So what is a girl to do when she doesn't have all her friends living in the same house? There are going to be times when the activity level around the house is not this high but Layla still has to get her needs met.
I like to use stuffed Kongs to entertain dogs, especially in a crate. You don't have to do anything fancy. There are all sorts of ideas for what to stuff a Kong with. It might just be a small swipe of peanut butter. I like to mix some of a dog's meal with a little bit of plain yogurt, stuff the Kong and then freeze it. This gives the dog something to work on for a while in the crate and helps relieve some excess energy. Kayla LOVES the stuffed Kongs and gets really excited to get in her crate.
There are a lot of different interactive toys on the market that will help a dog entertain herself (or interact with you if desired).
I like to save interactive toys like these for specific times, like when a dog goes in her crate or while a dog is resting on her bed while I'm eating.
We explored these toys while we were at the store today. When Layla rides in my car she rides in the crate. She's eager to jump right in and seems quite comfortable riding there.
It did not take us nearly as long to get adjusted to the store today. She was still distracted but it was much easier to get her attention. We made it all the way into the store today!
She got a chance to practice some nice, polite greetings with strangers. Meeting new people, going to new places, and meeting new dogs is all important to her socialization. More exposure to things like this will also give her more opportunities to work on her distractibility.
because there are definitely things out there that are still distracting Layla. But she's getting better!
Layla was worn out after our big day. Maybe she's dreaming of what tomorrow will bring...
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