Officer Needs Assistance for Exercising Malinois

[Giselle]

Too bad she's shy. If she were harder in temperament, she could make a good Schutzhund prospect what with her background. But then I guess that's why she's not a police dog

Easy answer: agility, flyball, tracking, search and rescue, competitive obedience, rally-obedience, dock diving, freestyle dancing, etc.

Remember, mental stimulation is just as tiring as physical stimulation.

[catnapper]

People always think of physically tiring their dog out but forget about mental stimulation. Think about it: if you exercise you're tired, but feel a bit energized at the same time. Now, if you sit down to work on something complex that you have to concentrate on, like writing a paper or balancing the checkbook, you're exhausted at the end of the day.

Have him play games with her that will challenge her intellectually. Hide and Seek is a popular one where you hide her favorite toy and ask her to find it. Get creative with the hiding places and make them easy in the beginning to truly challenging once she's good at the game.

[dukedogsmom]

Wow, I guess I know a little more than I thought. I said almost the same thing the two of you said. I wrote this answer right before I posted this thread here.

My dog love to fetch. However, he also likes to hunt for his toys. Perhaps you could hide some of her favorites in a big area. You could have her on a long leash. She would get lots of exercise and it would stimulate her brain, as well. Thus making it not just exercise. I can't think of what it's called but how about the course where they jump through a tire, go through tubes, etc. That might help. Don't know if you're wanting to get that involved in that, though. You might be able to construct some of that in your yard. I'll post just what you wrote on my pet site and see what they come up with, too. I'll send you the link when I get some answers. There's lots of very experienced people there.

[binka_nugget]

Agility has been a godsend for myself and Keeva. Keeva finds obedience boring, but absolutely craves agility. On days that she's bouncing off the walls, I take out the jumps and weaves. She's pooped within 15 minutes! It's fairly easy creating your own jumps, weaves and tire out of pvc.