Finn is doing well, however I'm having problems sometimes if he's in a "mood" and I just want to sit and watch TV or do some work but he's climbing and jumping all over everything or not settling. So when he's being crazy and I'm home I will pop him in the kitchen with a baby gate and he settles right away or chews a toy or bone. I guess I'm just worried about how much attention he needs. I have been taking him on a 30 minute walk in the morning, breakfast, then leaving him in the crate about 3 hours, then come home and either go for another walk or to the dog park, lunch, then back in his crate for 3 hours unless he's being calm, then I work from home. Then when I'm home again another walk, training, dinner, and I try to leave him out while I eat my own dinner but he will NOT stop pestering me so I end up putting him in the kitchen. My apartment/flat is small so he's not far from me, and he seems very happy and relaxed in there. But is it okay to leave him in there for periods of time in the evening while I'm home so I can have some time to myself? I go in and out of there to do dishes, get things, etc. I guess I'm feeling guilty about leaving him in there, but with the puppy blues and all I desperately need some down time for myself. I guess I'm stressed that I'm giving him enough attention, I don't want him to be alone too much. He sleeps in my room when it's bedtime, so that's time with me too.
It sounds like you're doing really well with him. Your relaxation is so important or you won't have the energy to keep going. Look after yourself and Finn will benefit more from that.
How about a nice rawhide chew or Kong so that he can be with you but not pestering you? He does need to learn to settle with you too. So, when you've done plenty with him try putting him on a lead, on a bed or mat by you with a chew toy and ignore all attempts at interaction. I do this with all my pups in the evenings from about 16 weeks old. It takes them a week or two to learn this is 'chill out' time. Mollie doesn't need a lead now and she's 20 weeks old. This is after plenty of training and play etc, of course.
Thanks guys! Boogie - so, sometimes he settles. But sometimes he gets into a real mood and gets crazy. He has an off switch but it's so inconsistent right now. He has decided that launching himself onto the sofa is good fun. THAT is getting to me because once he's in that mode it's like talking to a tree - he can be so hard headed. So I've been putting him in the kitchen when he gets like that to settle down. When you mean put them on a lead, do you mean tie the lead to something so it's long enough just to sit on their bed?
No, you hold the lead At first Mollie didn't like this so she had lots of Kongs and chews at 'settle time'. Now she doesn't need lead, Kongs or chews - she's in the habit of settling down by me. This is after her meal, a rest and some play and training - so at about 9pm. ... ...
I'm kinda in you're shoes as well except my situation is slightly different. Im permanently disabled and home with Buddy all day since we got him almost 2wks ago. I get up with him when he wakes up and pretty much his playmate till his bed time which is usually around 830am-930pm give or take alittle. I take him for 2 walks a day which are usually 30min in the morning and in the late afternoon about a hr long one. We play diffrent games from tug a war to throwing the ball to playing with his squeaky toys as well as rough houseing on the floor. The rough house part i need to cut back on cuz im getting pretty sore from it. He can get occupied by himself with his rawhide that he loves and it seems when he's chewing on that it's when i get my breaks and time to be me. If he's not chewing on it and im not giveing him attention he looks bored to death. My wife works full time at a grocery store and works usually 1230pm-9pm 5 days a week. Before she goes to work we have errands to run so he gets his car ride in as well. My wifes mom passed away the beginning of the year and now we live in her house and becoming guardians of her mentally handicapped older sister. Dawn has a set routine she likes to stick too and that's fine plus she cares for the family cat Smokey who isn't quite fond of Buddy yet but each day Smokey is letting Buddy get closer to him without hissing at him. Im typeing this at 515am because I had to change my pain patch and when i do that every 3 days that night i cant sleep and stay up all night or most of it. He will be up in a few hours and full of energy. Im beginning to feel very run down but it's not Buddy's fault in anyway because i had the health conditions i have for the last 5yrs. Granted im still young im 34. I have maney blood clots, a heart issue, and a rare chronic pain condition thats very similar to Fibromyalgia and Cancer. There's no cure for it and it can and has spread from my hands and now in my leg where some of my blood clots are. Ultimately it will put me in a wheelchair oneday unless a cure is found but im not going down without a fight. Buddy has been a great addition to the family and eventually will be my service dog. We got him from people who had younger kids and he also went to the neighbors who were family members who had Pitbulls to play with them often so he's kinda used to the type of environment where he's getting all kinds of play and things. We are doing everything we can to make his new life easy. As i stated in a previous post we are now his 3d owner's in his short 8mo life. We want the best for him. He's a very sweet and loveing boy. He loves attention and gives tons of kisses and hugs. We are trying to teach him diffrent tricks as well as get him to cut back on the play biting he does. We think in his past he got away with alot and just never was trained much of anything. He will get that with us. He's been a great help to me emotionally as well. Always wanting to be by my side. Back to my original point as i said he looks totally bored if im not doing things with him or when he isn't occupied chewing his rawhide. Like i said i feel myself getting rundown and i am having a semi major surgery happening in a few months and know I'll need sometime to recover and wont be able to keep the pace im doing with him now. It isn't his fault that my body is the way it is. We will do whatever it takes to give him the best life possible. It's just a big learning experience for us with him. We are even considering getting another Lab for him to have a playmate but not right away. What are you great people's thoughts on what we are doing. My wife does give me abit of a break from him when she's off but she's got alot she needs to take care of with the guardianship of her sister as well as other things. Dawn's home with me when my wife works but as i said she's got a set routine she likes to stick too and to be honest she likes Buddy and everything just isn't the typevto play with him. She does pet him for abit in the mornings but she has her routine she keeps to and disturbing that messes her up. We don't leave Buddy home alone with her. When my wife and i go run errands so does Buddy and even when she goes with us Buddy goes to because of the cat not quite being warm with him yet. Sorry for such a long post just wanted to be as detailed as possible. Also has anyone had good results with Doggy daycare? We have one close by and it's a option for when i have my surgery. But i want other's opinions first. Thanks again Daniel
Hey Daniel, I think one thing it sounds like you need to introduce is "down time". It's great that you're spending so much time interacting with Buddy, but it's not sustainable and he needs to learn that sometimes it's time to settle down and do nothing. I work from home, which is good for being around my dogs, but I can't be entertaining them all day, so they just learn that, when I am on my laptop, it's time to settle down. Even my young puppy is working this out.
I can relate to that completely as a few months ago I was feeling much the same, but I'm just posting to say that now Cassie is nearly 11 months things are very different! And I can relax, read watch TV etc pretty much as I could BC (before Cassie). She took particular exception to me sitting on the "best" sofa on which she is not allowed, in the evenings, and would resort to barking and inviting me to play. Around that time (7 months ish) we went to training classes where I learnt "on your mat" and chill out etc --- she now goes on her mat as soon as I sit down to eat. So that helped, and also I went down the distraction and separation route, chewing things helped a lot, but after a time she would revert to pestering me so after discussion with my trainer I attached a short lead so that I could grasp that without grabbing her collar, and quietly escorted her to her crate, where she stayed for a short time. Like you, I didn't like her being separate from me but I didn't have to it many times before she got the idea.
Thanks for the reply This is all a total learning experience for us and i totally agree i need to introduce "Downtime" We dont have a crate or anything for him but he has taken up the corner by the front door and does go lay there often if im ignoring him or taking a break. We see a trainer March 20th thats also a reputable Dog behavioralist as well. With his past and not totally knowing his whole history and what not who knows what he's been taught or not taught. We will do whatever it takes to get him whatever he needs as well as make it so he can entertain himself and allow me and my wife time to do us. It's been 2wks today since we got him and im seeing progress daily with him. He's a fast learner it appears and im also in the process of getting him alot more toys and games and thing's. At night he seems to settle down quickly. I've been noticing it starts around 8pm or so give or take. This morning he let me sleep till 9pm which was a blessing. I got myself 10hrs of sleep and feel alot better. Im also ordering some books as well to read for labs. I love him to death and i think he knows it Thanks so much for all you're help and suggestions. This is the best site ive seen for information and suggestions and stuff. Daniel
Downtime is great....I've been recall training inside with Bailey this evening, with a bit of find mummy and then putting little cubes of cheese around the place for him to sniff out. He is now snoring quite happily in his bed while I finish off some work before going to bed.
Im outside in a warm closet type area where i go to smoke unwinding a bit while waiting for Amy to get off work. Buddy's asleep in the grass. There's plenty of room for him. Where i am but we are starting to think he could have been more a outdoors dog then indoors since he loves to be outside and there's been times like today ive had to carry him inside just to get him in. If its raining its another story. He just goes out long enough for a bathroom break or if its misting and he wants a walk then he'll wanna go. What kind of cheesevdo you use? I may have to get some of it tommarow and start that game with him. I definitely need to learn recall and fast. I have Pippa's book comeing from Amazon I guess the last 2wks have been a feeling out period for him and us. There's so much for us to learn and i think the trainer/Behaviorist will be a big help as well. Once he gets his boosters in 3wks he will be allowed to go to the local dog park thats walking distance from the house and get his interaction with the other dogs and playtime in with his own kind That will be another big experience for us. I work with him on things abit each day. He's still adjusting to us and hopefully figuring out that he's staying and wont be going to another home. I wish we got him from the start of his life then he wouldn't have been threw so much in 8mo but he has us now and we will do whatever it takes to get him anything he needs as well as have the best life possible.
I just use a mild cheddar cheese - it's easy to cut, doesn't crumble and also doesn't smell as bad as hot dog sausages (I personally don't eat meat so find them utterly revolting!). I also use cooked chicken but that tends to crumble more in the bag (and it gets under my fingernails ). I am also training Bailey with a dog whistle - at the moment each time I blow the whistle he comes back and gets a treat. We had fun today with Bailey on a long line and me throwing a dummy for him - he actually was bringing it back to me, dropping it at my feet and sitting down for his treat! Mind you he was pretty scornful of a few of my girl throws !
Finn is starting to learn to settle down in the house. He's 5 months old and in the evenings he's getting fairly good at laying in his bed and chewing on a bully stick or himalaya chew. I think he's starting to understand that if he starts to get nutso he goes in the kitchen. It's a privilege to be out in the living room with me, and if he starts acting up he gets put up. He's by no means perfect! But he tends to go to his bed automatically now. I started doing a training series of "go to your bed" and clicking and treating him while I do different things around the house. That helped a lot. If he starts acting nuts to get my attention though, it's two strikes then crate or kitchen.
I'll definitely have to give that game a try I wasn't aware they could have cheddar cheese, i swear i read something that said it could upset there tummys but ive read so much lately that something's are blending in my brain together. I should just start a journal type of thing to write stuff down to remember things better. I did order a whistle which should be coming this week. He does do well at comeing when i call his name or just whistle myself. I've also been letting him go to our car for car rides without the leash on and if he starts to go another way i just call him back and he comes or he just walks by my side to the car. He's learning things quickly and ive also ordered a bunch of toys and games for him as well as 4 books too read myself. All in all eachday is more progress He seems to never want a treat while outside for doing this for me like fetching objects and things but i offer it anyways and always give him plenty of praise. Inside he will eat treats just depends what he's in the mood for and ive found he loves ice from the ice maker and use that as a treat for him since it's one thing he's really constant with Sounds like you and Bailey have been having alot of fun and he's doing great Buddy starts classes Monday night which im really looking forward to. It should be fun and a great way for my wife and i to get one on one training with a professional so we also know diffrent things as well to work with him on.
Good luck with your class on Monday Some dogs do get upset stomach's from cheese, others don't - Bailey seems to have a cast iron stomach and eats pretty much anything - sometimes much to my regret as he can expel some really horrid smells from his rear-end! You just need to find what suits Buddy the best. I use cheese, chicken, beef, hotdog sausages, fish treats and other small shop brought treats. Like I said cast iron stomach!
