Play Ideas To Tire Boof Out, Which Isnt Fetch?

[ButerflyGirl]

Well its been two weeks since getting Boof, and he is going well, but he is getting ever increasing energy, which he wants to use to jump and chew on us. (he is 11.5 weeks old, Koolie x Rottwieler)

Now the jumping we are working on, by the turn the back and ignore him until he is sitting nicely thing, and similarly for the chewing, if he starts chewing on us then thats the end of pats (well for a couple of minutes anyway)

In the mornings and in the afternoons when we come home from work we give him a play, but he is getting increassingly bored with "fetching" toys, even the ones with squeakers in them, after a couple of throws, he just looks up at you as if to say "well you threw it, if you want it then go and get it yourself!!" the little bugger!! , we have a knoted rope that we play tug of war with, complete with growls, and head shakes (not aggressive, just playfull), but just thought I would see if anyone else has any other ideas

He has a bone and toys to play with through the day and, so far hasnt got himself into too much trouble when we arent around, but it would be nice to be able to get rid of a bit of that excess energy and be able to sit down and be quiet with him, he is quite placid when he doesnt have all that energy built up. I have found a toy that he really likes, it is a rope that is in a circle with a canvas center (so it can be a tug toy or a frizby) with a squeaker in it and he goes nuts over that one, so I have made that a special toy that he only gets when we are outside, not an all day toy.

[Kavik]

What about some training? Training is good for building your relationship with your dog, and gets them mentally tired. It doesn't have to take a long time (puppies have short attention spans) and besides basic obedience (which is crucial), tricks are also fun to teach

[ButerflyGirl]

What sort of things would you say are good to teach at 11.5 weeks old. I had been putting the lead on him and walking up and down the back verandah making him sit then walk, then sit, then walk, but sometimes I might as well be walking a kangaroo. Is it just a matter of ignoring it untill he finally gets the idea of what he is supposed to be doing, and it will slowly become less and less.

I'm sure its just a puppy thing and I dont expect him to be perfectly behaved all the time (well at this age anyway ) but sometimes it would be nice to channel that "first thing" energy into something other than jumping and chewing on us. We do make him sit before he gets anything when he is in these moods, but then he's back to hyper-puppy

[cassie]

Sit, walk, sit, walk, sit, walk, etc will soon become very boring to a baby puppy. You need to keep training sessions short but often, and always fun fun fun!

[Kavik]

Basic commands like sit, come, drop are a good start. Clicker training is lots of fun and great for teaching tricks, also useful for obedience and agility behaviours. Read up on it if you want to do it - targetting is a good first behaviour to teach and useful for many other things. (and less frustrating than some others to teach with a clicker )

[W Sibs]

hi!

quick walks around the block... things to sniff, flowers to pee on, leaf to bring home (my pup does this)... it keeps their mind busy. if i was stuck at home all the time, i will go crazy too.. LOL

training is good to. learning new tricks is always fun.

[ButerflyGirl]

We went for a walk around the block this morning, we started out with a very energetic bouncy walk which slowed to a nice gentle walk about half way round then once we got home, it was lots of energy again, maybe I should have made it two laps around the block!!!

If I could bring myself to jog I would use that to wear him out a bit, he loved that on the weekend at a park we went to, but that was a team relay effort, DP did one lap, then I did a lap, then we'd swap again, but even then we were pooped. Nothing like a dog to get you fit!!!

[Kavik]

You shouldn't do much forced exercise (lead walking) with a young pup - certainly should not be doing jogging on a lead. Best to wait til they are older for that or they may injure themselves.

[Jigsaw]

Koolie x Rottie - you've got a dog that wants to work and use it's brain!!! Look into clicker training http://www.clickertraining.com/whatis

You can start with really short sessions - 3 mins several times a day is more than enough for a little puppy and will wear his brain out quickly and make him tired. Little legs and joints are not meant for long forced (as in on lead) walks at this age as it can put a lot of strain on their bodies. I would also suggest that you look at drive training. K9 Force has a great distance program and starting as a pup is a good idea too. http://www.k9force.net/

[Seita]

Tricks and fun games are good as well for tiring puppies out.

Checkout Dog Scouts for lots of really good ideas for games, tricks and general training.

I like games like "find it", tricks like shake hands, roll over, wave. As well as basic obedience - come, sit, stay are all good basics.

I do a short walk with my pup (18 weeks), mostly off lead so he can run and sniff and then I do a short training session most mornings and that seems to work with him.