they sell at Petsmart but it's a lot cheaper at Home Depot), tie one end to a plastic quart or gallon bucket that plants come in at Home Depot, tie a knot in the other end, and let him run around the yard like an idiot with the knot in his mouth and the bucket chasing him . My dogs think that is the best toy they've ever had and the best game in the world. Guaranteed to tire them out after awhile. I've had the bucket win on occasion and beat my puppy up if he shakes it hard enough!


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## Yorkie Mom (Aug 25, 2008)

Haha that is too funny! I can only imagine what it looks like.. I'm thinking you need to send that in to America's Funniest Home Videos. My dogs are scared of buckets.. but in all fairness, the buckets are bigger than them. lol


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## BabyHusky (Jul 21, 2008)

now THAT would be funny. granted, your poor pups will probably be traumatized, but nevertheless, funny hahaha.


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## Yorkie Mom (Aug 25, 2008)

Mine would probably end up inside the bucket! It would catch them from behind and just scoop them up! Haha


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

For some reason he has to grab the rope knot that is inside the bucket end and half the time he runs around with the bucket on his head until it finally slips down to the other end of the rope! My husband and i think we ought to market the toy, it entertains him a lot better then the $10 rope I got him at Petsmart that he completely ignores in the house! He really is a fairly intelligent dog until you see him running around the back yard with a bucket on his head and then a bucket chasing him. You gotta love puppies!


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## Rexandbaby (Aug 4, 2008)

I gotta try this with my dogs!


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## Yorkie Mom (Aug 25, 2008)

You definitely should patent that! You would probably make it rich. Haha I just keep picturing it... It's hilairious! Take pictures and put them up!!


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## Rexandbaby (Aug 4, 2008)

Yes, please do!!!!!!!


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

I'll try and get a picture of him playing bucket tomorrow. He won't play at all today because he's too upset. His little buddy Chelsy is terribly sick and it's upset him. I thought I would give her a treat and let her try a can of Merricks Venison Holiday Stew since all she can eat is Venison and I feel bad feeding her the same Wellness venison can every single day. Well, one can of Merricks, and she hasn't stopped vomitting and having diarrhea all day long. Immodium has helped with the diarrhea but she's still spitting up most of the water she drinks. The poor dog is a mess and I feel terribly guilty and Rocky is soooo worried he's climbed in my lap and just about cried! It's amazing how much the dogs depend on each other and he's only 5 months old so she's like his little Momma. She'll be fine tomorrow. This has happened before but not quite this bad when I tried something new with her. It's back to the plain Wellness cans I guess until I work up the courage to try some raw venison if I can find it. Watch out for the Merrick canned food. It has a TON of ingredients in it besides just the main one on the label. They are all healthy things, but if your dog has any allergies, you never know which one in there will set them off.


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## Rexandbaby (Aug 4, 2008)

Sending healing vibes your way! Aooommm!


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## Yorkie Mom (Aug 25, 2008)

Aww, feel better Chelsy!


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

Well, after spending all weekend stuffing Chelsy with Immodium, cleaning up after her, and making little "oreo cookies" out of Wellness venison treats and Wellness canned food and trying to get her to eat them, Chelsy has bounced back. I really thought we were going to end up at the emergency clinic this time. Why do these things always happen on the weekends! Today she is flying around the yard actually chasing Rocky and eating like nothing had ever happened. My husband says that after the nuclear holocaust, the only thing left on the planet will be cockroaches and Lhasa Apsos! She is 11 years old and has survived being paralyzed and having 3am back surgery when she was 3 years old, a lifetime of food allergys and IBS, being raised by a 120 pound labrador and 2 little boys, and has outlived the lab, 4 chows, and 3 cats (and the boys left home). Now she is stuck raising another chow puppy. There is nothing more stubborn or tougher then a Lhasa....my husband swears we will never get another one!


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## Rexandbaby (Aug 4, 2008)

Ha Ha, I hear you! Our JRT is only 8 and my hubby says not another one, but then in the next sentence he calls her his dog. I bet we do get at least one more eventually!


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

I was in WalMart and saw a woman buying Pedigree. I remarked to my boyfriend "I really want to tell her she's killing her dog by feeding that crap."

He replied, "But how else is she supposed to get more if they don't die sooner?"

Horrible and funny and maybe a little true.


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## Yorkie Mom (Aug 25, 2008)

Haha that's terrible Rann!!


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