Pietro Posted November 26, 2018 Report Share Posted November 26, 2018 Hello everybody, My BC, 12 months old female, spend few hours in a fence 25sqm. I tried to leave some toys (rope knots, gum toys, etc) but my dog seems to be not interested. She also have a ball for food but it last only for 15 minutes. I noticed that she tries to bite the doghouse or the cot. Do you have any suggestion ? Many thanks in advance Ciao Pietro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted November 26, 2018 Report Share Posted November 26, 2018 Welcome to the Boards. It's not at all unusual for border collies not to be interested in entertaining themselves. They've been bred for hundreds of years to work cooperatively with humans and they seem to have an inbred need for an interactive relationship with their people for their mental health. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riika Posted November 27, 2018 Report Share Posted November 27, 2018 Squeaky toys, and food puzzle toys are what works best for my dogs to entertain themselves with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenie Posted November 27, 2018 Report Share Posted November 27, 2018 Mine enjoy bully sticks, Kongs stuffed with dog food and peanut butter that has been frozen in the freezer, hollow ball that you can fill with kibble that falls out as they play, and other food puzzles. However, it usually only keeps them happy if I'm in the room with them. If left to themselves (my seven month old in particular) they will find a job to do such as digging or chewing things they shouldn't. I've found that they are less likely to dig or chew if they've gotten exercise and training sessions to tire them out before they are left alone. For the chewing on the dog house, you might want to try using a product sold at pet stores called Bitter Apple. It's a spray that some dogs do not like the taste of and it discourages chewing if they don't like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Elle Posted November 28, 2018 Report Share Posted November 28, 2018 How many hours is she left in the enclosure at a time? How much exercise and attention does she get on a daily basis when she is not in the enclosure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pietro Posted November 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2018 Hello, I would like to thank all of you for your support. About D'Elle questions: she stays around 4 hours in the enclosure while kids are at school and us at work. About training and exercise about 1 and 1/2 hours. But when kids are at home she stay with them in the house. In addition she's free in the garden when she's not in the house but we do not leave her for a long time in the garden since tends to run repeatedly on the same path. Ciao Pietro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flora & Molly Posted November 28, 2018 Report Share Posted November 28, 2018 Is she only in there when she has to be alone? Do you ever play with her in the enclosure and after that go back inside together? I used to leave my dog in the bathroom while I was at work, because it is in the middle of my appartment and the place with the least "scary" noises. I thought it would be a nice and safe place for the dog. The dog disagreed. She hated going in there. She knew nothing good would come of it, because I always left her when I would take her there. So after that she stayed in my bedroom (with the added bonus she could sleep on my bed- which she loved). The bedroom worked much better because we spend time there regularly doing fun things. It's not "the place where I am always alone" in the dog's mind. Perhaps spending some quality time in the enclosure will help the dog feeling secure and then she won't want to chew the dog house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Fan Posted November 28, 2018 Report Share Posted November 28, 2018 I bought a web camera to keep an eye on my BC on days when she needs to be left alone for 8-9 hours. (My mother is usually home during the day so it doesn't happen often). I discovered that whether I put her in the crate or leave her confined to one or two rooms, she doesn't have much interest in playing with her toys. She just sleeps the majority of the time. And as soon as I get home she grabs a toy and brings it to me, full of energy, ready to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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