Caged dog needs a lot more stimulation
Q: I am concerned about my neighbor’s German shepherd, about 9 months old. He has torn up her decorative pillows so she keeps him in a cage with no toys when she leaves home. The dog gets walked once a day. I bought him some toys, including a raw hide bone, and he chewed it up in a short while. My neighbor has tried what she knows, but does not know what to do.
Dr. Nichol: That young active boy has boundless natural energy. You are right that he needs a great deal more things to chew and enjoy. He is stuck in a barren environment.
Dogs are natural foragers. In the wild, they scratch out their existence by scrounging for carrion, usually picked over, with difficult-to-extract bits of food wedged deep in the nooks and crannies. Scavenging, painstaking and methodically hunting for that next morsel, is what dogs, wild or domestic, are mentally and physically adapted to do in order to survive. It’s the canine version of gainful employment.
Your neighbor needs to lose the dog food bowl and provide all of the dog’s nutrition in food-dispensing toys and puzzles. A good selection can be found at local pet supply retailers. The internet will offer an even bigger assortment. Your neighbor should get at least a dozen different types so they can be rotated daily.
This fine young savage will focus his mind as he puts his mouth and paws to work manipulating the toys and coaxing loose the food. Whether or not he’ll be home alone, he should have his entire daily ration loaded into these gizmos.
Finally, that @#!%&* cage! Lobby hard for it to be unceremoniously recycled for its plastic and steel; confinement is crazy-making for dogs. Pets are not toys to be stored in boxes when not in use. They are living, sentient creatures with needs that are, in some important ways, rather different than ours. Their welfare should be the first priority. Daily trips to doggy day care or the dog park would allow him to run and play, sniff a few rear ends and engage in a bit of competitive urinating. It’s time for this dog to start living and stop just enduring his existence. Dr. Jeff Nichol treats behavior disorders at the Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Centers in Albuquerque and Santa Fe (505-792-5131). Questions on pet behavioral or physical concerns? For answers, Like my Facebook page at facebook.com/drjeffnichol or by mail to 4000 Montgomery NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109.