Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 10:38 am Post subject: I think Lola is bored.
Lola is 5 months old. She is a lovely dog but she seems unhappy to me. Toilet training has been a doddle (touch wood) She can 'sit', 'down' etc. She has 2 15 minute walks a day-one pavement, one forest., which she LOVES. I'm with her ALL day apart from the school run, but she only has my full attention on walks and when training (3 10 min 'sessions' a day) She just seems so bored. She has a kong and a few toys that I swap around, but she's not really interested in them. The only time she seems to light up is when she's 'stolen' a sock or something!
I feel like a have a working dog, with no job to do. What can I do with her to bring her out of herself. She just seems so fed up. (I live in Outer London by the way, so plenty of forest and lakes about, but it's far from country living!)
I'd try her with a Nina Ottosson interactive toy. Monty loves them. They wear him out mentally and he usually goes for a nap afterwards. You might have to clean a lot of slobber off them at the end but definitely worth it
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Oh god don't tempt me. My husband would go mad at the mention of it! We're kind of at capacity, with 4 kids, 1 dog, 1 cat, 2 guinea pigs and the fish! I would have loved to have taken 2 from her litter but everything I read advised against it. One day though, maybe.....
Well I really wouldn't recommend a friend - a 2nd dog will likely just mean 2 dogs who settle well inbetween walks and then you'll worry you've got 2 bored dogs.
I think you are doing just fine, good walks, training and she's not being naughty by the sounds of it really, is she?
As you up her walks with age (and training ) you might worry less.
Is she getting to meet lots of dogs and things while out? If not you could do some extra socialisation trips with you when you run errands etc?
You can also play games on her walks, hide and seek, find a toy etc to interact with her
have you tried a treat ball or a kong wobbler? Although i am at home most of the time, I am working so my attention is not on Frankie. He is quite happy to crach about with his wobbler - that keeps him well occupied and is probably good mental exercise too!
Yes, I was wondering how the boredom manifests itself. Mine sleep what seems like 22 hours a day, only waking for food and walks. In real life, very few of us have the time to devote hours and hours to entertaining our dogs and they just muck in with family life. Don't worry
Edited to say, you do the school run so presumably have a child or two at home: they are great company for dogs, and if anything like my kids keep them well entertained.
I am no expert but it seems every Labrador has its own character. Myself and a friend have yellow labs from the same breeder and you couldn't meet two different dogs. Scooby(mine) is the most laid back type of dog you could imagine... he will play when he wants too... he will leave a few kibbles in his Kong wobbler and then consider having a go later when he feels like it. Rusty is the opposite and would play all day every day, you only have to catch his eye for him to be up and ready. Rusty wont leave the Kong wobbler alone until every piece of kibble is out even if that takes all day.
There were times I wish Scooby had as much life as Rusty, and I too used to think he was bored or maybe something a little deeper.... but as it is, it's just the way he is and we love him for it.
Yes, 2 of the kids are home, but they are almost 1 and almost 3, and if they pay her any attention she gets very mouthy, which could obviously hurt them-which we are working on-but the older 2 give her a good wrestle when they get home!
We don't spend much time with other dogs. There is a huge group of people with their dogs that we come across on our walks through the woods, but I've said hello and introduced ourselves, and they were very off which is a shame. The only other dog we know is my Mother in law's Bullmastiff, but he is a bit of a grump, not really up for playing with a pup. I think I need to put myself out there a bit more and try to meet some local doggy friends!
The reason I think she is bored is because she just kind of huffs around the place and she does this yawning thing that to me looks like she's frustrated or something! It's like she's waiting for something all the time. She is also VERY clingy. She whimpers lots if I leave the room for a while. Not crying, just constant whimpering. She settles fine at night, and she settles in her crate when I'm going out, but if I'm home she wants to literally sit on my feet when I'm washing up or ironing, which is fine by the way, I think it's sweet.
I guess I'm just worried that I should be doing more, but then I worry that I should be reading more with the 3 yr old and that I should be helping the little one learn how to walk! There are just not enough hours in the day,lol.
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I think Lola is bored.
- a 2nd dog will likely just mean 2 dogs who settle well inbetween walks and then you'll worry you've got 2 bored dogs.
