My GSD has been trained in advanced obedience and is well-mannered. Last year I have had a baby, now pregnant with my second. Any suggestions in helping him feel more fulfilled?

Question

Hi,

    I have a 4-year-old GSD who I adopted 2 years ago. He has been trained in advanced obedience, and is well-mannered when I am present. In the last year I have had a baby, and am now pregnant with my second. I admit I haven't been able to take him all over the place like I used to, and now he mainly goes on jogs and walks, and gets to play fetch 2-4 times a day. It never seems like it is enough though. He always seems deprived, and in the house he will spend a half hour whining off and on out of boredom and chewing on himself (even though he has kongs and other toys to chew on)...he does eventually go to sleep. I work with his obedience every other day during my daughter's nap and play with him a lot. He never seems satisfied enough though. He has recently started chasing up and down the fence and barking at people, dogs, cats (that aren't mine), squirrels, and trucks. He never used to do this before I had my child (when I had more time to spend with him and take him places). He only does it when I am not there or I am in the house. If I am outside with him he will ignore everything and put his attention solely on me. I can leave him in the house unattended and he is fine, not destructive or anything. If I hear him barking outside, I will go out there and call him and he will come away from whatever he was barking at every time. It seems to me that the barking and chasing is because he is bored. Also, he has a demanding side of him, and if I go outside and just sit in my chair, he will pace and whine and get frustrated that I am not playing ball with him. I simply ignore him, and he will eventually go scout the yard for things to chase, or run around and stare at me to try and get my attention. Why can't he just relax when I am relaxing and deal with it? Even when I do play with him for a while, and then go sit down, he still gets anxious and paces because I am not playing with him. Why does he do this? If I tell him to go lay down he will, but he always seems so put out about it...kind of annoying. Any suggestions for the nuisance behavior and for helping him feel more fulfilled? I feel like I do quite a bit for him, but it never seems like it is enough for some reason.

    Thank you!

    ~ Kellie

Accepted Answer

It sounds to me like your dog is not getting enough mental or physical exercise. Dogs like this can become neurotic is they are not getting their needs met and it's our responsibility to provide a safe and healthy outlet for them.

I know how busy it gets being a mom, but you have to make the time for exercising the dog's body. A tired dog is a good dog. I have found that using the Chuck It for my very high energy dogs will tire them out much more quickly than just a walk or throwing a ball by hand. I can throw it much farther with the Chuck It.

I would also stimulate his mind in new ways. Marker training is a great way to work with your dog, and it doesn't require fancy equipment or a lot of room. Giving the dog a task or trick to learn challenges him, and mental exercise is a great way to tire out a dog as well. Read the article titled Training With Markers.

I highly recommend our DVD The Power of Training with Markers. You can teach your dog to do tricks and interact with you in a healthy way, instead of whining and pacing. This dvd goes over the foundation to marker training and explains the concept behind it. We also carry a couple of books that are great, Getting Started: Clicker Training for Dogs and The Everything Dog Training and Tricks Book.

For the barking outside, I would recommend a no bark collar. You can find information on No Bark Collars on the web site. I use them in the kennel every day.

Cindy