New Behavior, Rough Play

[Guest ms3569]

I have a 3yo male we adopted 6 months ago. Last evening I was on the floor playing with him. He became overly excited and started jumping on me, scratching my back. I moved off the floor and he ran to jump up on me on the sofa. He never has gotten on the sofa. I put my leg up to keep him from jumping on me and he hit my foot. Unfortunately he hurt his paw. He has a small skin tear. I feel like he has a lot of energy. The weather has been extremely hot near 100 degrees every day. We walk him every night for about 20-30 minutes. Does anyone have any suggestions for activities we can do in the house to get rid of some of his energy. Maybe games we could play? He's a very sensitive dog and lacks confidence. We are working with a positive behavior trainer and she has helped him be a little more social but he seems frightened by some dogs and growls at them. We don't take him to dog parks. Would appreciate any suggestions.

[Guest Scouts_mom]

A healthy 3-year old definitely needs more exercise than one 30-minute walk, but I know how hard that can be when it is hot outside.

 

Do you have a yard? If so you might try a lure pole when it is cool. If you don't know what a lure pole is, do a search of this site.

 

Inside, a favorite game of my pups is flying/running stuffy. I toss a stuffy gently into the air (don't want to mark the ceiling), they try to catch it. When/if they do, I gently chase them thru the house, occasionally grabbing the stuffy and playing a gentle tug-a-war--all the while cheering them on. Grey's don't have very strong jaws and I want them to win most often so it is a gentle tug-a-war. It also helps that my house is set up in a circular pattern so we have a ready-made track.

 

How about a trip to the local (air-conditioned) Petco? Or is he too timid?

 

Another idea: try teaching him something. Brainwork requires energy. How about teaching him to sit? or shake hands? or whatever.

Edited July 22, 2015 by Scouts_mom

[turbotaina]

Yep, what Scouts_mom said. Up the exercise if you can or do training.

[EllenEveBaz]

Ditto the above suggestions. Plus:

• inside hide-and-go-seek, with you as the hider. He'll need to know "stay, or a second person to hold him. If you have a second person, it's a great way to teach "stay."
• inside hurdles. Hurdle should be something lightweight and that will fall down or not hurt if his foot hits it, such as a yardstick/broomstick, upright shopping bags, or stacks of newspapers. You can set up a hurdle between pieces of furniture, or multiple hurdles down a hall or around the house. If the dog doesn't know "stay" yet, you can put him on a leash.
• toy that you can put pieces of kibble in, and that come out a few at a time as dog moves it around. Various brand names for this, all of which I forget. Some dogs are a little slow to catch on, And it can be really noisy as dog bats it around the floor, against furniture, etc. Not recommended for upper floor apartments.
• does he like to chew? Never underestimate the tiring power of a good, long chew on something relatively safe (raw bone, sturdy chew toy -- still a risk for teeth damage or tummy upset)

[KickReturn]

First, you should be very happy to have adopted a greyhound likes to play with you in this way. It sounds like he has no trust issues with you which is often the hardest part of boding with a new grey. Of course you will have to manage the play so no one gets hurt.

 

As for the energy thing, all the above advice is great but the thing that will bring the best results is to walk at night as you are doing but just much longer. During hot weather we walk an hour at dawn and another hour after sun down. With your dog being so young you may have to walk even longer. For cooling down a, plastic kiddie pool or even the hose. My grey loves to have his feet, legs, and belly gently sprayed after a hot walk.