Bored puppy

Londonwriter

chris_n_tj wrote: »

I would leave him in his crate whenever you need to go out. How high is the pen you use, remeber as he grows he will be able to jump the pen. Try the crate even when you are at home. The whining is a crafty way of him getting your attention, they are not daft. The more you give in to the whining the worse the problem will be. Be firmer. Puupy is trying it on with you, and by the sound of it he is winning, I know its hard but, stop giving in to him. How is he at bed time?
Chris n TJ

Mainly quiet, actually. If I do lots of short play sessions around going to the loo, he tends to whine for ages afterwards. If I ignore him - only taking him out to the loo - and do big play sessions - he tends to settle after a while.

He hates being put in the crate. He refuses to go in and I have to push him. If the crate door is open and he can play in the playpen, he's usually quite happy. When he's in the playpen, he will tend to whine if he wants to go out to the loo. It's just, for some reason, the minute he gets into the living room, he starts peeing/pooing everywhere even if he's just been. And he'll do it covertly as well.

He's always desperate to get into the living room and, when there, he isn't interested in most of the dog toys I try with him. Instead, he'd rather try to pull things off the bookcases, etc. I just want some way of stimulating him that is new to him and which allows him to get exercise in the living room.

Does anyone have any suggestions for games/toys that would suit a working/hunting dog?

As I say, the Puppy Kong wasn't a huge success - he prefers things that skid away from him and squeak (the only toy with any staying power I've found) and puzzles. So far, he likes a squeaky, slippery Tony Blair toy and the Nina Ottosson Dog Brick and Fighter. He got really bored with the Tornado after about a second and the Dog Pyramid is currently too big for him (although he likes it when I demo it to him - he just can't replicate what I'm doing). The soft puppy cubes weren't a success (he doesn't even like fetching them), he completely ignored the chew tyre and the bird with dental string legs, and there's only so much you can play with a tug toy. Leaping over a broom has got quite tired and there's only so much I can madly wave a broom around (it also encourages him to chase brooms). I had some success hiding treats all over the house for him to find but, again, there's only so many I can hide before he gets tubby.

lostinrates

Are you leaving the toys all down ll the time? Pick them all up bar a couple and give anew one at a loo break....that will help up see them as new and fresh.

If little stimulation bigger plays are working, thats wht I'd aim to build on.

ETA: whole conservatory to himself still means he could be lonely. Have you tried the radio? My dogs quite like radio 4

sarabe

chris_n_tj wrote: »

It has been known for a puppy to choke on treats. Ask any vet, most will say the same. Also look on the packets, it states not for puppies under 6 months.

And the difference between a treat and a piece of kibble, cheese, sausage, chicken wing, cracker, cooked pasta, cornflake, sugar puff, liver, cat biscuit, lamb rib, bonio, chip, carrot, etc etc is what????

chris_n_tj

While a agree totally with what you are saying to a point, a lot of dog owners are not as lucky to have the experience of a lot of puppies, and many are first time pet owners. Everyone has to learn dont they, and as you stated you have the experience, as many of us do. But lots dont. That is why I say caution with treats with puppies. I didnt want to make it sound like do as I say, I just gave my views, sorry if i offended
Chris

chris_n_tj

sarabe wrote: »

And the difference between a treat and a piece of kibble, cheese, sausage, chicken wing, cracker, cooked pasta, cornflake, sugar puff, liver, cat biscuit, lamb rib, bonio, chip, carrot, etc etc is what????

Can we agree to disagree on this please. The tone of your post isnt called for. We each have our own views, but I always try to be civil. As for the above list I wouldnt give any puppy of 9 weeks old any of the above things apart from moist kibble, my choice of course.
Chris

Londonwriter

lostinrates wrote: »

Are you leaving the toys all down ll the time? Pick them all up bar a couple and give anew one at a loo break....that will help up see them as new and fresh.

If little stimulation bigger plays are working, thats wht I'd aim to build on.

ETA: whole conservatory to himself still means he could be lonely. Have you tried the radio? My dogs quite like radio 4

I was going to hide most of them and reintroduce them again. I just felt, out of the all the ones I'd got for him, he only enjoyed about two. It's getting a bit expensive. I bought him several puppy toys initially and he was underwhelmed so I bought the puzzle toys. He's now solved them so I don't know if he'll find them exciting again after a period of absence or whether it's like riding a bike.

I don't know whether to take away all the toys he doesn't like, remove all the puzzles except one, get new puzzles and then cycle anything he does like in and out of play.

I've got some idea of which toys he enjoys now - he likes things that are a bit more noisy/mobile than most puppy toys so I was considering getting some balls that make noise when touched, and more puzzles, then introducing them one at a time, removing one when I introduce a new one.

If you think that might work, I'll try that :T

It was just a bit depressing when I got these lovely snuggly little puppy toys, kept introducing them, encouraging him to play with them with me. And he sort of sniffed them and then spent twenty minutes spinning in circles, barking with my shoe on his head. I worried I couldn't do anything to keep him entertained and he would turn into Marley or something. The first time he seemed remotely interested in anything except trying to grab stuff off me and running away, was when I was showing him how to work the puzzle toys. After some hyperactivity, he watched and replicated what I did!

Raksha

Londonwriter wrote: »

I tried a puppy Kong. He ignored it although, with so many recommendations, I might try again. The only toys I've had any success with are puzzles and a squeaky toy that slides away from him and squeaks when he leaps on it.

I did consider an adult dog because I wanted something I could go running with immediately. Unfortunately, I found it very difficult to source a decent working line dog that wasn't being retired because it was elderly. My husband couldn't have coped with losing an elderly dog, even if it could keep up with us. So, yes, we tried.

Ultimately, even if my office wasn't in an attic, I'm not prepared to have my puppy in my bedroom (except when he's being bathed) so, unless I put a bed in the living room for the next six months, he's going to have to endure being left for an hour at a time sometimes.

He comes out to the toilet off the lead when it's light and not raining. Just now, he whined to alert me to him wanting to go to the loo outside. So he sort of knows where he's supposed to go to the loo - he's just very little and has lots of accidents. I don't think this is a toilet training issue - he's nine weeks old.

Has anyone with working/hunting breeds found any toys (apart from Kongs) that keep them occupied? Or any suggestions for puppy-suitable tricks or games to play? Or exercises you can do in a confined space?

You don't need 'decent working lines' you need a good pet - probably one of the hardest jobs we ask a dog to do.

If I was bathing my dog, the last place they would be is the bedroom, so I find that bit a bit confusing.........

Many puppies don't like being picked up, and unless they are trained/desensitised to it. they never learn to tolerate it. Imagine being picked up and swooshed upwards as if in one of those external lifts........... If you pick him up (which he's tried to tell you he doesn't like by biting and wriggling) every time he looks like he wants to go out, then he's going to learn to hide to 'perform'. This could also be why he's hiding, although tiny puppies also prefer to hide away as they don't like to advertise to all and sundry that they are there and vulnerable.

Other toys, these are mostly food based and will need to be fully loaded for the first few times at least, so the pup discovers how they work - Tug a Jug, Buster Cube, Dog Pyramid, Kongs are good, but a single boring biscuit probably wasn't enough to motivate your pup - try Primula cheese spread to start with (my dogs enjoy theirs stuffed with left overs and then frozen) Simply hiding food under throws on the floor, filling a cardboard box with newspaper and putting some kibble bits in there, then letting him find them...........

Londonwriter

Raksha wrote: »

Other toys, these are mostly food based and will need to be fully loaded for the first few times at least, so the pup discovers how they work - Tug a Jug, Buster Cube, Dog Pyramid, Kongs are good, but a single boring biscuit probably wasn't enough to motivate your pup - try Primula cheese spread to start with (my dogs enjoy theirs stuffed with left overs and then frozen) Simply hiding food under throws on the floor, filling a cardboard box with newspaper and putting some kibble bits in there, then letting him find them...........

I'll look into the Buster Cube and Tug a Jug! :j He loves the Dog Pyramid, but it's currently a bit big for him. He can't push it around enough to get stuff out so he gets disappointed unless I do all the pushing. I was going to look for a smaller copy.

I'll also try the Puppy Kong with Primula cheese spread. I've been terrified to try the Kong with different stuff in case he gets ill with a new food - he's had a few bouts of (non-serious) diarrhoea. As you say, he was underwhelmed by the doggy biscuit.

sarabe

chris_n_tj wrote: »

Can we agree to disagree on this please. The tone of your post isnt called for. We each have our own views, but I always try to be civil. As for the above list I wouldnt give any puppy of 9 weeks old any of the above things apart from moist kibble, my choice of course.
Chris

Sorry no tone intended but you aren't seriously implying that you shouldn't give a puppy anything to eat unless it is a bit of soggy kibble. My pups are raised on raw meat and bones and are clicker trained using food and toys. By the time they are 6 months old they have experienced many different tastes and textures as have all the other pups in the world that are trained using rewards.

lostinrates

Londonwriter wrote: »

I was going to hide most of them and reintroduce them again. I just felt, out of the all the ones I'd got for him, he only enjoyed about two. It's getting a bit expensive.

Its going t get more expensive too I imagine, sorry! new experience/toys until maturity: then they settle down and cost less. You might counter with ''other people don't'' to which I'd reply your lifestyle is that you need your guy quietly stimualted away from you, which many other people don't!

while we're on food and treats, if you plan to feed raw that might be something which keeps his attentiona little longer between visits from you. I don't, for example, give beef bones very often, because its a tool in my armoury: when I know I need mine very ''contained'' they get that, because it keps them busy and quiet for AGES and it healthy and good for them.

Your pup is liekly to continue to keep pushng boundaries till post-puberty.