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Well Meg wants to be entertained either with the ball or stones. Seldom goes off and occupies herself.

Today , a rotten cold windy one, because i have a bad cough I'm unable to shake off I decided to just take her in the car for the spin when I went to the shop. On the way home I stopped at the little beach where usually I take Meg and throw stones for her.None of the throwing today so I let her out and said 'Go'; off she went on her own on the beach and had a fantastic time playing on her own, digging holes, going into the sea to drag out seaweed, chasing birds while keeping an eye that the car was still there. It was so great to watch her , tail up, big smile having a wonderful time. Meanwhile I was able to sit in the warm car...bliss. I hope this is not a one off because it will be so good in the Winter on bad days if she can excercise herself. We are home now and she is sitting with a plastic bottle in her mouth waiting for me to play. But no go she has done well today.

Do your dogs entertain themselves?

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Do your dogs entertain themselves?

 

That is exactly why we got 2 and they do entertain each other but they also get each other into a lot of mischief. The wife lost several rolls of Christmas wrapping paper the other day when she turned her back. One of my BCs started digging up acorns in the back yard to eat and that has since become her game with me. I fill in the hole and she digs it back out...and they keep getting bigger. It didn't take long for the other to follow suit. I'll never cease to be shocked by how quickly a couple dogs can make a huge mess. I sure like it better when they entertain themselves with a chew toy or by playing tug-o-war or chase.

 

 

 

One of my dogs always seems to earn the little devil costume for halloween. :rolleyes:

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Absolutely. Jin has a small green chuck-it ball and some other toys he throws around the house for himself. It's very cool he throws it across the room the fetches it for himself. I'm trying to teach hm to throw it to me. If he has more than one ball or toy he plays a sorting game with them. He also tries to get the cats to play by putting a ball in front of them. He also has a couple of other games he plays by himself.

 

A word of caution please: Don't throw rocks for your dog. I used to do that with my dog until Fuzzer caught one badly and broke a canine tooth. Since then no more rocks.

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"I'm trying to teach hm to throw it to me."

 

Daisy does this when we play indoors. I never taught it to her, she just sort of figured it out. Honestly, I'm constantly amazed by how many things she has learned on her own, which is good because I'm a mediocre at best trainer. :rolleyes:

 

She generally stinks at entertaining herself, though. I'm hoping that our upcoming move to suburbia will help. And if not, well at least we'll finally have space for more dogs!

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DR I really appreciate your words of warning about rocks but I never throw them for Meg to catch, usually I throw them into the seaweed and she just searches for them.

Maybe I entertain her too much in the house, so perhaps I will try to leave the toys and hope she gets to play by herself. Seems I probably made the mistake from offering to entertain her from the start.

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Well Meg wants to be entertained either with the ball or stones. Seldom goes off and occupies herself.

Today , a rotten cold windy one, because i have a bad cough I'm unable to shake off I decided to just take her in the car for the spin when I went to the shop. On the way home I stopped at the little beach where usually I take Meg and throw stones for her.None of the throwing today so I let her out and said 'Go'; off she went on her own on the beach and had a fantastic time playing on her own, digging holes, going into the sea to drag out seaweed, chasing birds while keeping an eye that the car was still there. It was so great to watch her , tail up, big smile having a wonderful time. Meanwhile I was able to sit in the warm car...bliss. I hope this is not a one off because it will be so good in the Winter on bad days if she can excercise herself. We are home now and she is sitting with a plastic bottle in her mouth waiting for me to play. But no go she has done well today.

Do your dogs entertain themselves?

 

Not really. They jut chill when I'm not doing anything with them. They have nylabones to chew on if they please. This is changing a bit with Kenzi as she's convinced Kipp that playing together is FUN. But other than that I don't encourage them to entertain them selves or let them loose outside on their own to do so as their idea of fun is often different than mine...

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Scooter's pretty good at entertaining himself inside. Outside, not so much. If I'm busy and don't want to play I just tell him "You play," and he goes to the basket full of toys by the fireplace, tips it over and picks out something to throw around or chew on.

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Chase loves any type of ball! He figured out a way to pounce and kick on the balls which actually causes them to launch into the air and then he goes and retrieves them. It's a very diliberate method, he does it the same way every time. He'll also make up little games where he nudges the balls down the stairs and then goes after them. He plays this game on the bank of the pond too. He knows he's not allowed in there, but he just happens to nudge the ball in and then looks at me like 'see mom, it's in there, have to get it now'.

He loves his Jolly Ball too. Runs around at top speed with it dangling from his mouth and then stops and shakes it. He's so endearing :rolleyes:

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Well Meg wants to be entertained either with the ball or stones. Seldom goes off and occupies herself.

Today , a rotten cold windy one, because i have a bad cough I'm unable to shake off I decided to just take her in the car for the spin when I went to the shop. On the way home I stopped at the little beach where usually I take Meg and throw stones for her.None of the throwing today so I let her out and said 'Go'; off she went on her own on the beach and had a fantastic time playing on her own, digging holes, going into the sea to drag out seaweed, chasing birds while keeping an eye that the car was still there. It was so great to watch her , tail up, big smile having a wonderful time. Meanwhile I was able to sit in the warm car...bliss. I hope this is not a one off because it will be so good in the Winter on bad days if she can excercise herself. We are home now and she is sitting with a plastic bottle in her mouth waiting for me to play. But no go she has done well today.

Do your dogs entertain themselves?

Not to sound rude, but I hate this kind of mind set. "Exercising herself" is nothing but laziness on the part of the owner. Particularly where BCs are concerned, there is almost no end to their physical stamina, and it's their mental energy that you need to exhaust. Sitting in a warm car, or on your coach, while your dog runs around digging holes and biting whitecaps does NOTHING to challenge her to grow mentally.

 

If you're not engaging her, then she's teaching herself, and that rarely turns out well. Get out of the car, and engage your dog. If you're too sick to do that, she's better off in a crate where she's not getting into who knows what and teaching herself who knows what sort of behavior.

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Havenjim I think your comment is very harsh. Perhaps I expressed myself badly and gave you the impression I never engaged with Meg. That is so untrue, , she is out with me either in the garden, walking or on the beach. i teach her the usual command to the best of my ability. She also goes to 'school' once a week for socialization and agility. She is my top priority and that is why I came here to get all the help I can with making life good for her and me.

I cannot see how keeping her in a crate, she is never in one by the way, is better than occasionally when the weather is bad or i am unwell allowing her entertain herself. What bad habits does she get by playing in the sea, pulling in seaweed etc? She was happy and in my opinion, and I am open to correction on this point, it gives her some independence while knowing I am there with her.

 

i knew BCs needed excercise and would not have got her if i was not prepared to ensure she got it.

It hurts to be considered lazy and uncaring about my much loved Dog maybe next time you feel criticism is called for you might put it in a more thoughtful manner.

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Not to sound rude, but I hate this kind of mind set. "Exercising herself" is nothing but laziness on the part of the owner.

Well, it does sound rude, and intellectually lazy. If you're going to ream the OP, take the time and energy to carefully read her posts to be sure it's deserved. The OP clearly states this is atypical for her and her dog, and from her other posts we know she's very involved with her dog.

 

Susan

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