Quote:
Originally Posted by rdial
Thank you both for the wonderful advice! I will work on incorporating it into our lives. I feel a lot more confident now that this situation will work out in the end.
We have a big back yard that we take both dogs in and play with them. But she does get the proper amount of exercise she needs.
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It will work out but let me point out to you that though your dogs are getting dog to dog interaction/exercise, the dog is not getting the human/dog mental exercise. Very big difference.
The best way to connect mentally with your dog..and she with you is through obedience training, walking on leash (very important) and even taking a few courses. This is actually exercise physically, but most importantly emotionally and mentally.
For example. I have 5 dogs. I lost touch with one of my dogs..he started getting very needy and destructive along with separation anxiety. I went back to square one where I walk with him alone, started back with obedience training (just 15- 30 minutes a day). After a few days he is back to where he should be mentally. Note that he has another huge dog to play with..but for him it clearly was not enough...he needed me alone to work on his mental wellbeing: human/dog. This dog I speak of was abused very badly...and for this reason, I must ensure that I give him what he needs which is only about 1/2 hour of my time with him alone..and doing some training together. The difference in him is remarkable.