Occupying Puppies

[~Jilly~]

Over the last few days Bella doesn't seem to want to 'settle'.

She's fine in her crate, she'll always settle and doesn't make a fuss, it's during the rest of the time.

She sort of seems bored and constantly wants to go outside

We take her out to the garden quite frequently and we play with her but it's always a job getting her back in!

When we are indoors, she will play with a toy for only a couple of minutes and then seems to get bored. The only game she'll play for a length of time is tug of war but I don't like to play that with her too often. When she gets bored she goes back to the back door and sits looking out

I feel like I'm doing something wrong but I'm not sure what It doesn't really feel like she wants to spend time with us but always wants to 'escape'

We keep most of her toys in a drawer and only let her have a couple at a time so she doesn't get bored and we change them at least every day if not more than once to try and keep her interested but she still seems a bit bored with them (or us? )

She can't go out for walks yet, roll on Friday! I'm not sure if this will help? She does get socialisation in arms etc.

[Annette]

I'd say sitting looking out of the door was fine, unless she's whining or fussing to get out. Sometimes, like some of us, they just want to watch and learn about their world. Is it possible to let her just wander in and out when you are around and the days are nice and warm?

Walking will undoubtedly help her, and you! But I don't think she has to be busy all the time. Buddy sleeps quite a lot of the time.

I think I know how it is for you, I have had moments where I've wondered if Buddy is "really happy" with us. But I think the truth is that the needs of a dog are very different to ours, and their emotions more immediate if you know what I mean. All that and the sad cocker eyes can make us think all is not well. But when it comes down to it, their needs are fairly simple really, and I bet you're meeting them pretty well.

[Cob-Web]

Do you let her "explore" the garden on her own - all be it with your beady eye on her while she is so young?

She is the same as a "toddler" child at the moment - wanting to explore everything she can - and its a great time of year to learn about the outdoors - flies, birds, blowing grass, and exciting noises will all facinate her - the garden is probably one of the most exciting places for her at the moment  

Once you can take her out, she will extend this exploration to all the other places you take her - and the garden will lose a bit of its excitement (unless you've got a hedgehog that visits every night that she can track, like Molo has   )

I loved watching Molo learn about the outdoors - I'd spend hours out there with him when he was little   I loved it when he found something new, and he would cautiously approach and then jump back if it moved  . He would happily fall asleep on his back in  the sunshine too; until a seagull cried over head - he'd be up again - trying to catch it  

[~Jilly~]

I'd say sitting looking out of the door was fine, unless she's whining or fussing to get out. Sometimes, like some of us, they just want to watch and learn about their world. Is it possible to let her just wander in and out when you are around and the days are nice and warm?

Walking will undoubtedly help her, and you! But I don't think she has to be busy all the time. Buddy sleeps quite a lot of the time.

I think I know how it is for you, I have had moments where I've wondered if Buddy is "really happy" with us. But I think the truth is that the needs of a dog are very different to ours, and their emotions more immediate if you know what I mean. All that and the sad cocker eyes can make us think all is not well. But when it comes down to it, their needs are fairly simple really, and I bet you're meeting them pretty well.

[snapback]131096[/snapback]

sometimes she does whine and make a fuss, other times she just sits and watches I don't feel I can let her wander in and out at will because she is still very much in the eating everything phase and I can't see her from indoors very well.

I'm hoping getting her out on walks will help because she just seems to love being outside! I don't neccesarily expect her to be busy all the time, if she just seemed settled, she just sorts of plays with a toy half heartedly and then goes and looks out of the door again, I know it's probably her cocker eyes but she does look kinda sad.

The only thing I wonder is if she gets too much attention? Is there such a thing? I am here practically all the time so I rarely get the coming in, pleased to see you routine whereas she's all excited to see hubby when he gets in and any visitors we might get.

Should I be leaving her to her own devices a little bit rather than trying to get her to play or whatever?

[~Jilly~]

Do you let her "explore" the garden on her own - all be it with your beady eye on her while she is so young?

She is the same as a "toddler" child at the moment - wanting to explore everything she can - and its a great time of year to learn about the outdoors - flies, birds, blowing grass, and exciting noises will all facinate her - the garden is probably one of the most exciting places for her at the moment 

Once you can take her out, she will extend this exploration to all the other places you take her - and the garden will lose a bit of its excitement (unless you've got a hedgehog that visits every night that she can track, like Molo has  )

I loved watching Molo learn about the outdoors - I'd spend hours out there with him when he was little  I loved it when he found something new, and he would cautiously approach and then jump back if it moved  . He would happily fall asleep on his back in  the sunshine too; until a seagull cried over head - he'd be up again - trying to catch it 

[snapback]131098[/snapback]

I guess we probably don't let her explore things on her own as such :: maybe I'm a bit over protective, I'm just always worried she's going to eat something she shouldn't She is forever picking up things and we're forever going over opening her mouth and taking things out

I was hoping taking her out would make the garden less interesting, we'll have to see! Only two more days to go.......

[Cob-Web]

Should I be leaving her to her own devices a little bit rather than trying to get her to play or whatever?

[snapback]131101[/snapback]

Yes! Penny is the expert on this, but I know that spearation anxiety can develop even in young pups - it is important that they become used to "keeping their own company".

I know you are leaving her alone for a while but she also needs to learn that she can't always have your attention when you are there  

She is forever picking up things and we're forever going over opening her mouth and taking things out

A brilliant training exercise at this age is "leave it" - when you see her with something in her mouth, offer her a tit-bit, and as she lets go of her prize, say "leave". You can practice it with a toy as well. Molo picked it up in one afternoon - but then hes very food-motivated  

Try not to get too panicky about the odd leaf or stick - as long as you have checked that none of the plants in your garden are toxic,check here, they are unlikely to do her any harm, and she will be learning so much.

The first few weeks of her life are not just about socialisation with people and other dogs, but habitulisation to things she will experience for the rest of her life - the more she experiences now, the more confident and balanced she will be as she grows up   It is easy to want to protect them when they are tiny - but you are her surrogate mum now - so its your job to be the "tough" one  ::  

[~Jilly~]

Should I be leaving her to her own devices a little bit rather than trying to get her to play or whatever?

[snapback]131101[/snapback]

Yes! Penny is the expert on this, but I know that spearation anxiety can develop even in young pups - it is important that they become used to "keeping their own company".

I know you are leaving her alone for a while but she also needs to learn that she can't always have your attention when you are there  

She is forever picking up things and we're forever going over opening her mouth and taking things out

A brilliant training exercise at this age is "leave it" - when you see her with something in her mouth, offer her a tit-bit, and as she lets go of her prize, say "leave". You can practice it with a toy as well. Molo picked it up in one afternoon - but then hes very food-motivated  

Try not to get too panicky about the odd leaf or stick - as long as you have checked that none of the plants in your garden are toxic,check here, they are unlikely to do her any harm, and she will be learning so much.

The first few weeks of her life are not just about socialisation with people and other dogs, but habitulisation to things she will experience for the rest of her life - the more she experiences now, the more confident and balanced she will be as she grows up   It is easy to want to protect them when they are tiny - but you are her surrogate mum now - so its your job to be the "tough" one  ::  

[snapback]131105[/snapback]

ok, two new lessons for today then. I'm trying to watch her without her knowing that I'm watching her and letting her do her own thing, it seems to be working a bit already too, she's coming to me to say 'helllllllooo, I'm down here' rather than me following her round!

I'm also going to give the 'leave' it command a go today, she picks things up pretty quickly (apart from come!) as she is very food motivated too. We've been telling her 'no' which doesn't work that well so hopefully this will work better, it might save my sanity too

I try not to be too over-protective but she keeps picking things up she really shouldn't like little stones (when we didn't even know we had any!) slugs and the worst one was a wasp

[paulb]

Barney dives into the garden and has his face in everything, at first we were overly concerned he seemed to be eating everything, needless to say we were a couple of bags of nerves thinking "OMG" what if he poisons himself , or chokes, he hasnt and we linda have to live in hope that to the best of our ability we puppy proofed and made puppy safe the garden, a few weeks on he is still here still eating everything

it is still our rule that he is never outside (in our garden) by himself though, we dont mind we enjoy watching anyway so it is far from a chore.

[Em - Oscar's mum]

Jilly, I am so pleased that you posted this as I have exactly the same problem with Oscar.  I too feel very over protective with him and am forever getting things out of his mouth.

Oscar sits by the back door all the time looking out and I fear that if I let him out on his own he is going to eat something he shouldn't and choke.  I let him out and go out with him but when he does pick something up and I try to get it off him he runs round the garden like a lunatic and doesn't come to anything that I say.  The only way that I can get him in is by shaking the biscuit tin that we have by the door as he doesn't listen to any commands.

And the only time that I didn't open the door, he peed on the carpet so now every time he sits there I let him out and he just digs.  It can be very frustrating.

It is nice to know that someone else is having the same problem as me.  The only thing different is that Oscar does go out for walks but is still the same when he gets back into the garden.

[~Jilly~]

Barney dives into the garden and has his face in everything, at first we were overly concerned he seemed to be eating everything, needless to say we were a couple of bags of nerves thinking "OMG" what if he poisons himself , or chokes, he hasnt and we linda have to live in hope that to the best of our ability we puppy proofed and made puppy safe the garden, a few weeks on he is still here still eating everything

it is still our rule that he is never outside (in our garden) by himself though, we dont mind we enjoy watching anyway so it is far from a chore.

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to be fair a lot of the things she picks up she drops again, she's probably just checking them out! however, this only really applies to things like leaves or petals. it's more the little stones and things - I swear we have looked all around the garden and moved/removed all things like this but she seems to still find stuff and the wasp really sent me into panic mode! hubby spent about 10 mins trying to catch a fly (inside to put outside) the other day to no avail, Bella just walked up and caught it in about 3 seconds I guess flies are fine but wasps and bees it is lovely to watch her chasing butterflies though

we don't let her go outside on her own either but that's the problem, she literally wants to be out there all day and I can't possibly spend all day out there unfortunately there is housework to be done

[PennyB]

The only thing I wonder is if she gets too much attention? Is there such a thing? I am here practically all the time so I rarely get the coming in, pleased to see you routine whereas she's all excited to see hubby when he gets in and any visitors we might get.

Should I be leaving her to her own devices a little bit rather than trying to get her to play or whatever?

[snapback]131101[/snapback]

There is most definitely a problem with too much attention. If you aren't just coming and going in the normal course of the day then just pretend to (go for a walk on your own for a short time and the extend it)! While too much attention may lead to separation anxiety as the pup never learns to be on their own (believe me SA can be very crippling for both dog and owners) and other possible unnacceptable behaviours.

[~Jilly~]

Jilly, I am so pleased that you posted this as I have exactly the same problem with Oscar.  I too feel very over protective with him and am forever getting things out of his mouth.

Oscar sits by the back door all the time looking out and I fear that if I let him out on his own he is going to eat something he shouldn't and choke.  I let him out and go out with him but when he does pick something up and I try to get it off him he runs round the garden like a lunatic and doesn't come to anything that I say.  The only way that I can get him in is by shaking the biscuit tin that we have by the door as he doesn't listen to any commands.

And the only time that I didn't open the door, he peed on the carpet so now every time he sits there I let him out and he just digs.  It can be very frustrating.

It is nice to know that someone else is having the same problem as me.  The only thing different is that Oscar does go out for walks but is still the same when he gets back into the garden.

[snapback]131137[/snapback]

that sooooo sounds like my day!

more than once I've let her in from a wee, she's sat by the door wanting to go out, I haven't let her thinking she justs wants to play because she's only just done a wee and then - widdle on the carpet!

Bella doesn't run away from me but she does from hubby I think that's because he actually chases her, ie runs, I just calmly walk and follow her and she stops running - I guess it depends how big your garden is, ours is not that big and our strides are much bigger than theirs so you can still catch them by walking and it doesn't send them into hyper run away mode.

We also went through a phase of rattling the biscuit tin to get her to come but now she recognises the word 'biscuit' so our getting in routine goes 'Bella come' she ignores us 'Bella come' she ignores us 'Bella biscuit' she runs straight indoors

Bella was left alone for about 5 mins in the garden the other day (I had to clean the carpet) and in that time she managed to dig so much that her nails/pads/paws were literally caked in mud, so she had to have a bath!

[~Jilly~]

The only thing I wonder is if she gets too much attention? Is there such a thing? I am here practically all the time so I rarely get the coming in, pleased to see you routine whereas she's all excited to see hubby when he gets in and any visitors we might get.

Should I be leaving her to her own devices a little bit rather than trying to get her to play or whatever?

[snapback]131101[/snapback]

There is most definitely a problem with too much attention. If you aren't just coming and going in the normal course of the day then just pretend to (go for a walk on your own for a short time and the extend it)! While too much attention may lead to separation anxiety as the pup never learns to be on their own (believe me SA can be very crippling for both dog and owners) and other possible unnacceptable behaviours.

[snapback]131140[/snapback]

She does spend time on her own, I would say a minimum of an hour a day and can be as much as possibly 2/3 hours in the morning and then 1/2 hours in the afternoon. However, this time is spent completely on her own in her crate/gated kitchen. If I am in the house she will also see me pottering about while she's in there.

The too much attention bit, I mean when she's out of her crate during the rest of the time. For example, if we're in the lounge and she's wandering about or playing with a toy etc. I'm normally playing with her or encouraging her to play, talking to her etc - during this together time, should I be 'ignoring' her a little bit and just letting her get on with things? Rather than trying to entertain her?

Is the time she spends with you linked to SA even though she spends plenty of time on her own when she's in her crate/gated kitchen?

[Em - Oscar's mum]

I had the same thing.  Hubby left Oscar in the garden on his own the other day and when Oscar eventually came indoors he had soil everywhere!  He loves digging in my plant pots - the little beast!

Oscar does respond to Jon when he calls him but for some reason he thinks it is a game when I do it.  Yet when we are out walking and he is off the lead he is brilliant!  

Thankfully he doesn't yet know the word biscuit, but I am sure as time goes on he won't come to me when I rattle the biscuit tin so he either needs to start learning or I am going to have to come up with some other idea!

[~Jilly~]

She came in like a whippet yesterday when my mum called her but she was just visiting so I suppose it's all novelty.

I expect she gets bored of me calling her!

I was a little worried about letting her off lead when we go out as she doesn't respond to 'come' very well, perhaps she will be better when we're out too.

I try to only use 'biscuit' as an emergency/last resort word but at least I know it works so I'm trying to improve 'come' but if we are out and about and all else fails at least I can be pretty sure I've got an emergency word which has so far never failed