How to keep my dog occupied at home

[Snowspeckledeyelashes]

We have a 2 year old rescue dog (Yorkshire terrier/Jack Russell cross). We have had him for most 5 months.

He has settled in ok but has various stress and anxiety issues due to his background. Basically, he was crated all day (every day) and never walked or taken out of the flat.
He was in all sense and purpose a prisoner for the first year of his life, so absolutely everything is a new experience and stressful for him.
We are working on all of his issues and have had the advice of a behaviourist.
One of his issues is that no matter how long or short his daily walks are he struggles to settle. He paces or will look for anything which he will rip up and destroy.
The behaviourist has recommended that we make the house like an obstacle course to keep his mind occupied by hiding pieces of food or toys/treats about to help stimulate him and also burn off some off the anxiety.

Does anyone have any tips or could recommend any video clips or website where we could either purchase or make some ‘equipment’ to help with these activities?

Just to say that I have purchased many, many ‘indestructible’ balls, tug toys etc but they are destroyed in moments, so am thinking maybe it would be more cost effective to make things from recycled household bits and pieces. I also have filled Kongs in the freezer but have to use these sparingly as he is prone to a sensitive tummy and we are keeping him on a grain free, high protein diet for his anxiety.

Sniffing: hide part of his normal kibble allowance around the house and encourage him to sniff for them. Start with very easy hiding places but gradually increase them so he needs to really sniff.

For wet food, use licky mats if he doesn't get on with the kongs (not every dog does).

There are also interactive games you can by (e.g. Nina Ottosson).

Snuffle mats also an idea. Once you see them, there are ways you can make your own. Something as simple as cardboard boxes with brown paper in - such as you get from Amazon - with a few treats hidden in them under the paper. Allow him to get in there and dig them out.

You'll find lots of suggestions by looking for activities for dogs post surgery. These will all be relatively calming suggestions and could also give you some ideas?

Do you mean while he's home alone or when you're with him?

Assuming you mean when you're there with him, then teaching calm and settle would be helpful - have a look online at Kikopup and Absolute Dogs.

Hi I have the same terrier mix (I'd love to see a pic of yours!!) they are hard to wear out.

Have you tried a licky mat? That keeps my boy busy for a bit. Are you training him? They are quite clever little dogs and we have trained ours to do loads of tricks, we also take him to agility and other training classes.

Does he settle at night? Does he like the crate now? He might need the containment to calm down and settle for a bit. My dads dog who is a full JRT and very very energetic only settles if you put the lead on him and then he has to sit by your feet!!

I'll add a pic of my terror 😉

I used to assemble a play den for my kittens on a daily basis to keep them occupied. Would something like that work?
Just used everyday household items, a chair, a throw, boxes, scrunched up packing paper. I also had some kids play tunnels and pop up tents they went nuts over.
Hid a small amount of cat treats and toys in the den and left them to it.
Changed it daily and only put it together if I was going out for a few hours, so the den was a fun place. Cats get much less seperation anxiety than dogs but can be destructive when bored.

I agree with a snuffle mat and/or a licky mat. Sniffing and licking helps dogs to relax - we used a licky mat with our rescue. You can buy special paste for dogs to put on them, and also use it to cover treats so they have to try a bit harder!

I would also recommend teaching him to settle and go to and stay in bed on command.
Can you let him off lead yet? I'm think sniffy walks rather than long exercise walks when he is out. As a terrier - does he like bouncy balls? Is there space inside for home to have a bouncy ball - my sis's used to throw the bag for herself.

Interesting advice from the behaviourist and unusual.

Usually for anxious reactive dogs you want to build loads of calm and loads of sleep and have a very calm non stimulating environment.

A small area where they feel comfortable yes to chewing activities as that stimulates calm.

I would not be setting up an adventure house for him to live in.

Get some of his food (presumably it's dried) and throw it all over the back garden. He'll have to use his nose to find it.

Dogs should sleep for around 16 hrs a day, so you need to find somewhere he can settle. I know you said he was crated, but it might be where he feels safe, could you put a crate in the house, put some of his bedding in it, cover 3 sides with a blanket, but leave the door open, he can then come and go as he pleases. He might not feel safe and unable to settle

I think you need to teach settle rather than stimulate him more at home. Many dogs, especially anxious ones, struggle with this but it is a key skill to teach them. As others have said, dogs should sleep for around 16 hours per day and this in itself will help calm a dog.

If he is a fastidious chewer (I have one too though thankfully knows to only chew what is his) I really recommend buffalo horns or antlers even my dog takes bloody ages to get through them

We had a JRT. If we did not physically exhaust him every day, he would destroy the garden.

Thank you all for the advice.
For those who advice rest and calm, that’s exactly what I had expected the advice to be and what we have been doing up until now but he is still very anxious even with a calming routine and quiet house.
I think her advice is based on the fact that even a small change in the routine such as someone coming back home, simple noises say from the neighbours or someone walking by or all 4 of us at home at the weekends will unsettle him and he will become even more destructive and chew up whatever he can get hold of (cushions, throws, shoes etc), so if we kept him distracted and occupied with mental activities he will wear himself out and eventually rest?
He will only sleep during the day if one of us sits with him, in the lounge and he can rest on or beside us.

We were also advised to do sniffy walks so are trying that too.

Due to his crate history we do have a crate in a quiet area of the kitchen (it’s is covered too), he can go in whenever he wants to but he chooses to sit on top of it. We have been advised to leave the door open at all times so he can chose to come and go in and get used to it.
He also has a mattress type bed which he was sleeping on during the day (he sleeps on it at night) but will now try to tear it up so we often have to hide it away during daytime.
I am at home the majority of the day with him and we have very calm, quiet days but he is still restless. I imagine it’s a matter of time and perseverance and we will eventually get him to a much calmer place.

Girliefriendlikespuppies oh bless him, what a cutie. This is our little terror, I am really not sure he has Jack Russell in him though but that’s what the rescue said lol!

Flirt pole and spring pole.

Seriously god sends for terriers.

Cutie. My last dog was a JRT collie cross rescue. An interesting mix! Not as high energy as you would imagine but very alert and anxious.
She wasn't destructive but she was very easily startled and would hide. More confident when you were around and would relax if you were also quite still - she was a good working at home companion - but I never really got her to do more than temporarily unwind. As soon as she spooked we were back to square one. Highly strung and very damaged by her first owner.

Umm you dont want to be distracting him from things that make him anxious but making him able to cope with them. So when he hears a noise that makes him kick off he learns to go to his bed and he gets a calm treat. Not I hear a scary noise I will run around and increase my adrenalin and be frantic until I burst.

In my head I think of it as kids at a soft play centre, they run around like mad, drink e numbers and should be tired and quiet. However in reality they are as high as a kite and more than likely have major outbursts and tantrums.

if however you have a highly strung child you cuddle next to you and read a story you will have a calm sleepy relaxed child.

Check it over with your behaviourist on their next visit to clarify a few points (I am assuming they are qualified and not just a self appointed behaviourist?)

He looks incredibly similar to a dog I walk who had the same start in life - he's an Irish terrier/yorkie mix.

If you are at home to supervise how about an antler chew, they are very hard wearing and my terrier mix loves it. Could encourage him to relax by the chewing and staying in one place.
Sometimes kongs etc can frustrate and wind them up if they can smell food but not get it quick enough so makes them more anxious. Kibble placed out of sight but easily eaten might be better .

This might sound a bit woo woo but if you keep the lights dimmed with sleep music and gently rub in circles, almost like a mini massage the top of his back legs and his shoulder area, my dog loves this and her eyes go droopy. Although she doesn't need any encouragement to sleep she still gets the zoomies in the evenings sometimes.

Have you tried a valerian based calming powder for dogs? Check with vet first, these take a couple of weeks to work but I have read good independent reviews.

Meant to add keep some really tasty treats, beef or chicken (not liver might be too rich for tummy). and every time there is a noise or anything he is unsure of, click and treat. Once scary thing stops the treats go away.

Rather than a crate can you use a pen. He needs to learn to switch off, not be constantly stimulated

Have you seen your vet? Many vets and clinical behaviourists recommend medication for anxious dogs. Fluoxitine and the likes, can make a huge difference to anxiety in dogs.

I'm no behaviourist but it seems odd to suggest that he looks around for food to solve his destructiveness, it seems quite like reinforcing the foraging-and-never-settling-behaviour for me.

Foraging requires sniffing and sniffing has a calming influence on his brain and heart (e.g. it lowers his heart rate and triggers muscle relaxation). It releases dopamine which plays a role in reducing anxiety.

Studies also suggest it increases optimisim in dogs. Making it a doubly good activity for dogs that can get anxious (what is anxiety if not pessimism). This may be linked to dogs' preference for contrafreeloading, which is an active preference to work for food rather than be fed it for no effort. Many animals are like this and it is no surprise that the most well know animal that is not (i.e. that likes a free lunch) is cats

That's why it's often recommended for dogs like the OP's.

This is a really great Facebook group about enrichment:

www.facebook.com/groups/canineenrichment/?ref=share

Also Google 'free work by Sarah Fisher'. The idea is to set up a variety of enrichment ideas in a large space eg the garden (without the dog seeing) and then allowing them to explore at their own pace. For example a mixture of treats hidden inside cardboard or rolled up in a towel, paper to shred, a new toy, treats underneath plastic cups, a chew, a stool to climb on, lickimats, etc etc all together in one area. It's fascinating to watch them discover everything.