I need some help from you guys who do dog training. My herder, Tasha, has just had to have her fourth leg surgery and will be looking at a fifth in a few months when (and if) this current one heals properly. She is on a very strict movement restriction for the next 8-12 weeks. My surgeon wants me to keep her crated during that period, but I simply can not do that to Tasha (she has never tolerated a crate), so I have her on a 4' leash, leashed to a chair either here in my office or in the livingroom.
The problem is that Tasha is an EXTREMELY high drive herder. She is unstoppable and does everything at maximum all the time (which is why she keeps tearing her poorly built body apart). She also has a mind like a steel trap. She is scary intelligent AND a very alpha personality. This is NOT a dog who can tolerate being still for even 5 mins, much less 3 mos!
So, what I need are as many ideas as I can get for ways to keep her mentally stimulated and challenged. I need tricks and behaviors that I can teach her that she can perform from a sitting or lying position. Toys aren't going to do it for this girl. She's ball crazy, but chasing a ball is out of the question for obvious reasons. In fact, toys of any kind are not a good idea for her during her recovery because she is horrible about resource guarding and will jump up and chase off any of the cats or dogs who get near any of her "stuff".
Please put on your training caps and be as imaginative as you can. I have almost no experience with dog training, other than to teach them what is and isn't acceptable behavior in this family. Tasha is just too danged smart for my own good. Please help me keep her brain busy so that both she and I won't go absolutely stir crazy during her recovery. Remember, though, that everything I do with her has to be done from a sitting or lying position (by her, not me).
Thanks, everybody.
Laurie
