Entertaining Doodles

[Becky]

It's been raining here for several days straight and lucy is going a little stir crazy. We usually spend a large portion of the day running around outdoors, going for walks etc. We'll still get out in the rain but not for as long because it's much less enjoyable in cold, freezing rainy weather. Does anyone have any thoughts on indoor activities that will entertain a 6 month old puppy? Just this morning, she's destroyed (decapitated) two different toys and chewed through her leash....lol....I think I'm going to brave the rain and try to tire her out now but any ideas would be appreciated!

[Leslie and Halas]

We play a lot of chase, even in the house. Hide and seek is also pretty fun.

[Leslie and Halas]

Oh, yeah, good point. Even at only 24 lbs, the front of the sofa lifts off the ground a little bit when Halas jumps on it and slams himself into the back of it. Two big doodles could easily tip the sofa over if there wasn't a wall behind it. We used to have 2 huskies, and they would run up and down the hallway at my parents house. It was fun to watch (they didn't get on the furniture when they did this), but you had to get out of the way. A bigger dog (probably even a mini) could easily take out a knee if they ran into you just right. That could happen inside or outside. All of a sudden, playing sounds a lot more dangerous.

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

I feel your pain!.....I am in NJ and the same thing is happening here...No end in site til tomorrow......I have been throwing the ball up and down the foyer stairs for Blake and he's out there right now playing with my neighbors White Shepherd.....

[Adina P]

Kibble and treats inside of food dispensing balls or toys is great.
Obedience practice just for the heck of it.
Teaching tricks.
Hide and seek---you make them sit and stay while you hide a toy that they love (or treat) around the corner and then release them to go find. You can make it harder and harder as they catch on to the game.

[Tamara & Giada]

Would she like to chase a flashlight? One of my dogs LOVES this and is so entertaining and good exercise:)

[Becky]

She loves the flashlight game, actually. Good idea! We usually do it outdoors but maybe I will take her down to our basement and let her run around down there. She just spent an hour playing with several of my old socks tied together and stuffed with ice cubes. A little messy but apparently very entertaining for her!

[Leslie, Dexter & Kirby]

wow interesting thread...are we the only ones that let their 2 doodles play chase/wrestling inside? Our doodles are really good about it...they never knock anything over - I never saw it as a problem. If we didn't let them do this we would be in serious trouble...with the amount of rain we get we can't have them outside playing everyday.

Anyway...to answer the original question. Our favorite inside game is keep away. My husband will sit on one side of the room and I on the other. We throw toys back and forth and the doodles try to get them. We work on down stays and "leave it" during the game too. Besides that it is inside fetch...

[Janie]

My Daisy walks on the treadmill.

[Becky]

oh wow, that's adorable! I'd love to see a video of that!! lol.

[20xlhzzaoccks]

We only have one doodle, but he is 70 pounds and we let him play fetch (run) in the house when it is raining outside, no snow in Orlando. And we both wrestle with him in the house as well. He messes up the rugs sometimes but doesn't run into furniture. We have tried in the past to put him on the treadmill but he is terrified and jumps off at the first opportunity. You would think we were killing him. It is so hot here in the summers that it is difficult to take him outside before 8:00 pm and it is still muggy at that time. He swims a lot in the summers. We had tropical storm Faye come through Orlando a few months ago and it rained for 5 days with no stopping. We were all a little miserable during that time and we had to just bite it and take him outside in the rain. Steve loves to play tug of war inside and hide and go seek. We hide in the house and then Steve has to come find us.

[Cam & Oski]

It's pretty rainy, cold & windy here in OR (similar to the weather we had in Seattle), that said, even if it's a downpour it feels like a hose is raining down on us Oski & I go to the park--he used to swim in Lake Washington in the winter when it was snowing outside when he was 6 mo so he never gets too cold. As for me, I have my winter dog park clothes: waterproof jacket w/hood, waterproof pants, waterproof boots, & thermal underwear--I look like a cross between the Unabomber & the Michelin man :P

But to answer your original question: Jason & I will be at opposite ends of the house (it's not a big house) & call Oski to run back & forth between us (he's a standard GD but we make sure we play the game where there's nothing he can run into/open spaces & he's only allowed to run inside during the game), he also like to play smack the toy (We take one of his rope-ring frisbees or any toy that's easy to hold & tap on the ground in front of him. He tries to smack it with his paw & we change this up by going from side to side.), obedience training, & naps :)