Do dogs get bored?

[handlemecarefully]

Very attached to my new puppy already, but finding that she is another 'person' / thing to feel guilty about.

I worry that she doesn't get enough attention / stimulation because life is busy and I have two under 4 years to look after. In terms of concentrated focus on herself she doesn't get a great deal...Am I just totally barmy, or does anybody else feel a bit apprehensive about whether they are giving their dog quality of life (I realise that this thread sounds a bit surreal because I am tipsy, but I'm serious! - in my sober moments this is praying on my mind)

You can also buy a liquidised liver spray that you put inside the kong, that usually keeps them busy for a while, and a tube of cream cheese works just as well. My dog is just happy to charge around the garden for hours on end with just herself for company although I do go out with her and play ball with her now and again. She rolls around on the grass and manouvers her football around like a professional. Its been great in the school holidays because she's had DD to run wild in the garden with. I must admit I felt really guilty bringing her home because her doggy parents lived on a farm with sprawling amounts of land and I thought "look at the life I've taken her away from" but dogs adapt to whatever life you give them and so long as you love them and do what you can for them they should be happy. You'll know when they do get bored because that's usually when the destructive behaviour starts. Mine was destructive when we first started to leave her in the house alone for short periods but that soon stopped as she now realises that we DO actually come back and are not abandoning her. We usually find now that when we've been out and we come back that she will have moved something, usually a shoe just to let us know that she is protesting at us going out but she never actually chews anything any more.