Hi guys, happy new year to you all. I wonder if one of you can tell me if i am doing enough to mentally stimulate my dogs, i think i am having an attack of the guilts cos after being at home with them all over Christmas i have had to return to work today and leave them.

Our routine is this, wake up at 5.30 and take both dogs to field to run off lead for an hour then back home and after a little rest they have breakfast, not in their bowls, either stuffed in kongs and buster cubes or thrown over the garden (they love this). I leave for work at 9 and leave them both with toys and usually a bone stuffed with left over nature diet from breakfast. I have video'd them once to see what they do and mostly they sleep, have a little play, sleep some more and work on their bones. I return from work at 1 and take them seperately out on a lead walk and then they come with me to the school etc and wherever else i go during the day but i have noticed the last couple of nights that  the gsd is pacing up and down the living room, although i often initiate a game of tug or hide and seek with him during the evening. He seems to settle after the last walk at about 11.30 but i am wondering if he is bored. I am hoping to start agility in the next couple of months as i believe he has to be 18 months before he can start so that is only a month away. Do you think he is getting enough stimulation or if not can i have some tips a to what i can do to improve this.

If you are making up for the time you have missed during the day when you get home and they appear to be settled while you are gone i would worry so much. They probably use those hours as their rest time and their alone time so when you get home they wont need a rest and wont want time from you

Mich,

I think you are doing very well and are obviously committed to your dog's welfare

You might find that 30mins or so of fun obedience training with your GSD would help him settle...?   Brain work is far more exhausting for a dog than free running.

Good luck

My shepherd girl is easily bored, especially in the evenings she wantsmore attention, so we just go through her training routine with her, or teach her a new game, and mental exercise really does help to keep her happy, fulfilled and challenged. We keep it very fun and upbeat and to her it is a great game which she takes very seriously, but it is also great to just assert the rules again (like 'sit' means 'sit', not 'I might sit if I want to' which she is getting to now at 7 months old!)