Not like if you kept them in a small cage where their movements are cramped, but like if you left a dog home alone to wander as it pleases (and it would have food and water for the duration and the ability to go to the bathroom outside or otherwise so the house wouldn’t fill up with feces)? How long would it take?
How about guard dogs or bomb-sniffing dogs?
Ohhhh, yeah. Dogs get bored when they’re left alone; they also get pouty if you don’t pay them adequate attention, and downright resentful if you ignore them. Minutes or hours, depending on the dog.
If you can find me some cites from a dog or two, I’ll move this back to GQ with your “factual” info.
In the meantime, let’s try IMHO.
samclem GQ moderator
One of the main reasons for nuisance barking is that dogs are bored. So, yeah. My immediate reaction was… DUH.
Cats also get bored - this is what causes the ‘running around the house/staring at a moving point that noone else can see/acting like a crazy possessed feline’ syndrome. Outdoor cats and cats that get a lot of playtime are much less prone to these.
Dogs are much like humans when it comes to boredom. Sometimes they just have the blues. I knew my dog was bored when he would slowly wander through the house, looking for some stimulation, and look at me to see if I might play with him. When no play was forthcoming, he would wander away to some comfortable spot, sigh, and lay down.
Even when we were outdoors playing some game like fetch, no matter how much he would enjoy it initially, he would eventually have enough, and would just stare at me when I tried to keep him playing.
Some breeds are more affected by boredom than others. For example:
http://www.dog-breeds.co.uk/breeds/w01.htm
http://www.ask-the-vet.com/dog-breed-choosing.htm
Here’s a site that says boredom is the number one cause of inappropriate chewing: http://www.pets.ca/pettips/tips-7.htm
This site also discusses the topic: http://members.aol.com/ukaim/frame.htm?b_boredom.htm
My dog’s been bored and a little depressed ever since we’ve had to move into the living room (where he isn’t allowed) while we remodel the den and kitchen, where he still sleeps. Also he’s stuck tied up in the yard in the day so he dosen’t go crazy at the contractors. We’ve been trying to make him feel better about it, but he still seems pretty bummed out. Luckily we’re fairly close to being done - but yeah, you can definately tell he’s bored and misses us.
Usually. Except on poker night.
But damn, they sure do play for high steaks.
If you don’t want a dog or cat that is always bored, get a stupid one. The dog I had growing up was very smart, and she was constantly barking and running around whenever you wouldn’t play with her. It’s the same with the cat my parents have now; she’s always scratching (well, not now that she’s declawed) or jumping on people or attacking imaginary things. My cat, though, isn’t all that mentally agile. Most of the time she just sits there like a lump. It’s like she’s been lobotomized. She’s practically catatonic.
My two dogs when growing up were a lab and a wolf hybrid. The lab was dumb as a post, so didn’t get bored. You could just rub her belly on the way through the room and she would lie there for hours, hoping you would come back, or fall asleep and snore without moving.
The wolf, on the other hand, was hella smart. He would get bored and start entertaining himself by hunting things, usually mice in the tall grass out by the fence (my folks had like 15 acres of land). Until we finally trained him that the free-range chickens we raised were out of bounds (after months of effort), he was the best chicken killer in the neighborhood. He used to play games with the horses, too, where they would play-fight all the way up the fence, him on one side, the horse on the other, the horse bucking and kicking, an he snarling and yapping. But let him into the paddock with the horse and he was super nice to it, and vice-versa. He would also pick fights with the other dog; not serious ones, just play fights, and sometimes he would ‘throw’ a tennis ball for the other lab. Who would retrieve it back and leave it at his feet for him to pick up in his mouth and ‘throw’ again. And of course the evil UPS truck which must be destroyed - they both loved chasing him up and down the fence where the road crossed in front of our land.
The really weird one was the horse, Charlie, who would get bored and toss goats around the paddock. Really. You’d be sitting in the kitchen or something, and all of a sudden you’d see a goat flying through the air. Charlie would pick them up under their bellies and toss them through the air with his head. Strange part was, the goats never seemed to mind.
And to think, people ask me why I am a bit touched…
Yes, they definitely get board.
I noticed our Shiba was acting board a couple years ago. He’d just lie around listless all day, even though both me and Mr. Athena were home all the time and doggie had plenty of toys, a big house, and a big back yard to play in.
Finally, he started chewing on one of his front legs. When he’d chewed a raw spot, we took him to the vet. Vet told me, “he’s bored, so he chews.” So how to fix his boredom? Vet says “Get him a pet.”
A pet? My pet needs a pet. :rolleyes: But wait - does that mean I can get a puppy? A cuuute lil sweet puppy? Yay! Enter Edith, the pug.
That was a year ago. Now the shiba spends his days hiding from Edith, who wants to play ALL THE TIME. At least he’s not bored anymore.
I can always tell my cats are bored when they do things in front of us they know will get them in trouble, or they start aimlessly flicking things off the table.
Gomiboy, I have to say thank you for your post. I really needed a laugh this morning, to squeeze in between the coughing fits. I think I’ll be smiling all day, visualizing the flying goats.
You mean **Engineer’s ** cites aren’t good enough? Even the one from people with PhDs who spend their entire lives studying animals?
Certianly some of the other cites I’ve found (along with the aforementioned ones) been double-blind Nobel-winners published in Nature, but how is this not be a factual/answerable question?