Ideas for keeping dogs stimulated indoors

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I need some ideas...

What do you do with your dogs indoors to keep them stimulated?

Giant, very intelligent breed. Gets 2+ hour walks every day but needs more stimulation at home. We have various puzzle toys/chews/bones/treat balls etc. but need some new ideas. I'm at home all day and available (except school run times) so open to any and all suggestions!

You need to work on calm and focus around the door by the sounds of it - not stimulating him around the house.

Have a look at the concept of “capture the calm”.

I say it again with different wording. Whatever routine/ exercises you do pre walk will not make him calm on a walk.

All you do is telling him let's do XYZ and we'll be out of the front door. That's massive excitement building!

As suggested, learn to be calm around the front door, keep your own anxiety in check.

Maybe even try and do the whole lead & collar on, keys in pocket open front door, walk a few steps.... and at whatever point he gets anxious stop! In the house you sit down relax. At the door or outside turn round and sit down & relax. If you have loads of time, that's good good approach for teaching him that a high anxiety/ excitement stage gets him exactly nowhere.

My dogs get lead & collar on, sit in their spot and watch me put shoes & coat on. I can even walk out of the front door and open the car without them moving. This took about 3-4 months of consistent training to perfection. Just to give you a time frame.

I think if you want to train your dog to focus on you & doing exercises beside you, join an obedience class.

Agility and giant breed don't go together. You need something swift and nimble for that.

Ok, I think I need to stick to breed specific advice because there's a lot of misconceptions here, which I know I haven't helped with by not specifying the breed.

Agility is recommended for this breed. They are very successful with it.

Getting out of the door isn't a problem. We've done a lot of work on that already. Tail wagging - he's happy to go out but not overstimulated at that point. He will sit on the step while we put collar and lead on. Wait until we say before going out the first door. Then we go out the porch door first and he will wait until he's told he can come out. He can easily wait while we take bins out/put stuff in the car etc. before we tell him he can come.

Our vizsla mix had an elbow operation a few years ago and wasn't supposed to walk far, run or jump for the few months after it... Cue in chaos and destruction. So I've taught him scent detection. It's easy to teach at home and he was totally wiped out after each training session (20 minutes!). He still loves it, and I've recently started to train with the puppy (who's no longer a puppy at 2, but still the baby of the pair).

If things are OK in the home pre walk, then you need to address the behaviour on the walk when it occurs.

You can't prepare your dog for the walk. Their comprehension doesn't reach that far. I think simple obedience exercises taught in a training class and then used on the walk are your best bet.

Breed specific advice/ training is tapping into your dogs nattural behaviour. Obidience exercises can, depending on breed, work like a dream or be more difficult to train.

I'm on my 3rd competituon agility dog, and I can honestly say that I have not seen any successful giant St Bernard type dogs that are doing very well with it. They are too heavy set to cope with the jumping & turning without having an impact on their long-term health.

Maybe your dog isn't a giant but a large breed dog. Plenty of them around that are well suited to the sport.

Have seen the Southend dog trainer say about using a flirt pole to get energy out before you go out. Then let them calm for a bit, then take them out. I’m going to try this with my rescue that is very hyper vigilant when we first go out. Not sure it’s quite what you are looking for

Do some ‘tricks’ . Ie. Sit/stand/ middle (between your legs), sitting and stay etc.

Also, if he pulls as you leave, then turnaround, return to the house, and start again. Only when he stops pulling, do you proceed. Keep repeating this. You may not get further than ten yards in half an hour, but he needs to learn that pulling doesn’t get anywhere, and only when he is walking nicely will you proceed.

I was taught this for my dog who finds the park overstimulating. For the hour’s lesson, we went backwards and forwards, along a path that was only a few metres long into the park.

(where’ the puppy tax photo?)

Hey @blinkblinkblinkblink

I have a cocker spaniel with an insane amount fo brain power. She is also crap on walks due to previous owners (who are lovely) not really understanding the breed and what they need.

Brain toys are brilliant. The ones with flaps to hide treats under. Snuffle mats again are good) guessing from you saying puzzles you have this already though.

We have an agility set in the garden andndonwork with the control. But things like a ball pool and hiding treats or favourite toys works well as enrichment.

However, we have a local dog centre that offers swimming, enrichment rooms and something akin to a soft play for dogs. Is there spending similar local to you maybe that would help?

Youbdya he is walked 2+ hours a day but gets over stimulated from them, what sort of walks do you do? Are they all the same or do you vary the type ie woodland. Fields. Streets?

I’d suggest playing some games and wearing him out a bit before you take him out.

Puzzle games and playing for 15mins before he’s taken out on the walk. Don’t forget also licky mat or kong too just before as that helps calm their mind.

Have you tried the adaptil spray - you spray it in to a scarf and tie around his neck as soon as you go out.

These are all things that helped with my large breed - recommended by a behaviourist.

2yrs of age is still very young and hopefully he’ll begin to calm. I think you’re doing so well considering he wasn’t even trained or taken out for the first 8months of his life - he’s lucky to have you.

I really wouldn’t advise boosting an over-stimulated dog up with food and more energy before a walk.

OP I've got a working line crossbreed who's like yours by the sounds of it - a joy in the house but a PITA once out. As a gundog, @brushingboots gives the best advice for him - engagement is everything. But from what you're saying there are other possibilities: e.g. pattern games as others have said (e.g. sit, touch, down as a pattern he recognises); add in things like stand, paws up on a low surface, heel, close, spin and you have the beginnings of agility too. And you're getting focus on you before you get to the bottom of the drive. Start in the house, and once he's got the hang of it, do it on the drive too. Also think about teaching the dog to look at your face before getting treatos, then doing it without any lure or cue, then doing it on the move. All brainwork so teaching it will give you the enrichment you're looking for and it will translate to your walks eventually. Best of luck!

Have a look at the "Do More With Your Dog" program. It's an American trick training thing. I found a UK trainer who was teaching for it and she had an American trainer willing to do assessments via video. If you're not bothered about certificates and medals then you can just work on the different ideas yourself.

DO MORE WITH YOUR DOG

We were doing one obedience class a week and one trick class. My dog loved it and learnt some really fun stuff.

There are also some dog enrichment groups on Facebook which may be worth following.