# It's sad that it's come to this...



## harrkim120 (Feb 2, 2010)

Have we gotten to the point where we actually need a news article to encourage us to exercise our dogs? I would've figured it was common sense...however knowing how many people don't actually have any of that I guess I'm not surprised. 

Pets Need Exercise, Too! - The Early Show - CBS News


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## jdatwood (Apr 13, 2009)

Not surprising at all. 

At least they're recommending alternatives to walking dogs for exercise. I've never been a fan of walking dogs for sake of exercise. They need to RUN!


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Not to mention mental exercise is just as important for dogs. Most owners don't play enough mind games with their dogs....which is the root of many behavior problems!


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## xxshaelxx (Mar 8, 2010)

DaneMama said:


> Not to mention mental exercise is just as important for dogs. Most owners don't play enough mind games with their dogs....which is the root of many behavior problems!


I love that you're becoming more and more knowledgable about dog behavior every day, and that you're coming on here to pass on your knowledge. XD


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## pandaparade (Dec 29, 2010)

It's so crazy because once you do exercise and play mental games with them everyday they start to crave it more. My dog always stares at me like, "Hey lady, get off the couch and make my head boggle."


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

Does anyone have any good mind games to play with their dog?

I work Abbie on the treadmill mostly because of the winter. Once it's nicer out I'd like to take her hiking, and I use a flexi leash so she can trot back and forth and explore more. I don't think I could ever trust her off leash because of her hound tendencies to follow her nose :-X


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## nikkiluvsu15 (Jun 9, 2010)

Pretty sad, huh? But not surprising at all. Sometimes I wonder why people even _have_ dogs.

Meggels, the main mental stimulation I play with Harleigh is I get about 6-8 little cups and hide a treat in one of the cups. I mix the cups all around and then she has to sniff them out to find which one holds the treat. Once she does that she knocks over the cup and gets the treat :biggrin: She has fun and it definitely gets her to "think". Doing tricks and obedience is good for tiring out the mind too and Harleigh loves learning new stuff!


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

meggels said:


> Does anyone have any good mind games to play with their dog?


When Lucky was younger I would play hide and go seek with her. I would either have a friend/husband go hide somewhere (outside if the weather was nice) and then she would use her nose to find them. When she would find them they would give her a small treat. I would also hide toys and treats. She just loved it. 

I now do this game with Duncan and my children. Everyone enjoys a good game of hide and seek. :tongue1:


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## eternalstudent (Jul 22, 2010)

I was out walking becka in the park the other day and on the other side of the burn was a man with a collie (18 mo) and a collie pup (18 week old) after the usual comments about the rotti looking at his dogs as though they were dinner (I have got fed up with getting annoyed at these comments) he proceeded to tell me to make sure that I do the same has him and only exercise my dog for the minimum time every day, otherwise I would end up having to put lots of effort into exercise for her whole life.

At this I felt very sorry for his two dogs and walked away.

Peoples attitudes towards their pets is sometimes unbelievable, but unfortunately all to common, so it does not surprise me that they can make a news article stating the bleeding obvious!!!


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## tracydr (Feb 25, 2011)

I hate to say it but my older chihuahua goes outside to cruise around the yard and potty for all of 5 minutes twice a day and sometimes he gets out of that if the weather is nasty. He's always been a little sedentary but I used to walk him a few miles a day until the last couple of years. Luckily, he's always kept his weight perfect and just doesn't really want to be anything but a lap dog.
My young papillon and Doberman get lots of exercise and use their doggy door about 100 times a day to go outside and chase each other around the huge playground of a backyard, among other forms of exercise. It's a wonder neither of them have hurt themselves, as rough as they wrestle and run.


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## Mia (Oct 4, 2010)

harrkim120 said:


> Have we gotten to the point where we actually need a news article to encourage us to exercise our dogs? I would've figured it was common sense...however knowing how many people don't actually have any of that I guess I'm not surprised.
> 
> Pets Need Exercise, Too! - The Early Show - CBS News


Not to mention bonding time and training. Seriousily I think people look at pets as dolls and not animals with needs now a days.


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## pandaparade (Dec 29, 2010)

meggels said:


> Does anyone have any good mind games to play with their dog?


Oooh I have some ideas. I practice these games every week with my doggy in the mornings before we are off to the dog park. (He has me trained well)
*Hide and seek *- put the dog in a sit stay (builds the stay also), hide, and then I say "ready or not!" and he looks for me. If he is puzzled I may make a noise so he can follow where the sound is coming from.
*Go find it!* - Put the dog in a down stay (start off with only a couple seconds if the dog isn't used to staying for minutes) hide treats all over the house. Make sure they are easy spots at first with smelly smelly treats like liver or freeze dried fish, or cheese! He lokves this game. When I am ready for him to find it I walk up to him and his release ford is go find it. I always proof it with random words at first in a normal tone like "apples, oranges, pears, peaches" and then I excitedly say "Go find it!" At about 4:00 into this video, me and Jasper play this game. YouTube - Jasper 9 months
If you don't feed raw, you can use a treat ball or an empty milk jug and cut some holes in it and feed kibble from there. This way the doggy has to paw it, nose it, throw it around to get food, providing several minutes of stimulation.
*Find the Cookie *-instead of paying high prices on puzzle games, check this out YouTube - Find the cookie Game (this doesn't look hard but to dogs it is a great exercise)
If you know what shaping is, that is a great way to provide stimulation as well. This gets the dog to thinking hmm... how can I get mom or dad to give me a treat. Shaping Dog Behaviour


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## SerenityFL (Sep 28, 2010)

I can attest to the fact that a lot of people do not exercise their dogs. When I did go to the dog park, the humans would all sit on a bench and talk to each other and pay no attention to their dogs. Sometimes the dogs would play, sometimes they didn't do anything but stand and watch all the other dogs. 

Here at home, I have four neighbors with dogs. Three of them only take their dog out to pee and poo. Once in the morning and once after work and that is it. The dogs do not run around unless I have my dogs there, off leash in our off leash area and my dogs start chasing and playing with their dogs. Otherwise? Their dogs get no exercise except to walk from the house to the bushes to do their business.

One other neighbor gets home and lets his dogs out, (three of them), while he goes back inside his house. For the most part the dogs stay in and around the yard but they don't get to RUN...really RUN. About 10 minutes later he'll come back out, yell at them and make them go inside. That's their exercise for the day.

Me? I take my dogs out in the morning, when I get home from work, (that's when they really get to run), after dinner, about two hours after that and again before bed. Every single time, with exception of after work, they go on walks. After work, like I said, it's a good run until they are tired, flopped down on the ground with tongue hanging out.

In the house, they play with each other a bit and I mess with them from time to time as well. I have a mind stimulation game that they have figured out but they still get to play with it. I have to come up with new games constantly, even something as stupid as dancing with them, to keep them going because they are smart and figure everything out too quick. And sometimes, I just sit on the floor, and one by one, give them some good, quality petting time. This is where they stand on me, I pet them, talk to them, tell them how wonderful they are, and just have a relaxing and bonding moment.

We are constantly in some sort of contact when I'm there. It is non stop contact in some way, shape or form. Even if it's the "privilege" of coming over and putting their head on my knee while I'm at the computer. They're going to get attention and they're going to get petted. 

And ya know, the dogs behave better than the other dogs I see. I'm no dog training expert, I just spend a lot of time with them. They even get to play, just a little, with some of the cats, (the ones who will tolerate them), and I can have a cat under one hand being petted and a dog under the other hand, being petted. 

You know what I hear? "Your dogs, (or cats), really seem to like you." Duh!


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