Play hide and seek with him. Have someone hide and then let him go find them. Also take him on lots of walks. I’m not sure when you can start it but that make those cool dog backpacks where they can carry things when they are on their walks. Makes them feel like the are doing something important. Hide little bits of cheese around the house and let them sniff them out. Just some ideas.

Ahh the joys of owning a work dog.

My aussie is currently learning how to help me pick up the house. She picks stuff up off the floor and puts it in the clothes hamper. it’s wonderful!

We also have a huge selection of toys (including Kongs…invest in one of these, they’re wonderful!).

Another thing to look into could be therapy. Some dogs are great for this, some aren’t. It takes a lot of hard work and training to get to that point, but it seems to be worth it.

I’ve also seen people look into using work dogs as volunteer rescue dogs, not sure about the details on that but it’s an idea.

When I brought my boxer home, I realized that an hour or two of walking a day was not going to cut it (they are also high-energy, working dogs).

I started by walking him while riding my bicycle. Once we established some commands (mainly “stop”!) we were able to go rather fast, so he could run off some energy.

Later, when his bones were larger and more mature, I rigged up a harness so with leads so he could pull a sled behind him. It took a while to get him used to pulling something, but really it just took some patience. Now we have so much fun! He loves pulling things, and it really helps him work off some of that energy (he also has bulging muscles!). I never give him a great deal of weight to pull, but in the winter my daughter and the neighborhood kids can (and do) ride in the sleigh behind him while he pulls them. It is such a sight, and it really makes my boy feel important, too.

You should also consider getting him toys that will keep him occupied while you are not home to keep him from turning to destructive behaviors out of bordom. Kong toys are great, you can stuff them with the kong paste (or better yet, peanut butter) and the dog will spend hours trying to get lick it all out. There are a lot of other toys where you can put kibble in and the dogs turn them so the treats fall out randomly, and bottles where the dogs have to pull ropes out to get treats, etc. Dr. Foster and Smith has a good collection.

Good luck! I think that you are doing an excellent job researching the breed before adopting, so things should work out well for you when you do.