Seems Edsel had stepped up his destructive tendencies, was very needy, barking for attention, running in and out 59 times a day. Maybe I need to realize how fast he's growing and changing. Realized last night that I hadn't changed things up in a while and I think he was bored silly with the same routine! I have spent 30 minutes last night and on my lunch today tossing his favorite ball into heavy brush and a stick into the creek and he had a wonderful time hunting them up. Duh mom! I am going to sit down and plan a training and play calendar so the poor thing doesn't have wreck the house to get me to figure it out next time!
Re: Maybe I'm the problem Good plan. Tire them out physically and mentally and they will be happy and content. Well in theory. Good luck I'm sure it will work.
Re: Maybe I'm the problem Sounds like a good plan they do grow up quickly and changing things up keeps them on their toes
Re: Maybe I'm the problem Please can you share your plan. I would love to get some new ideas. I find I am just so boring now if we are housebound. Either I throw the ball around, or we play hide and seek and I hide Snowie's ball while he has to sit and wait, and then I say Go Find Your Ball and off he runs. He is very good at it and takes no time in finding it. Otherwise we go to the dog park or for a walk. But for times when we're housebound I need to vary the routine. I suppose I could google some ideas, but I would be very interested to hear yours, too! Thank you.
Re: Maybe I'm the problem You can try hiding a tiny treat somewhere in the house, and teaching the "seek" command. Or teach tricks, such as roll over, commando crawl, or 'high five' - this will be mentally stimulating and will help to make the bond between you stronger! Also you can play 'where's the biscuit', where you put the dog biscuit under one of three or four plastic cups, and he has to find it.
Re: Maybe I'm the problem I'm jaded too and have got slack. At ten months Molly is still very much a puppy and, like a child, is not able to entertain herself. The answer is more training to tire the little darling out You are not alone in falling into this trap.
Re: Maybe I'm the problem [quote author=MF link=topic=6993.msg96309#msg96309 date=1405977739] Please can you share your plan. I would love to get some new ideas. [/quote] So sorry for no response...have been without Internet here at home most of the week! I am mostly just plotting out different activities that we've been doing on a calendar to make sure I don't get into a pattern of the same old thing every day. I try to do work on new obedience task each day, stay, down, recall. Also work on retrieve and find games every day. Try to make sure I also include more mental stimulation too. He's working on picking up specific toys on command, finding people by name when others are home. And also make sure there's at least 15-30 minutes each day of just silly play. Just works for me to have it laid out in writing. Hope that helps some.
Re: Maybe I'm the problem I think you can get into a rut,and it's great to have a plan.I am guilty a bit of going the other way ie of jumping from one thing to another ,especially when I read about what people are doing on the Forum,consequently my proofing is always lacking must try harder!
Re: Maybe I'm the problem Fifi (seven month old guide dog pup) is able to entertain herself! She throws a toy around and chases after it. She's only with us for ten days, but when her Puppy Walkers pick her up I'll ask how they trained for that! (Of course they are also very much bred for their steady and sensible temperaments, so maybe its in the genes too )
