[Buckyball]

ok...soooo when I am trying to read or get something done Buck just comes over and sits next to my chair staring at me...or he tries to put his front paws on my lap and get my attention...how do I get him to go play with his toys or something? Also sometimes I do not know how to entertain him other than letting him sit on my lap and holding his bone so he can chew on it...I also can't watch tv or a movie with him out of his crate cuz he just well he just won't sit still...I hate having to put him in his crate constantly but that is the only way I can have any kind of life... :-\

 

[Rocksypup]

I'm afraid that's what having a puppy is all about - and it'll only get worse when he reaches adolescence!
That's one piece of advice I am giving people who tell me they want a puppy... If you value your own time and peace and quiet, don't get one. You have to be alert all the time they aren't in their crate, and they will be all over you most of the time looking for attention! That's what puppies do.

If we're watching a movie or reading or whatever, Rocksy will generally just play with her toys around us... or sleep. We don't like to put her in her crate during the day or evening because she is in there most of the night.
One thing I would say... don't give into him every time. If he knows he can get your attention just by coming up to you he will keep doing it. There is nothing wrong with ignoring him from time to time if you want to be left alone to watch a movie or something. He should learn that he has to make his own fun and can't always come to you for entertainment.

 

[Ender's Mom]

How old is your puppy? Ender (13 weeks) does have to allways be near me when he's not in his crate but he's content laying at my feet or sitting next to me on the couch with his head resting up against my arm. (Like he is right at this very second as I type)

Is your puppy getting enough exercise? This REALLY helps with Ender becuase when he's exercised he does just want to sleep near you or chew on a nylabone at your feet. If he hasn't had a walk or some form of play... he will demand more attention.

A tired lab is a good lab!

 

[Djc1249]

With a puppy, you won't have a 'normal' life for quite some time.  As for other things to do with him, I don't know if this'll help you or not, but here are a couple of things I did (mine's 1 now, and we still play these):

From the day we brought him home, we started with sit, stay, down...just keeping it simple and a few minutes at a time.  Around 12-14(?) weeks, we started playing 'find it', and 'hide 'n seek'.  Labs are used as service dogs, search/rescue, etc., so I wanted to go with his natural instincts, as well as mentally stimulate him.  

Hub would hold him, I'd show him a bone, toy, etc., name it, then hide it (somewhere easy at first, in the same room, then progressively harder, in other rooms).  I'd ask him to find it, and gave TONS of praise when he did.  We also play 'hide 'n seek'; again someone holding him, I hid, then gave a whistle, and he'd find me (easy at first, then harder).  TONS of praise again...GOOD BOY!  GOOD FIND!

Now at 1, I just say 'get up here', and slap my hand on a bed.  He jumps on the bed, I ask if he's ready, and he knows what we're gonna play.  He stays, I hide, give a whistle, and his tail's a waggin' as he searches the house for me.  You can play these outside too.

It keeps him mentally stimulated, is loads of fun, he learned commands using play (this helped him learn stay), he learned the names of things and to differentiate among them, and it tires him out.....and when he goes to sleep, you can get things done.    

 

[Ender's Mom]

WOW... I want to do that with Ender!!!

 

[Buckyball]

Buck just turned 14 weeks today...hmm well since I work during the day he has to stay in his crate but I do come in during lunch and take him out for a potty break and just let him play a bit then it's back to his crate...when I come home at 4 we go straight out for a quick walk...about a 1/3 of a mile...I was told not to take them out on very long walks yet since he is young so we just go 1/3 or 1/4 mile walk...then we come back and just play around the yard work on his basic commands...then he eats his dinner and such and when I am in the shower or something I keep him in his crate...otherwise he is out following me around trying to get me to do something with him...maybe he does need more exercise...I do play the hide and seek game at home...but since my parents won't let him have access to a lot of places in our house there are limited places for me to hide in ...he rarely sits by my chair chewing on a toy or something ...perhaps I should just ignore him more when I am trying to get something quick done

 

[Ender's Mom]

Hmmm... certainly sounds like he's getting enough exercise... I would try ignoring him... make sure you praise him when he's calmly sitting by you... look at him and tell him what a good dog he is when he's doing the behavior you DO like... (i.e. sitting calmy by you... chewing or sleeping)

BTW... we work as well as go to class so Ender is crated during the day (in addition to the evenings) As for puppies and exercise... rule of thumb is 5 minutes per month of age. Some puppies need more than others. We usually end up taking Ender on 3-4 short walks per day. He loves them and when he comes home... he curls up and naps.

 

[Buckyball]

Ok yeah sounds like ignoring is a good idea...earlier today I was just standing by the table reading the paper and Buck just sat there next to me staring...hehe so I just turned around give him a little pet and wentback to my work...I guess maybe if I slowly reduced the frequency of pettings he will eventually learn to not always expect attention from me...
Even after a walk Buck won't nap!...unless I send him to his crate he doesn't believe in sleeping haha Actually we just got back from a 5 minute walk...and he just had his dinner and looks like he is falling asleep in his crate...but if I let him out I know he will just play around...I guess he is not very good at realising when he needs to take a break

Dunno if I have said this before...But Ender is an absolutely cutie ;D

 

[imported_MilesMom]

We play that game with Bailey. That's Bailey in the picture. He loves that game. He's learned alot. Just yesterday our daughter sent him upstairs to get her slippers and he did it. He only brought one, so she said "get the other slipper" and he went and got. He's amazing. He will also go fetch the newspaper, which is wonderful on rainy miserable day and makes all the neighbors jealous!

Labs, at least Bailey, enjoy having their minds stimulated as well as their bodies. They like to learn and they like to please you. Bailey brought in the newspaper for us this morning and you'd have thought it was Christmas morning, he was so happy about it.

There he is, ready to go for a run with us this morning.

 

[Djc1249]

Good dog there, getting the paper. Yep, they like the mental stimulation. When I'm teaching Tucker something new, he gets a different look on his face and perks his ears up and back, trying to understand me.

When he was 6-8 mos. old, I tried giving him a light sack of groceries to carry....he got into the bag and tried running off with the contents. He was too young.

But a month or so ago, I tried again. I came home from the store, popped the trunk, and hub and Tucker came down to the car (we have a front deck, steps with a landing, more steps, then the driveway). I held a light bag, said 'Tucker, take it', put the handles in his mouth...and he carried it up the steps, into the house, and right into the kitchen. It was clumsy and unwieldy for him, and he dropped it once; but picked it up, held his head high so it wouldn't hit the steps, and made it. His tail was goin' a mile a minute. Now every week he has his groceries to carry. If he drops a bag, he'll either pick it up, or get something out of it and carry the one item. He's soooo proud of himself, and loves being in the middle of things, helping! They are amazing!

 

[imported_MilesMom]

Like Christmas morning! ;D

 

[Buckyball]

oh my gosh! That is soooooo awesome!!! Buck's a little too young for carrying groceries I think...he is definitely at the stage where he'd just go into the bag and start eating it!!...in the morning when I take him out and I say "Let's get the newspaper!" he takes me straight to the newspaper but then tries to rip it apart! haha...so we just go to the newspaper and I pick it up and I praise him for leading me to it

Right now I am just trying to teach him to fetch a ball! sometimes he brings it back and gives it to me and other times he just doesn't get the ball or he brings it back and refuses to hand it over!

How do you teach them to recognize particular items?
Like when I tell him to go "home" he knows to go into his crate...now I can't for the life of me remember how I taught him that! He knew how to respond to "home" within 3 days after I brought him home...he was 8 weeks old at the time...he's 14 now ..they really are very clever dogs

 

[Ender's Mom]

You said you take him for a 5 minutes walk. Try 10 or 15. 5 minutes is just enough to get my Ender really going... 10-15 gets his "ya yas" out and then it's naptime.

I should mention... he's been kind of napping maybe slightly more than usual 'cause he is recovering from Kennel Cough... he's not lethargic but he does like to nap.

 

[Djc1249]

The way I taught him to know items....I just held something in front of his face, and named it (Tucker...bone....bone). Then I'd start putting it down not far from him, and ask him to get it. That's what worked for me, anyway. Now if I say where's your ball? (or bone, or whatever) he gets it, or starts searching for it.

One day this winter, hub grabbed the camera when we were bringing groceries in...here's Tucker doin' his part (hmm....notice hub's not helping; just taking pics; it's harder training a hub). Now if I can just teach Tucker to work the washer...........

 

[Ender's Mom]

LOL... all I can say is WOW. We have to work on that.

 

[Djc1249]

Don't be too impressed.....I probably just have a dog that's smarter than me :laugh: :laugh:

...Ender's a real cutie...you'll have sooo much fun teaching him things, and he'll help you to teach him.

 

[Mischa's Mom]

We take Mischa out to the park to play frisbee. She is too excited to carry the frisbee there (2 minute walk), but after about 15 minutes of fetching the frisbee, I put the leash on her, she picks up the frisbee and carries it home. She usually sleeps a couple of hours after this, and we get some free time. Like having a toddler, you sure look forward to the nap times. The good thing about dogs is that you do have some control over when they nap. If I know I need a nap, it is out to the park with the frisbee for a few minutes. Oh... what naps we have together!!!!!

 

[Buckyball]

It is very impressive!! ;D

Ender- yeah I am slowly making the walks longer maybe that will help him out ...Buck got an upset stomach a couple days back so things were slowed down a bit for him so he can get back to his usual self...it's going to be GO GO GO! Let's get learning again starting tomorrow!

 

[Djc1249]

Mischasmom....oh yeah, aren't naps wonderful? When ours was a little pup, he did a LOT of sleeping. He'd play 5-15 min., then sleep for quite a while. I'd use that time sometimes to catch up on what I'd lost during the night those first few weeks, when getting up and letting him out during the night.

 

[Buckyball]

ahh the sleeping at night...allll through the night...I am waiting for those days to come...some nights Buck sleeps till 4:45am other nights he wakes up at 1am and then at 4:45am blech...I have to be up by 5:30am anyways so I can get everything done before I have to head to work around 6:45 or 7am...but the 1am wake up calls are the killers
On that note...I am off to sleep now! YAY! SLEEEEEEEEP!!!