Fun things to do with my dog?

My dog Dexter (you can see a picture of him in my profile picture) is a great dog, however I don't always know fun things to do with him. We live in Phoenix so it's very hot, but I try and take him and my other dog Cinnamon on short walks in the morning,...

and sometimes take him to the dog park at night. Occasionally he will play tag, or hide and seek, and often tug of war. I can't seem to teach him to fetch. Although it sounds like a lot, he's usually running around the house looking for something to do starting from late in the morning to early at night. After a while, tug of war tends to get boring, and since he can't play fetch, and only occasionally plays tag or hide and seek, (and playing tag is hard when my dog has a blatter the size of a walnut so I can never sleep for more than eight hours before I have to take him out) we can't find enough to do. We got him a treatball, where you put food in and the dog rolls the ball to get it out, but he gets all the food out in a matter of minutes, and we can't constantly feed him.

Does anyone have any other ideas on what I could do with my dog so he's not bored?

Start teaching him tricks or obedience...an occupied mind will wear them out just like exercise...There are tons of books out there, that are devoted to just teaching them cute tricks...they tell you each step to teach before moving on to the next step...So basically the dog has to learn 3 or 4 tricks to complete one fancy trick.

Obedience is double fold...a mannerly dog, as well as a dog who's mind is being tapped to be all that he can be. It will make YOU feel good, too...

You can train them to fetch...well most will go to the toy, just not bring it back...is there a toy he likes best?

phrannie

If you have the room, get another dog, a puppy if you can. Dogs often learn from other dogs more than they learn from humans, so if one dog knows how to fetch the other dog will follow him to be envolved in the game. They will alos keep each other company. I also reccommend a doggie door. Best of Luck!