GERMAN SHORT HAIRED POINTER HELP

[pjquail]

Hey Guys! I have a 5 year old male German Short Haired Pointer that has LOTS of energy and I need help. I really don't want to take him for a walk/run 1000000 times a day, but I do take him on a morning walk/run and an evening walk/run and he enjoys that-but when we get home he gets a drink of water lays down for 30 seconds and then he's back to hyper-active crazy dog. I've heard that treadmills work good too and they relieve 90% of cooped up energy, but I really don't want to spend $200 right now for a treadmill he might or might not use or be afraid of. Any suggestions? We live by the woods but we don't want to let him run unruly through the woods because he might not come back , get snake bitten, or come out by the highway. We don't have a pool, or a local dog park; So both of those are out of the question. Hope someone can help!

 

[MeghanChickLady]

I know your pain! I have a three-quarter year old female mine Aussie...she loves to jump, run, roll, play, and speed past you like race car! We used to have a lot of trouble with her. She runs so fast sometimes that instead of slowing down, to stop, she tucks her legs and ROLLS. Im serious. I laugh so hard when she does that!
To spend some of her energy, we rolled out an old log into our yard from a part of the woods. Then we took a high, wide wooden stool and set it in front of the log, maybe seven feet away. After that, we set two poles into the ground to the side of this and voila! A redneck agility course. Maggie jumps over the log, onto the stool and stands there for a moment, blancing, before jumping down, turning so sharply it leaves marks in the dirt, and racing between the poles. Again and again she does this. She loves it! It took me a few minutes to teach her, and now she does it all on her own!
Hope I gave you a good idea! ~Meghan

 

[pjquail]

Definitely! Thanks

 

[MeghanChickLady]

no problem!

 

[ShinShien]

If you ride a bike, I'd recommend this. I use this for my hyperactive doberman.

http://www.thedogoutdoors.com/dog-bike-leash.html

 

[pjquail]

Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it! But he's scared to death of bikes (and bottle caps, lighters, certain shoe strings) If He ever gets over that fear I will definitely take that advice! Thanks!

 

[wyoDreamer]

We had an irish setter like that - you could walk him all day non-stop and he would still have enough energy for a mile sprint! You will need to work his mind as well as his body. We taught our setter to track by dragging a piece of hot dog along the ground from a bamboo fishing pole so it wasn't near our tracks. We worked up to dragging a pheasant wing (training for hunting) and then playing hide and seek. I would go hide in the woods and my DH and the dog would come find me. Your dog will love the opportunity to use his nose.

Training can go along way to overcoming the fear of bikes, start with walking past a parked bike, then make him sit at the bike and give him a treat. Make these really good, extra special treats - we used hotdog cut into 4 pieces the long way, then about 1/3 inch pieces from that, that's alot of treats once you get it cut up. Put in a plastic baggie and put in your pocket or a treat pouch if you have one. No punishment, no lovey dovey its all right if he acts scared - don't respond to the bike at all, it needs to be a non-issue object, make him pay attention to you - not the bike. Make him sit and have someone walk a bike past him, treats for ignoring the bike. Work on training him to heel, then have someone walk a bike past him, keep his attention on you as the bike goes past in the other direction. Take it slow and do the same thing over and over until your dog ignores what is happening with the bike and pays attention to you. Make sure he is good and solid with each step before you can take the next step up the "scary scale". Once the dog associates the bike with a good hard run, he will love bikes.

 

[wyoDreamer]

As for a treadmill, my english setter loves it. Hopped right on it to sniff it over when we brought it home and we turned it on for a lark. He slid off the back, then we called him up onto it and he started walking. He tail came up and started waggin' and now he will stand on it and bark for us to turn it on for him. He likes it at 3 or 4 with a 3 incline. No he's not spoiled.

 

[pjquail]

Haha, thanks for the tips! I AM seriously considering purchasing a treadmill, any stores you suggest that have good quality and low prices?

 

[pjquail]

And I did try the hide n seek with him but he's so wrapped up in hunting birds, if you were to hold a steak in front of his face he would run off to go chase a bird. I also try playing fetch with him frequently but he doesn't like retrieving (my black lab LOVES hide n seek & fetch!) I work with both my dogs at least 5 hours a day to teach them new tricks and practice old ones and play and walk and run with them, but he never gets tired (my lab gets tired quite easily which is nice ;D)