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Need to keep dog occupied in crate


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I'm fostering a 12 year old crazy border collie sheltie mix, and he will be undergoing heartworm treatment at the end of the month. He's pretty hyper and needs to be calm during treatment. I know he will need to be created because he loves to run and chase my dogs. So, besides stuffing a kong with peanut butter, what options do I have? Also, we cover his crate with a sheet to keep him from going bonkers.

 

Thanks!

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LauraV, if you’re on Facebook, there is a group called “Canine Enrichment” that has some good ideas that might be helpful with crate confinement. You may have to scroll a bit to find something useful. This link may not work, but I’ll give it a try: https://www.facebook.com/groups/canineenrichment/

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I wish I had some great ideas to offer you, but one thing I will mention is to be careful about giving him too many Kongs stuffed with peanut butter.

 

A little PB once in a while is fine, but too much coupled with a period of inactivity could lead to some pretty serious weight gain, not to mention the potential for pancreatitis. Also make sure there's no xylitol in the PB.

 

It might be better to think of some lower calorie, lower fat things to stuff the Kongs with. Freezing Kongs with yogurt or broth and freezing it are good ideas. You can even mix in some fruit (pureed would be best) or steamed veggies if he likes them, or if he's kibble fed add some of his meal portions into the Kongs, which when frozen will keep him busy working at it longer. You can plug up the holes before adding liquidy stuff with PB or a dab of liverwurst or a bit of cheese.

 

Wishing you and him well. Thanks for helping him through this rough patch.

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I'm aware on how much and which kinds of peanut butter to use. Spoke to the vet years ago about that for another dog. :)

 

Thanks for the other ideas on what to stuff in the Kong! I'll be sure to try some of those.

 

Thanks for the well wishes. Poor guy has a rough road ahead, especially if he doesn't calm down.

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My 3 yo BC has been prescribed confine him so that he only walks and he may have 6, 5 min potty/sniffing walks so I feel your pain!

 

I bought a couple of food dispensing toys (the Kong wobbler and the King gyro). I also have distributed a meal of kibble in a muffin pan and put balls or other toys in each cup on top of the kibble so he has to move them to get to it. I put him in a x pen to feed him so he gets some exercise by walking around it getting the food out.

 

Ive also used the muffing tin to do a little nosework by putting a treat or kibble in one tin and covering all of them with balls/toys so he uses his nose to find the treat. I purchased one of the food puzzles as well that has levers to flip and disks to move.

 

He is clicker trained so we are also working on stationary tricks like putting his chin on the ground and I want to teach him to cross his paws, hes learning play dead also. He will also stay in a down while I roll a ball to him and then he rolls it back to me with his nose. Another trick in progress is pick up one front paw or the other when I say 1 or 2 or point to them.

 

Some of this may be more activity than your foster is allowed but maybe you can use a few of the ideas. .

 

Best wishes drurng the confinement,

 

Chandra

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