I think my dog is bored and needs a job. Any suggestions?

Question

I have a 2 year old male Belgian Malinois (looks like a short haired German Shepherd but a little smaller) dog, named Heinz. He is a great dog - very smart, trains quickly, athletic. I feel like he's bored hanging around our yard. We got him to help guard the house, and he's so active that he does a great job at that. He "patrols" well walking around the yard a lot and checking on everything. He doesn't bark a lot, but he jumps very high and will repeatedly jump to look over the wall at people (and dogs) who are walking by. With people gone all day from the house, I feel like he gets bored and doesn't get as much attention as he would like. He's so smart, that I feel like it's almost a waste for him to just be our watchdog. I feel like he "needs a job" or something. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

I don't know what kind of neighborhood you have or how much time you have, as far as teaching him goes. but, if you have no time for Frisbee or competition classes, a simple diversion for him would be barnyard fowl. You can buy young ducks or hens (a few weeks old, not newly hatched) at any livestock feed supply. As he is a herding breed, he will happily guard and herd his own 'pets', throughout the day. ..My dog loved his chickens! He really did treat them as his pets, day and night..All you need is three,( female) for them to feel like a flock, and comfortable.
and, the added bonus is, you will fresh eggs when they are 20 weeks old! Nothing like fresh eggs from ground raised hens or khaki canvass ducks. .

Answer 2

Can you set up some agility targets in the yard? Your dog might do very well at agility events in time.

I hate to think that the dog is left outdoors unattended all day. Maybe you could hire a local youngster to come and play with him for an hour or so every day?

I'd definitely consider fetch or frisbee training for a dog like him, too. Try feeding him in a frisbee instead of a bowl to get him to associate the frisbee with good stuff, then use the frisbee when he's learned to fetch. Hard toys like Kongs are good for retrieval training, and there are even some tennis-ball type toys that come with a handle so that you can fling the ball without getting slobber on your hands. Imagine having a dog and not being able to stand slobber? But there ya are.

Definitely try and get a good half hour to an hour of hearty play in with the dog every day after work, or as close to every day as possible. If you have kids, get them involved because they tire out more slowly than we oldsters.

Good luck!

Answer 3

There are plenty of jobs that Heinz can do. One that comes to mind is a nursing home. Dogs do wonders for the elderly as the elderly does wonders for the dogs. They both love the companion and most of all the attention. You can bring Heinz there for 2 hours a day and the both of them have something to look forward to. You can also bring Heinz to a Disability Facility. They too would benefit greatly from Heinzs' present. Heinz sounds like a great dog, very intelligent, a great companion and of course your best friend. Dogs feel worthless when they have nothing to do - they love to work. Heinz sounds like he would be great in a
K-9 unit in your area. I'm sure that he would love the training if nothing else. Good luck in your search and give Heinz a big hug and kiss for me.

Answer 4

A malinois DOES need a job and they are athletic enough for anything. Find something you and he can do together such as: Flyball, Agility, Obedience, Tracking, Herding, Backpacking, Carting, Weight pulls, Rally, Freestyle, Flying disc, or schutzhund.

You can look into AKC or other event clubs who can help you. Also, your parent club may be able to point you in the right direction for more malinois events.
This club search may help you find local clubs interested in performance events http://www.akc.org/clubs/index.cfm?nav_area=clubs

This link is to the mal club http://www.american-belgian-malinois-club.org/

I have found owners of the belgian breeds to be very outgoing, helpful and informative. They should be able to help you find a job for your dog that will fit both of you.

Answer 5

Maybe get him a playmate, or bury dog treats through out the yard, he would have fun hunting them down, or get some big play toys for him like tunnel or a ladder(like the ones you see on the dog relay shows), if your weather is nice get him a plastic swimming pool and throw some toys in there that he has to go underwater for...not much jobs that I could think of, sorry, I hope that this helped a little...

Answer 6

It would require you to work too. But get him in an elderly person dog healing program. He has to go through temperment evaluation and must have shots, etc. etc. but basically you will take him around to nursing homes and you and the dog get to visit with the elderly and it really helps the people you go and see.

He would have to be trained to not jump of course.

If you want him to do this while you are at work I am sure that someone from the places (hospitals, nursing homes, program, etc.) would be willing to take him around.

Answer 7

Certified Service Dog.

Answer 8

Buy him lots of toys and logic puzzles during the day. Like hiding food around the graden, you can buy special rubber cones that you put food in and freeze it, they then have to lick it out and it takes them probably just over an hour on average.
Obviously if you are feeding more snacks cut down on the daily meals as he will become overweight.

Answer 9

Do you watch the Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic channel? Cesar Milan is very insistent that active dogs need lengthy and vigorous walks daily to work off their excess energy (he even takes them for walks while on his skateboard!) And he also sometimes puts a "pack" on their backs to give them a sense of purpose while walking and increasing the energy load on them in their movement.

Answer 10

Put up a pole and hand a ball from a rope and get him interested in playing with it.Also a jolly ball loose in the yard is good.He just needs something else to get his attention sometimes.Or a tire from a rope that he can pull any play with.