# Bored Out Of Her Mind



## calisphere (Jun 9, 2012)

I've been trying to come up with ideas for keeping Scrap busy while I work. I've been watching her lately and she just seems bored out of her mind half the time. I walk her for 30 minutes every day and bring her out for bathroom four times a day on average. She has a million toys but doesn't play with them unless I'm sitting on the couch with her and she only buries them in the couch anyway. She chews on the cats and whines at the turtle cage wanting to play with them.

However, lately she's been groaning and sighing and being twice as clingy as before (which is a feat for being my shadow to begin with). I'm trying to figure out how to entertain her even more so that she isn't just staring off into space and sleeping for the eight hours I work every day.

She's aggressive towards other dogs, unless she knows them, and won't tolerate another dog in her house because she is "mom's only dog". I had another dog at one point and Scrap was the most unhappy dog I've ever seen and constantly started fights with a little puppy. So, getting another dog is out of the question.

Does anyone have any ideas? I'm looking for something that she can do while I'm working if possible, sort of like an automatic laser light for cats. The only thing I can think of is a Whack-A-Mole machine and I don't think that would work.


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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

I know you can get lots of different treat machines, you fill them with food/treats and the dog has to work out how to get to the food, the simple ones are just balls with holes in that they roll around until the treat falls out, but I know they do all sorts now that are much more challenging, I expect someone else on here could tell you more about them. I must admit my pup is not very good at amusing himself either so will be interested in what others advise.


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## Cat 53 (Aug 26, 2012)

Could you get someone in to take her out for a walk, or play half way through the day. Maybe do some agility with her?


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## Jack Spaniel (Jul 6, 2012)

Treat machine seems a quick way to fat puppy ownership.
Of course your dog is bored if you are working all the time and he/she only gets 30 minutes walk each day. Your dog needs enough walk to tire her, my Oscar gets a couple of 1 hour walks each day and is still doing 100mph at the end of them. He gets home and sleeps for 30 minutes and then expects me to play with him. I have toys tied to the end of bits af string so I can swing them around and he leaps around doing aerial somersaults. He will take a toy into his bed and roll around making terrible growling and snarling noises as he entertains himself. Never known a pup with so much energy and he is only 14 weeks old, and has no time for boredom. Experts say you should not over excercise young pups but Oscar is doing it all himself with little help from me. One bonus is he turns in at 10.30pm into his bed and we don't hear a peep until 7am next day. Thats exactly 7am, I think he has an alarm built in.


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## calisphere (Jun 9, 2012)

I have a bunch of the treat toys, but she doesn't play with them unless I'm playing with her. I work from home so I don't feel I need someone to walk her for me. She wouldn't go with anyone else anyway. Trust me on that one, I've tried. I get up at about 8am and spend about an hour getting the basics of animal care done - litter boxes, feeding, poo walk. Then I spend an hour getting ready for work and walk the dog for 30 minutes before I work. Then I work and walk her twice when I take breaks from work. After work is when play and dinner happen. I work only eight hours a day, with as many breaks as I need.


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## glitzydebs (Jun 10, 2011)

calisphere said:


> I've been trying to come up with ideas for keeping Scrap busy while I work. I've been watching her lately and she just seems bored out of her mind half the time. I walk her for 30 minutes every day and bring her out for bathroom four times a day on average. She has a million toys but doesn't play with them unless I'm sitting on the couch with her and she only buries them in the couch anyway. She chews on the cats and whines at the turtle cage wanting to play with them.
> 
> However, lately she's been groaning and sighing and being twice as clingy as before (which is a feat for being my shadow to begin with). I'm trying to figure out how to entertain her even more so that she isn't just staring off into space and sleeping for the eight hours I work every day.
> 
> ...


Pushca is exactly the same so will be following your post with interest. thanks


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

Mine sleep a lot during the day, I don't really see anything wrong with that if she is getting lots of exercise and walks as well.


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## Turi (Jun 28, 2011)

It sounds like she needs more exercise. Like Jack Spaniel we walk Saffi much more than 30 minutes a day. To keep her occupied we:

-	Walk her 2 – 3 hours a day spread over two walks
-	Play games that will tire her out (tug of war, fetch, chase etc)
-	Play interactive games with her such as Nina Ottoson games. She only enjoys these if we do them with her
-	Teach her tricks 
-	Lots of cuddles! 

Is Scrap under-socialised? You mention that she’s aggressive with other dogs and won’t go with anyone else on a walk? Perhaps you’ve made a rod for your own back by making her so dependent on you? I remember you saying before that you’ve a lot of pets in a small apartment plus you work from home… well everyone needs a break from time-to-time and perhaps you’d find dog ownership easier if you could find someone else to walk her a couple of days a week?


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

I agree she needs more than half an hours exercise a day. Mine get 2 or 3 walks a day of half an hour each. They gets lots of play in the garden as well and they play a lot together in the house chasing each other and stealing each other toys. Perhaps she needs another cockapoo playmate?!


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## designsbyisis (Dec 27, 2011)

If you use part of the daily kibble ration in a treat ball thing then it won't cause over feeding. I use the tall wobbly kong that is like a weeble which Dexter pushes around to get the food out. You can also fill a normal kong with chopped apple & carrot which is low cal & healthy. 

Dexter only has one walk a day too but we also take him out to our garden (which is huge) and play ball, frisbee etc several times a day with him. He has a really good run around. 

Have you tried stag bars ? They are good for chewing & boredom too. 



Sent from my iPhone 
Lisa - mum of 3 boys, Dexter Cockapoo & 4 hens !


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## caradunne (Nov 29, 2010)

Unfortunately cockapoos are intelligent social dogs and they do get bored if you don't interact enough with them. Lots of play and walking will tire your dog so you can get a work session in. Then you need more interaction. They do rest more the older they get.


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## brooklynusa (Sep 5, 2012)

Hi everyone, I've just joined because I have a 5 year old bedlington, Sky, who seems bored without the friend she'd had since birth, a Tibetan Terrier we lost in April at 16 years old. I've been researching cockapoos and become smitten! This is a sidetrack really because I notice Lisa has chickens - was it easy to train your pup not to chase them? We have cats too - I'm slightly worried a cockerpoo would freak them all out! I'd prefer a slightly older one so she/he can fit straight in with Sky, but that might cause more problems than it cures! Any thoughts?


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## susanb (Jan 19, 2012)

We have chickens. We have not at all managed to train him not to chase them - although he prefers eating their poo. If the hens are having their "free ranging" time, then gisgo is kept in the house. He stares at them from the door! They have a big run that they stay in when not free ranging and he rarely bothers them in there- although he does now & again race around their run at high speed which sends them into a flutter & makes them shout a lot. (I think this amuses him).


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## cleo (Aug 31, 2011)

When I am at home with pixel I try and leave the back door open so on a nice day,she can go in and out as she pleases. She also has several big bones which she loves to chew. We have slowly been training her to occupy herself more and as she has got to a year and beyond she has calmed down lots and is much better at occupying herself. We also have a long hall so throwing,the ball up and down it for her a few times soon tired her out.


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## RuthMill (Jun 30, 2012)

More exercise


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## designsbyisis (Dec 27, 2011)

Re the chickens - no we don't let them mix either. I guess it would be possible to train them to get on but I wouldn't like to tempt fate. Dexter gets very over excited in their company but I think the chickens would give him a run for their money ! 


Sent from my iPhone 
Lisa - mum of 3 boys, Dexter Cockapoo & 4 hens !


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## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

Ooooooo JoJo there's an argument for 3 xx


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## Rufini (Sep 9, 2011)

I agree that she will need much more exercise. 30 minutes for a cockapoo isn't enough really. We take Vincent out for at least an hour, but then play almost none stop with him during the day. If we're not in he goes to day care.
At the weekend we try and go out for at least 5 miles and I try and get him to swim too too exercise more!


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## calisphere (Jun 9, 2012)

Five miles might be in Scrap's ability but not mine! I broke my hip in 2009 and I'm still trying to strengthen it. I can get about a mile before I'm in too much pain to walk. I never had physical therapy because I don't have insurance so I've had to work on it my own.

This past week has been complete chaos due to several things. Walks have been suspended until evenings because the city is moving water lines and they finally made it to my street, which is more of a cul-de-sac. The entire place is blocked off and they work until almost 4pm, swinging things around. I can get Scrap out to pee and poo, but they have most of the park blocked off as well. Who knows what they are doing there. They clear out after 4, but the day is practically over by then for decent walks. Everyone else wants to walk their dogs around this time, which causes a problem.

Also, because of all the noise, I have not been working. This is fine because now I'm packing up the house for the move instead. I even found a cash stash in my closet that I forgot about, which came in handy seeing as my turtle tank filter broke earlier this week.

Scrappi is under-socialized, yes. I'd gotten her in 2007 right after a miscarriage and the hormones transferred my feelings to her. She went to puppy class at Petsmart, which she did well with and she lived with other toy breeds (Tibetan Spaniel and a Chihuahua). She likes dogs she knows and if she knows they are not my dogs. She still starts fights often with the dogs she likes. I fully admit that I have completely ruined my dog due to my mental state at the time after the miscarriage. She is now to a point where she thinks all dogs and people (except for the people she knows) are out to get me and has to protect me. I have spent $1500 on a trainer who says that it's not all her and that I need to be stronger with her. We are working on it, but strange dogs are still a major problem.

The new place I'm moving into has a yard that is fenced and I'll be dog-sitting a friend's dog daily, who Scrappi likes 2nd out of the three dogs she actually likes. I'm hoping that with the yard and with the other dog she will entertain herself for ten or twenty minutes a day. I'm also hoping there will be a squirrel or two for her to bark at. The park near my current apartment has very few squirrels; it's unnerving.

After the move, she will also have two younger children she can lick to death. The children are old enough to be gentle and Scrap is usually pretty good with kids. She does like to chase them if they are running and chew on their ankles. She thinks they are trying to play "kick the dog", a game she and I play where I will nudge her lightly with my foot and she will pull on my pant legs. I couldn't think of a better name. She isn't great with toddlers or babies that are able to crawl because of this game and it scares the little ones.

She does great with non-dog animals, with the exception of small birds and squirrels. I have pictures somewhere of her babysitting rats that I had, who unfortunately didn't make it (they were feeder rats and had very bad health to begin with). She did great with the chickens I had, though she also wanted to lick them constantly. She does very well with the rabbits and after I get them completely litter trained, they will probably have more free time outside of the cage.

I'm not eager to put kibble in her treat toys because she guards her food in a very bad way, after she's buried it of course. That's another thing I'm working with as she knows well enough the cats don't care for her food. I am in the process of figuring out new tricks to teach her. She learned the last one a little too quickly. I just wish she liked chasing frisbees and balls more than she does. She will chase them two or three times, but that's it. She likes her rawhides most, but I don't like giving them to her because she goes through them so fast. The compressed ones last for shorter times than the regular ones. She loves cow hooves, but those smell too bad to be indoor toys. I may get her one after the move. She loves bully sticks and pig ears, but again they don't last more than a few minutes. Oddly enough, the only toy that lasts any time at all are hair ties. She tosses them around, but not as much as she used to.

She has taken up turtle watching now that the turtles are more accessible to her. The addition of a fish is probably what did it. She loved my previous Oscar cichlid. I had had him for almost twelve years, but he died about a year ago.

Because I'm not working this week, I've been playing the "Where's the...?" game where I ask her where different things and animals are. I didn't realize how many words she actually knows until I started this. I have also played "52 treat pickup" with her a few too many times this week. In all fairness, I don't think I actually use 52 training treats during each session of this game. I've also been playing "sock toss" with her a lot because I'm sorting through all these clothes I've been hoarding the past three years.

Honestly, this week has been a lot better than last week because I'm not working. She might like it, but I'm tired of playing "guess which toy I'm whining at" with her. Silly dog has gotten me to play this game six times today alone. It consists of her whining and wagging her tail at her toy box, which she knows very well she can get into on her own. She does it until I can't stand the whining anymore and I take out each toy one at a time and ask her "do you want this? This ball? This stufty? This chewy?" To all she promptly noses, wags her tail, and then looks into the box again whining. We go through every toy, including the cat toys, and then again as I put them back. Six times I've done this today!

I think she's got me wrapped around her paw. Maybe she should get a paper route. She's old enough. Lol


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

If you can walk about a mile in one go then I would say you need to take her out for these length walks several times a day.

Maybe you could also enrol in dog training classes if you can find some positive reward based ones to help her with her socialising with dogs and people.

I hate to say it but your game of pulling on trouser legs and trying to chase and grab the legs of children sounds like the sort of thing which could get her into a lot of trouble so I would be discouraging that and trying to teach her to tug on some other item like a proper fleece tuggy toy?


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## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

if you are unable to walk scrappy alot....a chuck it can be a great toy...getting her to chase something while you get to stand still.


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## Rufini (Sep 9, 2011)

it sounds like a lot of stuff is going on!
I sympathise that it can be really difficult sometimes to organise everything so everyone is happy. Your ill health restricts how much you can go out, maybe hire a dog walker to take her out for half an hour a day, and then give her another little walk as far as you're able to.
Cockapoos are intellegant dogs and need a lot of stimulation. I don't a few runs around a yard would be enough to be honest, we let Vincent run around the garden as often as allowed, even around the walks he can still be full of energy! If you really can't take her out then you need to play as many 'brain' games with her, maybe start training tricks etc (we found a lot of fantastic videos on You Tube). Half an hour of training is about the same as 10 minutes walk (but NOT a substitute).


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