Winter Time Blues!

BarbV said:
The pups are driving me nuts!

I know they are craving walks, but by the time I get home from work and get organized, it's dark outside and cold. Plus the slush and salt on the street is not good for them either.

So they constantly ask to go in and out, in an out all evening long. They chase each around, then get bored and want back in again. I try to play with them but that's not what they want.

How do you all deal with winter?
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Winter is no doubt the worst time for pups. Abby has sooooo much energy and is still on restricted activities due to her iliopsoas. It is so hard to get a good night sleep with a puppy that is just not tired. Cry, cry, cry all day long... what can you do???. No running, no jumping, no tug-o-war, doesn't want to go for a ride. Oh, well, we just make the best of what we have.
 
Every time there's a warm spell, we head for the local nature conservancy. This weekend we spent an hour there. Yesterday they had four different walks in the neighborhood, plus front yard time. I admit, it is a luxury to have a dog door and a big fenced area, plus woods and meadow for the Shelties. Still, they want their humans to come play, too. Evenings we do toy time -- ball, catch and tug. We don;t do anything for brain sharpening because we're afraid that if they get any smarter, they'll take over the checkbook! :lol:
 
We just force ourselves to put on our gear and head out. NNights when we cant are rougher on us due to the puppies acting out heheh.. at least we get excersize too!
 
quote #5 Jan 18, 2010, 04:35 PM
danisgoat
Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Hunterdon County, NJ
Posts: 804



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The basics of shaping are using the "good" command when they are almost there followed by a "yes" when they complete what you want them to do.

I am pretty sure you can find some training tips for shaping on the internet.

For us it pretty much goes...good good good and you go faster when they are closer to what you want them to do and slower when they are farther and don't say anything when they are not where you want them to be. It is fun. They go nuts when they figure it out and you say "yes." My hubby goes really nuts
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I gotta try this on my husband and kids....for once I like to see them go nuts.
 
Our winters pretty much suck too...even though we don't get much for snow..we get lots of rain.
Fortunatley my girls are active... so they do alot of running around and Mya gladly joins them. Becuase Mya has such a piercing bark that I find a stuffy some sort and stuff that thing in her mouth.
So....there goes my girls...here comes Mya...barking with stuffy in her mouth. It works wonders.
 
We spend a lot of time at Splash 'n Dash during the winter. I try very hard to make it to Friday Night Run Thrus as well as my normal class.

When we can't go to Splash 'n Dash I have a little space in the lowest level of my house to set up some agility equipment - jumps, a few weaves, and my child's play tunnel. We just cut down some 3/4" PVC to make the jumps Teacup Width (30" wide instead of 40" wide) so I can fit a pair of jumps in easier.

I can also break down the small circuit and work on detail things like weave entries and sends (to a point since I don't have a lot of room). Its both physical and mental work for him and he's usually a bit tired after 10 minutes.

Finally, we are trying to improve our contacts by going back to a flat board to work on his understanding of 2o2o. He's starting to offer the 2o2o freely now so I need to start making it more difficult... like standing further back, adding waits, and the command word.
 
What are some good mind games for a 15 week old puppy? I did put a treat under a plastic food container and he found it in a jiffy. I do hide and seek but since he does not understand stay yet, I just go hide when he leaves the room and then has to "find" me. I used to play hide and seek with Maggie and Katie all the time it really is fun.
 
Sumac3890 said:
What are some good mind games for a 15 week old puppy? I did put a treat under a plastic food container and he found it in a jiffy. I do hide and seek but since he does not understand stay yet, I just go hide when he leaves the room and then has to "find" me. I used to play hide and seek with Maggie and Katie all the time it really is fun.
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I played a game with my Cocker Spaniel when I was a kid: Find-and-Fetch. I'd hide a piece of Milk Bone while she was out of the room, and she had to find it. I started by hiding it where she could see it, then made it harder and harder. Eventually she could find any object hidden while she was out of the room (she used to sneak around the corner and peek). I haven't tried it with my Shelties, but now that you've reminded me, I will!
 
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