extra activities

[tyrelsamson]

Hi Folks,

 

I've been reading the forums for some time now and finally decided to post one of my own.

 

I have a 6.5 month old BC/Aussie Shep mix named Picea (pie-see-ah, latin for "spruce" my favorite tree species). Picea is great, she is very attentive, obedient and extremely social.

I work as an environmental technician and hike in the bush daily. At 6 months old I started bringing Picea along with me. So far she loves the exercise and stimulation she gets from being out in the woods all day but I would like to start looking in to some extra-curricular activities for the two of us on weekends (she is pretty pooped by the time we get home from work)

Seeing as she is already getting quite a bit of physical exercise from work, I am curious if any of you have any recommendations for some games or activities we could do that give her more mental stimulation. She's a brilliant little pup and I would like to exercise her brain more!

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Sue R]

Welcome!

 

All forms of training are mentally-challenging and stimulating. Basic commands and manners like sit, down, stay. Learning to let you handle her *all over*, administer fake liquid meds (water in a syringe) and fake solid meds (like a TicTac as a fake pill) and your vet will love you for this. Silly pet tricks like shake, crawl, being embarrassed (paw over eyes). Hide-and-seek games - you hide the treat and she finds it (working up from very simple to more challenging). Teaching her a "leave it" command (very useful for many situations and especially when she spies a deer taking off in the woods).

 

I would ask how much hiking you do with her on a daily basis. At her age, her bones are still growing and the growth plates are not yet fused. Too much repetitive motion, including walking or running and especially jumping, can be harmful to the growing skeleton. Others here can give you a good idea of what would be reasonable limits for her age. Many youngsters do not reach skeletal maturity until over a year of age and up to 15 months or so.

 

One thing you might run into, especially when she is young, is that a dog that does *a lot* of something (hiking, running, ball-playing, etc.) each day is going to be "programmed" to expect that every day. That will include your days off and your weekends, as you probably already know. I wonder if your work schedule allows or provides some variation in your routine. I believe that while many animals do well with a routine, many of those that are used to a more "flexible" routine do just as well with that because it is their norm.

 

It sounds like the two of you will have a long and active life together - best wishes!

[tyrelsamson]

 

 

I would ask how much hiking you do with her on a daily basis. At her age, her bones are still growing and the growth plates are not yet fused. Too much repetitive motion, including walking or running and especially jumping, can be harmful to the growing skeleton. Others here can give you a good idea of what would be reasonable limits for her age. Many youngsters do not reach skeletal maturity until over a year of age and up to 15 months or so.

 

 

Hi Sue, Thanks for the reply!

 

To answer your question, it various significantly how much hiking we do depending on the work. Daily, it could be anywhere between 0-10km a day. I have wondered if it was to much her at such a young age and she only comes out a couple times a week now. Currently the conditions are great as the ground is covered in snow, very easy walking for her as she floats above or follows behind my snow shoe tracks. When the snow melts however all of the blowdown will be exposed, that is my main concern as there will be a lot of jumping and manoeuvring over it all.

 

I like the hide and seek idea, we have not yet done this one! I'm also working on trying to teach her the names of her toys. She impresses me every day with how much she can retain