Game/toy Ideas For Puppy.....

[Nadine83]

We have a 9 week old Golden Retriever puppy and so far we have entertained her by:

Retrieving games with her toys/balls

Teaching her sit, and we are working on drop.

Teaching her to sit before we throw her toys/balls for her

Running with the ball kicking it while she chases us.

Playing with her tug rope

Entertaining herself with an empty plastic bottle.

And today I gave her a kong with a little vegemite in it.

She seems to be getting bored with some of these (we have only had her for 4 days ) so I am looking for more ideas so I can change things around a bit. I am after games we can play with her and also things that she can do on her own (we would like her to learn from the start that we aren't always available for playing and that she needs to entertain herself for some of the day).

Also, when do I get her use to the lead?

Thanks

Edited April 6, 2011 by Nadine83

[Leelaa17]

You can try getting a stretchy piece of rope and attaching your tug-of-war toy to it... they actually design these toys specifically as well so you can look in pet shops

what you do is you attach it to something sturdy and she will tug-of-war with herself!

see I think the kong is a GREAT idea... but it never worked for my two GSD... they used it for 5 minutes then gave up...

make sure you do THINKING games as well for the pup (good work on teaching her sit!!!) as this will exercise her brain... its like that thing in Petbarn:

There are 6 ways to play with your pet:

1. snuggle toys are comforting friends

2. Tug toys bring you together

3. chase toys make exercise fun

4. Dental toys clean teeth and gums

5. IQ toys entertain for hours

6. every dog loves chew toys

I also find that stuffed toys are good but !!!WARNING!!! be prepared to clean up a hell of a mess aftwards! It does keep them entertained though!

You can get her used to the lead straight away however I would just do it around the house for now - just to get used to be attached to something.. only dop it for a short amount of time and do it a few times a day... hopefully by the time shes ready to go outside for walkies she wont have an issue with the lead!

[W Sibs]

I put a lead on my puppies usually the second day. They just walk around the house dragging it around (with my supervision). Just so they are use of having a collar and a leash on them.

I found out that I can leave an empty cardboard box out for Emmy and that will keep her entertained for hours with her ripping it apart, hiding in it, barking at it, wrestling with it. She loves it.

Ice blocks with a treat in it will keep a pup entertained too... unless you're Charlie who will drag it to the sun and then sleeps next to it, till the ice melts and then wakes up and eat it. Emmy will spend hours attacking it, licking, digging it, biting it, barking at it... it's good fun for her.

Buy a bubble machine so pup can chase bubbles.

Toilet rolls is another hit in our house.

Old sock with their lunch in it. I put bikkies in for Charlie and whenever he sees me doing this, he LOVES it. He plays with it and bite it, till he makes a hole and get his bikkies.

My 2 aren't interested in Kong and any treat toys...

Edited April 6, 2011 by CW EW

[Fynesse]

I have had the same issue with my BC pup. I used some of my zookeeping ideas to try and entertain him though. Through summer I made up iceblocks with all kinds of treats in them. He has chicken necks/wings for breakfast, so I wait until Im about to go to work before giving them to him, then I I hide them around the place (can be a bit icky if one doesnt get found right away though). I have provided a plastic shell full of water and another one with sand for digging. I occasionally scatter dry food around the place so he can search for it. uummmmm, empty toilet rolls or paper towel rolls get yummies put inside, then the ends covered in peanut butter (or canned food) I collect egg cartons and put some food in the little dips, then close it up so he can destroy the carton getting to the food.

Im always after more ideas, so looking forward to what everyone else does. (my dog lost interest in kongs and treats balls very quickly)

[Nadine83]

Some great ideas already! Thanks

I forgot to mention that I have given her toilet rolls and paper towel rolls which she has now lost interest in LOL. But I might try hiding the kibble in there

[wuffles]

You may be doing this already but I would also make sure you spend some time teaching her to calm down/sleep/be quiet

[Roman]

I have had shell pools for Roman since he was little. 2 with sand in them and 1 with water (someone already mentioned this I believe). I have now made an actual sand pit for him in the yard which is quite big. I hide things in the sand for him to find. He loves to dig & find them all. And he always thinks there's more so he'll keep digging for ages. It keeps him amused & it burns heaps of energy.

I also tied a toy to the end of a rope & lead it around for him to chase & sometimes catch it as a reward.

I'll keep thinking...

[Leelaa17]

Toilet rolls is another hit in our house.

I don't know what it is about toilet rolls but my baby GSD LOVEEEDDD them - she was OBSESSED. She would deliberately sneak behind my back to go and steal them out of the bathroom. And funnily enough - it was probably the only thing she DIDNT get sick of playing with!

[Nadine83]

You may be doing this already but I would also make sure you spend some time teaching her to calm down/sleep/be quiet

Yep, we do this too She is being taught to be outside on her own and also has sleep time in her crate. She whines but we ignore her and the whining has become less. When we play with her and she gets wound up, we randomly stop, put our hands on her and calm her down.

Roman- Great ideas there too. Thanks

Leelaa17- LOL, atleast it is a cheap obsession

Edited April 6, 2011 by Nadine83

[wagsalot]

I have had shell pools for Roman since he was little. 2 with sand in them and 1 with water (someone already mentioned this I believe). I have now made an actual sand pit for him in the yard which is quite big. I hide things in the sand for him to find. He loves to dig & find them all. And he always thinks there's more so he'll keep digging for ages. It keeps him amused & it burns heaps of energy.

I also tied a toy to the end of a rope & lead it around for him to chase & sometimes catch it as a reward.

I'll keep thinking...

We did the sand pit thing for Riley when he was a puppy too. I'd bury things in there before I went to work.

He loved it. We also taught him that was his digging place, rather than the rest of the yard.

Edited April 6, 2011 by wagsalot

[Roman]

We did the sand pit thing for Riley when he was a puppy too. I'd bury things in there before I went to work.

He loved it. We also taught him that was his digging place, rather than the rest of the yard.

I have found this is another plus side to the sandpits too. He tends to keep his digging to where he knows he's allowed.

[saradale]

Playing hide and seek with toys around the house keeps them amused for ages. Start by putting the toy somewhere they can see it and gradually make it harder for them, so they really have to use their brain and nose to find it. You can then go on to giving different toys different names, and making them find a particular item. I've taught my guys to bring me the tv remote and my slippers so far. OH of course wants to teach them to fetch him a beer!! Good luck to him I say! :D

[rastus_froggy]

Wobbler Kongs are the best invention ever in my books :p I leave them with my dogs all day as they are super strong and keep them occupied for AGES, it is so cute when you first give it to them and watch them figuring out how to use them.

If your dog loves to retrieve, one thing I found with my husbands dog is that he was so focused on the ball he would sit or stand right in front of us before we kicked the ball and he would usually end up copping a ball in the face when we kicked it, so what I have done to eliminate this problem is taught him to drop the ball at my feet then he has to run around the back of me before I kick it. This A: gives me time kick it and B: gives him a running start which he loves.

To make it more challenging I sometimes stand next to a chair or bucket or sometimes even my pushbike so then he has to run around it as well as me before I kick it :D

[Pretty Miss Emma]

With my young one I use thicker rolls than toilet rolls (she's 17mo), but also put some dry food in and then plug the ends with a little bit of scrunched up newspaper (that way it has smell, makes noise and when it gets destroyed there is a treat!). Try making the Kong more complex (ie start stuffing more food into it, and then plugging it in tightly). Buster cube or treat ball - they never get sick of them! Plus many of the other things you've said and that have been mentioned.

I think the one thing I was also really careful about was not giving her these things all the time, she only got one or two each day so that each time she saw them they hadn't lost their "fun" value.