My pup Hilo is a great dog. No doubt about it. What makes a great dog? How does a dog from the pound go from a shy, anxious, chew happy dog, into a calm, lovable fur monster?
Exercise.
If your dog chews furniture, barks at night, digs, jumps, or just runs circles around the living room like a crazy tornado? Exercise is the solution! I have found that exercise can pretty much solve most behavioral problems I have had with him. As the old saying goes:
A tired dog is a happy dog
What does the world famous dog whisperer always reiterate with all his dog owner clients?
Exercise, discipline, and THEN affection.
Some owners flip that line. Don’t let it be you.
So with that said here are my top three ways I wear out Hilo.
Long lead Fetch
I have a 50 foot training lead that I use for Hilo We have a special grass hill area behind the tennis courts and I take a couple of his favorite toys: Mr. Squirrel and Rope a Dope and I toss it around between 15-30 minutes. I watch his demeanor and his breathing so I can tell when to call it quits and go home. If you are trying this with your dog, make sure you know his limits and make sure to provide plenty of water.
Bike Run
I have just tried this recently trained Hilo how to run beside me while riding my bike and boy, I wish I knew about this months ago because this is literally his favorite thing to do now. To achieve this safely, first you must train your dog to get comfortable with being around the bicycle.
I would recommend a harness that has a hook up on the front and the back. Then I make a ton of left turns while walking the bike with him and giving him treats when he moves out of the way. Left turns on a bicycle while riding is the most dangerous while running with your dog since most owners have their dogs on the left side and if your dog don’t adjust his distance, he could get his paws caught in the wheel or injure his face.
We don’t want that. I also hooked my leash on his chest and a separate shorter leash from the back to make sure I have the most control. Having two leashes keeps him more stable and gives me a way to give him emergency correction just in case. I adjusted the back leash so it’s short enough to prevent him from getting in front of the wheel.
That was my mistake the first time. There is a little gadget called the walkydog that you can use to help walk the dog but in my case I had an extra leash that cost me $5 and I was not about to spend $50 on something I can DIY for free the Repo way. The choice is yours. Also if you want to learn more about how to train your dog to run next to you while riding, go to Robert Cabral’s YouTube channel. I learned this from him and he deserves credit for helping me out.
Mental training
“Find it” is my favorite mental stimulation for Hilo. It forces him to use his super sensitive sniffer to find treats. The game is easy. I have him perform a sit/stay. Then I hide treats all over the house. When I’m done hiding the 
treats, I say, “find it” and he goes searching for all the treats I’ve hidden all over the house. I hide some low and I hide treats high. Beside the couch or the corner of a chair. Unique places that forces him to really use his mental and sensory skills to find the goodies. This wears him out. Not everything has to be physical. Mental stimulation and training also works!
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