# Daily Routine With "Crazy Drive" Dogs



## David Ruby (Jul 21, 2009)

Hopefully this is in the right section. For those of you who have high-drive dogs (e.g. high drive Malinois, Dutch Shepherds, working Patterdales, JRTs, etc.), that are not kennel dogs but actual in-house dogs, what is your daily routine to keep you and the dog sane? I realize not all Mals (or whatever) are insane crazy dogs, but some are. I also know there are people out there who keep them as their PP-dogs or sport and companion dogs. Just wondering, for more specifics:

1) What do you do day-to-day to keep the dogs tired enough (physically a/o mentally) to live with them? And;

2) What was the adjustment period for dealing with such a high drive/energy dog?

I've always just kind of wondered.

-Cheers


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

I do intense exercise twice per day. I'm up an out of the house around 5:30am. I bring my Rott and Mali. The first thing I do is toss a large tug for the rott. He runs to get it and then I release the Mal. The Rott is a pretty good decoy for a few minutes. He's fast (for a rott) and likes to be chased. When the Mal catches up there is usually a vigorous tug game between them. I step in and toss the tug a few more times.

Then I put the rott up and do OB with Mali and a Kong or another smaller tug. Then I put the Mal up and do OB with the Rott. 

Then I take out my sleeve. I make the dogs platz or sit at a distance and I stand behind a bench or long cement flower box. I hold the sleeve out and make the dogs sprint, jump and bite. I'm not actually catching the dogs or even wearing the sleeve, I just hold it up at head height. The sleeve is nothing but a big toy or tug for the dogs. All of my dogs leap for long bites because of this. You may not want that but I think it's cool. 

This whole process takes about 45 minutes and sort of simulates how we train at the club.

We return home and they eat. Then everybody sleeps until about 1pm. I do a little more OB with the Mal in the house with food. Around 4pm I repeat the process again except it's much much shorter because it's so hot. 

Then we come home and they eat around 5pm

By 7:30-8pm the Mal is getting crazy again. Little OB sessions usually zap his energy down a little bit. We might go into the back and play tug or mess with the flirt pole if he's still zany

All in all the competition for the toy between two dogs has been great and seems to really build intensity for the object.

My wife also runs with the Mal a few days per week.


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## Gerry Grimwood (Apr 2, 2007)

Chris Michalek said:


> I do intense exercise twice per day. I'm up an out of the house around 5:30am. I bring my Rott and Mali. The first thing I do is toss a large tug for the rott. He runs to get it and then I release the Mal. The Rott is a pretty good decoy for a few minutes. He's fast (for a rott) and likes to be chased. When the Mal catches up there is usually a vigorous tug game between them. I step in and toss the tug a few more times.
> 
> Then I put the rott up and do OB with Mali and a Kong or another smaller tug. Then I put the Mal up and do OB with the Rott.
> 
> ...


 
Then we all fall asleep and someone steals our stuff 

Sorry Chris, just joking but couldn't resist.


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## Chris McDonald (May 29, 2008)

Gerry Grimwood said:


> Then we all fall asleep and someone steals our stuff
> 
> Sorry Chris, just joking but couldn't resist.


 
Oh my, sorry Chris but you got to see the humor in this.


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

I do...


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## mike suttle (Feb 19, 2008)

Gerry Grimwood said:


> Then we all fall asleep and someone steals our stuff
> 
> Sorry Chris, just joking but couldn't resist.


 =D>=D>=D>=D>=D> Good one Gerry!!! That one made me laugh out loud.


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## Jason Caldwell (Dec 11, 2008)

It's hard to find a location close to your home with good water quality, but I know of no better activity to wear out a dog than water retrieval. I say water quality to mean the basics like no pollution but you also want water that is free from millfoil or other crap that will make the dog stink when he gets out.

I'll have a dog do OB at the pond and he knows the deal. If he does well, he knows I'll pull his Orbee out of my apron and send him on his way out into the pond. 

I have GSDs. Some like water. Some don't. It's a confidence thing. I recommend going into the water with your dog if he/she doesn't like the idea. I've seen a dog bark at his reflection, whine, go crazy, run from the water, and days later do flying leaps into the water. Don't force the dog in the water. I've done that before and have always regretted it. Hope you can find a good pond or river, etc., and find a way to burn off some crazy drive. 
​


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## Sue Miller (Jul 21, 2009)

We have almost the same schedule as Chris except we get up 3 AM ish but we have more dogs. I don't think it's so much the exercise that satisfies the dogs but the individual attention & interaction with us.

We usually start with some fun obedience with ball play as reward. Then just walking around just letting them sniiff & pi$$ & do what dogs do. Then they come home eat & nap. Usually some training mid-day. Then out again in the evening when it cools down.

We often take dogs in to train & they all respond to this schedule the same way.


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## Kadi Thingvall (Jan 22, 2007)

I work, so when I get up in the morning (around 5AM) the dogs who are sleeping loose in my bedroom go outside for a quick run/potty break, about 15 minutes. My son is home during the day, so when he gets up a little later, he puts the rest of the dogs outside for a run/potty break. During the day half the dogs are usually hanging out in the house, the other half are outside in the backyard playing either with each other, or with my son. I have large outdoor kennels which are used on occasion, usually when someone is coming into heat or is in heat. But I also have a few dogs that don't get along, so 1 may be in the kennel while another is in the yard. Throughout the day there is some swapping in and out from the house and yard. When I get home (around 2:30) I grab a few dogs and we head off to training. On afternoons that I don't train we'll do some obedience/jumping or go play fetch. Everybody comes in at night, my neighbors don't appreciate dogs barking at night, and I prefer to sleep knowing if I hear a dog outside barking, it's not one of mine. Half the dogs sleep loose at night, half sleep in crates (the ones I can't trust loose).

What I have found is that my nuttiest dogs on the field, are actually some of the calmest dogs at home. Mac, who is a fruit loop when he's working, is one of the biggest lumps around the house. He's also a nut in a kennel, constantly pacing or running in circles, but in the house he just lays around all day sleeping, spends a few wrestling with another dog, then goes back to just hanging out/sleeping. His daughter is the same way. The dogs who are a little calmer when working actually seem to need more exercise at home to keep them happy.


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## Anne Jones (Mar 27, 2006)

I get up & let the dogs out in the yard (6' fenced) to pee etc while I get dressed. Then I take the dogs to the field to run, retreive & do some OB. Sometimes I will lay some short tacks. (sometimes I work them in the back yard) Come back home & let them hang out for a while before feeding. Later in the afternoon or after work I take them back to the field to run, retreive & do some OB. Then home to hang out in the yard for a while. They will run around & play together, lay on the deck or out in the yard. I go out in the yard & play fetch etc with them & hang out with them, before bringing them in for the day. Feed dinner around 7 or 8 pm & then hang out until bed. Both my dogs live in the house all the time. They both sleep in my bedroom. My female has an off switch & will settle down after a day of good work outs. My male doesn't have an off switch until he 'hits the wall'. He is not as easy to live with as she is.


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

My dogs do what they are allowed to do. THere is no difference between them and low drive dogs, except that they don't SUCK.

If you have a dog running crazy in your house, it is because you allow it.


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## David Ruby (Jul 21, 2009)

Jeff Oehlsen said:


> My dogs do what they are allowed to do. THere is no difference between them and low drive dogs, except that they don't SUCK.
> 
> If you have a dog running crazy in your house, it is because you allow it.


Would you not agree there are dogs that are kenneled sport dogs precisely because they are high-energy? I get what you are saying that they do what they are allowed to. However, it also sounds like people with high-drive dogs generally either kennel them so they don't drive the family nuts, or plan ways to wear them out physically and mentally so they are not totally on-edge. Hence, in some regard, I am just naturally curious how people burn up that drive when they're not actively working their dog (i.e. they're not at the SchH club, doing SAR, competing for their Brevet, training for Ironman competitions, etc.).

-Cheers


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## leslie cassian (Jun 3, 2007)

I get up between 5 - 5:30 depending on when the puppy wakes up. Yard time while I get dressed and then I load all three dogs (LabX, Malinois and Dutch Shepherd puppy) into the car and we go to a conservation area for an off leash run. We are out for about 30-50 minutes, depending on the weather and how much I get to sleep in.

Obedience work with my Mal has slipped a lot since I got the puppy, but I still do some when I get a chance. Puppy 'obedience' is usually in the kitchen with a lot of treats. The LabX just gets to be a dog.

I work days and the dogs stay at home, loose in the house. The pup is crated. For now, I come home at lunch to let the pup and the adult dogs out. 

Evenings are yard time (I have a very small city yard) most of the time, but sometimes I will take them out again or go to training.

My Malinois is 4 years old now. He has chilled out a lot, but I spent a lot of time every single day playing and training with him when he was younger. I expect that the puppy will be as much work as he was, if not more.

Maybe I've always had high energy, if not high drive dogs, so I've always done a lot with my dogs. Getting a Mal was not a huge adjustment as far as time commitment to my dog, though he was way more work in other ways.


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## Chris McDonald (May 29, 2008)

Jeff Oehlsen said:


> My dogs do what they are allowed to do. THere is no difference between them and low drive dogs, except that they don't SUCK.
> 
> If you have a dog running crazy in your house, it is because you allow it.


Ya this is pretty much the truth, the problem is most people don’t know how to not allow it. Then they think its their dog that sucks


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## James Downey (Oct 27, 2008)

My bitch has a hard time settling down, though she is a house dog. 2 things are different than how I deal with my wifes pet dog. One thing is I put up with some behaviors of her high drive. The other is I control the enviorment with some containment. I use a crate when she really gets on my nerves. I baby gate some parts of the house. But for the most part... I do agree with Jeff, the golden rule is the dog must listen. And if she does not there are consequences.


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

Quote: Would you not agree there are dogs that are kenneled sport dogs precisely because they are high-energy?

I would agree. Yes there are. I was just telling you what I do. I don't give two shits what a dog wants. If they are in my house, they learn to settle down, or they get smacked in the head with a shoe.

I don't understand the whole arguement of I couldn't live with a high drive dog. What people are saying, is I am too lazy to train the damn thing to behave.

I don't expect a dog to be perfect all the time. Soda PoP is a busy little bee in the house, playing with Olivia, the mini Dasch, and torturing Buko with a toy that she won't let him have. If they decide to be too much, then they get told to knock it off, and if they decide to ignore me, the get cracked in the head. I guess I should say Soda, cause Buko is good and likes to lay on the couch. : )

I find them no different than having any other dog, as they will get wound up too.


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## Al Curbow (Mar 27, 2006)

It's just teaching house manners. The shoe is an important tool !!! LOL


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Al Curbow said:


> It's just teaching house manners. The shoe is an important tool !!! LOL


 
OMG! :-D :lol:

All of my dogs know when I take my shoe off it's time to get the heck out of there. Shoes and keys make nice "throw chains." :-#


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

Anne Vaini said:


> OMG! :-D :lol:
> 
> All of my dogs know when I take my shoe off it's time to get the heck out of there. Shoes and keys make nice "throw chains." :-#



I've used a sling shot with a super ball for when the boys thought it was funny to start marking the couch in the living room. Silly dogs...thought I wasn't looking. :twisted:


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## Meng Xiong (Jan 21, 2009)

Al Curbow said:


> It's just teaching house manners. The shoe is an important tool !!! LOL


 
LoL... that is hilarious... what a good start to a friday. :-\":-D\\/


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Jeff Oehlsen said:


> My dogs do what they are allowed to do. THere is no difference between them and low drive dogs, except that they don't SUCK.
> 
> If you have a dog running crazy in your house, it is because you allow it.


Ditto!


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## David Ruby (Jul 21, 2009)

Jeff Oehlsen said:


> Quote: Would you not agree there are dogs that are kenneled sport dogs precisely because they are high-energy?
> 
> I would agree. Yes there are. I was just telling you what I do. I don't give two shits what a dog wants. If they are in my house, they learn to settle down, or they get smacked in the head with a shoe.


Understood. When you said "If you have a dog running crazy in your house, it is because you allow it" I merely brought that up that there are probably a lot of people that just bypass that (for one reason or another) by just avoiding the whole teaching-them-to-settle-in-the-house business.



> I don't understand the whole arguement of I couldn't live with a high drive dog. What people are saying, is I am too lazy to train the damn thing to behave.


I would argue, not necessarily. Two reasons. One, ignorance Two, hype. Both interrelate. Basically, there are near-horror stories that read like if you don't give a high-drive sport dog the equivalent of a marathon or Olympian-level high intensity interval training, they'll find ways to amuse themselves by eating a hole in your wall or something equally undesirable. That and I have never really gotten a good idea of how much people realistically expect to do with their high-drive/high-energy dogs on the average day that don't keep them as kennel dogs. Although, there are obviously high-drive working dogs that can work their butts off and learn to be cool when you let them in and teach them to not impersonate an F5 Tornado.

-Cheers


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

No, trust me, after training a whole shit load of people, you find that most are just to lazy.


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## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

Perhaps a better question would be, how long can you realistically expect a high-drive dog to lounge around the house before he goes crazy from not doing anything??


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## leslie cassian (Jun 3, 2007)

When my mal was young, he was out every single day for at least an hour. Which meant that I was out with him in freezing rain, sleet, snow, bitter cold... or trying to find somewhere to take him to swim in blast furnace heat. I love Ontario weather.


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

the near hourly mini-training session with my Mal goes a long way to keeping him calm. I have place little bowls of kibble in candy dishes around the house. When I walk from one room to another I always make him do something. Whenever we go to the kitchen, I have a contained of cut up wieners and left over chunks of meat for slightly longer sessions.


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## Gerry Grimwood (Apr 2, 2007)

Chris Michalek said:


> the near hourly mini-training session with my Mal goes a long way to keeping him calm. I have place little bowls of kibble in candy dishes around the house. When I walk from one room to another I always make him do something. Whenever we go to the kitchen, I have a contained of cut up wieners and left over chunks of meat for slightly longer sessions.


Sounds like he will be very calm and overweight very soon.


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

Gerry Grimwood said:


> Sounds like he will be very calm and overweight very soon.


I don't think so. He runs around enough to burn the calories but I feed him once per day instead of twice now. The majority of his food comes from my hands as his food drive was a bit lacking. Always being hungry helps that.


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## Gerry Grimwood (Apr 2, 2007)

That's one way to do it Chris, I know you have a herd of dogs in your house to contend with.

I just have one and 3 hrs daily, evenings on weekdays and whenever on week ends out doing some type of activity and some ninja shit thrown in once in a while works for me. :wink:


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

Quote: 
Perhaps a better question would be, how long can you realistically expect a high-drive dog to lounge around the house before he goes crazy from not doing anything??

This is a good question. There is a difference in a high drive dog that can deal with just hanging out, and a high drive dog that implodes. 

Just because a dog has crazy drive doesn't mean that they are crazy. However, the ones that start the weird shit like self mutilation, flank sucking and whatnot, need the CHOP.


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

there is a local fellow with a Mal who chewed his own tail off 




Jeff Oehlsen said:


> Quote:
> Perhaps a better question would be, how long can you realistically expect a high-drive dog to lounge around the house before he goes crazy from not doing anything??
> 
> This is a good question. There is a difference in a high drive dog that can deal with just hanging out, and a high drive dog that implodes.
> ...


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

So the dog will eventually neuter himself. Perfect. : )


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

> Just because a dog has crazy drive doesn't mean that they are crazy


Right. I had a crazy drive dog that was really awful to live with. When he was on to his next "job" it was a huge relief! I have a high prey, extreme food drive dog here that is really easy to live with. She's either kenneled outdoors or sleeps in the house (plush bed + ex-pen = happy dog). When she gets too amped, we go out and WORK. An hour and a half later, she's ready to go back to her fuzzy pillow and sleep.


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