Hi all, Just looking for any tips to help teach my boy to settle and and to play with his toys independently. He’s 14 weeks old and he’s crate trained so he’s usually fine settling in his crate after a play but I want him to learn that just because he’s up it doesn’t mean he ‘has’ to play with us. He plays with us fine but if I want to do a few bits around the house or go upstairs he just won’t play by himself, he either whines a little or sits and waits. I still want to play with him lots but just want him to feel happy playing by himself sometimes. Just wondered if anyone had any tips on how to encourage this. Alongside this currently his ‘settle’ time is always in his crate but ideally I’d like him to be able to settle in the living room at times so we don’t always have to crate him to get him to rest. Again does anyone have any tips on this? Or will this naturally come with age? We have started puppy training and I’m sure they may cover these over time but wanted to get ahead of the game if we can. Thanks in advance Rebecca
Hi Rebecca, Our puppy is 15 weeks today and she is really good at playing and settling on her own. When she was younger she would follow me around and bite my legs/ankles but my husband has been strict with her in that biting means no fun. Our puppy isn't crate trained as we didn't want to do this. When she is tired she starts to get bitey and have a mad 10 minutes. Once she has had this we try to lure her into the living room and close the door. By giving her something to chew on and being comfy knowing we are there she will take herself off to sleep when ready. It is horrible to do but I would suggest that you try to ignore him and he will learn that when you are doing 'boring' stuff he can still have fun. We have Luna's toys on the floor all the time so she can play with what she wants when she wants. Luna used to sit and cry at the bottom of the stairs when I went to hang washing etc. but we tried to avoid this by finding work arounds - nipping up when she is eating her meal and put some grated carrot on the floor for when she was finished (she turns round and has a nice surprise and keeps her quiet). Now she just lies at the bottom of the stairs waiting for me. Sorry couldn't be much help! Let me know how you get on!
Sounds mean, but just ignore them! Poppy sometimes wants me to play with her when I’m busy and can’t at that time and she will sit and whine at me, but I just ignore her and eventually she will go off and get a toy and play by herself ! it’s really hard to do because they’re so cute and you just wanna give them all the attention in the world but it’s also good for them to know they can’t just whine and get what they want
