Ideas on tiring out bird dogs when you can’t hunt them

[shedfinder7]

Wire haired pointing Griffon owner. She’s 4 months old and full of energy. We live on a typical city lot, wife works from home but is pretty busy and I punch a time clock so it’s hard to give her as much exercise as she needs. She gets bored if it’s just throwing a ball in the back yard so we end up having to drive across town so we can off leash her. Anyone have any ideas of stuff that will keep her busy in the yard during day mentally or physically to wear her down? I’m starting to understand why a lot of guys have said previously a tired dog is a good dog. Thanks all, eventually hoping she’s a shed dog.

 

[JBrown1]

Retrieving a dummy thrown uphill or downhill will give a dog a good workout. When they are that young(4mo) the get bored easily, but once they have done it for a while and matured a bit the will approach retrieving dummy sessions with a single mindedness that will allow you to run them to the play bit of exhaustion.

And yes, a tired dog is a content dog.

 

[TwoRedDogs]

We have two vizslas. When we lived in the city and we couldn’t run them that night, we’d do some mental stimulation in the house. We would take a Dokken bumper and rubber band quail wings around it. I’d then make the dog sit in the bedroom while I hid the bumper in the house. Then let the dog find it. It seemed to help but ultimately running or training seems to be the best.

 

[jimh406]

My experience is takes an awful lot to make a dog be tired. They will simply get used to it as they get in shape. I think playing fetch is good, but will only do so much. Spending time on mental stimulation and training will help. Oh, and since it is a puppy, do make sure they have plenty to chew on.

 

[3forks]

Wire haired pointing Griffon owner. She’s 4 months old and full of energy. We live on a typical city lot, wife works from home but is pretty busy and I punch a time clock so it’s hard to give her as much exercise as she needs. She gets bored if it’s just throwing a ball in the back yard so we end up having to drive across town so we can off leash her. Anyone have any ideas of stuff that will keep her busy in the yard during day mentally or physically to wear her down? I’m starting to understand why a lot of guys have said previously a tired dog is a good dog. Thanks all, eventually hoping she’s a shed dog.

I’ve always owned big running bird dogs and I think the best exercise for your dog when you can‘t run them off leash is to run them off a bicycle.

Get a skijoring harness, and condition your dog to run and pull you while you’re on a bicycle.

URL unfurl="true"]https://www.neewadogs.com/collections/running-belts?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Products&ActivitiesUSA&gclid=CjwKCAjws8yUBhA1EiwAi_tpEXu8uxIiacSgaw8ncfYrD25nNyvBTXBFc9YazksNPNiMkhYkhAsEHBoCUFMQAvD_BwE[/URL]

All dogs inherently love to pull, and your dog will start to look forward to the workout. Be careful you don’t overdo it - especially because your dog is only 4 months old. Ideally, try to run your dog on grass next to a sidewalk you‘re riding your bike on or a gravel path, and pedal as much as you need to allow your dog to pull you, but not strain to do it.

You also don’t need to worry that your dog will become a puller while you‘re walking it on a lead. Dogs will learn quickly that you allow them to pull when you’re on a bike and not while on a walk. They will also learn to listen to you or adjust to your corrections via their lead while you’re on your bike. Initially, it’ll take a little bit to get in synch, but within a few runs, you guys will have it figured out.

There‘s a product called a springer that allows you attach your dog’s lead to your bicycle, if you think you need it, but it’s really not a big deal to hold the lead in one hand over the top of your handlebar.

 

[aaronoto]

Griff owner here as well. You will not tire them out physically unless you’re hunting. Unless you’ve got a setup to run them, as mentioned above, but at 4 months I wouldn’t be running them on a setup like that quite yet. Mental stimulation helps though - obedience training is perfect for this. Keep it fun at her age though, she’s still a puppy. I liked whoa and/or place training because it didn’t involve constant attention from me, and I’d try to stretch the time they were standing while gradually adding in distractions. Buy some pheasant wings and tie them to a bumper and drag/plant them in your yard for the dog to follow and find. Plant some smelly dog treats in random places in your house and have them search for them. You can also buy some puzzle boards that you can hide food in that they have to “solve” in order to get the treat. Even if you don’t plan on whistle training your dog, it’s another thing you can add to the obedience training for more mental stimulation. I didn’t use it a ton, but I built a training table for the backyard that came in handy for various things as well.

 

[String&stick]

SwiftPaws

At SwiftPaws we fully believe pets deserve to live their best lives! We make beautifully playful enrichment products in the USA to help them do just that.

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Have never used their product but saw them in shark tank. . . Don't know how it would effect training or habits but it does look like it could wear a dog out in a smaller space

 

[Braaap]

I have two griffs (a 2 year old and a 1 year old). As others have said use a bicycle. It’s the quickest way to run my dogs and they love it. If the weather sucks we put them on the treadmill. With my old dog we played hide and seek with a dog toy to get the mental exercise. Don’t forget swimming too.

 

[DmrbigEshotT]

Swimming does our bird dogs well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rclouse79]

I just got a border collie mix from the pound and have been mindful of giving him good exercise every day. It was pretty easy to train him to run with me on my bike, but I came across an article that repetitive running on a hard surface can injure their growth plates in the first year. He has been awesome off leash and has gone bear hunting with me three times. This morning he did great playing fetch at the park. We are blessed to have two neighbors with young dogs. Set up a doggie play date in the back yard and they will literally run themselves to exhaustion. So fun to watch young dogs run and play.

 

[Salmonchaser]

It’s tough to find time, just one of those things. I took my dogs to Alaska every year, my guiding days were long days. I ran them every morning and every night. I didn’t have to travel, I just got up an hour early, just had to watch for grizz while we double timed a three mile.
Any thing you do will help bumper, early bike ride, sneak on to the school grounds before daylight. Good luck, tough spot.

 

[Wrench]

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[displacedtexan]

You have a puppy...

I've got three field trial Pointers. All of them from horseback lines. One is asleep on the foot of my bed, one on a chair in the bedroom, one in his kennel.

They're all worn out from napping and laying in the back yard. The youngest is 5.

A huge part of it is them just learning to relax in the house. It will come.

 

[Mojave Kid]

Im no expert but I am on my 3rd bird dog. My english pointer was high energy so I got a brittany to keep him company. Even though I exercised both dogs the EP would run away every chance he got, a real idiot. I now have a GSP and we got a female schnauzer to keep him company. This GSP is great in the field and is happy with getting his evening walk and won't run away. Dogs have personalities and some demand a lot more attention than others. I lucked out with my current (and last) bird dog, great inside the house and great in the field.

 

[Marble]

I have 3 GSPs. One is old and just lasts around. She's got arthritis.

#2 is 6 years old and is typical GSP, but very chill and obedient.

#3 is 18 months old. Uncut male and he is cracked out.

I've had GSPs since the 90s. If want to tire them out I get on my bike. I love on a golf course so I've got plenty of room to run them.

The neighborhood works well too.

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[Salmonchaser]

They are both 11 years now, teaching house manners will help. I’ve had GSPs since the mid 70s, I always forget what the first three years or so are like. Have fund enjoy the ride.

 

[2ski]

Don't over run her that young. Don't over run her that young.

Take walks in parks that have activities going on. Let her see kids playing. Dogs running around. People talking. Let friendly dogs and people approach for good socialization. I think you'll be amazed at how that much stimuli wears them out. Crate them for a hour here and there to teach them to settle down. Take them to stores that allow dogs and get some good mental stimulation in as you walk around. Work on obedience with distractions in those places. Even just sit about 4 or 5 times. Don't overdo it so they get bored. Just here and there throughout the walk in the park or store. It will give you a dog with more confidence as well. And good chew toys.

Find some good water and let her get some water exposure. Don't pressure her into the water. You're creating confidence. Not fear.

Are you doing NAVHDA? Work on some dead pigeon drags in your yard and work on track. I just ran NA with my griffon so you can reach out if you want to know more.

 

[arock]

I have a GWP under 2 and there isn't any tiring him out physically unless he's out for a +4 hour hunt. He needs to be worked with some purpose and with a person to have him satisfied. 20 mins of heel training is probably going to wipe yours out more then letting them run around the back yard like a maniac all day.

Place training is super helpful for getting them to be calmer in the house. Mine either lays in his kennel or on his bed all day.

Left to his own devices he digs holes, destroys things and is fairly miserable.

He gets about 2 or 3 runs a week off leash. 2 or 3 training specific days (heel work, fetch work) a socialization day (hanging out at a dog friendly place and continuing to work on his socialization) and usually one sorry were just gonna lay around the house all day.

He got pretty worn out just watching me garden and hanging outside this past weekend. Bird dogs usually just want to do stuff with you and anything new - especially at that age - is going to wear them out.

You're better off crating the dog throughout the day then leaving them alone in the yard or whatever IMO.

 

[07yzryder]

I used to tie a treat to an RC car and have my dog chase it around the yard. Every couple minutes I'd let the pupper get the treat then I'd tie a new one on. If it's a hunting dog maybe even tying a scented wing or something, not sure if that will eff with his training though.

My brothers Shepard used to run hills pulling him on his skateboard lol.

 

[wesfromky]

There are all kinds of puzzle games for dogs, from simple like frozen peanut butter kongs to more advanced ones.

If you have the room, a tennis ball launcher might help.