what can I do to amuse my dog?

[BlackHillsofDakota]

I'm home all day and he has walks but apart from that he just sleeps and sits looking out the window.
He isn't interested in toys or balls at all. He has a Kong which he likes but that's done with in 5 minutes flat!
He just seems bored and I want to stimulate him. Any suggestions?

Do you want something to do with him or something with which he can entertain himself?

If it's the former then clicker training and something like 101 things to do with a box can be endlessly entertaining. It really gets dogs thinking and being creative. My whippets love it and it's amazing watching them trying to think up new things they can try.

If you want something for him to do by himself then splitting his meals up and giving him some in a treat ball is an option. There are loads of different ones ranging from really easy ones to more challenging ones. I prefer challenging treat balls to things like Nina Ottosson puzzles as once they work out the puzzle they can get the treats out in seconds. Even when they know how to get the treats out of a treat ball it still takes them a while to do it.

I chat to my girl. She's ridiculously responsive. "oh dear, we're very low on milk!" And the tail is wagging like I'm a canine comedian ! (I'm a teacher so I'm used to constantly explaining and demonstrating my actions!)

He might not be bored. Dogs spend an awful lot of time quite happily gazing at nothing; he's probably thinking about really important dog stuff when you think he's just staring into the distance :)

I'm also at home all day so I chat to my dog, stroke her as I walk past, have a little play from time to time. We also have short bursts of training when I can fit it in/remember; such as: which hand is the treat in, which cup is the treat under, find the treats around the house etc. We also work on basic stuff like leave, stay and drop, just to reinforce things.

What about agility classes. We do a bit of basic agility stuff in the house or garden, jumping over things, going under things - very low things in my dog's case as she small. If you've got a garden you can set up a few things for him to do - obviously that won't work if you've got a Great Dane and a small garden.

Haven't tried doing them with my dog but there's lots of stuff on line that might give you some ideas if you want to teach him some tricks.

I think if he was bored he'd be pestering you for attention or walks ...certainly my 2 do, come late afternoon (after a lot of sleeping n lying around).

Thanks for all the ideas, gardens bits big enough for agility but I might try a bit more training.
It's possible he's not bored I guess, he doesn't pester me just seems to spend a huge amount of time staring out the window! I feel like I would be bored but maybe he has a better attention span than me

Get three plastic cups or non breakable pots, hide a treat under one in front of the dog, make a big deal of it, switch them around and get him to find which one it's under.

Hide a noisy toy under a big duvet and get him to dig for it, or snuffle around to hunt it out. Once he finds it he gets a game with it, like tug or chucking it round, my dog expends a lot of energy and brain power hauling a king size winter duvet around!

Close him behind a door after showing him a stinky treat or toy and getting excited, quickly hide it somewhere easy for him to find and release him with a cue phrase to go and find it, with much celebration when he does.

A big raw bone keeps mine busy ALL day!

Pat Miller and Karen Pryor have great dog training books.

You can make a Kong last longer by freezing it after you've stuffed it. I put a mixture of little dog biscuits and grated cheese in ours, squish it down and freeze it. Lasts for ages.