circle time
by Mel
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
Dinky is my four year old sweetie. At different times of the day , he runs around in circles like a maniac. I call it play time . As a pup , he only did it once a day, now that my husband and I are in a house, with more running room, he does it several times a day. His former doctor told me he is just frisky and that it is a common toy dog activity. Any comments? He refuses to play outside and I try often to encourage him to spend more time in the backyard to get more sun and fresh air. He won't play, he just does his business and scrathes on the door to be let in while I am out there throwing his bone and running in circles to encourage him to play. Dinky more than likely thinks I am insane and will not tolerate such nimble-minded behavior from his owner, he just puts his nose in the air and barks at me. Any suggestions on how I can get my stubborn little guy to have his play time outside, as well as inside?
DISCUSSION:
Mel,Jack is the same way. He likes to play outside sometimes, but most of the time he prefers to run circles around the dining room table. It doesn't matter to me, I encourage any type of activity that will wear him out, especially before he goes to sleep. I dont think it is a problem.
Chris and Jack
Mel,Cubbie is over 8 yrs old and he has done this ALL of his life. He will also play outside rather vigorously. So, this is definitely normal behavior for this breed. Cubbie loves it when I stamp on the floor, he thinks that this is his cue to start running wild all over the house. We have several large area rugs and when he gets to a part where the floor is bare, he LEAPS from rug to rug. It's a scream to watch!
Felicia & Cubbie
Mel - Lucy is the same way. She will not play outside unless Iam out there playing with her. If I come in the house, she is right on my heals. I believe it's the breed. They are definately people dogs and want to be in the same room as their owners.
DeeDee
Sammy (3 years) is the same way. I can be outside reading and my other maltese Missy will be playing and he will be scratching to get in. I usually just leave the door open and let him come in and out while Im out there. Altho this usually leads to flys in the house!He also does that circle thing. We named it "Dance".
When he wants a treat or something he dances. When we say dance he will spin like crazy, its soo funny.
Mike
My 4 year old Dusty is another one who does the same thing. Although he spends hours outside playing & running around, he gets the energy (from somewhere!) to run miles inside the house. He has made himself a path and will run & run & run & dance & play until he literally can't move a muscle. My husband & my father get in the floor with Dusty and have wrestling matches nightly! I love to see how he active he is--he is more playful now than when he was a puppy! When he gets really excited, he, too, does the Dusty Dance, twirling around & around. I am only thankful that we have enough space for him to excercise, inside & out!
Stephanie
Mel, is your yard grassed or paved? If it's grassed and mown fairly short and doesn't have any nasty prickly things in it like bindi, I can't think of anything but, if it's paved, maybe Dinky would enjoy a run with you in the local park more. The Beasties aren't so keen on the paved areas but they looove to run around on the lawn or, even better, in the park (and yes they run madly in circles - they look like small motorbikes the way they lean in to take the corners!)
Deanna (Moose & Squirrel)
My little Chico loves to play inside too. He has a plastic ball which he chases around for HOURS! He's recently learned how to trap it against the wall, and flip it up in the air with his nose. I'm thinking of getting him a little basketball net. He also loves to play fetch inside, but when I take him to a nearby park, he refuses to chase anything, except people! I've tried several times to get him to play fetch outside, cause my apartment is pretty small, but he refuses. Stubborn little...:-)
However, he certainly seems to get more than enough exercise in the apartment, especially when we play chase 
Dean and Chico
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