It's too bad you don't feel better, because it sounds like you have the makings of a fly ball champ! Maybe you can get a mini Chuckit? The mini version holds smaller balls for smaller dogs. It grabs the ball without having to bend down.
I was laid up for a few years with a hip injury and one of my dogs at the time thought I stayed home from work solely to entertain him. I put his fetch obsession to good use and trained him to retrieve small objects like the phone, remotes, keys, socks/slippers, etc. The key was he did not get a reward until he placed the object in my hand. Same for the toys. If he didn't put in my hand, no game. He figured it out quickly. He also learned to entertain himself by tossing his ball down a flight of stairs and retrieving it. He'd do that for hours.
My upstairs neighbor gives her a dog a kong stuffed with cheese or peanut butter and I can hear him playing with it all day. He drops it off the bed and chases it. There are lots of interactive toys that keep dogs busy and stimulate their minds. All of my dogs love buster cubes. You put some of the dog's daily kibble ration in and they use their paws, nose, and brain to get it out.
I have debilitating back pain and lupus. With the pain and fatigue, I can't always give my dog a proper walk, so I bring him to the dog park where he can run off his extra energy while I conserve mine. He's a complete couch potato the rest of the day after that. |