|Barked: Sun Jan 1, '12 4:12pm PST |
|Well, many dogs really love what they're bred to do, but that doesn't mean they can't be completely happy doing something else. You just have to give them outlets for their energy.
A lot of people here like clicker training, but you don't need a clicker for it. It's basically marking the behavior you like with a click from the clicker (but you could just use a verbal marker like "yes") and then rewarding the dog. So, the click or the word becomes to mark for good behavior. So, like if you were teaching sit, when the dog sat, you'd click the clicker (if you had one) or mark verbally and then give the dog their reward. It can be really fun.
There are many books on teaching dogs tricks. You could try 101 dog tricks as a guide for things to teach.
As for breeds, hounds tend to be very nosey and scent driven. So, nose work type games are usually really good. I like to put my dogs in a room while I go around placing treats around the house for them to sniff out. After I've placed a good bit of them, I go let the dogs out of the room to find all the treats. They really love it!
If you have boxes, you can do it in boxes like this.
There are all sorts of fun things you can do to give your pup some fun times. Keep in mind, there are A LOT of dogs that are family pets, and most breeds of dogs were meant for work of some sort. Even the mutts have that inner drive too. So, you most certainly can have a "working" dog as a pet.
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