Hello

I was just wondering for those of you who keep high energy high drive dogs as pets and not primarley working animals what job do you give ur dogs or what work do you give them to stay happy? as i understand any high drive well bred GSD should have SOME sort of a job to do or some type of work. CorrecT? exercise usualy doesnt seem to be enough because they are so smart and need mental stimulation. So just curious what most of you "pet" owners do. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

The best way to handle that is focus on obedience training, and to keep it up for the life of the dog. Obedience training along with enough physical activity is enought to keep a high drive dog from eating your house.

If you get a dog from working lines, you should really incorporate some level of protection work into the training. It will help keep the dog happy, even if it is just playing tug a few times a week. Teaching a very solid out, or recall, isn't a bad idea either. If you are lucky enought to end up with a dog who will naturally protect, it's nice to be able to tell him to stop when necessary. LOL

The problem solving that obedience takes will help with the mental side. His little pea brain will be nice and tired after you spend 15 minutes packing it with commands and tricks.

My GSD has to work for everything. Simple things like sit for a meal. Back up before I open his kennel gate. Wait for me to go throught the door first, etc. Even a simple game of fetch requires a platz/down before I throw it again. Everything is a learning GAME. He has absloutely no dominance problems but as VC stated, it keeps his little pea brain in gear. His play time is 90% working in drive with the ocasional 10% free pat on the head. In the house he's learned to relax but even that was a learned behaviour. He lays down quietly and he get free scratches on the ears.

oh yeah i was just wondering how consisant should we be with the making them wait before we go threw to doors ? sometimes i make my dog wait other times i forget and he rushes out ahead of me or if hes going to the bathroom he doesnt need me to go out with him so i will just let him out alone (without me going threw the door first)

Oh yeah and making him sit before i throw ball i do that also until hes so tired because after a while of throwing the ball he will just lay down and wait for me to throw it again then he will get up and run after it lol or sometimes we will get to the point where he will be to tired to chase the ball (usually in the summer hot days)

Steve, being consistent is what good dog training is all about. If not, you just confuse the dog. One time he has to do what you say, another time he doesn't. Given choices, the dog will do it the easiest way for him. Doesn't mean you have to be a drill seargeant. Just be consistant!

My dad's female is 1.5 years old, high drive and stays in the house as a pet. My mom runs a daycare and that's where 'Diamond' spends most of her time at. She's very gentle with the kids and babies and loves for them to throw the toys so she can fetch them. She was purchased with intentions on house protection and schutzhund but my dad never took the time to train her and I invited him hundreds of times to come train with my buddies and myself and he never did. She will bite the sleeve but spits it out as soon as you give it to her, she barks when she hears something outside or someone is at the door and she is well behaved in the house. I just recently started letting her sleep outside of her kennel and their have been no problems.

Steve,my dog is a working dog, but in responce to your statement about the dog going out the door to go 'take care of business' without you....I make my dog sit before I open the door, always, but when going out alone,( my yard has a 6 foot fence with padlocked gates) I make her look at me for about 10-15 seconds (with the 'watch me' command) before I let her go out the door. I actually do this even when I go out the door first. You might try this. I also believe that 'nothing in life is free' for me and my dog. She has to earn pretty much most things. She even does the sit & watch me before she gets her food & even after that she has to wait until I give her a 'free' release command to get up & eat her food. Just food for thought.

Hi Steve! My almost 10 month old Malinois pup is kept satisfied and happy with plenty of exercise and lots of obedience work and scent training games. We "formally" work at obedience on walks each evening, but beyond that: he has to wait for me to pass through doorways and then comes out to the heel position, when called (this is REAL handy when going out of a motel room - avoids scaring other guests with the sudden appearance of the dog); can't get out of the truck until he is given a "free" command (very handy when putting groceries in the truck); in short, he works for about everything he does! We are playing with scent games right now and he LOVES this! We play inside and outside - all depends on the weather and time of day. Basically, I just show him something (a piece of food usually, but I use different items as well) and then place the dog in an area where he cannot see where I hide the object. He is then released with the command to "find it". Has a really good nose and usually doesn't take long at all and he has located the search item. To be honest, he would probably play this game all day without getting tired of it! While out walking in the woods, I've hidden a number of personal items (my keys, a hat, a glove, etc) by throwing them out in the grass or bushes and then called him in to "find it" and then started "searching" the ground in the general area myself. Without fail, he has located the "lost" item for me and is soooooooooo proud of himself when he does! Guess it just boils down to giving them something to do - being fun for both parties is a major plus! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I hook mine up to a wagon, sit and drive. I do about 4.5 miles at about 6 to 10 mph. They are very keen and I am in an urban setting. If you have full control and a little horse driving background, this is the way to go. I go out every other day. Have been doing this for 12 years, am on my sixth driving rottie. Right now, am running two dogs at a time. Susan