@whataboutsecondbreakfast that is what I meant, thank you :)
as for mental stimulation, like I said we do a lot of trick training, I’d say we were pretty advanced in terms of the range of tricks she can do. I’m really not trying to blow my own trumpet as I believe I have fully lucked out here and this is way more about her character rather than my training abilities.
She’s is very skilled and obedient, we do a fair bit of scent training, we started with the game of ‘finding’ hidden treats, then moved on to favourite toys (reward with treat when located) and are now at a point where I can give her a familiar item to smell (lead, collar, dog brush - something that isn’t a high value reward) and she will find it when hidden and asked to ‘find’. I don’t want to encourage hunting as there is a lot of wildlife in my area and I have worked hard to ensure she doesn’t do this. Although she would love to chase birds and squirrels if allowed.
She’s so clever and loves all kinds of training. She can do a range of tricks from bow, to beg, to staying in sit from afar and being released by command. She is also very good at agility too! She is super obedient which is why the free running on my jogs/cycles works, she has an excellent recall and is just generally very committed to listening to me.
I try to incorporate mental training everyday in her routine somehow, whether on walks (off lead heal, recall with and without distractions etc) but we only manage really structured sessions in the garden/ house 3/ max 4 times a week for a good 20 to 30 mins, she is also groomed, brushed and just generally loved and cuddled daily which she absolutely loves ❤️
I know I could do more but I do also have three children and work from
home. In addition to this, a good friend’s daughter (19 years old) also comes a few times a week to spend time with her and they do some of this training together in preparation for her first show this year! :) I’ll be going back to work in the office soon, so I won’t be able to get out to the forest during the week anymore. I have a dog walker arranged for then but I worry about her not getting the exercise she needs to be happy.
At present, she gives me the impression she is a happy dog, but I just find she needs a certain level of physical activity before she can really relax and be the lap dog she was bred to be 🤷🏻♀️
I just find it genuinely hard to know what’s too much, especially as the advice of my vet was pretty vague.