Trapped with a Dutch Shepherd

[ladyjubilee]

For those under Stay at Home orders, how are you giving you Dutchie enough exercise?

We have a big back yard Bramble can run and play in....and as of yesterday she realized Casper may be a better playmate than snack. He does have enough confidence to let her know when she gets too rough. He doesn't have her energy level, but is up to a few minutes of fun. She also realized my mother is better at throwing the ball for Bramble to catch, she tries my son first, then my mom, and I only then one-third choice.

[centrop67]

Our stay at home orders allow for walking of the dog as long as we maintain 6 feet of space between other people. Radar makes sure of that

[ladyjubilee]

Ours does too as long as it is "close" to home, but I gather in some places even that is off limits.

[Jay knowles]

I’m in the Uk, and if I’m honest no one has been near us on our walks for about the last year. Pepsi doesn’t want to interact with other dogs and generally chases them off. The only people she is interested in is the immediate family. She is on guard permanently and hasn’t been trained this way it’s just the way she is. Indoors she is the most loving dog known to man, and I wouldn’t change her. Jay

[ladyjubilee]

I was actually thinking of you, Jay, when I ask. I gather some of the restrictions in the UK are even stricter than in the US. I saw one clip that looked like Llandudno where they were using drones to see if people were out walking despite the restrictions. I couldn't quite picture having Bramble and not being about to go out with her.

[Jay knowles]

I was actually thinking of you, Jay, when I ask. I gather some of the restrictions in the UK are even stricter than in the US. I saw one clip that looked like Llandudno where they were using drones to see if people were out walking despite the restrictions. I couldn't quite picture having Bramble and not being about to go out with her.

Hi seen similar things on the news. It’s not like that where I am but I sense it’s going to get locked down further.
They shut down one of the dog walking places we use yesterday which is a shame because it was generally quite there and very open so you could see what was coming. Stay safe. Jay

[ladyjubilee]

You too. Because our family has two high risk members, we are being extra careful, so we should be relatively safe.

And hope they still have dog walking options.

[TimL_168]

Thinking of training Endeavor to prowl the streets for groups of people congregating and rush in to break them up

[TimL_168]

Probably won't require much "training"

[centrop67]

Probably won't require much "training"

[Mark77]

I haven't been out other than to the store in the last couple weeks. Idiots around here seem to congregate to discuss the lack of supplies, job situations etc. So I've been staying away from people and only talking to neighbors. As far as the dogs go, they have eachother to play with. I can't stress enough owning more than one of these dogs because they can play for hours outside to entertain one another and are always up for having a fire in the fire pit. We had a fire last night again and might have another one tonight. The dogs love the fire pit, it's their absolute favorite thing- they snap at the fire, run around playing with eachother, and then sleep most of the next day. It's about the cheapest fun you can have, beer, grilled meats, a fire, and dogs running around.

[TimL_168]

Mark, sounds like camping at home

[Tim91118]

I’m to the point of not letting two dogs out at the same time as they can literally destroy a yard or flowerbed in a short time with their roughhouse play.

[Mark77]

Mark, sounds like camping at home

It is. We cut down a huge tree a couple years ago and have a lot of firewood. Besides, we also have a blue tooth system to listen to cool songs. Dogs love it, they think it's the best fun ever. Just add bourbon.

[TimL_168]

Mark, sounds like camping at home

It is. We cut down a huge tree a couple years ago and have a lot of firewood. Besides, we also have a blue tooth system to listen to cool songs. Dogs love it, they think it's the best fun ever. Just add bourbon.

https://youtu.be/B1Nuc-WU6X4

BOURBON!?!?! NOW WE'RE REALLY TALKING

[bigbear123]

I’m to the point of not letting two dogs out at the same time as they can literally destroy a yard or flowerbed in a short time with their roughhouse play.

Could not be more true! A nice shrub you worked hard planting is there one moment, you blink and its chewed to bits, dug up or trampled. And where do they like to roll or plop down with their toy? In the flower bed of course. Its amazing how fast total destruction can happen. I come from two generations of horticulturists and love of plants is in my blood. We have a small farm and grow food, but for fun I like to landscape and make perennial flower beds around my house. I have almost given up many times trying to keep those flower beds alive. It's been a lot of trial and error, and I even spent a few weeks last year building a dry stack rock wall to make a raised bed around the foundation of the house so they couldn't just tear through as soon as they busted out the door. I've learned over the years to plant only the toughest perennials that can take some abuse, and my dogs know what "Out of the garden!" means. Now the goats, they're another story....

Best of luck y'all. I know with mine if for some reason we can't get exercise in the form of walking/running/playing, a good old training session with a few new or different challenges always seems to level them out. Make them use their noggin. Get them to get up on something unfamiliar, maybe sit or lay down on it, get down, repeat. Walk across or through something unusual, make them balance, challenge their comfort zone and reward with a prey object. Informal agility style stuff using whatever you have on hand seems to do the trick. Can be done in a tiny back yard. The other day I had mine getting up on an air handling unit just because it was there, unfamiliar, and a good size.
Also, I like to play "find it". I put them in a lay down and stay where they can't watch me, then drag or dab a favorite toy (you can enhance with hotdogs too if you haven't done much nose work with your dog) along the ground to a hiding place. Return and release them to "find it". My dogs love this game! Can be done indoors or outdoors.

[Mark77]

My dogs destroyed our rockscape. We put down tons of natural stone pavers, small boulders, river rock etc. The idea was to stop the erosion from the dogs. They basically destroyed it all over a five year period. They would carry pieces of river rock and drop it randomly in the yard or driveway, dug up the flower bed next to the garage, stole random logs from the neatly stacked fire pit log pile, killed all my wife's plants. My next step is to pave the entire yard and patio. Not kidding. I've given up.

[bigbear123]

I feel your pain! I've had many moments of total discouragement, where I'm about to cry for my hard work and money spent trying to beautify my property, saying to myself "Can't I have anything nice, just one thing in the whole world?!!?" Yep... Then I always have the thought that I have my dogs, who are the best thing in my life no matter what, and then I'm feeling grateful and accepting that its one or the other.
BTW- my dry stack wall was beautiful and did stand the test of the dogs, but then we got some pygmy goats who destroyed it running across it in one week flat. I decided not to repair it and am instead re-purposing the fieldstone to make a retainer/terraced bed on a slope in front of the house which is similarly eroded/dug up and crappy looking. We'll see. When I think about all the things I've lost between dogs and goats, I could go on forever and its almost comical. If I teach the dogs to stop messing with something, the goats pinpoint it as their new favorite thing and find a way to destroy it. I give up for weeks at a time, and then the weather gets nice or I get inspired and I can't help but to start a new project in my spare time.
My dogs really walk the line with me, they know what's expected and they're teachable. Its just their very nature is so wild, and that's part of the reason I'm so enamored with them. Despite all of this, I like to watch my dogs being dogs. Sometimes I let the boys dig or I let them run circles in the veggie garden or something like that just to watch their excitement in doing it.
We should start a photo thread called "destruction". I'm sure many have such things to post. It's nice to know we're not alone in this, because around here I'm the crazy dog lady.

[centrop67]

We should start a photo thread called "destruction".

Send it.