# How do you keep your puppy entertained?



## CaliShepherd (Jun 24, 2015)

Hi all,

I have a 5 month old male GSD puppy named Leo. There have been lots of things that improved. He's biting a lot less (I could cry tears of happiness over this) and he listens very well. We do have some issues with leash reactivity, but I just hired a trainer to help with that.

My main problem is I don't know how to keep him entertained all the time! The flirt pole is the ONLY toy he enjoys and will play with. I really wish I could get him more interested in tennis balls so he could chase after them. Nothing seems to hold his attention. Bully sticks, bones, frozen kongs, soccer balls, any type of ball, he's over it in 5 minutes. 

Unless I'm training him or playing with the flirt pole he is on an active search and destroy mission in the house. Ideally, I'd like to be able to have him sit in the room while I work and be engaged with a toy, kong, etc. Plus I'd like a way to exercise him other than the flirt pole. We go on walks together, but I don't run because I don't want to hurt his joints on cement. I just need suggestions on how to keep him busy. All day I'm constantly flirt poling/ training/ being actively engaged, and I would like to help him learn other ways to be entertained. Do any of your puppies calmly lay down in the house? He only does this in the exercise pen.


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## Dunkirk (May 7, 2015)

This will point you in the right direction, teaching your dog to be calm. You don't need to entertain your dog, thank goodness.
Quoted from member Chip18

Then behaviour modification in the forms of "Sit on the Dog:"

Wheres my sanity: Sit on the Dog, aka: The long down
Energy - it's all about confid-tude

And the Place Command:
Why the “Place” Command is So Important and Your Dog Should Know It! - TheDogTrainingSecret.com
The Magic Of Duration Work | The Good Dog Life Blog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIGq_5r0DeE


"Doing" Sit on the Dog and "Training" The Place Command...trains "calmness" into the dog! You will be training an "Off Switch!" (A quote from Bailiff )


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

I used to confine myself and the pup in one room. He was given large cardboard boxes to rip apart. He was allowed to take apart pinecones. He was allowed to chew up rinsed empty milk and juice bottles. Yes, these all made a mess but it was worth it to me. 
I also liked to slide a piece of kibble across the hardwood floor and he would chase it. My hubby and I played hide and seek with him and sometimes soccer (small soccer ball). We took many walks. We lived in a great area for walking. And he was allowed to dig if we were on the beach.

But I also agree that your dog, for everyone's sanity, has to learn to deal with being calm and wait patiently.


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## Wolfenstein (Feb 26, 2009)

Part of that settling in is going to be from growing up, part is going to be from learning to be calm and not do anything. When my 9 month girl is out and about but we're not actively playing, she has however many toys as it takes to keep her occupied. When she was younger, like your dog, it was a PAIN IN THE ASS because I kept having to redirect her on to her own things and not my son's toys or other things in the room, and it never seemed like there was an end in sight. But this persistence and trading out has REALLY paid off because now she's mostly glad to just pick her own things. If she's pacing and looking for other stuff to do, either she hasn't been exercised first, or she's getting over stimulated and needs to go back to being crated for a little bit. When she was younger, I was getting worried that she wasn't going to be able to learn to be out because she was crated so much, but the older she gets, the more time she can be out just hanging out with us in the living room. Aside from that, we also do a lot of training, exercise (tug is really great for her), and walking. But if you ONLY ever work/play, then the dog is just going to think that EVERY time it's with you, it's time to be on. So you do need to work in spurts of being together, but not actively doing anything.



Dunkirk said:


> "Sit on the Dog:"


So, I definitely like the idea of this 100% (although, not a fan of calling it a "dominance" thing, but whatever, apples & oranges), but I just can NOT wrap my brain around how they're describing wrapping the leash on the chair!! Hahaha!! Can you describe it any better than they do? Do they mean just literally sitting on the leash without physically hooking it on/attaching it it to the chair? Because there is ZERO way that would ever work with us, one good pull and it'd be detached, and one detachment is all it would take for any pup to learn it works and keep trying! Haha


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## CaliShepherd (Jun 24, 2015)

Dunkirk, thanks for that link about sit on the dog. I am trying that today. He really really needs to learn how to relax and I have just felt at a loss on how to teach him.

car2ner, the rinsed milk jugs sound like something he would be interested in, I'll definitely try some with him

Wolfenstein, you give me hope to keep up with the toy redirection thing. He always wants to play with whatever isn't his toy it seems, and then I'm following closely by with an appropriate toy to replace it with.

As for the sit on the dog, I think that a knot around the chair leg like this ( the picture attached) nwould be really secure.


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## FearlessFreya (Sep 6, 2015)

I have the same issue, and it's slowly improving... In obedience school, our dogs would have to chill for a bit, and everyone's dogs were happily munching on their bone or kong, except for mine.

The trainer told me to "be the bone" - hold the bone or bully stick for my pup... Surprisingly, it worked. Now I do this at home too if she's having a hard time settling down. I hold it for her, and once she settles onto the ground, and looks relaxed, I put it down for her between her paws. I also put treats down next to it to let her know I'm happy with her chewing quietly away.

Another piece of advice - once my pup gets up from a nap, I'll play with her for a bit, but I keep the energy levels low, and she has an easier time settling back into relaxed mode. Before, my husband would play excitedly every time she woke up thinking it will tire her out, but it only made her want more.


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## CaliShepherd (Jun 24, 2015)

Freya, I'm going to take your advice, I don't know why I never considered that. Every time Leo wakes up from a nap I take him outside and run him around with the flirt pole. Instead of using up his energy it seems to increase it! Maybe some quiet play time is just what he needs.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

Wolfenstein said:


> So, I definitely like the idea of this 100% (although, not a fan of calling it a "dominance" thing, but whatever, apples & oranges), but I just can NOT wrap my brain around how they're describing wrapping the leash on the chair!! Hahaha!! Can you describe it any better than they do? Do they mean just literally sitting on the leash without physically hooking it on/attaching it it to the chair? Because there is ZERO way that would ever work with us, one good pull and it'd be detached, and one detachment is all it would take for any pup to learn it works and keep trying! Haha


Here's a youtube video!


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## Amshru (Aug 7, 2015)

I think that so far I've been lucky with Elva. (OK, she's only 4 months old, so perhaps the worst is still to come!)

We go out a lot, either just in the garden to pee/poop and do a few training exercises, or "out the back" which is moorland with a nice shallow river, or "for a walk" which is in the car to a destination within an hour's drive where we can do an offleash hike for a couple of hours. She sets the pace, but we do a bit of sit/stay/down/come training whichever place we're at.

When we're in the house, we still keep her baby gated from upstairs (more so the cats have a safe haven, but she's slowly getting the run of downstairs and usually is happy to lie at my feet. When she's not, I know I need to engage her and do something!


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

Winter is coming and this makes the challenge even bigger. They can't be exercising outdoors or sleeping all the time - there has to be that calm in between time.

Outside of exercising - being outdoors, feeding, training and grooming times - I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have a "puppy safe" room to block her in for "my time". This is where she learned interest for chew toys and kongs as she had no other distractions. She bellowed like a banshi at first but then settled in because I didn't give in. She would make crazy games like throw the ball and catch it when it bounced around or bat the kong across the room and chase it. She would wrestle with a toy and throw it around the room and jump on it like prey. She would throw her blanket around and get it pretty raunchy - but thanks to the thrift stores these were cheap and easy to replace every couple of weeks. 

I took advantage of her "puppy crashes" after feedings and her "growing time sleeps" just before to do her basic training, when she was calm. When she was 5 mos old, she was able to have run of the house where she had me on her butt learning about what "leave it" and "go to your spot" meant. At 7 months, she learned what "off me" meant (as in, Summer - I'm busy - you have to wait - go lay down or find a toy). Every one of these steps has to be rewarded until it is ingrained and habit. 

Now, at 15 mos - she is my pride and joy for house manners and communication is great when I get carried away in something and it's "her time" to play or train or be fed or brushed. She let's me know in no uncertain terms. It's a very cool deal. Oh, and when I go out - she's calm in the house - sleeps by the door until I return and does'nt disturb anything


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