Newbie

[eddiea]

Hi!,

I am new here. I have a 4 year old Rottie that seems to have gotten lazy. He used to get excited by many things. Now he just lays there. What can I do to make him energetic again? He acts like he is too old for toys.

[mmilard]

Hi and welcome!!

Have you tried new toys? I know when my male (4years old) gets board of their old ones, they won't play with them.

[babybluetx23]

Welcome aboard. I will forewarn you now, this place is ADDICTIVE!!!

How old is your dog? Your dog may not be getting enough exercize.
Your dog may not be getting the proper nutrition (What are you feeding and how much?)
mmilard may be right, it may be bordem as well. You may want to try new toys. There are several issues here.
Not only may your dog be bored with toys but he may be bored with the activity he is engaged in. You may want to find another activity such as obedience, agility, flyball, tracking, therapy dogs, shutzhund, ect.
He may just be slowing down too. Depends on his age. Hope some of this may help
Please stick around and tell us all about your boy! There is a LOT to learn from this place and a LOT of new people that can and will become your new online family. Welcome!

[Shaw_2112]

It may be medical, if nothing else works you might want to get him checked out by your vet.

[eddiea]

Thanks for the advice! Babybluetx23, I feed him Natural Choice (Nutro) Chicken and rice. He cant eat the high protein stuff because it gets him sick. He has Pancreatitis.

He weighs 123 pounds (4 years old) and Im putting him on a diet. Now that its starting to get warmer here on the east coast Im going to take him out for long hours. He is very stubborn, doesnt really like to run, rather trot. But I love him, he's my boy.

What are good toys for Rottweilers? mine like(d) squeeky ones and tennis balls

[babybluetx23]

I prefer Kongs, Nylabones, Tug Ropes, Sun toys makes some REALLY great rubber type toys.
I have a male 5 mo old puppy so I prefer to give him stuff he cant tear up easily and ingest. Other dogs may have a different preference. You may want to get your toys from petsmart, that way you can return it if your pet doesnt like it.

When was the last time he was checked out by a vet? I would make that my FIRST stop. If your boy checks out OK then you can try other toys. They make some really good stimulation type toys that will stimulate his mind.

[Skuly]

I have a 4 year old also. She loves tennis balls of any size. They also have tennis balls that are square and some that are fetching sticks. There is something about them that she will play with four hours. Also squeaky things fascinate her.
When we are outside, we play hide and seek. You can use anything like a treat or a ball make him sit and wait and then hide it. Finding it is a mini adventure and a job, which he will like. We also play fetch but throw the ball to where she will have to jump over small things to get it etc...

That being said, if we are not playing with her, she will just lay down in the room we are in and go to sleep.

[samanthac]

Medical issue aside...sounds like he is bored. Some dogs can play by themselves, but most require interaction.

Try setting a special toy aside (may take a few to figure out what gets him going) and playing WITH him, with the toy, at set times each day. The ONLY time he gets this toy is when the two of you are interacting together. Do not just give it to him and walk away...interaction is required. Play with him, tease him with it, take it away while his interest is still high and put it away in the same spot every day.

This is called building drive and is a great way to bond with your dog. Soon, you'll be able to see him clicking into drive when you go to get the toy out. if you are really good you can use the toy and the drive and work it into obedience.

[samanthac]

Originally Posted by Skuly

She loves tennis balls of any size. They also have tennis balls that are square and some that are fetching sticks.

Just be careful of tennis balls, any small ball really, as more than one dog have choked to death on them. If caught or picked up just the right way, the dog can choke on it. It is very difficult to remove a lodged, slime covered ball from the throat of a struggling dog.

Please, please always use balls with ropes on them...they sell both tennis, rubber, jute and cloth balls this way. If the dogs swallows it, you can use the rope to pull it out.

If you cannot find tennis balls on ropes, you can make your own by drilling a hole directly through the ball, threading nylon rope through and knotting on both ends.

If for yard play get those giant doggy safe tennis balls that they can just manage to pick up in their mouth but definitety not swallow

[babybluetx23]

You may even want to try a large jolly ball. from what I understand Rotties have this extream drive within them to play with a jolly ball! hehehe

[eddiea]

this is really great advice! I was at the vet a month ago. She said he could lose some weight. thats all.

I really appreciate everyones help. I'm so glad I found this site. I wish I could go home right now and play with him.

Im going to Petsmart to get some new toys!

[sandyz]

eddiea: I just recently went through something like this with my 5,soon to be 6yr old Rott. I went and bought all sorts of toys, and tried everything to get him going. He would prefer to do nothing but eat,sleep,poop,sleep. It drove me nuts and I posted about it here. I did get great advice and was told to get a complete blood panel and a 6 panel thyroid test done through Mich. State U.
The blood work the vet took, all showed normal, but the Thyroid test sent to MSU, showed he was hypothroid. He now has started his meds for this (cheap meds) and now Im wating for that happy lil dance.
Its worth a shot, hope you get your boy back up and moving. Chance was over weight too and there was no way I could get him to lose weight. Over weight is another symtom...good luck!!!