Keeping A Dobie Pup Busy - The Secret to Sanity

Getting a puppy enough exercise to keep them too tired to destroy your house is a key ingredient in maintaining sanity while preserving your home. This weekend I walked our doberman pup who is almost 10 months old twice on both Saturday and Sunday and what a difference it makes in her behavior. Saturday, she did a brief mile or so with her brothers (Deon an 8 year old male doberman and Avalanche, a 41/2 year old Siberian Husky) and then did another 4 mile hike with my son and myself and she was pooped when we got home. The wonderful thing is that it lasted through the evening. Then again today, she walked with her brothers for about 2 to 21/2 miles and then I took her down to the beach to do the beach trail in San Clemente. We walked from North Beach down to T-Street and then back. Of course she had to bark at all of the bicycles that went by and the other passing dogs, but overall she had a great time. For Diva, any new walk or experience heightens her anxiety level which also increases her level of fatigue. She has been so mellow this evening that she is a total delight. I just need to find a way that I can spend two to three hours a day just walking my dogs. Diva has been destructive in the past with a hole in the wall of our family room. Holes in the cushions of the sofa. The skirt ripped off a chair. Besides assorted chewing on tables, chairs, benches, etc. You cannot have a perfect house and dogs. That is if the dogs truly belong to the family and live with the family. People who say they have dogs but make them live outside, really do not have dogs. I don't make my son live outside so why would I have my dogs live outside? They are all a part of our family. We call them "doggie kids," "kitty kids", and then just "kids". Either way they all beat up a home, but if you can keep them tired, the damage is minimized.