Entertainment for the day?

Awww... could you leave the radio on for Fergus to keep him company or maybe ask a neighbour to go and see him and let him out for a run in the middle of the day. Does he have some toys that he could play with or does he not like toys? Both of my Bassets will amuse themselves at times, even though I'm home almost all the time with them, they often gets soft toys or squishy balls and chase one another about and our Lottie will roll balls along the ground with her nose and is good at amusing herself so perhaps Fergus might if he has toys. Ours have a plastic ball, that treats are put inside of, and they roll it around to make the little bits fall out and it lasts longer if I make the hole small....

Thanks for the ideas guys. I will add a radio into the mix. I like the huge kong dispenser, now just to save up some extra $$ for it. I don't have a neighbor to come over, wish I did. It breaks my heart when I know he's there all by his lonesome all day. I can get home at lunch on some days, so I'll just try to do that more.

I've always found a couch in front of a window helps. Especially if the window faces where the mail man comes.

Molly used to watch the Price is Right and Let's Make a Deal when I was out all morning teaching during the fall semester. Turns out all she did was sleep until I came home. Now, she has Winston and they both sleep. Neither are destructive and are well adjusted. I've never had a dog where this was a problem, though some dogs take serious issue with being alone. I like the idea of a lookout spot...someone has to keep an eye on the neighborhood. That's Molly's job here at our house.

Gracie has gotten used to being away from me. She didnt even whine when I left her today. She likes sleeping while I'm gone. Maybe that's what your guy does? She also REALLY enjoys empty water/soda bottles....cheapest dog toy EVER.

Gracie's Mama said:

She also REALLY enjoys empty water/soda bottles....cheapest dog toy EVER.

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I bought a toy for Woody last week that he loved, until after 2 hours it was completely destroyed. It was a tubular shaped toy, that when ripped apart contained an empty water bottle ( chinese lable) . Now I just throw him an empty bottle and he loves it just as much, of course with the lable and cap removed first. He loves the crackilng sound it makes when he chews it.

He's not interested in balls or pulling toys at all. But most of all he likes my daughters socks

steve m said:

I bought a toy for Woody last week that he loved, until after 2 hours it was completely destroyed. It was a tubular shaped toy, that when ripped apart contained an empty water bottle ( chinese lable) .

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I saw that toy! I almost bought it too. My husband looked it over and noticed that it was just an empty water bottle that was covered in fabric. So we just started giving her the bottles.

[/QUOTE]He's not interested in balls or pulling toys at all. But most of all he likes my daughters socks[/QUOTE]
Gracie likes my 5 yr old daughter's socks and underwear....weird.

like the huge kong dispenser, now just to save up some extra $$ for it.

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Keep in mind it is no longer made the longer you wait the harder to find and the cost goes up. Current prices are higher than retail at the time they were manufactured.

It was a tubular shaped toy, that when ripped apart contained an empty water bottle ( chinese lable) .

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their are toys made that the bottle is replaceable.

Bottle Buddies Dog Toys

Bottle Buddies are perfectly sized to hold an empty water bottle so the toys can reuse plastic bottles that would otherwise be added to overflowing landfills. And dogs just can't resist the satisfying crunch of an empty water bottle! When the bottle inside becomes flattened or too chewed up to make a sound, the Velcro opening at the bottom of the toy allows you to replace the bottle with another empty plastic bottle of similar size. Please be sure to donate all discarded plastic bottles from this product to your community's recycling program!

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Gracie likes my 5 yr old daughter's socks and underwear....weird

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Mariah is the sock thief but if you ignore her the socks loss interest very fast. See now runs to Mom who will exchance the sock for a treat. So for her socks=treat While the exchange game for resource guarders is highly recommended, it can have some fall out like the sock game of mariah's

I think for most dogs socks, underwear etc what initial attracts them is the smell but it quickly becomes that the are unitentional rewarded ie attention, treats for exchanges, game of chase ets so the dog continues to persue them because the behavior is rewarded.

Put an empty water bottle in an old sock and tie it off. Works great!

i like any kind of laundry. i've taken to going to the bedroom while the peeple are watching tv in the living room. coming back, peeking around the corner, and then RACING to my crate with underwear, a shirt, a sock... whatever... to try and beat them to the punch... they always catch me tho.

So I was thinking about this thread and I got a new idea for Fergus. I've seen those automatic timed feeders like this
PetSafe 5 Meal Automatic Pet Feeder - Automatic Feeders & Waterers - Bowls & Feeders - PetSmart

Maybe you could get a big one and put something different in each slot. a toy, a treat, ect. You might be able to find them cheaper elsewhere. I didnt shop around or anything. Also maybe you could find one used?

Flash's favorite toy is feet. If you are on the couch, he tries to reach toes to chew on. Sitting at a chair-he is under your feet trying to nibble. No matter what, he is right by the feet. He even sleeps at our feet. Lay on the couch with him and he goes down by my feet.

But he does have one toy he enjoys-it is a stuffed frog dog toy with a squeaker, he goes nuts attacking that darn thing. He only gets it while I am watching him so that he doesn't rip it apart and eat the stuffing. He also likes a rope toy we bought him. The kong though, he has no interest in it. Even when I put something inside it, apparently it is too much work to get it out lmao!

Worm loooves socks and shoes (we must have smelly feet), but will only play with things when we're around. When we are gone, he sleeps in his crate and won't play with his toys.

Re: daycare, 1 day of doggie daycare/week might make a difference. That's what we have Worm in. Keep in mind that 1 daycare day = 2 days of activity. He is out for the rest of the night when we get him home in the evenings (last night he did not even get up for potty or ask for his evening snack... went straight to the couch, curled up, and went bye-bye). The next day he is still resting and recouping from it. Here, where cost of living is high, costs $22/day, so in other areas, I would think it may cost even less.

Woody loves my bras too.....funny to see him steal it and run thru the house with the strap in his mouth....he also steals my childrens stuffed animals and puts them in his kennel (he has two one for him and a travel one for his "things"). I tell anyone if you are missing something, look in Woody's hideout...

Lately he has been loving this "screaming monkey" (elasitic fur covered arms that makes this monkey scream when shot like a slingshot)...he runs back and forth just a whipping it for all its worth, the monkey making it's screaming sound the whole time....

klm42005 said:

Woody loves my bras too.....funny to see him steal it and run thru the house with the strap in his mouth....he also steals my childrens stuffed animals and puts them in his kennel (he has two one for him and a travel one for his "things"). I tell anyone if you are missing something, look in Woody's hideout...

Lately he has been loving this "screaming monkey" (elasitic fur covered arms that makes this monkey scream when shot like a slingshot)...he runs back and forth just a whipping it for all its worth, the monkey making it's screaming sound the whole time....

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omg! that's so funny!