# How to burn off puppy energy



## drharps (Jun 13, 2017)

I have a high energy 9 week old puppy. I work from home but have to leave her alone so I can get work done. She is cordoned off into a section of the living room. 

While she has kong toys, a tennis ball, and chew toys, she's not super excited about any of them. Any thoughts on what can be done to keep her entertained and active?

Similarly, any good ideas on burning off the energy when I can play with her? Right now I'm thinking of doing walks with her where I break into slow jogs so she exhausts herself. 

Thoughts?


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## sydneynicole (Apr 2, 2015)

Jogging is a bad idea, and lengthy walks are a bad a idea. Puppies shouldn't be forced to exercise - that means, I'd keep the leash walks at a minimum. Please don't run her. Her joints are not developed and running could be very detrimental. This is especially true if she is a large breed dog, but still applies to small breeds as well. Playing in the yard is fine, as long as she can take breaks whenever she wants and preferably is on grass. 

I'd focus more on training to tire her out. Often, training is more effective at tiring out a dog than physical exercise, and there's always something to teach a puppy or a game to play. Things like basic house manners, teaching her how to settle, basic life skills, etc. Just short little training sessions throughout the day, and lots of rewarding her whenever she is being calm or doing anything good. The key is to reward her even if she is essentially doing 'nothing' because doing nothing is better than whining or being destructive. 

If you focus on just 'burning off energy' what you'll end up with is a dog who does not know how to settle and who needs hours of running/walking to be manageable, which is not what you want, so best not to start off on the wrong foot.


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## Hiraeth (Aug 4, 2015)

sydneynicole said:


> Jogging is a bad idea, and lengthy walks are a bad a idea. Puppies shouldn't be forced to exercise - that means, I'd keep the leash walks at a minimum. Please don't run her. Her joints are not developed and running could be very detrimental. This is especially true if she is a large breed dog, but still applies to small breeds as well. Playing in the yard is fine, as long as she can take breaks whenever she wants and preferably is on grass.
> 
> I'd focus more on training to tire her out. Often, training is more effective at tiring out a dog than physical exercise, and there's always something to teach a puppy or a game to play. Things like basic house manners, teaching her how to settle, basic life skills, etc. Just short little training sessions throughout the day, and lots of rewarding her whenever she is being calm or doing anything good. The key is to reward her even if she is essentially doing 'nothing' because doing nothing is better than whining or being destructive.
> 
> If you focus on just 'burning off energy' what you'll end up with is a dog who does not know how to settle and who needs hours of running/walking to be manageable, which is not what you want, so best not to start off on the wrong foot.


I'll just second all of this. It's exactly what I was going to say.

Just to reiterate - forced repetitive movement on hard surfaces can be very detrimental to your puppy's joints. More and more studies are finding links between hip dyplasia and over-exercise or inappropriate exercise during puppyhood.


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## Amatae (Jul 31, 2017)

Just to add: I was told to cycle pet toys. Example: out of say 15 pet toys my pup only gets half of them. The other half stay up. Then when I notice he's getting bored of his current stock, I gather them all up and put out the other half. Then I just keep this rotation. It works wonders in keeping him active. 

I also make homemade little "busy toys". My pup likes to rip things up so I put some treats in an old toilet paper tube, poked some holes in it and then just let him have at it. I also cut a tennis ball halfway through and stuck some treats in that. The toilet paper tube is a one time toy and makes a mess.


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## Lillith (Feb 16, 2016)

What the others have said about jogging and walks.

Your pup doesn't need to be kept occupied all day. A couple of hours of one-on-one interaction is perfectly fine. Most work days, my Aussie/Collie gets about 1 to 1.5 hours a day, altogether (he's an adult, though). He entertains himself or sleeps the rest of the time, or just hangs out with us. Occasionally he'll bring us toys and we'll throw them for him. If she can't be satisfied with the toys she has, then too bad, lol. Go to sleep.


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

Generally, I never try to 'tire out' dogs as it can teach them to demand exercise and activity. Give the puppy 4-5 15 minute training/play sessions throughout the day and otherwise let it self entertain in a crate/pen or sleep. All dogs need to learn that sometimes nothing happens, even if they want something to happen. 

Also, as the puppy grows up toy interest and attention span should develop as well.


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## rebecca1938 (Sep 9, 2017)

Wow. I just want to say thank you for this. I have a puppy too and I am voraciously reading through this forum for advice, and I also was running with pup to expend energy. I had NO idea. Now my next move is to find out HOW to train the pup to self soothe and calm down. Thank You!


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## RoyMarlon (Aug 28, 2017)

I would recommend taking her out to a park and let her entertain herself in the way she wants to, this is the only enjoyable way to burn off energy for any dog. As for the toys, I would say that you should change them one by one, maybe something new or unique will help.


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## NorCalFMD (Dec 12, 2016)

My dog goes to work with me, and has since she was 6 months old. During my 2 short breaks (10 minutes), I used to try to walk as far as we could to wear her out. I quickly discovered that letting her spend that 10 minutes sniffing everything she wants on the walking path does far more to wear her out and calm her down, because it works her brain more. 

Just something to think about- mental tiredness rather than physical tiredness.


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## russhw (Feb 5, 2017)

Frisbee Frisbee Frisbee now is the time to do it the floppy ones its the best fun you can have with your pup. milo is starting to do tricks on his own at 16 months


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

16 mo puppy, way different than 9-16 wk old puppy. Fetch on a shock absorbent surface is great if not overdone. Too much fetch for a puppy is not good for joints.


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## airillusion (Aug 30, 2015)

I was in the same boat just 5 weeks ago. Believe me, it does get better. What I've found to work better than tiring my pup out physically is tiring her out mentally. I try to introduce her to as many things as possible while being safe. Put a ladder or shovel on the ground for your pup to sniff. Introduce your pup to an umbrella. Take a drive through the country and when you see livestock, park on the side of the road, roll down the closest window from puppy to livestock (make sure puppy is secured in car with seatbelt, etc.), walk over to window and give a treat every time your puppy looks at the livestock. Buy a hard plastic kiddie pool, add an inch of water and introduce her to it. Or get one of those sprinklers that connects to the hose and show her how to run through it and cover the holes with her paws. Take your puppy to the vet and practice sitting on the scale. Just make sure you read up on reading dog body language to make sure you are not scaring him/her. 

The best thing we have found was scent training. I mentioned to our trainer for puppy kindergarten that our puppy was bored and needed a confidence boost after a bad experience and she offered a nose work class, which we have taken for two weeks now and she is pooped most of the evening after it.


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## Bentwings (Mar 30, 2015)

Scent work is really good for young dogs. They learn to use their nose for a purpose. And as you noted it is very taxing mentally. You can hide things in the house and let the pup find them. Use an appropriate command....find red ball, find rope etc. 

I'd keep walks to fun but also training. It's a good time to begin heel training. I teach this right away, then add a " snif" command that releases the dog to explore. I alternate this on walks so the dog learns that heel means walk nice beside you and sniff is his time. I also talk baby talk to my dog. Most people think I'm an old guy losing his mind.LOL We go to dog classes almost every week more for socializing the dog and just being close to other dogs. We do class work but much more. It's extremely mental for the dog especially in classes that keep moving. I don't like stand around time any more than my dog so we do something in these times. My dog will often sleep all the next day except potty times.

We do about a ten minute intense fast moving play exercise that mentally and physically tires the dog. She will usually curl up and relax for a few hours. I add a curl up command here too with a reward. 

I also take my dog with me when I service my cars and truck. She is perfectly happy to curl up on the seat or floor. A reward helps too.

Byron


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## Tollerowner (Jul 5, 2011)

I have the same issue. My vet says it is fine to walk a dog as far as it wants to go. My 7.5 month old walks 4 miles some days and 1.5 miles others. When she wants to stop, I stop.
I took my first two dogs running 4 miles a day as soon as they were old enough to run. My second one is now 16.5 and still walks a mile most days. She no longer plays frisbee or swims (both of which she did last year) but still enjoys walking.
Maybe she would still be playing frisbee if I hadn't taken her running so early.
Maybe Tollers aren't like other dogs.
I don't know.

Certainly I agree with everyone that mental work is important also and I am doing that with my puppy. With the first two I had small children and no time for such stuff; and they got by fine.


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