Boredom on Walks

[dallasbc]

I've found my 4 month old puppy will get bored on walks sometimes and start looking for rocks to chew/eat. I'd love to be able to take him on walks and not worry about this. Any tips for keeping him engaged on walks or maybe getting rid of his fixation on rocks? We try doing new walks but I can't always get us to a new location.

[Sue R]

I don't have an issue like this but what about giving him a toy to carry? Rocks are not something I'd want either!

[dallasbc]

I have kind of tried that... I'm not quite sure how I taught him this, but when I give him his purple rope toy to carry, he interprets that as, "It's time to go home" and immediately heads home in a brisk pace. His persistent attitude kind of makes me laugh. I'll try giving him one of his other toys when we head out and see if he'll just focus on that. Thanks!

[urge to herd]

Carrying a toy is good. You can also interact w/him more. At 4 months, I'm sure his repertoire of cues & tricks is limited, but give it a try. Stop, ask him for a sit. Reinforce. Teach him stays ~ very brief, of course. Offering a paw would be easy to do on a walk.

 

If you can stop him before he gets the rock in his month and ask for another behavior, he might stop focusing on rocks so much.

 

Good luck!

 

Ruth & Gibbs

[D'Elle]

My policy with a new dog of any age, including a puppy, is that the first part of the walk is for training. Leash manners, stop when I say, "leave it", sit, and so on.

 

It sounds as though it is time to teach your puppy the leave it command, which you are going to need anyway.

 

Start in the house teaching leave it, though, Fewer distractions.

 

If you take the first half of the walk to do training, and the second part just to let the dog be free (but mannerly on leash) your dog won't get bored.

 

Although I am really questioning if your puppy is actually bored. Sometimes we ascribe emotions or motivations to our dogs that are not necessarily accurate. I can't imagine a puppy actually being bored on a walk.

 

Maybe he just likes rocks, in which case it would be a good idea to train him out of that asap, of course.

[Gloria Atwater]

I really like D'Elle's plan!

[Sue R]

Me, too!

[dallasbc]

Thanks for the help y'all!

 

 

Although I am really questioning if your puppy is actually bored. Sometimes we ascribe emotions or motivations to our dogs that are not necessarily accurate. I can't imagine a puppy actually being bored on a walk.

 

Maybe he just likes rocks, in which case it would be a good idea to train him out of that asap, of course.

 

At first I thought he just really liked rocks as well, but I've noticed he only does it when we walk a path we've done a few times. He never does it when we go on a new walk or on a path we haven't done in a while.

 

I've been trying to teach him leave it in the house by dropping a treat and saying leave it. He does wonderfully when I do that. Maybe I should get some rocks and practice that in the house? Then he'd learn to associate it with rocks as well as food that I drop. I need to practice it outside as well as I know a new environment can make things harder when training. I love that idea of doing training the first half of the walk and then letting him do his thing the second half. That sounds great! Thanks, D'Elle!

 

 

Carrying a toy is good. You can also interact w/him more. At 4 months, I'm sure his repertoire of cues & tricks is limited, but give it a try. Stop, ask him for a sit. Reinforce. Teach him stays ~ very brief, of course. Offering a paw would be easy to do on a walk.

 

If you can stop him before he gets the rock in his month and ask for another behavior, he might stop focusing on rocks so much.

 

Thanks for that suggestion Ruth! I think I can totally combine your suggestion with D'Elle's. I always have Dallas sit at intersections and wait until I say we can cross, but I think the intersections are too far between to keep him excited. Plus it'd be great to practice stays especially and his other tricks!

[ramp]

I agree and I always bring treats for the puppy.

[highway61]

I agree and I always bring treats for the puppy.

 

Also good for reactive dogs when on walks. It's unfortunate but my suburban BC has the self control of a grease fire! Leaving my house with dog in tow without a full pocket of training treats is just not an option.

[GentleLake]

... my suburban BC has the self control of a grease fire!

 

That line had me in hysterics. I'm going to steal it.

 

Sadly it's an apt description of my lurcher (probably border collie mix), especially if there are other dogs around.

[highway61]

That line had me in hysterics. I'm going to steal it.

 

I stole it from Bill Maher describing Trump's lack of focus

[ramp]

When one speaks of rocks, where I live the ancient glaciers dropped these huge boulders all over the woods. Some are over 10 to 15 feet tall. When Skye was a puppy I'd bring her to a rock, not always a big one, and encoruage her to climb up. Well she was young at the time and a little hesitant. She is 9 months old now and we have a list of rocks that she can scamper up in a second. She knows these by name, bunny rock, flat rock, boulder, big rock, little rock, agility rock, its fasinating the knowledge these bundles of love can understand. We walk in the woods and all I have to say is a rock name and she runs right up. Always a treat is ready. Walks with Skye are always an adventure.

[D'Elle]

I really never take any of my dogs for a walk without a pocket of treats. Even the old one, who needs no training, gets a treat now and then on the walks. The younger ones, also fully trained, get drilled on their recall, sit and stay, and so on, just a few times each walk, and always get a treat for doing it right. It is part of how I incorporate training into our every day life.