# Ideas to keep my puppy from being bored



## LindsayErin (Jun 24, 2011)

I have a 5 1/2 month old Miniature Australian Sheppard. I take her to dog park 4-5 times a week for hours. I notice when I don't take her she is bored and drives me crazy! I take her for a 45min walk on the days I can't make it to dog park. Are there any other ideas I can do with her besides dog park? I play fetch with her, but she gets bored of that too after 5 mins. I have a kong and that's done after the treat is done. She is potty trained and her way of telling us she needs to go out is by scratching at the door. She will also do that when she is bored. When she did this, I was worried at first she had a UTI because minutes after I took her out and brought her back in she was scratching at the door. Come to find out she was just bored and messing with me. Any advice you have will be great! I just feel like I HAVE to take her to dog park and if I don't we have a long day ahead of us.


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## a7dk (Mar 30, 2011)

On the days my dog can't go to the park/hiking/swimming we take him on 2 45-minute walks, and he's about 1.5 years old, so I would expect your puppy to have more energy than that! Try taking him on more walks on the off-days. Or find a good easy hiking spot or swimming hole - Hobbes loves, loves, loves to play in the stream! 

On bad-weather days try indoor games like "find it" or hide-&-seek. My dog loves those kinds of games, as well as playing tug, although that's a bit dangerous in my small apartment!


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## LindsayErin (Jun 24, 2011)

a7dk said:


> On the days my dog can't go to the park/hiking/swimming we take him on 2 45-minute walks, and he's about 1.5 years old, so I would expect your puppy to have more energy than that! Try taking him on more walks on the off-days. Or find a good easy hiking spot or swimming hole - Hobbes loves, loves, loves to play in the stream!
> 
> On bad-weather days try indoor games like "find it" or hide-&-seek. My dog loves those kinds of games, as well as playing tug, although that's a bit dangerous in my small apartment!


We do all of those! This pup needs to run every day! SO much energy. I was at park yesterday for 2 hours! and she was still running around crazy w/ other dogs. It probably doesn't help the fact that she is in her crate for 6hrs during the day... I just feel like I absolutely have to take her to run or else she's bored no matter what else we do with her. more than 1/2 of that is probably just me thinking that.


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## dmickle1 (Jun 19, 2011)

Puzzle toys don't require your participation, yet may keep your pup busy for a while. There are many different kinds, just google "dog puzzle toy" to do some research


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## McBee (Jul 1, 2011)

Have you tried to integrate some training when she is in her active state of mind? Mitigating their energy through mental concentration is just as important as physical activity.

I would also agree with the above; try different types of games, toys, etc. Beautiful pup, by the way!


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## jkliveng (Jul 7, 2011)

build one of those flirt poles or something? i read about it earlier, just a piece of something hanging off a string that they can barely get to, like a cat toy, try googling it to find more if you want. Mine throws and noses his balls and toys away and runs after them thankfully, so he gets a lot from that. maybe if the park is too much of a hassle so often invite a friend over with their dog or something for some smaller scale and more comfortable time outside? def puzzles or hide and seek kibble for sure. I plan on hiding all Mick's dinner tonight in a trail because he was a gentlemen today and stayed lazy with me.


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## LindsayErin (Jun 24, 2011)

dmickle1 said:


> Puzzle toys don't require your participation, yet may keep your pup busy for a while. There are many different kinds, just google "dog puzzle toy" to do some research


I have! I am going to look into purchasing one, for sure 



McBee said:


> Have you tried to integrate some training when she is in her active state of mind? Mitigating their energy through mental concentration is just as important as physical activity.
> 
> I would also agree with the above; try different types of games, toys, etc. Beautiful pup, by the way!


Yes! training happens almost every night. She gets things very easily. She knows all the basics already.. sit, stay, lay down, speak, shake, roll over, come, leave it, go get it etc etc. My husband and I work a lot with her. She has so much energy! I understand she's a puppy, but my lordy, sometimes she acts like we do nothing with her! I play hide and seek with her, hide her toys....

And thanks for saying I have a beautiful pup. She is lucky she is so cute! ha ha I am only kidding. 



jkliveng said:


> build one of those flirt poles or something? i read about it earlier, just a piece of something hanging off a string that they can barely get to, like a cat toy, try googling it to find more if you want. Mine throws and noses his balls and toys away and runs after them thankfully, so he gets a lot from that. maybe if the park is too much of a hassle so often invite a friend over with their dog or something for some smaller scale and more comfortable time outside? def puzzles or hide and seek kibble for sure. I plan on hiding all Mick's dinner tonight in a trail because he was a gentlemen today and stayed lazy with me.


Thanks for the idea! That's so cute that your dog was lazy with you all day. I want that for at least 5 mins! lol

The park is only a hassle when I feel like if I don't take her I am in big trouble... do you know what I mean? And on days like today...it's raining... no park or walk... I am dreading going home from work because I don't know how she's going to be... will she be satisfied with just playing games in the house? Thankfully my neighbor has a dog and they love to play. Hope she is home so I can knock on her door and the dogs can play for awhile.


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## Greater Swiss (Jun 7, 2011)

Over the course of trying to keep Caeda busy, entertained, excercised and learning, we have run into a bunch of things that worked brilliantly, although some of them were as short lived as they were awesome. This is with an emphasis on cheap homemade stuff. Needless to say, all of these "toys" are the supervised kind. A bit of cardboard won't do any damage, we make a point of being sure she isn't ingesting anything.

things we've tried, rated from 1-5

braided rope (not the nasty nylon stuff, its got a cloth-type feel)-3- great tug toy for teaching pull vs. give.

big stick-4- the timeless classic. I hold it like a walking stick, and she goes APE on the bottom. 

leafy branch-5- absolute #1 for energy burning frenzy chase. (basically a VERY cheap "flirt pole")

big cardboard box-5- she barked at it for an hour or so, then commenced to pounce on it & get her butt kicked by geometry she doesn't understand yet. Eventually, she'll need a fridge/freezer box. Sometimes, a dog just has an urge to destroy something beautiful.

rubber chicken hung from ceiling-5- We hung it just high enough that she has to reach/jump for it. It makes a godawful noise every time she lets go and starts to walk away. Keeps her busy for at least 45 minutes at a time.

empty pop bottle with kibble inside-3- she figured this out pretty quick, but it was good for a couple days.

laser-3- she gets bored of it fairly quickly, but it seems new every time. Carpet or good traction is a must.

sock tied with food inside-1- she just ripped it open & ate the food.

simply throwing treats around the lawn-4- we've fed her meals this way several times, and it not only kept her busy for almost an hour, preventing her from gulping the food down, it made her use her nose & think.

soaked rag twisted around bacon then frozen-4- she loved the heck out of it, and it seemed to ease the teething pain, but it only lasted 20 minutes or so.

anything under a laundry basket-2- it made her think for 30 seconds.

anything tied down with a bungie-5- never ending game of tug with something that can't lose!

I know some people are going to go "OH THAT IS HORRIBLE!!" about one or the other or all of these, well....our dog is healthy and happy, so please don't tell us we are irresponsible. Trust me, we are watching her closely with all of these, and she IS having a lot of fun. As being suggestions for entertaining your dog...take 'em or leave 'em 

instead of bunging the page up with pics, here's a set on flickr:
PICS


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

Lots of good advice so I'm only going to add one thing.

Sometimes a lot of exercise is actually too much exercise, in essence it gets the pup revved up and conditions them to need MORE. So you need to find a balance. Two hours a day is a LOT. If you ever want to have an off switch on your aussie..then you have to enforce quiet, relaxing times just as much as exercise and training time. 

Google Karen Overall's Protocol for Relaxation, there are also some vids of people doing some of the exercise on youtube. It's boring, but it works. Work on a settle command (a relaxed, hips over, downstay), use your crate and a longlasting chewy to give her "naptime". Just like kids they can get so wound up that they can't stop.


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## LindsayErin (Jun 24, 2011)

Greater Swiss said:


> Over the course of trying to keep Caeda busy, entertained, excercised and learning, we have run into a bunch of things that worked brilliantly, although some of them were as short lived as they were awesome. This is with an emphasis on cheap homemade stuff. Needless to say, all of these "toys" are the supervised kind. A bit of cardboard won't do any damage, we make a point of being sure she isn't ingesting anything.
> 
> things we've tried, rated from 1-5
> 
> ...


WOW! These are all things we need to consider! Thanks so much for taking the time to write all of this out. I am going to check out your pics 


Cracker said:


> Lots of good advice so I'm only going to add one thing.
> 
> *Sometimes a lot of exercise is actually too much exercise, in essence it gets the pup revved up and conditions them to need MORE. So you need to find a balance. Two hours a day is a LOT.* If you ever want to have an off switch on your aussie..then you have to enforce quiet, relaxing times just as much as exercise and training time.
> 
> Google Karen Overall's Protocol for Relaxation, there are also some vids of people doing some of the exercise on youtube. It's boring, but it works. Work on a settle command (a relaxed, hips over, downstay), use your crate and a longlasting chewy to give her "naptime". Just like kids they can get so wound up that they can't stop.


Glad you said this because I am starting to think the same about over exercising. When I am at park for 2 hours it's because I loose track of time talking with all the other doggie parents at the park ;-) Then I look at the time and 2 hours have passed. Anyway, my pup is crate trained...she always has a safe crate toy in there. nylon bones which was recommended to us. On weekends, we put her in crate for nap time - she needs it! She won't stay asleep if she is not in her crate. Every move/sound we make she gets up and has to see what's going on. I just bought my parents an extra crate just for this. We are at my parents a lot and Molly needs a crate even over there so she can nap. It's like a pack n' play! 

Yesterday, I did not go to dog park! I just took her on an hour walk and that seemed to satisfy her! I also played some fetch when we got home, played with her kong and I gave her a piece of ice which she's obsessed with. Many might disagree, but she loves it and I am sure it feels good on her gums since she is teething. 

As for quiet and relaxing time, that's at night. She knows that is when mommy and daddy like to relax and watch TV. As soon as I brush my teeth she is already in her crate for bed time without us even saying the word, "kennel"  

I guess my whole problem is feeling like I have to take her to dog park everyday when I get home from work... I understand I don't have to, but like I said I feel like I do since she is in her crate for 6hrs during the day. She has to learn that we are not going to take her there everyday because we physically can't do that. Thankfully park is only 10mins away from us, but still. 

This is my first time having a dog and I am for sure learning a lot already!


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## a7dk (Mar 30, 2011)

LindsayErin said:


> I guess my whole problem is feeling like I have to take her to dog park everyday when I get home from work... I understand I don't have to, but like I said I feel like I do since she is in her crate for 6hrs during the day. She has to learn that we are not going to take her there everyday because we physically can't do that. Thankfully park is only 10mins away from us, but still.


I know exactly what you mean here. When we first got Hobbes we thought if he didn't go every day he would go stark raving mad. It turns out he's perfectly happy only going a few times a week, and once we discovered hiking we go even less often, and Hobbes is fine with it. The poster who mentioned training relaxing time is right on, too. If you take the time to teach your pup to quiet down and relax now you will be SOOOO glad you did. 

Also, slightly OT but it makes me laugh about your dog running to the kennel at night at bed-time - Hobbes does that too and it's adorable.


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## LindsayErin (Jun 24, 2011)

a7dk said:


> I know exactly what you mean here. When we first got Hobbes we thought if he didn't go every day he would go stark raving mad. It turns out he's perfectly happy only going a few times a week, and once we discovered hiking we go even less often, and Hobbes is fine with it. The poster who mentioned training relaxing time is right on, too. If you take the time to teach your pup to quiet down and relax now you will be SOOOO glad you did.
> 
> Also, slightly OT but it makes me laugh about your dog running to the kennel at night at bed-time - Hobbes does that too and it's adorable.


 awww! It is adorable! Sometimes when I go for a treat for her she runs in her kennel... I'm like no no Molly, you don't have to go in there just yet haha Speaking of treats, we don't give her many. She trains better with no treats, just love and praise. That's just weird to me.. you would think it would be opposite. This breed is all about making the family happy and that is 110% true. 

My hub and I always say, shhhh relax Molly, we pet her calmly and nicely and she just goes crazy and thinks we are playing. Maybe it's the "shhh" part lol We will figure it out! It's good to hear that I am at least doing things you have been saying... just going to take some time.


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## jkliveng (Jul 7, 2011)

Some great ideas up there! I just tried the kibble in the water bottle, I just wanted to take it and dump the stuff out he was taking so long haha. He finally got it though after trying to tongue it out through the hole. Then he eyed my gatorade bottle and I had to tell him no...


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## Greater Swiss (Jun 7, 2011)

jkliveng said:


> Some great ideas up there! I just tried the kibble in the water bottle, I just wanted to take it and dump the stuff out he was taking so long haha. He finally got it though after trying to tongue it out through the hole. Then he eyed my gatorade bottle and I had to tell him no...


HAHA!!! We've had that too. The water bottle one is a bit difficult because of that, they start thinking that ALL bottles are theirs to play with lol. Its like a really cheap Kong Genius  (which IMO is a fantastic purchase too!) The boxes may end up proving a problem as well....but its one of those things we've decided to deal with. 

Glad you like our cheapie entertainment ideas. 

One thing that was mentioned that I absolutely agree with....teach your dog to be calm too!! We used to think ours wanted to play more in the evenings, and play rough with her teeth until we realized she just plain old needed a nap!! (Think toddler at 10pm having a tantrum, they think they want to stay up, but really shouldn't lol). Of course between napping and training they do need some fun!


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## iheartmarcus (Jul 27, 2011)

Cracker said:


> Sometimes a lot of exercise is actually too much exercise, in essence it gets the pup revved up and conditions them to need MORE. So you need to find a balance. Two hours a day is a LOT. If you ever want to have an off switch on your aussie..then you have to enforce quiet, relaxing times just as much as exercise and training time.





Greater Swiss said:


> One thing that was mentioned that I absolutely agree with....teach your dog to be calm too!! We used to think ours wanted to play more in the evenings, and play rough with her teeth until we realized she just plain old needed a nap!! (Think toddler at 10pm having a tantrum, they think they want to stay up, but really shouldn't lol). Of course between napping and training they do need some fun!


Ahhhh, this is TOTALLY my problem right now!! Marcus is a non-stop energizer bunny, and I'm constantly scratching my head trying to figure out how to tire him out! He is only 12 weeks old, and he is constantly wanting to walk and sniff around non-stop. What are planned to be 20 min walks always end up 30-40 min because he darts about and leash training is only in-progress right now. I schedule play sessions but he gets bored super fast with every toy except food toys, and I can only do so much obedience training without fattening him up too much. Some times at night he is so hyper (he gets mad zoomies) that I have to take him for another walk somewhere so he'll tire out (socialization seems to tire him out a lot a lot a lot; drops over and naps on the car ride home!). So, I think this is exactly the problem you are citing, with him getting revved up from all the things I'm trying to do to prevent a hyper puppy!

For people who went through the puppy stage with their dogs, roughly speaking (since every breed and dog is different), how much nap time should I enforce and how much exercise should I try to have or try to cap it at? And is there a way to distinguish hyper activity from lack of enough exercise and from too much stimulation??


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## Greater Swiss (Jun 7, 2011)

iheartmarcus said:


> I can only do so much obedience training without fattening him up too much.


Ah hah! I had the same problem until I started making my own dog treats, partially for cost savings and partially because of treat sizes out there (they all seem WAY too big to train a little puppy with!). Some flour (white and wheat 1 1/2 cup each), peanut butter (1/2 cup), water (1 cup) and oil (2tbsp). Mixed all together, rolled REALLY thin on a cookie sheet, then I used the pizza cutter to cut them to size (really small!!). In the oven for 20-25 mins and then just break them apart. Just big enough to taste. Not super high value unfortunately for reinforcing the really hard stuff, but she does like them a lot. Great for pez-dispensing!




iheartmarcus said:


> And is there a way to distinguish hyper activity from lack of enough exercise and from too much stimulation??


I can't give you a straight answer on any of it, BUT we started watching Caeda when it was later in the evening when she hadn't slept much in the day and took note of how she acted then. More bitey, less obedient (training? What training?) and over-hyper, almost frantic. I'm sure that every puppy is different though. All you can do is observe her just before she crashes.


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## Nood (Jul 21, 2011)

This might sound really weird. But it works for us. 

When Noodle's really rowdy or it's raining and we can't make it to the dog park, we play the blanket game. I have her lie down, be still, toss a blanket over her and then say "GO" and she has to get out. Sometimes, I go hide and she has to find me. Or I hide a treat. It actually sounds ridiculous as I'm sitting here typing it but she really tires herself out trying to get out of the blanket. Another bonus is that we both love this game. She'll even bring me the the blanket out of her crate so we can play!


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## jkliveng (Jul 7, 2011)

I do that too! we have an empty room upstairs and i have left an old comforter in it. he goes in there and plays on top of it with his toys, and i thought i would just hide him toys under it for him to go under and find, instead he went through it to get to them... so thats when i just started throwing it on top of him!


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## Nood (Jul 21, 2011)

I am so glad that I'm not the only one! I swear my husband thinks I'm a psycho when it comes to the puppy! :laugh:


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