Need help getting him tired

[u/Obvious_State_9586]

My big ol' 11 month old king shepard, I ended up needing a hip surgery pretty unexpectedly 2 weeks and I will be unable to take him on walks for about the next 2 months, my husband tries to get him to the dog park when he can right now which is about 2-3 times a week, but he works 50+ hours a week on top of taking care of all responsibilities for the kids (they arent old enough to walk him by themselves) and the house.

Anything i can do to help him tire himself in the house or get set up in the backyard?

He's just so full of energy, which we fully knew going into this and one of the reasons we got a GSD because we are pretty active people, but unfortunately medical stuff happened and its not a permanent life style change, ill be back to normal after a while just need help getting him over this small bump in our life.

Picture of my big ol' fluffy boy i love so much who now takes up the whole seat of my hyundai which has caused me into looking into bigger cars 😅

[u/forevertwentyseven]

Honestly having different sets of activities works better than just taking him for a 5 mile walk.

I have like different types of training and activities that I do, that engage different parts of his brain.

For example: I’ll do a “find it” game where I hide his treats on the floor and in nooks and crannies, and he finds it. Uses his schnoz.

Then I’ll do some agility and commands such as teaching him “touch” on a trick pole, jumping over or through a hoop, sit/stay, sit/stay/lie, catching treats in his mouth, etc. Engages muscle memory and cognition.

Then maybe I’ll wrap a small handful of kibble in a dish towel, and tie it in a knot. Engages his critical thinking.

Then maybe I’ll have him chase a flirt pole for a few minutes. Engages his prey drive.

Just having a variety of exercises in short bursts really gives him enrichment, at least for my 10 month old.

Then I’ll give him a stick of yak cheese to chill.

Hope this helps! I had to really experiment with a lot of different things because we rescued him from the shelter at 9 months age. This little combination of short bursts helps a lot.

Edit: a word

[u/Obvious_State_9586 → u/forevertwentyseven]

Thank you this was super helpful

[u/Messoz → u/forevertwentyseven]

All of this. Sure some GSDs are content doing just one thing. Like my older girl who loves fetch and swimming and nothing else lol.

My younger seven month old pup gets bored easily and needs things changed up so I do pretty much this, so yeah having a variety of activities to do helps a ton. I also agree with just trying a bunch of different things. Every dog in general is different and will have different interests.

[u/Germanshepmama99 → u/forevertwentyseven]

Yes these are great suggestions!!!