Don't be blaming Turbo's lack of inches

Connie, LOL @ them dragging you on a walk. You mean that's not how walks are supposed to be

Personally, I would LOVE to get an Alaskan Husky from a racing kennel once it's retired or decided it won't be on the team (sometimes they adopt out those dogs). And I looked into getting a Mal, b/c the energy level is really inviting for me.

I would love a super-high energy dog. Luc can run huge distances but he's just as happy to sit at home on his little nest of car blankets and fleece coats from winter backpacking trips I haven't put away yet (maybe I need to adopt a dog who tidies!!! HA!). Neb is pretty go go go though, being Husky and Terrier.

 Quote: Jennifer Lee

Yote is the opposite and is go go go, then let's go some more!!
He requires several miles a day plus fetch plus soccer plus some kind of training to keep his mind busy. If he doesn't get enough outlet for his energy he either paces like a caged lion or starts shredding paper/getting into things etc.

Another good example.

I'd bet a dollar that Yote could probably take 3x the exercise and laugh in it's face.

Does that mean you should find more time and do more than you are?

Or is it acceptable for you, as the leader of the pack, to say that you've done enough for the day?

Personally, I'd say that you fulfilled your obligation to your high energy dog, and it is O.K. to have some time to yourself. He's lucky to have a high energy owner.

But I'm curious what other's think.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

If you had a dog whose needs were not being met, you'd know it. It would come out somewhere, in some unwanted behavior.

Exactly.
I know precisely when he is not getting enough, it is when the shredding really kicks in.

I think mental stimulation is another aspect of it that can make a huge difference in a dogs energy level. A short burst of marker training, either the basics or learning a new trick, goes a long way towards settling him down.

Edited by Jennifer Lee (06/04/2009 12:49 PM)
Edit reason: Can't type today

I do think it's okay to say 'enough'.

Neb's (physical) exercise is currently limited by me building up his running as he has become old enough to do so. He also gets walks. We do stuff like tugging and prey work but I don't really see that as 'exercise'.

But it depends. Right now I'm off running for a few weeks and that's just what the dogs have to live with.

 Quote: Jennifer Mullen

But it depends. Right now I'm off running for a few weeks and that's just what the dogs have to live with.

Perfect!!! Even better example.

Jennifer Mullen, who is a running machine:laugh:, has dogs that hang with her training for freakin' marathons.

They can handle insane endurance exercise, but at the moment you are off running, and while they are still getting huge amounts of exercise, what they are capable of is not being met.

Are they going to act like knuckleheads, or is it O.K. for you, as the pack leader to ask for good behavior and self control even though you know that their full energy potential isn't being used up?

I'd say it is reasonable to expect good behavior out of them since you are still giving them an outlet. Maybe not as much as they are fully capable of, but it is still a damn good outlet.

I have to say enough or I would be doing nothing all day but walking around town with him.

 Quote: jennifer lee

I have to say enough or I would be doing nothing all day but walking around town with him.

Me too.

There are some dog's that could still tear crap up after a day with the most active person.

Does that mean you don't exercise them enough, or is it time to practice some leadership?

Thats what I wonder when I see a "Am I giving enough exercise?" thread. Believe me, this isn't judgment on anyone. A quick search would probably turn up 2 or 3 threads that I started wondering the same thing.

I really started wondering this during a thread sometime last year where a poster went off on a JRT owner and gave examples of ALLLLL the wonderful things they HAD to do with their dog to entertain it. Nobody said anything, and I was thinking the whole time that this dog, that they have SUCH a handle on, is dictating the days events. In my mind the "good" owner that was doing so much for their dog had way more of a brat than the poster they were responding to that needed to give more exercise.

 Quote: Michael_Wise

Are they going to act like knuckleheads, or is it O.K. for you, as the pack leader to ask for good behavior and self control even though you know that their full energy potential isn't being used up?

I'd say it is reasonable to expect good behavior out of them since you are still giving them an outlet. Maybe not as much as they are fully capable of, but it is still a damn good outlet.

Luc's coming with me and running an 80k trail up north in 2 weekends! Which will be the first time I run again.

Luc: will not act like a knucklehead. Luc will revert to his couch potato state happily.

Teagan: doesn't get to run much lately due to combination of hip dysplasia and arthritis in her back knees. She's pretty happy with the walking and obedience work we've been doing, plus the games in the house (which are probably bad dog owner games). She would like to run though.

Neb: will work on not being a knucklehead.

But absolutely - they still have to behave, even if it's a period where we're not at the same level of exercise. The bottom line is, they have to behave themselves with me and with each other.

But we're talking short periods of time. I would never get a high-energy dog and expect it to do okay with that as its LIFE. I really do think people need to meet their dog's needs, even if it means changing their lifestyle.

....plus, and I'm biased, but it's a great opportunity for less-active people who aren't phsyically disabled to get out there and start being active! Start hiking! Start a run/walk program if that's where you are! But get out, it's good for you (and your joints!) AND it's good for your dog AND your relationship with your dog.

And remember, if you get your dog into good enough shape, it can just mean their energy level can handle even MORE exercise! Create monsters

 Quote: michael_wise

... There are some dog's that could still tear crap up after a day with the most active person. ... Does that mean you don't exercise them enough, or is it time to practice some leadership?

I see what you're saying. However, when there really is trouble, when the dog is being self- or environmentally-destructive, and we ask about structured exercise, 90% or more of the time (it seems to me), the answer is completely unacceptable.

I know that logic is not direct, but it kind of tells me that I, as someone who works with others' dogs, have to think/be concerned about the frustrated-energy dog a heck of a lot more than the "over-scheduled" dog. I also have to say that while I have read those posts, I have never met such a dog. Maybe it's a phase that the owner goes through; I don't know. It has never reared its ugly head to me in any family, and the opposite sure has.

 Quote: michael_wise

 Quote: jennifer lee

I have to say enough or I would be doing nothing all day but walking around town with him.

Me too.

There are some dog's that could still tear crap up after a day with the most active person.

Does that mean you don't exercise them enough, or is it time to practice some leadership?

Thats what I wonder when I see a "Am I giving enough exercise?" thread. Believe me, this isn't judgment on anyone. A quick search would probably turn up 2 or 3 threads that I started wondering the same thing.

This is something I struggle with at times.

knowing that I chose a high energy, "difficult" breed even after doing the research and really thinking long and hard about it, I have to make sure that I strike the right balance between his needs and mine.

I think that once you make an effort to get them enough exercise then it is time to be a leader and set the rules.

Its a lot like kids, if you let them they would run amok! But as the leader you make sure the get enough positive outlet for their energy and after that they need to learn to settle down.