# Winter / Indoor Games for 8 week old



## GSD Momma (Dec 28, 2010)

I scanned the boards looking for advice but I'm not finding exactly what I'm looking for. Y'all seem to be in decent climates 

We've had our 8 week old shark for about 1 week now. She has a rawhide, rope toy, puppy kong (loves it) and a stuffed toy and mini-tennis balls. She doesn't seem too interested in the balls yet, which is fine. She is food motivated, so treats were working GREAT in the kong but they were giving her diarrhea so we had to greatly ease up on treats (I think she is ticked...lol) BTW: Wellness puppy treats have flax and can cause runny poo, if it hasn't been posted yet.

My question is this - she seems to be getting "bored" with her current toys just after 1 week. It's winter and we have about 6 inches of snow out, so I don't want to exercise her in a snowy yard just because I'm worried she will get too cold. I also don't want to walk her on the road due to the salt.

Any ideas of exercise or games I can play with her indoors? I blocked off our kitchen for playtime and for a week she was highly amused to have her area to play in, toys that she doesn't get access to in her crate, etc. I thought wow, perfect pup! But she's getting clearly bored so I need to come up with new ideas for this smart little girl. Tried throwing the ball but she doesn't care. Rope toy bores her quickly (good for redirect though). Stuffed squeak animal is fun for her for about 3 minutes. I feel uninspired and she doesn't have all her shots yet, so I can't socialize or do classes for another 2 weeks.

Suggestions?


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Honestly--take her outside! She won't get too cold and 15-20 mins romping out in the yard will wear her out.


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## GSD Momma (Dec 28, 2010)

Thinking I might just be crap out of luck for the next 2 weeks until we get her some training/socialization... LOL... Please say it isn't so


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## GSD Momma (Dec 28, 2010)

Stosh said:


> Honestly--take her outside! She won't get too cold and 15-20 mins romping out in the yard will wear her out.


Thanks for the response! I will give that a shot tonight... the good thing is that since it is snowing, it's only about 30 degrees so it's not AS cold as it's been. Hope I can burn some energy out of her this way


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## XTOL (Jun 9, 2010)

Really dont worry about the snow. Puppies love playing in the snow.
The breeder I got Abby from sent me a couple photos of her latest
litter of pups playing outside in the snow. 7 weeks old.

Puppies that age tire quickly. 15 minutes plowing snow will result
in a two hour nap...


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

If she is still full of vinegar after her romp outside you can:

- do some basic obedience (sit, stand, down, "watch me"/focus, heel) with a clicker and food

- play the find it game (hide a toy under some sheets and let her dig and find it)

- hide some food under some plastic cups and let her try and get them out (easy to tip over)

- hide and seek 

- set up an obstacle course with tunnels, boxes, sheets to walk through, tarps to crawl on, anything that is "different", a pile of empty water bottles, etc..

- work on perch work or target work

- work on "leave it" and "out"

There are many things to do inside with a new puppy!  So much fun! But I would definitely get her outside to play in the snow! She will love it!


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I wouldn't worry about the snow either, I had one in the winter time, and he loved going out in it,,it wore him out trying to plow thru the deep stuff to)


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

Just wanted to add - 

If you want to socialize with kids, just happen to walk by at dismissal time holding a brand new puppy.

Bring her to a retirement home (call and ask first).

Home depot, let her ride in the cart with a towel down.

Invite a friend over with kids/other adults to work on meeting new people.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

We don't have snow; we have mud, mud, and more mud. 

Hide small treats under a towel and have her search them out. Play the find it game. Start out hiding a treat where she can see you hide it, gradually build up the difficulty of hiding places. I taught my dogs "find it" in about 15 minutes. I started out by "hiding" a treat or ball in plain sight and saying, "find it!" I gradually worked up to putting them in one room, hiding the ball inside a box in the next room, then opening the door and saying "find it!" 

Lay her dinner out in a track around the house and have her follow it. 

If there are two of you, hide in different sections of the house and practice calling her back and forth between you. She gets a toy, treat, or kibble every time she finds one of you.


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## Kris10 (Aug 26, 2010)

I started Max on a leash inside just to get him used to it. You can walk her around inside the house and practice leash manners. 
I agree that you can take her out in the snow to play. Take her for car rides. Before Max got into balls we would sit on either side of a hallway and throw his wubba (which he loved!) back in forth - (monkey in the middle) and let him get it from time to time and tug it gently to keep him interested.


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## GeorgiaJason (Jan 16, 2011)

I do find the kid dont know if you have kids or not but same basic theory as a treat but if you like to sit and enjoy a beverage and had a long day at work i have my lil girl hide and the dog finds her then it turns into a game of tag......needless to say it wears both of them out and its naps all arround


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## XTOL (Jun 9, 2010)

Emoore said:


> We don't have snow; we have mud, mud, and more mud.


Hey...puppies like to play in the mud too...dont ask how I know this...


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## GSD Momma (Dec 28, 2010)

Thanks everyone! Pup LOVED snow romping! She looked so cute too! We then started to teach commands (i thought she was too young!) and she learned sit already. Will even do it w/o getting a treat now. She is smart. Had a hard time with "down" but we will still work on it.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. We totally tuckered her out and she seems SO much happier! (and less nippy too!)


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

That's great! Sounds like everyone's having fun


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