Rescue dog-week 2

[hannahmonk]

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Hi everyone,

I am a very new dog owner,We have had our dog Arnie [a collie cross,although to be fair i think hes a mixture of alot of things!] for nearly two weeks now,he was rescued from the dog death camps in romania and bought over to the uk in september,he is approx 4 years old,he has been a stray all his life.Considering this,he is a very loving dog,he snuggles up to us and loves fuss,he walks very well on the lead [although sometimes crosses over sides so you end up tripping up!haha].I work at home so I am with Arnie all day long,he currently stays in the kitchen whilst i work upstairs and i keep going down to check on him and let him in the garden every hour or so.

His personality is really starting to come out and he now seems to want to play.He isnt interested in tennis balls and ive had a trainer come out who couldnt get him interested in a tug toy either.I am worried I am not stimulating him enough mentally,yesterday afternoon we were both on the sofa together and he got my slipper by his mouth[whilst on my foot!] it didnt hurt and i dont think he had any intention of hurting me either,then i was stroking him n he quickly got up,n i thought he was going to nip me,which scared me half to death!i think he wants to play but obviously,i dont want him playing with me if i can get hurt,i would much rather use his energy on a tug toy or a ball,does anyone know how i even begin to start with this?it sounds really silly but im almost slightly cautious of him now!any help/advice would be appreciated,Thanks x

 

[Biker John]

If he isn't interested in normal dog toys, how about getting him to do scent work. Start off with a bit od smelly food, cheese is good, get someone to hold Arnie let him see the cheese then hide it. Let him go telling him 'Find it'. Obviously when he does give him plenty of praise. Slowly build it up making it a bit harder and / or further each time. Dogs find any sort of scent work both interesting and tiring. And if he has collie in him he will have brains enough.

 

[chelynnah]

He's 4 years old and from a background where he hasn't learned to play. I wouldn't worry too much about it. He may not ever be play/toy motivated. Even dogs raised with toys don't stay play oriented to toy motivated all their lives. My whippets play with toys most of their lives, but other breeds I've had have lost interest in toys after about 3 years old. So what you're seeing isn't abnormal in any way.

Find something that does motivate him, obedience work, scenting (as suggested above), and involve him in that.