How much time does your dog spend entertaining themselves...

DeVore

Now we all say a dog shouldnt be left alone for more than 8 hours and ideally less. Thats not my question.

I'm in the lucky position that I can work from home. So, Josh has constant access to me and seems to be comforted by that so long as there are no doors or crates in his way.

I spend an hour a day taking him to the park, throwing ball and knackering him out... but then its back to work cos those treats dont pay for themselves!

This means that Josh is left to his own devices for most of the day, because I live alone. If he wants a rub he will come over and make that clear but for the rest of the time he has to entertain himself. Now, he's not destructive when I'm here or anything. He pads around the place quietly enough or flumps down on his bed and rests but I worry about how much stimulus he needs and if he gets enough.

We do play ball in the back yard often for some of the 10 minute breaks that I take but I wonder if this is enough?

In the evening if I'm watching TV he will clamber up and we'll have a good long play-wrestle which he (and I!) enjoy. But if I'm online playing games or something then he's back to his own devices.


How much time does your dog spend "entertaining himself" ?

aonb

My dogs get a walk first thing in the a.m and a short walk weather/time permitting in the afternoon, other than that they will laze around the house, sleeping, mooching in/out and wandering about keeping an eye on security etc. They follow me in/out to garden for logs/bins/clothesline/hens/mailbox etc. My youngest dog will sometimes play for a minute or two with his toys, but any entertainment is with one of us (usually my husband - I dont 'do' play!! - feeding/walking/maintenance is my job) I give them bones, which they really enjoy but thats about it for self-entertainment. Once its dark, the older ones are in/out to the garden like yo-yos!

Sounds like Josh is getting lots of interaction with you. A stuffed frozen kong would be the afternoon entertainment of choice too in our house. (Oh bought a new 'classic' kong in vet this a.m for youngest dog - his first - ate the top 'blob' off it in less than half an hour :mad:)

VonVix

It's lovely to see someone who cares about these kind of things and is willing to play with their dog besides a basic walk!

My dogs probably spend about an hour a day doing any sort of play without human interaction, but they have each other so it helps.

Have you considered getting your dog a Kong toy or something like that? It can keep a dog mentally occupied for a while without you having to get involved.

kinkygirl

As long as our youngest (2 year old JRx) has lots of toys, he's happy. They get walked first thing in the morning. Neither will go outside during the day if it's raining, lol. And it's obvious Alfie hates Fair City (like his daddy), everytime FC starts, he will find his most squeaky toy and proceed to beat it up until the show ends.
OP, Josh is lucky to have you at home, it sounds as though you have lots of fun, and what a great name for a fur baby.

DeVore

Thanks all... I guess the issue is that Joshua would play all day if I could afford the time, so any time which is NOT play time he kinda whines a bit and pulls at me to go play tug with him. Or I get the subtle-as-a-brick "hint" of a ball in the lap. I'm quite a solitary person I guess and Joshua kinda inherits that and I want to be sure I give him enough time but I'm still quite new to this.

As a dog-lover friend of mine put it, I guess its still better than the alternative.

jsabina

oh wow interesting thread.
My dog Jago, as someone knows, as always been "hyperactive".
Now buddy, 8 years old border collie is part of the family as well.

They get a walk-play in the morning at 7, quick one to be honest. I throw the ball and let me run and chase it for around 15 minutes.
Then we are back home, me preparing to go to work... and Jago ALL the time around me asking "now what? now what? we play?"
I give them food and out to work.

I am lucky enough that my flatmates are often at home, so they always have someone around.
Sometimes they are playing or interacting with the dogs.
In the evening they get 1 hour walk and run free play at the part, with all weather.

And every evening Jago is constantly trying to play until 10 sometimes later.
He never ever stops.
If I lucky and I have good bones it will keep him busy for a while, a kong will last 10-15 minutes.
Then he is jumping on me or on buddy with some toy to play together.

To be honest it's one year that I am living like that, so I am used to be on internet while I throw the toys, or now studying as well and playing together with Jago.

It's not easy and I feel quite guilty because really for Jago is never enough.

gimmick

My dog is weird. I leave a few toys scattered around for him when I leave for work, and almost every time when I come home, they are in the exact same place. Like his kong is never touched when we are out, but if we are sat watching telly, he will go at it then.

Same with his food. I forgot to take his leftovers from his breakfast up the other day before leaving. There was still half a bowl there. Once I came home,t hats when he decided he would eat it. Strange dog!

pampootie

My dog is completely spoilt with toys! He spends an hour or two daily mucking about with his ball and tug ropes by himself, another half hour or so with us playing games with him, and a half hour walk. To be honest I think he's happy enough as long as he has the companionship of someone pottering around. He loves dozing on my partners feet when he's in our upstairs office or if I'm at home he loves sitting by me when I'm cooking, then he has a choice of laps to snooze on in the evening. Obviously he'd never turn down a game or a walk but he likes just being near us even if we're not directly paying him attention

Tea Tree

gimmick wrote: »

My dog is weird. I leave a few toys scattered around for him when I leave for work, and almost every time when I come home, they are in the exact same place. Like his kong is never touched when we are out, but if we are sat watching telly, he will go at it then.

Same with his food. I forgot to take his leftovers from his breakfast up the other day before leaving. There was still half a bowl there. Once I came home,t hats when he decided he would eat it. Strange dog!

mine is the exact same. I'm usually at home but had a couple of weeks of long work hours this month. Dog hasnt been used to that at all so I was fretting a bit over her Walk/ run at 6am, I was gone by 7, rest of family gone by 9 and no one home til 5ish or later. Honestly it looked like she hadnt moved all day. Once the crazy meet and greet was over she would race back into her bed and grab the still stuffed Kong and excitedly bring it out to show us then it would be emptied in about 2 mins flat as it wasnt frozen anymore. at some point in the evening she would go back in and "find" her stag bar from her hiding place under her bed and chew on it contentedly for the rest of the evening.:)

OP I would have described my dog as being quite like Josh when we got her but now age 5 she's become quite lazy ! She still likes to be in the same room as me and follows me round the house but once she has her walk in the morning and a bit of playtime at some point she'll quite happily just "be" wherever I am without needing much attention.

ShaShaBear

Shadow plays by himself all the time! When we're out he sleeps, no playing or eating.
But I've watched him throw his own toys and then bounce down the hall and pounce on them like a cat, only to throw them again. He only gets you involved if he feels like it!

DeVore

Josh does the "throw the toy.... pad around... then pounce" trick too...
He also prefers to eat when I'm there so thats similar to other people on this thread too, but certainly he will eat if I am not home for a while!

He goes *mental* at the hint of a walk or a ball-throwing session and just sometimes I feel bad that I can't play all day with him

Rips

It sounds like you spend enough time with your dog I think consistency and structure is probably the key. Its probably quite important for you to have a structured day with your dog.

I mean, when do you decide to go out on your breaks with him? When he gets insistent enough, or when its suits you? It can be really hard, but I suggest that you do not reward the behaviour (the whining, begging to play) as it will only increase his dependency and insecurity.

My dog would interact with me all day, he never runs out of energy, but he knows by my body language, when play is finished, and he is quite content to go and laze about then until I initiate/invite him to interact. The only exceptions to this are when he decides he might like to go outside, or when he wants to be fed - the feeding thing, only started this year ... :rolleyes: and it wasn't intentional, but its fine. (He paws his bowls and clatters them about the floor in the evenings)
The other exception is if he's sitting quietly and you give the cat attention.

My OH works from home and we have a very social indoor cat ... I know cats are different to dogs, but Giles is extremely social, he has to be in the same room as you, he plays fetch, and he'll jump at the door handles if you leave him in another room, he's sleeps IN the bed religiously. Because he is entirely indoors we don't restrict him in any way ... and because he is so social, this often results in 'cat in your face' problems. He used to sit on my OH's keyboard (and keep getting back up, again and again) and cry incessantly if he went to another room (with me still in the room!)

The only way we got around this was structure and a consistent routine.

He's a cat, so its not as effective as it would be with a dog ... but he still understands at this point, that no amount of attention seeking behaviour will get him interaction during the day. You do have to of course, put in the time for social interaction at other times, which it sounds like you already do.

After breakfast, he goes and has a snooze, or plays with his toys. He doesn't get in your face during the day. In the evenings then he is run ragged with playing etc and that means he isn't up all night, tap tap tapping our belongings off the shelves.

We still have 'issues' (well they aren't issues are they?!) in the evening, as obviously we aren't disciplined about how and when we interact with him when we aren't working. Its a spontaneous thing, because he's a cat. So he still displays the same attention seeking behaviour if he feels he is being ignored in the evening. He has lost any of the insecurity behaviours though, like crying at doors after my OH.

There is no need to feel guilty as long as you are providing adequate stimulation and exercise at appropriate times. Infact, it might be these feelings that are encouraging his behaviour.

The kong is a good suggestion, you could also introduce a crate (an open crate) which will help if he still struggles with insecurity / attachment issues.