Help with indoor excersices

There is always doggie daycare where you can leave him during the day and he'll ge exercise there while your at work.

A game I like to play with my dog is the cup game. I have three cups and I put a treat under one cup mix them around and let my dog's nose find the treat. There are also other toys that are games for dogs, like this one ball I have that despenses treats as the dog rolls it, keeps my dog busy for a long time.

A big dog like that relly needs the exercise and even more so a good heatly weight control food for indoor dogs. A lot of indoor dogs tend to over eat so just watch on how much food he's getting.

We really don't need doggie day care because I am awake during the day and with him. I just need something to occupy him for a couple of hours until my husband gets up.

He has lots of toys. We have the treat ball as well, along with about 10 other chew toys. I like the idea of hiding food. Maybe I'll make a game out of it by hiding food around the house and make him sniff it out.

There have been many threads on this subject, but one hit close to home tonight. Yes, my dog is a cattle dog, and herding is what he seems to want to do above all. We were out playing in the backyard tonight as we do every night it doesn't rain when he bit my calf. He left scratch marks. This is very unusual for him for although he still nips at my husband, this is the first time in months he has taken a bite at me.

I know it is bread into him to bite at sheep, or cattle, but how do I break him of biting me?

The best way to teach a dog not to bite is through your reaction.  Say "OW" in a loud voice, loud enough to startle the dog.  Then end play time right there and then.  And isolate yourself from the dog (I do it by locking myself in a room when we went through puppy nipping with our dog).  Then wait a few minutes, and resume play.  Make sure your husband does the same thing. 

If he drags, have you tried using a halti head collar?  I used a pinch collar to train my dog not to pull, and it only took about a week to do it.  But you need the help of a professional instructor to show you how to use the pinch collar.  If not used correctly, the dog can grow "immune" to the feeling and ignore the collar altogether.

Do you have a backyard or a dog park near your house you could go to?  I found that my dog loves fetching with frisbees a lot more than balls.  You can also teach your dog to catch a frisbee in mid-air, which is quite neat to watch.

Sometimes I play hide and seek with my dog.  First I had him sit in a room and I'd hide.  Then I'd call him and say "find me".  But he has gotten way too good at this game and knows all my hiding spots now.  If he doesn't get it at first, try doing it mid-play and have treats ready.

look into clicker training-- free-shaping tricks is very mentally challenging for a dog. A lot of the basic "foundation training" people do with agility puppies can be done indoors without any equipment, you could look into that.
 

All of Lizzie's playtime is done indoors. She has a rope toy that she likes and a hello kitty stuffie which is practically glued to her mouth. I ordered a Giggly Ball, its a ball that makes noise and dispenses the treats as you move it. Lizzie will probably be terrified of the sound at first, but she is a big food hog so things will even themselves out.
 
I also got her a Kong which can provide alot of entertainment. As MudPuppy suggested trick training is a VERY good form of mental excersise. Good luck!

Keep up with the suggestions guys!  As winter approaches this year I probably won't be doing alot of skijoring with my dogs.  I'll probably be too fat for them to pull me!  Haha!!

Denali, find a really good clicker trainer, have a look at clickersolutions.com to help with that. A good clicker trainer will help you with all points you mentioned- including keeping your dog busy, as was suggested, by shaping.

When he does bite me we end play. He and I are seperated for about 10 minutes, then it's business as usual. My husband though won't stay constant with training. He tries a thing once or twice and if it doesn't work, he blows it off. I need to train him first, then the dog.

We do have a back yard, but no fence yet. We are slowly getting supplies for a fence. I do tie him to a rope outside, but I have to stay with him. He has gotten so strong that he can break the rope. Either that, or he chews through it.

I like playing hide and seek. My husband and I have started to play "Where is he/she?" I make the dog go find hubby, or he sends the dog after me. He is catching on, but it is slow.

I also try to teach him objects. Ball and rope are the first 2. He knows which is which, but won't always bring the one I ask for. We're still working on it.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. It does help. Soon we hope to have a fenced in yard for him to play in. That way even if I am a little too busy, he can still go outside and jump around.