Maggie was my first sheltie. She was one of 10 puppies, and when I met her at 8 weeks, she was full of spunk and sass which I loved about her. We played fetch in the yard which she loved, I took her for walks, but none of that seemed to satisfy or tire her out. It seemed she could play fetch for hours and never want to stop the game. When I came home from work, she would be bouncing off the walls. She literally would eat the drywall and chew the baseboards. She also had a bad habit of eating other things she shouldn’t, chewing up toys and once ate the stuffing of a toy and had to be hospitalized. Apart from immediately buying a crate, making sure toys were bulletproof and watching her like a hawk, I had to find a way to curb her destructive behavior as well as incessant barking.
At my wit’s end, I joined a puppy obedience class when she was eight months old to see if they could help me. She loved learning new behaviors. The teacher I met later became one of my good friends. When I told the teacher about our issues, she looked at me and said, “She needs a job to do.” Say what? I thought that seemed so foreign at the time, but I was game for anything to help her. We continued our lessons, and now when I would get home from work, we would take our walk, we would play a game of fetch, but we would also learn new tricks, or work on our obedience behaviors. Soon all the destructive behaviors diminished substantially. What I quickly learned was teaching her new behaviors exercised her mind, settled her and made her calmer.
Today she is 14, and she still loves learning and still needs a job to do. She loves canine fitness, and it helps keep her fit as well as mentally stimulated. She is a master of food puzzle games and can solve those puzzles faster than any of my border collies! Maggie taught me so much, and she introduced me to the world of competitive dog sports. She truly is my inspiration every day!
If you'd like 4 quick tips to occupy your pet please click HERE.
