What can I do to occupy Riley now he no longer attends Ringcraft ?

Well, i was talking to my mum earlier and im not sure what i should do with him.

He was showing regularly (most weekends) and he did ringcraft (twice a week!) and we'd practice most days and stuff. But since he's had his little trip to the vets he cant show, so no ringcraft So what should i do with him?? He's going to go to obedience classes cos he's getting quite rude, with barking and stuff, but he is very obedient with commands so hopefully he should have no major problems there. But obedience i dont think he'd find all that fun. I want to do something which he'll enjoy and will keep him fit! I was planning to try agility with him which im sure he'll love, but he's a big heavy labrador so wont be very fast so i dont think he'll do all that well at that.. What else can i do with him?? I just hate to think of him having nothing to do while the other two dogs get to carry on with the showing and ringcraft

hi J.

How about BFA flyball? it's great fun, and my old lab had a ball doing it. It's not just the fast dogs that can succeed in BFA as the teams are split into divisions so you'd be racing dogs of a similar standard, if you go to www.flyball.org.uk and email your regional rep odds are there will be a team near you ... I've found flyball to be a very fun and friendly sport to compete in with lots of friendly faces and banter at every tournament if you have any questions about it feel free to ask

H xxx

P.S - if you don't want to do it competitively it is a great way to have fun with your dogs and keep them active but I warn you its addictive!

what about gundog training? that's what he's bred for so I'm sure he'd enjoy it?

I did think of field trials with him but im not sure if i'd find it all that fun though Flyball would be good though, i didn't think labs could do that It would be nice to do something that doesn't involve me standing in fields in all weathers!

Hi Jessica

What about some tracking? He has the nose for it

Luna loves tracking.. I havent gotten very far yet as I dont have places where I can leave a track and come back to it.

But that could be fun. Also make him use his brain a bit

And as a side note.. I go to agility with Luna.. And on the team before mine, there's a few golden retrievers aswell. So unless you want to compete, you could do agility. We do it just for fun

thought i'd post a couple of pics of my boy as you can see he was a big lab as well...

Well he`ll still be a big part of your family thats for sure, you just have to find something to channel his energy into, something you all enjoy

At home train him to retrieve the post, slippers, newspapers, tidy his toys into his box. Something like that to keep his brain active Jobs for him doesn`t matter what the weathers outside, should keep you both happy
What about training him for PATS dog???

Just some things for thought, sure others will pop up with more ideas

ps that flyball looks great fun

You can show castrated dogs, so you could still do all that, especially the companion shows, you can still do ringcraft too. I dont think Riley will get bored.
Dawn.

Like Luna helps me carrying things home from the supermarket.. I want to teach her to tidy her toys aswell and take things I drop on the floor.. little things...

maybe you could start clicker with him if you don't already do it? thats great fun