Settling Down With A Chew Toy

[frankfurts]

How can i get my pup to settle down with a chew toy? I can't just keep feeding him kongs all day lol. He plays wih his toys but only if i throw them around a bit for him and work him into a frenzy. I want him to be able to sit next to me on the lounge and chew away quietly on a toy instead of chewing away not so quietly at my clothes and fingers

Edited May 12, 2010 by frankfurts

[persephone]

You have to make the toy more desirable than YOU . You either have him interacting with you.. or you have him interacting with a toy hard to expect a baby to be lying with you and not want to use his mouth - after all - that is how baby pups learn about their world!

I would suggest if you want you pup to learn to be more 'independent' and spend time chewing- then get him a nice raw BONE . put him on his mat/bed..and let him chew ;) For a little pup like that- a lamb/beef rib or even a turkey wing will keep him busy !

[frankfurts]

ok i'll give it a try, for some reason my vet was against giving puppies chew bones

[Cazwah]

How old is your little pup? I remember I expected too much too soon from my puppy- he was 9 weeks old and I was confused as to why he wasn't whiling away the hours on his kongs- until our trainer came over, and said he was doing really well to focus on the kong for even a minute!! It took a long time before Chestnut could focus on just chewing his kong. However, we did introduce him to pig's ears fairly early on, and he LOVED them, he was able to stay focused on them much longer than the kongs. So if you need a time out for yourself, maybe try settling him down with a pig's ear, or like Persephone said, a raw bone- nothing beats a bone! I could be juggling all Chestnut's favourite treats in front of him and he still would not look up if he was chewing on a bone!

Ooh, and I also found fetch was a great game to play when I was mentally tired of entertaining my pup- you can just sit there and he does all the work, AND gets tuckered out from it =)

Have fun!

[frankfurts]

he is only 9 weeks, might get some pigs ears. How can i teach him to fetch, i throw something and he gets it but he wont bring it back lol

[Miranda]

Your puppy is only a baby, I think you are expecting far too much of him. As for chew toys try giving him a brisket bone or a chicken wing if he's a small breed.

[persephone]

Your puppy is only a baby, I think you are expecting far too much of him.

Zackly! He is a BABY!! He needs to eat, sleep LOTS... and have a few minutes playtime every so often.

[Monah]

Your puppy is only a baby, I think you are expecting far too much of him.

Zackly! He is a BABY!! He needs to eat, sleep LOTS... and have a few minutes playtime every so often.

Zackly ;) here too, just a baby. I'm still waiting for my viz to settle ;) but, she's only 4!!! :D

[persephone]

I'm still waiting for my viz to settle but, she's only 4!!!