Can I ask what your dog does all day?

[gymmummy64]

Apart from going on walks that is. My new rescue dog is big-ish (tall lab sort of size) and I'm giving him around 2 hours of walking a day, but there are a lot of other hours! Other than feeding him, providing toys, talking to him as I potter around the house/work from home, taking quick cuddle breaks, putting him in the car to pick up kids, chilling on the sofa with him in the evening etc. is there anything else I should be doing? We'll play when we're out, but I've not got very far with doggy games in the house.

I think part of me is still remembering the guilt of the (human) toddler years when the days could feel oh-so long and I was convinced everyone else was doing wall to wall crafting/baking/intellectually stimulating activities with their 2 year olds all day every day.

So is it ok if my dog just lies on the floor with his eyes sort of shut, sighs a lot and looks bored? Or should I be providing him more stimulation? He's not doing anything stir-crazy, just dramatic sighing and hurrumphing when he realises I'm only going to the bathroom/kitchen/bedroom and not for a walk. Then it's back to the resigned and noisy slump on the floor - it's making me feel very inadequate

oh and he's estimated to be between 1-2 years old

Mine mostly sleeps. Inbetween sleeping he might play with his toys, chew a bone and eat the mail

I just leave him to it. He's a year old.

hahahaa your dog is guilt tripping you

Mine lolls about the house in whatever patch of sunlight he can find. He bothers the cat until he gets boxed on the nose and then he cries. He lays behind me in the kitchen watching me cook and trying to hypnotise me into dropping something. He'll go out and mooch about it the garden a bit. Or mooch about the house until a small person takes pity and then he'll get lots of cuddles and fuss. He sometimes comes on the school run, and he definitely comes up for a snuggle on the sofa of an evening.

Last night I had to fetch a spare blanket and let him sleep on the floor next to my bed, dh is away and he was scared of the wind. He finally settled when I lay with my arm dangling out of the bed so my hand was on him.

Thank you Moogalicious and Squishy, hearing that your dogs do lots of sleeping and lolling and mooching makes me feel much better! I really don't know what else I'm expecting him to do - pick up a Sudoku? read a book? - but I'm with him in the house working most of the day and it's hard not to feel guilty with all the slumping and sighing!

Love your wind-scary story Squishy. Is he is small dog or some great big hound?

Broken husky also does a lot of mooching and around and sighing. Sleeping is another big part of the day, as is trotting into the kitchen whenever the fridge door opens. Small hyper dog also sleeps most of the time and every now and again they both wake up , have a furious bout of wrestling and then go back to sleep until walk/ food time. When husky was a little pup I convinced myself he was depressed, but now I realise that he just really enjoys lying around and dozing.

Sleeps or follows me around. Mainly sleeps.

Sleeps a lot, follows me about, sometimes drops a toy on my lap for a game. Not very much, really. He's 15 months now.

Sleeps. That's it. He's a greyhound though.

4 hours walking a day then he just sleeps in whatever patch of sunlight he can find, follows me whenever I go in the kitchen and chases DCs when they are in from school. Oh and he barks at any, I mean any, noise that he hears from outside.

He is a rescue too and when we first got him he was 2cm away from me all the time now 6 months down the line he lets me out of his sight most of the time

FentonPup's schedule:-

Awake at around 6.30am

Goes onto the landing for a lie down, waits for the central heating timer to click on and gives it one quiet woof.

Puts head on my foot, gives it a lick if I don't get up straight away, ditto to DH.

Chases me downstairs.

Goes out for a wee.

Comes back in for breakfast.

Supervises me while I'm making packed lunches.

Supervises children while they're getting dressed and steals the odd item of uniform.

1 hour walk.

Chews the garden furniture.

Sleeps

Waits quietly for postman then steals and chews the mail if he gets the chance.

Eats lunch.

Sleeps.

1 hour walk.

Chews other things which don't belong to him

you get the gist

My 5 year old cocker spaniel nudges me most of the day. She reckons if she nudges me enough I will believe that it is time for her supper, even if it is 11am and she doesn't get fed until 4pm. And if it doesn't work on me, she nudges DS until he gives her a chew.
Frankly she's a pain in the bum but we still love her!

Mine get a long walk at 6:30am, then they go back to sleep. We leave at 8:15am, they come to work with me. They sit in my office or wander up and down the hallways looking for people to pet them and make a fuss of them. They follow everyone in the kitchen in the hope of some food. Then go back to sleep.
We do a half hour walk at lunch time.
Then they pretty much sleep or follow people about as above until 5.

Then another walk. More sleep. Jumps all over the DCs. Sleeps. Last walk. Sleep.

I'm quite jealous.

Ah that's great everyone thank you, I no longer feel worried I'm failing to lay on enough entertainment! Gymdog is currently entertaining himself by un-stuffing his cushion but as he doesn't eat the stuffing (unlike most of his toys) it's OK. I will re-stuff it later.

Thanks for the information pimms. Gymdog won't let me in another room without him yet, but I also had the 2cm thing initally and he's come a long way since then. The bathroom's the least convenient - it's been a long time since I was followed into the loo, let alone looked at adoringly/mournfully (not sure which it is actually) whilst in there. I've drawn the line at being offered a paw whilst seated though...

I have just come across this. This could be FentonPup.

My pup is about 8 months old - he sleeps most of the time!

Elderly greyhound here...hasn't changed much since we got him!

Wakes, goes in garden
Has breakfast
Five minutes of madness
Sleeps
Has a wee
Mooches around
Sleeps
Moves in the vain hope he can get on sofa
Sleeps
Begs for food with big puppy eyes
Sleeps
Garden time
Sleeps

Think that's about it!!
X

wakes
potters
breakfast
naps
long walk
biscuit
naps
naps
runs around madly
supper
naps
biscuit
bed

Mobile mop's day

Wake, harass cats, out to garden wee, harass cats, eat breakfast, harass cats,get thumped on nose by cat, leave for work.
Spend busy morning guarding office, being adoreded by customers all from the safety of his bed.
Home for lunch, wee, rush out in garden, harass cats, get thumped by cats, sneak off to sleep on human bed.
About 5pm wake up, harass cats, get thumped on nose, rush about garden maybe wee, if cat outside harass cat in garden, have tea, harass cat, get thumped on nose, sneak off to human bed to sleep.
10pm wake, harass cat, get thumped on nose, rush about garden, wee, harass hedgehog, to bed on own till thinks humans are asleep when he then sneaks onto human bed to sleep.
At weekends he adds in a really long walk and on a Thursday an agility class.

Our grey sleeps all day & does not move an inch even to greet people
Our old JRT,mooches about looking for dropped food & I must open the back door up to 10 times a day as she's in & out to check whats going on & wee/poo lots of times!!
She's very active in stark contrast to our grey!!

Our rescue dog's day:

5am dp takes out for a wee before work then goes back to bed
7.30 I get up and open the back door for her to go in the garden....she just goes back in her bed
9am she comes on the school run and has a walk
9.45 - 1.30 sleeps, gets in my feet, torments the cats
1.30 - 3.00 walks
3.00 - bedtime she has 2 other short walks and spends the restof the time in peoples feet mooching food and trying to get on the sofa!!

Mine cuddle up together and sleep. They are sighthounds though and they don't really 'do' playing.

18 month old rescue dog:

Up at 7.30 for breakfast, wee, and sometimes a chewy thing.
8-10 sleeps like a log.
10ish goes for an hour's walk.
11-2.30ish sleeps like a log, pesters me for walk, sniffs around kitchen looking for crumbs, asks to go out in garden and chase squirrels.
2.30ish walk for another hour (and play with lots of doggy pals, normally)
3.30ish greet kids, get under feet, beg for supper.
4.30 eat supper.
4.31 beg for more supper.
5pm gives up, chases squirrels, goes to sleep.
5.30-10pm sleeps, begs for food (and doesn't get it), goes out in garden, sleeps.
10pm bed

Its all about food and sleep for Mouse

Sleeping, farting, looking out for dropped crumbs, following me from room to room so closely behind my heels that I accidentally kick him in the chops and hear his teeth clack. Doofus.

These posts have all made me Not a bad life being a dog, eh?!