Attention seeking behaviour problem, help please

Border Collie's, who'd have 'em , he's driving us crazy in the evening at the moment , Jack is always active, and always wanting to play ball, he'll come and put the ball on the sofa for you to throw for him, it must be hundreds of times in an evening, when we want to watch something on tv, we tell him 'no more, all gone' and up untill recently he's accepted it and gone and laid down, then he started to be cute and put his front feet on the coffee table, then on anything that may put his body in front of the tv, now his latest trick is nosing the tennis ball under the tv stand, then trying to get it out, which involves all sorts of digging and Christopher getting on his hands and knees to get it for him, if we tell him 'no' he'll try even harder, and dig some more and end up unplugging the internet cable, and knock the sky box and vcr box off the shelve and nearly always unplug them from the tv as well.

Christopher has upped his evening walk from about an hour to just over hour 1/2, his morning walk is approx 1/2 hour and I take him out everyday now for about 1/2 hour, which is just about the max I can do, he has loads of other toys to play with as well, but we know this is just a way of him getting us to play with him, there's nothing we can block the unit off with, without actually blocking the whole of the tv in as well, and apart from conviscating (sp) all his toys we don't know what to do, he will occasionally play with something else, but there is nothing like a tennis ball any advice would be very welcome, thank you

Hi ya.

Mine sometimes want to play in the evening - sometimes its because OH hasn't taken them out long enough, sometimes I think its just because they are feeling lively. I must admit that I nearly always play with them if they want me to, but before I do, I usually make them wait for awhile. I'll accept the toy from them and say 'in a minute' then get them to lie down and wait - building up the time that they have to wait for the game.

If it was me, once Jack had pushed the ball under the TV, I would go and get it myself and keep a hold of it, telling him 'in a minute' and getting him to lie down and wait. Equally, I would make him do this any time he tries to instigate a game so he knows he only gets to play on your terms.

Rather than just playing fetch/catch with a ball in the house, one of my favourites is hide and seek. Sometimes I use a toy which I hide anywhere in the house (though only at ground level as my dogs aren't allowed on the furniture and I don't like to encourage them to take things off tables, chairs etc). When she's found the toy and brought it back, I'll play fetch/catch a couple of times and then go and hide it again. If I want a bit of peace and quiet I hide it in more devious places (but never anywhere she can't reach herself or wouldn't normally be allowed to go).

If I only want to play in one room (e.g. I'm watching something on the tv) i will get something small - often my keys, send Hoki out of the room, hide the keys and then let her back in again. When I'm using something other than a toy I use the words 'show me' rather than 'find it' - Hoki knows she must find but not pick up. When she's found it she gets a treat.

Thanks Hali will give it ago, or send him up to you

Ahhhhh brings back memories of when Biff and MO were young and me and OH spent our days throwing balls around the living room...

I'd love him :smt049 :smt049 :smt049 but I think OH would have something to say!

I must admit I like playing with the dogs (but then mine don't demand it all day everyday, otherwise I'm sure I'd get fed up with it too). Last weekend after I'd had a few beers I decided to play real and hide and seek with them.

I made them wait in one room and then I went and hid myself - sometimes in a cupboard (door part open to give them a chance) or under a sheet in the spare room..etc. etc. They would find the right room quickly enough but just stand there thinking 'where is she'? Unfortunately I kept giving the game away as I was giggling at their confused faces

Do you spend any time making his brain work rather than just giving him more physical exercise? 10 minutes of brain work would wear him out faster than an extra 30 minutes walk and personally I would also take the tennis ball away..... Mine have tennis balls but they are only allowed them if its a game that I am playing with them, if I take them to the park as a treat they get a tennis ball that I can throw for them as many times as they like but never at home. Apart from that their toys are mostly teddies and some squeekies and a wiggly giggly ball which is very popular but no tennis balls. I also play football at the park with them but again this is a game they don't play at home.

I would certainly try Hali's suggestion of "hide and seek" although I use one of their toys tell them to "find it" and when they do they get to play with it so that's their reward. Deef will also find keys and my shoes and pick things up that I have dropped because he thinks its a good game. This is something that I taught them as pups when they were too young to have a lot of physical exercise

Thanks guys, he does do 'brain exercise' at home, we have a mini agility course at home, and i do obedience training with him, he has a kong, but will only touch it when it's him and me, he will also make up his own game at home, like running up to the top of the stairs, throwing the ball down the stairs and seeing if he can get to the bottom before the ball, he has a distructabal (sp) that he's only allowed for about half an hour a day, because of the noise he makes with it, for christmas he got a dogs toy tyre and we wedge a tennis ball in it, and you can see his brain ticking over as to which is the best way to get it out, that keeps him happy for quite a while, along with other things, this is only a problem at night when both Christopher and I are here and sat down trying to watch tv and have told him no more, he's only got one thing on his mind in the evening and that's how to get us to play ball with him, I think maybe in the evenings we will have to take his tennis balls away from him, he's quick to learn and picks things up easily, so lets hope, for the sake of my vcr and sat box, he learns not do it, fast

You've got loads of good advice here. Cassie used to be quite demanding on an evening but is less so as she gets older. She knows now when we say 'it's not playtime now' that it's time to chill out and she usually will. Sometimes in a huff but she will accept it. I agree with the brain training also and we have specific balls for inside the house and specific ones for outside so she knows the difference. Good luck

Sounds as if I should send Fudge round ,then the two of them could take turns shoving it under the unit and then taking it out. Fudge also wants to play the eternal tennis ball game. She has a secret supply of them. I take one away and say enough and then she finds another.

I will watch this thread with interest.....

The perfect solution, thanks Rach