My dog seems bored all the time

Anubis327

Back in January, I adopted a Black Lab/something else mix when he was 11 weeks old. He has always had a tremendous amount of energy, so I take him on daily walks in the morning before and after I go to work (I do work 12 hour shifts, but my brother stops by to let him out and play with him for an hour halfway through the day), and on my days off I take him to the dog park to either run around with other dogs or swim in the lake they have there for a few hours. I train him daily, but a lot of times he just seems like he is bored. I walked him today and am about to take him to the park, but in between the walk and now I had to spend about 4 hours taking some online classes for work.

Whenever I have things to do, he always seems like he is bored and unhappy. He has plenty of chew toys, but will ignore them unless I'm playing with him. He doesn't whine or bark, he just lays around. He was just at the vets for a checkup and they said he was fine so I don't think he is sick. I'd put him outside because I have a fenced in yard, but when I tried that he just sat by the door until I put him inside. Is he just tired or should I be doing something more with him? He always perks up and gets excited when I grab his leash, but right now he is just laying on the floor under my desk. It's my first dog and I want to make sure I'm doing the right things with him.

Figgy

It could just be personality combined with him being alone for such extended periods. Twelve hours is a long time to leave a dog alone, even with potty breaks. He sits around for the majority of his life, so you being home and in the same room isn't going to suddenly make him wild and active.

CelestialBadger

Is this unusual? My dog does this too. He doesn't play on his own, but always likes to play with other people. But my dog is quite old.

mts

i would not worry, dogs don't usually like to play by themselves, they want to play with others. otherwise they just laze about.

Kalgareth

There is absolutely nothing wrong with your dog. That is plenty of exercise. You should be proud of having raised such a well mannered dog that knows when it is time to get excited and that isn't always bouncy. He is probably used to your routine and knows that when you are doing things at your computer that it is chill time and is thus staying close but reacting to your activities. This is excellent behavior. He probably didn't want to go outside because you weren't going outside. Same with the chew toys. Dogs won't stay puppies forever and shouldn't always want to play at ~8 months like yours unless you nurture that behavior.

I have friends that would be in heaven with a dog like yours that has such a mellow and laid back attitude. You are doing just fine.

lessthanpi

dogs are lazy, not cat-lazy, but pretty damn lazy...

My dog won't even get out of bed before noon some days.

Anubis327

Thanks for all of the responses, I really appreciate it. Like I said, I'm a first time owner and I don't want to be mistreating him in any way. As for the 12 hour workdays go, I don't have much of an option, as all of the daycare places around here don't open until 7, and I have to be at work by 6:30, as well as them being pretty insanely priced. Luckily I only work 3 days a week, so the other 4 he gets plenty of attention and exercise.

Marie August

Animals aren't like people. They don't really get bored. People would find it incredibly awful to lay down for hours at a time doing nothing. But that's perfectly normal for an animal. Especially a dog. Many dogs get very attached to their owners, so when the owner is not around, or isn't able to play with them, all they do is lay down and wait.

TychoCelchuuu

Marie August wrote: »

Animals aren't like people. They don't really get bored. People would find it incredibly awful to lay down for hours at a time doing nothing. But that's perfectly normal for an animal. Especially a dog. Many dogs get very attached to their owners, so when the owner is not around, or isn't able to play with them, all they do is lay down and wait.

This is not really how animals/dogs work. Some dogs definitely get bored and it would be super cruel to deprive them of needed stimulation just like it would be super cruel to ignore your child. If OP's dog seems fine chilling out, though, then he's maybe not bored, he's just chilling out.

Nightslyr

In my experience, a dog that's not getting enough attention/exercise will start relieving that pent up energy in obvious and destructive ways, like chewing furnature, getting into the trash, that sort of thing. Since yours isn't doing that, is getting a fair amount of regular exercise, and has a clean bill of health from a vet, I wouldn't worry. Puppies start to mellow out after 6-8 months, especially if they've been fixed.

My family has raised four German Shorthaired Pointers (3 female, 1 male) from puppy to long-lived family dog over the last 13 years, and the pattern of calming down/chilling out/growing up has remained the same. A good thing, too, as my latest one - Elsa - was a huge brat when she was tiny. She turns/ed 11 months on the 29th, and is like a completely different animal. She has her moments (needs some more training and socialization, too), but she's far more dog than puppy now, if that makes sense. Yours is very likely going through the same transition.

EDIT: If you're still concerned about your dog being bored, try changing up how you play with it. Go somewhere new, do something different. A new set of stimuli should knock it out of complacency.

EDIT 2: Remember to exercise the dog's brain as well as its body. You say you have training sessions, which is great, but try to combine the two at times. Example - my oldest brother hits a tennis ball in the back yard for Elsa to fetch. When she retrieves it, he doesn't hit it again until she puts it (or tries to) back on the racket.

Dogs like Labs and Pointers are workers. They tend to want to learn and follow instruction in order to please their master. Even when you feel like your dog is sufficiently trained, throw in a refresher session from time to time. Our dogs love(d) the attention and going through the entire battery.

Bethryn

Marie August wrote: »

Many dogs get very attached to their owners, so when the owner is not around, or isn't able to play with them, all they do is lay down and wait.

Relaxed isolation actually takes a decent amount of training.

Marie August

I don't claim to be an expert. I've just known many dogs who seemed perfectly content to sit by the door all day waiting for their master. I always thought that it must be very boring to be a dog.

KrubixCube

Usually bored dogs do the opposite of what you're describing. A bored dog is often destructive and hyperactive. Bigger dogs tend to just laze out. My big dogs would generally just lift their heads vaguely when I came home and greet me later. They are lazy, nothing wrong with that.

EggyToast

Yes, confirming that your dog is not at all bored, because you are actually interacting with your dog quite a bit. Dogs (and cats) don't experience time the same way that humans do. I've heard it described that it's sort of like lapsing into a daydream and realizing that somehow 15 minutes have passed.

In your case, from what it sounds like, your dog is well-bonded with you and wants to interact with you. When you're on the computer, the dog doesn't know that you're actually doing something. The dog sees you sitting in a chair for an hour, and probably thinks "Oh, OK, now we're sitting around. I can do that. Sit sit sit. Whee! I love sitting with my owner!" Then when you grab the leash the dog says "Yay! We're going outside! I love going outside with my owner!"

Like others have said, if your dog did have anxiety and was very bored, it would look for outlets for that boredom, which are usually destructive. He would try to get your attention, like destroying things, peeing/marking, walking around a lot, hanging out by the door, etc. He would let you know that he wanted to do something.

My girlfriend, who lives with me, has a corgi, and the corgi acts a lot like your dog even though she's little. She's very well trained and she has a ton of energy when she's outside, but if we're sitting around, the dog is sitting around. The dog wants to be a part of the pack and is generally going to mimic what you're doing. Since your dog is being a good dog by just laying around nearby (instead of barking, or destroying things, or wandering around the house looking for trouble), you should praise your dog when it lays around near you. Show him that "relax time" is good behavior.

Deadfall

Echoing what others have said. A bored dog tears up carpet and eats couch cushions. Your dog sounds well-behaved.

spool32

TychoCelchuuu wrote: »

Marie August wrote: »

Animals aren't like people. They don't really get bored. People would find it incredibly awful to lay down for hours at a time doing nothing. But that's perfectly normal for an animal. Especially a dog. Many dogs get very attached to their owners, so when the owner is not around, or isn't able to play with them, all they do is lay down and wait.

This is not really how animals/dogs work. Some dogs definitely get bored and it would be super cruel to deprive them of needed stimulation just like it would be super cruel to ignore your child. If OP's dog seems fine chilling out, though, then he's maybe not bored, he's just chilling out.

No, not just like it would be super cruel to ignore your child. The dog is definitely a dog and definitely not a child. Comparing one to the other is unhelpful at best, delusional at worst, and nearly always will lead to damaging owner behavior and a poorly trained dog. The rest of tycho's post is correct, though. Some dogs do get bored and need direction and purpose, but the OP's dog does not sound like one of those. It varies from breed to breed and individual dogs have different personalities. I don't see anything wrong with how the OP has handled his - I'd say keep it up and don't fall off that exercise routine!

Stormwatcher

As someone else said above, dogs sleep a lot. Not as much as cats, but a lot more than us. My shih-tzu is very happy and relaxed, and when I'm at home working, he just sleeps most of the time. Then, around sunset, he gets active again and then my wife gets home and takes him out on a walk.

illig

Look into food dispensing toys. My dog just loves frozen kongs and the bob-a-lot. It can take her 30-45 min to finish a meal that would normally be inhaled in secods, and she has fun doing it.

She's learn to ask for kibble refills

Here are some examples:
http://m.gizmodo.com/5913008/the-6-best-toys-to-keep-your-dog-really-busy

margar8ta

Dogs are social creatures. They don't want to be left alone outside or left alone for very long hours. They do get bored, and when they're bored they sleep. If you're gone for such a long time look into taking your dog to a dog daycare a couple times a week. They get to excersise and socalize with other dogs. It's good you take him out to the park and train him but 12 hours is just a little too long alone. He's probably bored of sitting around by the time you arrive home!

Creagan

Training is a good way to keep a dog alert and happy. They like pleasing their humans, having a job, and working their brains. Training does all these things. I make my dog sit and stay while I put his food on the ground. Then I walk to the other end of my home, and call him. He has to come, and do a couple tricks before he gets to run back to his food and eat it. The whole process adds maybe two minutes to his morning routine and it does wonders for my puppy's brain.

Another option, is puzzle toys. Most dogs like to play with somebody else, but they'll also be active and engaged with a puzzle. It's good work for their brains, and they get treats! It's great!

Also, pay attention to your dog's habits. My dog has very specific periods of activity and sleepiness that happen whether or not I'm doing something. Morning is active. Then he goes out at noon, comes in, and naps until about 4. Then he wants to play until six, when he goes out again and naps until dinner. After dinner, he goes out, plays for 30 minutes, and sleeps until bedtime, unless people are active in which case he'll stay up but he'll clearly be overtired.

Knowing this, I can figure out if he's being stimulated enough and predict and try to mitigate bad behavior. (Oh, I have to leave during his nap period. He'll stay up the whole time and be impossible when I get back because he'll be overtired. After I get back, we should go out and then do something quiet and cuddly so he'll relax and actually nap.)