# How to teach my dog to self entertain?



## Teale (Nov 24, 2020)

First off, I apologize if this is the wrong place for this thread. I wasn't sure what category this really falls under.

My boy just turned 1 a few weeks ago. He's a great boy overall, I love him so much, but he needs my constant attention. Even after an hour and half of exercise and training, he has boundless energy and just wants to keep playing. My problem isn't necessarily his endless energy (I know it's part of the breed), but that I can't get anything done because it's either we play together, he gets into trouble, or I have to put him in his crate. And I feel so guilty when I have to crate him since I already crate him while I work.

I have several toys for him, but he won't play with them on his own. He doesn't like to chew on his bones until the evening when we're winding down. The only toys he likes to play with on his own are the one's that he will rip apart and start eating so I don't let him play with those unless I'm playing with him.

If I'm not playing with him, he'll wander around the room, jump on the counter, paw at the door, which I correct but it still hasn't stopped him from doing these things.

Has anyone else gone through this? What can I do to teach him to entertain himself?


----------



## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

Ahem, set your guilt aside and crate this dog! Then if you want to let him out and have him chill, have something he can rip up. My 12 yo still likes toilet paper tubes. Or the newspaper. Or junk mail. Somehow they don't seem to get "sit and read" or "watch cartoons".


----------



## Buckelke (Sep 4, 2019)

Pet Food, Products, Supplies at Low Prices - Free Shipping | Chewy.com


Delivering pet happiness by conveniently shipping 1000+ brands of pet food and stuff (for free!) while ensuring at-risk animals' lives are improved across the planet. 1-800-672-4399




www.chewy.com




search 'puzzle games'
and
Amazon..com
'puzzles for dogs'


----------



## Catrinka (Aug 6, 2020)

My 10 mo male loves to get cardboard boxes and tubes with the instructions to shred them. It's amazing how many teeny pieces he can reduce a box to and I don't mind occasionally having to pick up the pieces (plus he helps pick up as part of the fun). Teaching him the shred command has actually been helpful in getting him to not chew and destroy his toys and bedding. It's almost like having the Mom-approved outlet of destroying Chewie and Amazon boxes has reduced his need to destroy other things.


----------



## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

Google mind games for dogs. What are you doing for the hour and a half of exercise?


----------



## Jedi Shepherd (May 21, 2021)

I think part of the problem may be that he has become accustomed to rules which allow him play INSIDE of the home. The house should be an area of calm, and it sounds like he has always been allowed to get amped up and excited without being redirected with a place command or down command. In my opinion, dogs should not be allowed to get hyper inside the home. It sets things up for bad habits as you’re seeing right now. Energy time is for outside and outside only. When ever a dog gets excited and pumped up they need to be brought back down and not allowed horse playing inside. A simple solution over time would be to crate him, teach him the place command, and try to manage him with positive leash pressure while he is inside with you. Try managing him with a leash indoors when you’re with him and re-teach him the house rules. It sounds like he doesn’t have the maturity or training to be left “alone / free”, therefor put him in place or a crate when unattended.


----------



## Jedi Shepherd (May 21, 2021)

Take a look at this video, you might be able to identify some things you did unintentionally


----------



## davewis (Jan 7, 2020)

middleofnowhere said:


> My 12 yo still likes toilet paper tubes.


Toilet paper tubes are the best. I encourage pup to shred them fine enough so that I can suck them up with the stick vac. easy-peasy


----------



## cagal (Sep 3, 2013)

davewis said:


> Toilet paper tubes are the best. I encourage pup to shred them fine enough so that I can suck them up with the stick vac. easy-peasy


As long as they only get the tubes. We lost two rolls this morning, including one he dropped in a toilet (it was just water in it but still not pleasant to dispose of) - my fault for needing my own potty break and not crating him lol. He grabbed my roll which I was able to tear the paper before he got too much then he ran upstairs and took another full one. Paper towel tubes are also good. I try to discourage box shredding as he’s grabbed some full boxes and tipped them over trying to get at the flaps. But he sure loves it.


----------



## Teale (Nov 24, 2020)

WNGD said:


> Google mind games for dogs. What are you doing for the hour and a half of exercise?


Currently the majority of his exercise is from structured walks or hikes. I try to play frisbee or ball with him, but he'll stop in 5-10 minutes and chew on a stick, so he doesn't get a lot of high energy activity. We also do a lot of training throughout the day (he works for all his food).


----------



## Teale (Nov 24, 2020)

Jedi Shepherd said:


> I think part of the problem may be that he has become accustomed to rules which allow him play INSIDE of the home. The house should be an area of calm, and it sounds like he has always been allowed to get amped up and excited without being redirected with a place command or down command. In my opinion, dogs should not be allowed to get hyper inside the home. It sets things up for bad habits as you’re seeing right now. Energy time is for outside and outside only. When ever a dog gets excited and pumped up they need to be brought back down and not allowed horse playing inside. A simple solution over time would be to crate him, teach him the place command, and try to manage him with positive leash pressure while he is inside with you. Try managing him with a leash indoors when you’re with him and re-teach him the house rules. It sounds like he doesn’t have the maturity or training to be left “alone / free”, therefor put him in place or a crate when unattended.


Thank you, I definitely think this could be what's going on. I have always kept him on a leash in the house, however he isn't really responsive to corrections. My trainer had me us a spray bottle with vinegar and water, which is one of the only things he doesn't like, but it hasn't prevented him from any of his negative behaviors yet. And I usually can't get to him fast enough to pop his collar as a correction.


----------



## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

Teale said:


> Currently the majority of his exercise is from structured walks or hikes. I try to play frisbee or ball with him, but he'll stop in 5-10 minutes and chew on a stick, so he doesn't get a lot of high energy activity. We also do a lot of training throughout the day (he works for all his food).


If the hikes are off leash and frequent that's okay, but your "structured" descriptor made me think probably not. Anytime he's on a leash walking at a human's pace it's not enough. These dogs need to run! 

Are there any fenced schoolyards or ball fields nearby? That's a great place to allow your dog off leash without worry. Churches will also often have fenced yards where they might allow you to run your dog.


----------



## Teale (Nov 24, 2020)

tim_s_adams said:


> If the hikes are off leash and frequent that's okay, but your "structured" descriptor made me think probably not. Anytime he's on a leash walking at a human's pace it's not enough. These dogs need to run!
> 
> Are there any fenced schoolyards or ball fields nearby? That's a great place to allow your dog off leash without worry. Churches will also often have fenced yards where they might allow you to run your dog.


Unfortunately the hikes are all on leash, his recall isn't great right now and we're actively working on improving it. I'm still searching for a good place to get him off leash. I live on several acre's, but it's not fenced and we live on a busy road with lots of distracting wildlife. I let him loose while he's on a long line when we play frisbee, but like I said, he only plays for a few minutes at a time. I also have a fenced run for him, but it's only 40' long, so it's not ideal, but it's better than nothing.


----------



## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

This is how I teach my dogs to calm down. The first part is making sure that the dog gets adequate mental and physical stimulation regularly. Beyond that I think it involves teaching your dog impulse control and being comfortable doing nothing in the environment you expect him to settle in. Most trainers I see do this using a place mat. They send the dog to it and he is only allowed off or rewarded once he settles and is calm. I don’t use one of those. I have a command for my dogs to go to their kennel. I’ll send them there if they are being unruly or over excited. I don’t close it so they can leave on their own. If they aren’t calm when they do , I will send them back. Usually they come slink back out and lay down. In a more public setting I would just use a down and reward calm behavior with praise or food. I would avoid anything like toys or play that would excite the dog too much. I have informal phrases that signal the end of play. They just develop meaning over time. If I say that’s enough they know to calm down.


----------



## Teale (Nov 24, 2020)

Bearshandler said:


> This is how I teach my dogs to calm down. The first part is making sure that the dog gets adequate mental and physical stimulation regularly. Beyond that I think it involves teaching your dog impulse control and being comfortable doing nothing in the environment you expect him to settle in. Most trainers I see do this using a place mat. They send the dog to it and he is only allowed off or rewarded once he settles and is calm. I don’t use one of those. I have a command for my dogs to go to their kennel. I’ll send them there if they are being unruly or over excited. I don’t close it so they can leave on their own. If they aren’t calm when they do , I will send them back. Usually they come slink back out and lay down. In a more public setting I would just use a down and reward calm behavior with praise or food. I would avoid anything like toys or play that would excite the dog too much. I have informal phrases that signal the end of play. They just develop meaning over time. If I say that’s enough they know to calm down.


Thank you, I really appreciate your detailed response! We are working on place command. Currently he will only hold it a minute or two (I take full responsibility because I haven't been very consistent in his training with this until very recently), but I'm working increasing his time in place.

I've been coming across the phrase "impulse control" a lot recently, so it's something I've been working on with him. He definitely doesn't have much lol I'm working on this aspect a lot more, especially in the last week.


----------



## JunoVonNarnia (Apr 8, 2020)

I did this exercise, which basically means: I'm busy and the dog does nothing but settle and relax. 








The Sit on the Dog Exercise • Canine Life Skills


The Sit on the Dog exercise is the best dog training lesson you can do at home to improve your bond and create a calmer dog.




caninelifeskills.com





This is in addition to exercise, physical and mental, but it teaches the dog to just be and do nothing at your feet. Just to put the exercise in perspective, the first time I did it, it took Juno about 30 minutes to settle down, she kept whining and pulling. Now she settles in 30 seconds and she will also settle in strange places (like parks etc.) when leashed to me or to a spot. My goal is to eventually have her do this without the leash.


----------

