I have an 8yr old Australian Cattle Dog, over the last year he become rather inactive. When we go on hikes, walks or jogs he turns around to go home after about 10-30 mins. He has never had interest in playing with other dogs, we have gone to the dog park his whole life, he just sniffs around for a bit then stands next to me, I still take him since he likes to sniff. He has many toys he loves but only wants to play if someone besides me is there to watch him. He will play fetch with a stick a few times then stop unless someone besides me is cheering him on with that as well. I feel like he is bored but I don't know what to do for him so he will get the exercise and stimulation he needs. Currently the only things that seem to excite him are squirrels and lizards, which he has always loved, but those don't really help him with exercise. If anyone has suggestions for what their dog enjoys I would love to hear. Thank you!
Do you have a place where you can exercise him without other dogs around? If so, it sounds like a flirt pole or teaser pole might be something to interest him. You can easily make one up yourself. A bit of fleece tied to a line. Line tied to a pole, or a small fishing rod with the fleece tied on. It may just stimulate his chase instinct if he loves chasing critters
Have you had him vet checked? ACD's are a breed which usually stays active well into old age. If @ChrisB 's advice doesn't produce the desired result, I think it might be worth having some basic health checks done.
Have you checked with your vet to make sure there's not a health issue? Not every dog wants or needs to play with strange dogs, and some dogs can feel uncomfortable with lots of strange dogs around them so I would give the dog parks a miss. What do you do when you go on walks?
Yes, I have many places I can take him alone. I will try that. Thank you, that is such a great idea. He loves to chase laser pointers but they don't show well outside, so I think he will love this idea. thank you!
He gets excited to go to the park, but he doesn't really interact much with the other dogs. We usually go there before or after a hike. I don't know if I understand the walk question, but he has a harness and he just trots along side me. We are either on a sidewalk or out in the woods on a dirt trail. We went to the vet a while ago and they said he may have a sprain, but that was about 8 months ago. I am worried it may be a health issue as well. I would like to get an x-ray done to see if he has any joint issues or anything else. I give him joint supplements as well. He is really hard to take to the vet because he won't let strangers handle him. But he needs his teeth cleaned again soon and they have to put him under for that, so maybe they can do an x-ray then too. Thank you for the advice
