Brad Higgs Webboard User Reg: 06-13-2010
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Loc: Western Australia
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Alot of people talk about dogs energy levels and how much work they need to keep them tired/quiet but are these things set or taught? Is it possible to raise a dogs energy levels by increasing their workouts or is this just going to keep them worn out all the time and unable/unwilling to do more? or vice versa can a high level dog ever be brought down to a more subdued energy level??? FYI i want to go the other way my dogs don't seem to want or able to do enough and during work they seem to tire to quickly or they may just be lazy when it comes to doing what I want???
ian bunbury Webboard User Reg: 01-19-2012
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Loc: whistler bc ca
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energy ?
do you mean each dogs' ( within a specific breed )inherent level of activity , agititation , reactivity threshold or are you referring to the variations in day to day levels of arousal / interest in their training ?
or are you asking about general fitness or specific fitness to a certain task ?
Anne Jones Webboard User Reg: 04-29-2004
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I think that you may be confusing energy level/drive with stanama.
If you do not address the dogs level of drive/energy with enough to satiafy that thru physical & mental work you wil have a dog that will fill those voids with mischeif & destructiion to fulfill them. Probably not what you want to have happen.
There are drives/ energy levels inherent in ceratin breeds & then it can varry from dog to dog.
You can increase stanama/endurance in a dog thru increased workouts..but I think depenmding on the breed & individual dog it will peak out at a certain level.
Not really sure how much you can decrease drive very much & still have a dog that is not going to resort to other meals of satisfying those needs. Some dog will also resort to OC behaviors (like tail chasing, self mutalation etc)to fill those voids.
Brad Higgs Webboard User Reg: 06-13-2010
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Loc: Western Australia
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Quote: Anne Jones
I think that you may be confusing energy level/drive with stanama.
You can increase stanama/endurance in a dog thru increased workouts..but I think depenmding on the breed & individual dog it will peak out at a certain level.
.
Thanks Anne, this is what I was trying to get at (found it kinda hard to explain in writing). I was trying to get at when people say they have a high energy dog does this just mean high drive or does the dog just have literally boundless energy for any endeavour? When I exercise my dogs it doesn't seem to matter how much for my boy he will still do whatever I ask of him if i have a ball, he CANNOT stop himself from chasing it but my girl if she does the same walk or run that's it for her she won't do anything like that and even after a couple hours rest her ob is very slow she'll do it but very slowly lagging on the heel and slow in all her actions. I thought more exercise might make her fitter but seems to have the opposite effect she seems more content to just lay around and it's hard to get her up for anything even getting her out of her crate. They'll be 3 in January so for now it's off to the vet for a checkup!
Anne Jones Webboard User Reg: 04-29-2004
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Loc: Northeast
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High drive dogs need a good amount of work to be satisfied. Their DESIIRE to work is great.
Building endurance/stanama is another thing entirely. It is the physical ABILITY to continue to work longer stretches of time without tiring.
The difficulty can be a dog with very high drive that does not have the stanama to support that desire to work. A high drive dog will continue to push itself becasue it is DRIVEN by that drive to work. But if it is not physically fit enonough to support that drive they can be easisy injured. It would be like someone that walks everyday a mile or 2 going from that to running a merithon. They do not have the fitness & will envariably be injured tying to push themselves to that extreme.
I would not push a tired dog. That is just asking for trouble.
Brad Higgs Webboard User Reg: 06-13-2010
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Loc: Western Australia
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Thanks Anne, i get it now. My girls pretty fit a 15km run is easy for her but like you said her drive to work is the problem, where my boy has tons of drive but is inherently lazy, he's happy to sit around and sleep all day until I pull a ball or tug out then he can't control himself but there's no way he's going to go run even 10kms.
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Energy Levels
#369432 - 11/19/2012 01:53 AM 
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