almost 2 years ago my father in law passed away and we inherited his little aussie, bandit. this has been 1 very depressed little dog. no interest in anything. he lived alone with dad for almost 11 yrs. we're getting ready to buy a house with existing pens for chickens, ducks, geese. i know the aussies need to be kept busy busy, but is he too old (about 13) to handle a little flock of something if we were to get him some. i'm looking for anything to stir the life back into him. i know about "doggy prozac" and i've already discussed it with my vet. he's only 13 and his physical health is great. his mental health is my concern. we have to coax him to eat. he hasn't wiggled his "tail" since dad died. i don't think my husband can handle losing this dog right now. he promised his dad he'd take care of him.
2006-11-29 23:38:01 · 3 answers · asked by Isis Is: HOPEFULL HOUNDS RESCUE 6 in Pets ➔ Dogs
I was blessed to have a Border Collie in my life for 9 years. He was the smartest dog I ever encountered. He absolutely had to have a job to do. And he would never leave my side.
So when we went out to get the mail, he carried the junk mail back to the house for me. When we went for walks, he helped carry his leash. When we worked out in the garden, he helped dig the holes. In other words, the Border Collie needs a job all the time -- doesn't really matter what it is. And he's never too old to work! As he ages, his jobs may be lighter in nature, but every job is important to a Border Collie.
2006-11-29 23:42:12 · answer #1 · answered by kja63 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
First of all, I'm sorry for your and your husband's loss, and for Bandit's loss. Poor little guy...
It seems to make sense that giving him a job with a few geese or ducks to herd around might give him purpose in life. If he's in good physical health I don't see why he couldn't handle just a few.
2006-11-29 23:45:24 · answer #2 · answered by Nasubi 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Look into clicker training. When my old lab girl was 12 years old, I started teaching her clicker training tricks, and it was amazing how well she responded to having a fun mental challenge. She was very slow to learn new things in comparison to a young or more alert dog, but she loved it like you can't believe. You can work on tricks that match the ability of the dog. For her, some of the things we taught her were to lift and shake her left and right paw, to turn in a circle (each direction), and to put her paw on a circle of plastic that I'd put on the floor. I'd move the plastic lid to different parts of the floor, and she'd go over and paw at it. It's no Lassie or Benji, but she was very proud of herself when she got to show off this trick.
2006-11-30 05:15:25 · answer #3 · answered by FairlyErica 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
get a puppy the dog will chear up and will become very friendly
a simular thing happend to a famly friend and when they got a pup it took about 2 weeks and the dog was better than ever
2006-11-29 23:39:52 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋