Urban Borders Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 Since it's now dark when I leave for work and nearly dark when I get home, I'm again faced with the dilemma of how to keep the pup mentally occupied and physically sound during the winter. When she was a youngster, we did alot of jogging...but that was in a well-lit city, and she can no longer run on macadam anyways due to orthopedic issues. Last winter, we just stayed inside and played games/learned tricks...which kept her pretty mentally sated, but she lost alot of her conditioning. Besides, I wasn't on rotations then, and she was only confined to the house during the snowstorms of January thru March; this year, I have no way to let her out to play at lunch (so she spends her days in an outdoor kennel run). So I'm looking for insight into alternatives for outdoor or indoor exercise. I'd love to invest in some outdoor lighting...we have an agility field up on the hill, which would require either the inventive use of extension cords or solar-powered lights. But if anyone has used floodlights, lanterns, headlamps, glow-in-the-dark toys etc. to facilitate doggie exercise, it would be great to learn from others' experiences. As to indoor exercise alternatives...has anyone used a treadmill? If so, was it successful/what kind of machine did you use? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rufftie Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 i would find an agility or obedience/rally class to take. then just practice the "smaller" skills in your home. there is an article this month in dog sport magazine about treadmills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 I use a variety of glow in the dark toys -- frisbees and balls -- and they work quite well. I also have a bit of lighting from my porch onto my backyard which is helpful. Quinn's play doesn't stop because of dark, but I know I don't find it as much fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSnappy Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 A headlamp and a light up ball works for us. My dogs get less exercise in the winter no matter how hard I try. Instead of snow here we get freezing cold rain, so it's dark, it's cold, it raining sideways and I am going to have to towel down 6 dogs and wipe off 24 paws when I get back, a thought which never fails to totally demotivate me. And all this after an 11 hour day (including commute) and out in the sticks where there are no streetlights. And most of the 10 acres I live on is overgrown and muddy in the winter. So we play ball up and down the dead end road (with the light up ball, which occasionally ends up in the ditch and costs me another $12.00) until I can't take it anymore and I make everyone come back inside. This year I am thinking of installing floodlights on the riding paddock so we can at least play ball or practice agility sometimes. I hate winter. In the winter I really miss the city, where there were lighted parks we could walk to and the pipes didn't freeze. RDM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bn_here_b4 Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 We have floodlights on all the corners of our house so we can circle the house without getting in the darkest areas. I put Jody in a sit-stay then walk around the corner before I release him. He thinks iit is big fun to find me. On the weekends I try to gather up fallen sticks and other obstacles so I don't trip on them in the dark. I found little collar tags that had motion activated LED lights in them. They would have worked too except my dogs teamed up to remove them from each other. I guess they like being stealthy. RDM- When you say towel off six dogs it sounds do-able. Wiping 24 paws sounds almost insurmountable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbc1963 Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 I mainly walk my dog in the neighborhood in the winter - I just get home too late to get into the woods or trails, and it's too dark. For street walks, I LOVE the Puplight. It's 3 small LED bulbs, and the first one I bought lasted about 3 years, before I lost it. My second one is well into its third year. It takes 3 AAA batteries, and it's so bright that cars can see me 1/4 mile away - possibly farther. It lets me get out and about, at least. Mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journey Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 Treadmill, yep, I've used them in the summer when it's 100 degrees with 99% humidity! All my dogs know it, some love it others not so much. Depends on your dog but if you already have ortho issues I'd think twice about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 I have a glow-in-the-dark ball, which works okay for fetch in the dark. I use little Blinky lights on collars for dog walks in the dark in the pastures and hayfields (we call what we can see "The Demented Fireflies"). I think nothing beats a good walk for exercise but winter does make it more difficult to be motivated and get it done. RDM - What sort of light-up ball do you use? I've had one or two that blinked but sometimes stopped blinking before we found it. And our glow-in-the-dark that we have now is not at all as bright as the Buddy Glow Balls that we used to be able to buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mdaniels Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 We have motion sensored lights and we go out about 5:30 am for the first play, before I go to work. Doesn't seem to deter Bennie, he appears to either be able to see far in the dark and relies on the sound of the ball hitting and bouncing, I guess. We go out in rain as well. We are fortunate to have a barn on the property. Last winter, when I was having a hard time throwing and not losing the ball in the snow, we played in the bottom of the barn. Not as short of a distance, but we got some exercise in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 I just started using spot lits made by nite ize. They clip onto the dogs collar and they are pretty bright - almost looks they are wearing a flashlight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSnappy Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 RDM- When you say towel off six dogs it sounds do-able. Wiping 24 paws sounds almost insurmountable! Actually the paw wiping isn't so bad as they all know to stand and lift when I come near them with the towel. But the toweling down of bodies takes forever, and I still don't understand how they can hide so much moisture in their coats! I swear my hydro bill doubles in the winter just from dog towel laundry alone! RDM - What sort of light-up ball do you use? I've had one or two that blinked but sometimes stopped blinking before we found it. I can't remember the brand, but I think I kept the package somewhere so I could buy yet another one this winter, so I will look it up for you. It doesn't blink, it just changes colours, and it lights up as soon as it hits the ground (another reason we play on the road, as the bounce is hard enough to activate the light up mechanism) and it stays lit for a long time. The first time I ever played with it, Tweed got it first and came loping up the pitch black road with this blue/green/yellow/red orb in his mouth, which was apparently all that Dexter saw, as the disembodied floating orb coming at him scared the bejesus out of the poor pup. Once he figured out it was a ball though, he was fine I end up losing about 3 a winter in the watery ditch though, which always pisses me off, as they aren't cheap! RDM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urban Borders Posted October 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Cool, thanks for the suggestions, folks! We live in the sticks now too, so no lighting, but there's no reason I can't get her out for a walk up in the fields IF we have some means of illumination. Never thought of getting her a lighted collar, will definitely try that. My biggest worry (and I'm definitely a worrier) is that she's had so many orthopedic issues before (so treadmill probably IS a no then), and I don't want her putting a foot wrong racing after a toy in the dark. But if she has a light, I carry a light, and we get a glow-y frisbee, maybe we'll be alright. If not, I guess we can just do recalls around-and-around-and-around the field, until either she gets tired or I get dizzy. (And hey, at least I don't have 5 other dogs to wipe off--bless you--or sneaky dogs that steal collar lights...oh, the things they get up to :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Coyote Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 I have one dog I walk in a place that's so dark I can't even see the dog aat the end of the leash. So I wear a small headlamp. Sometimes I carry a flashlight. Cars coming up the hill can't see us and there isn't any sidewalk up where he lives. I think they actually have leashes that light up, too. I can't see Zeke after dark because he is so dark himsself. I'm looking for a reflective collar for him so I can at least tell where he is in the back yard. Tommy is mostly white and she glows in the dark. That is a really nice feature of a white dog. They are kind of luminescent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmsgyay Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Light up balls and frisbees are awesome. I think Chuck It makes a bunch of glowing balls that are super bouncy too. They just great and they fit into the Chuck it so if you have space and it's safe (fenced or no roads) you can launch it far in the dark too. Other than that, evening classes are great. Especially agility, stimulates mentally and burns off energy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Best toy ever! Saved my dogs from insanity while I was in vet school. Mine like the Disco ball that changes colors. BTW, it's hard to push the button to turn it on, but I use a ChuckIt handle to do that. (Fits well in a ChuckIt.) http://www.niteize.com/products/meteorlight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alchemist Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 I think the OP mentioned that their dog had had ortho issues, so an agility class may not be a good option. But even obedience classes will help wear out a dog mentally, so they're worth considering. I have a great exercise alternative not half a mile from my house: a heated indoor hydrotherapy pool for dogs. Can't be beat for those days post Snowmageddon, when there's a ton of slush everywhere, making for miserable/impossible hiking or even walks around the neighborhood. I can't afford to use it every day, but for those days when I know I really SHOULD give Duncan some exercise but it's cold and sleeting and slushy yucky outside... I'll pay $20 on an occasional basis to keep from getting pneumonia or slipping on ice and breaking my neck. And Duncan has a BLAST. (I took him there for his birthday this year). Hiring a dogwalker is another option. I have had a great person for when I'm out of town; he will collect Duncan at noon and return him at 6 PM (and he only charges $20 per day!). In the interim he takes him (along with several other dogs) on a long off-leash hike/swim. He's got more dog sense than most people I've met, and I've never seen him lose control of the dogs (I used to run into him a lot in the woods where we often hiked, so I had ample opportunities to check him out). Unfortunately they've just started to enforce leash laws in this area, so I don't know what that's going to do for the off-leash aspects of this venture. Other than that, I'm lucky, I can often juggle my schedule to make up in the evenings for work I didn't finish during the day because Duncan and I were off for a hike (or a lesson). Speaking of which... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urban Borders Posted October 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Haha, we DO do teh agility, don't worry. I'm just incredibly careful (er, paranoid) about her exercise/conditioning: no crazy chasing tennis balls into the ground, no jogging on macadam, etc. We were only just able to start competing this year, due to all psoas and then some CCL issues I had to get her past, but she is a good egg and loves to run more than anything...has 4 Qs towards her MAD, and is qualified for GP/has one Q towards STP for 2012 Nationals. Considering I'm in the middle of the torture that is 4th year vet school :-) and we get to attend class/trial once in a blue moon...well, as I said, she's a good egg. I just want to make darn certain she doesn't hurt herself doing something silly in the dark (and hopefully, after clinics end, I'll find a job with more control of my schedule). Also, in a way, that is one problem with living in the sticks as opposed to the city...no nearby indoor agility centers. Will look for an indoor pool though, that's a good idea too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Now that I'm off my phone and on a computer My list of lighted gear for outdoor exercise - Night dawg collar, nite ize spot lit, ruff wear reflective vest for the dogs - they're lit up like a Christmas tree Petzl head lamp for me. With orthopedic issues, I'd be a bit hesitant to play ball outside after dark. An alternative might be to hide toys out in a field and let her hunt for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 I hear that a smallish stock tank makes a reasonable pool to swim a dog for therapy. I've got a friend who has a 1o yr old bc mix w/pretty bad hips. My friend was stumped as to how to exercise/stimulate/entertain her without Rosie being able to run. I suggested scattering her kibble in the yard rather than bowl feeding. Rosie loves it, and won't eat out of her bowl at all anymore. She goes to the back door when it's meal time. Can she pull a light wagon? Some dogs really love that. Good luck! Ruth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SecretBC Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 I have two porch lights in the back that I turn on -- But that's mostly so I can see. The dogs are quite talented at fetching in the dark, it's very rare that we lose anything out there! Winter in WI stops us from a lot. When it's too cold or icy to play outside I have a Theraball (peanut) in my basement. That along with several laps up and down the stairs seems to satiate them for an evening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manasquan_jim Posted October 23, 2011 Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 Fortunately, I have a park a couple blocks away. It can be pitch black and I cant see a thing, but everytime I throw the frisbee he comes back with it. He also loves the cold and will stay out forever. I wear insulated pants, Sorel boots, full face and headwear, whatever, so I wont be so miserable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arf2184 Posted October 23, 2011 Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 Meg is a wimp when it comes to cold and dark. She loves to frolic in the snow (deeper is better), but only for short periods of time then she starts shivering and wants to go back inside. In the dark, she turns into a scaredy-dog, hides behind me and growls at all objects/people that are not immediately identifiable (including cars, potted plants, mailboxes, the neighbor kid, etc). So in the dark winter we typically stay home and play in the yard. She has a glow in the dark Frisbee we play with (I stand in the porch light and toss it into the dark abyss of the yard) and we play indoor games. We take agility once a week when offered, but our classes are in a barn and not held during the coldest part of winter. Meg also goes to day camp (with a few thousand square feet of rubber matted indoor play area and constant access to the outdoor yard too) once or twice a week throughout the winter to keep us both sane. Last winter she still got fatter and lost some of her muscle tone. Didn't take long for her to lose the extra pounds come spring though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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