I FEEL SO BAD!

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

Hey everyone! i have a question.. so it has been kind of rainy around here lately..and so sometimes i cant take my goldendoodle out for a walk..he goes out in the back yard all time time..but when it rains we make it quick or else he will be soaked... i usually take him for at least 2 walks a day.. but on these rainy days i feel bad that hes bored or something.. also sometimes when i come home from a long day at work.. i let him out of the crate to go to the bathroom and then i want to go on the internet for a little bit or just relax and then he goes and lays down on the floor.. and i feel so bad because he was just crated and then i sometimes dont feel like playing right away and i want to relax a bit... is he happy being out of the crate and just relaxing on the couch with me for a while or does he hate being bored? he is 21 weeks and i dont know i feel bad like i have to entertain him EVERY second of the day that im home.. but my mom keeps telling me not to worry because he is supposed to entertain me lol .. what do u guys think?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I agree with Andrea.  If he's been crated all day he's going to need physical and mental exercise when you get home.  If you can't walk due to the weather, that's a perfect time for some training inside. 

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

he only gets crated for 3 hours a day.. the rest my husband and i are home.. i do play with him and throw a ball around and do some training inside..but when i first get home i want to sit down for a minute ya know? lol

[Bonnie and Kona]

If he is only crated for three hours a day, take a few minutes to yourself when you get home (after letting him outside, of course). Then you can walk or train him. At his age the training needs to be short. Do something with him for 10 or 15 minutes then wait a couple of hours and do 10 or 15 more minutes. As he gets older he is probably going to demand much more exercise. Both of our doodles require at least 45 minutes free running a day. We take them to a fenced park at 6:15 am. My DH and I walk the perimeter of the park while the doodles romp. Then in the evenings they get their dinner meal in a "treat-dispensing" kong to give them mental activity. I am home most days all day. They have companionship but they still require exercise and training every day. Mine are 5 and 2 years old. When the younger one was 4-7 months he drove us crazy because he needed tons of exercise. Fetch is a great way to get them running and thinking. 

Your darling pup must be pretty mellow if he isn't driving you crazy for exercise. ;o)

[Gail and Bailey]

Unless it is raining really hard I will take my dog out for a walk in the rain.  Use an umbrella for yourself if you want but dogs don't care if they get wet!  Then when you are finished with the walk and you bring him inside you can have some bonding time as you towel him off and play on the floor with him for a while.  I would get in the habit of taking him outside for a walk every day when you get home before you "go on the internet and just relax."  You might find it to be relaxing just being with your little guy and knowing you are giving him some exercise and quality play time.  Remember you are "his world"!

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

u know what it is.. he plays verrry rough and nips and bites me A LOT...it has gotten better..but sometimes he will just walk up to me and bite my arm or leg..and then when we play fetch he comes FLYING up on the couch onto the top of my head like a nut..so sometimes i dont feel like getting hurt..lol

[Bonnie and Kona]

The nipping and rough play are symptoms of him needing more exercise. Because he cannot get his energy out any other way he is bound to nip and play rough as he would with other puppies. He needs you to be responsible for his exercise needs. Play fetch outside where he can really run... not in the house.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Well he definetly sounds like he needs more exercise, and training. The nipping will stop soon, but unless he is trained to stop flying onto the couch on top of your head, you are going to continue to get hurt. He is still a very active puppy and needs lots of physical and mental exercise. I know that if I "felt so bad" all the time because I was torn between spending time with my dog, or on the computer, I would change what was making me feel bad. He's not going to stop needing your attention, so all that can change is you.
He will settle down in about another year, but any time and training you invest in him now will payoff big time in the long run and give you the time and well behaved dog you desire.
I'm really never thought of my dogs as being a source of entertainment for us, although they definitely keep us laughing and very busy.

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

I dont come home and sit on the computer and surf the internet.. And even if I did, it should not be a problem.. For example today I was looking up dog harnesses for him and writing this post on here..and then I felt bad.. Because he was laying down.. Aslo i do have to come home and cook.. So I usually let him out to pee.. And then on a 25 minute walk then he roams the living room and I cook.. I always throw a ball around for him if it's a nasty day and we do training.. I also have a trainer who comes to the house and he goes to the dog run with my moms 3 dogs once a week for a big play day.he also is starting classes next week.. My point here is.. If I sit down on the couch for a minute I feel bad if he lays down and "looks sad" my mom doesn't mean entertain me.. But she means after we play for a while when play time is over I decide when it's over.. Not him.. also the flying up on the couch.. I feel bad yelling at him for doing it.. The bitig has been going on since we got him at 71/2 weeks.. Even in days that he goes for an hour walk and plays for hours in the dog run.. He also lifts his lip at me when he bites me.. So I'm starting to think its not exercise Thats causing this.. Of course when the trainer comes he never acts up.

[Donna K & Quincy]

If you dog is laying down it doesn't mean he's sad, he may just be content, if he's bored he is going to let you know in some way.

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

Thank you Donna.. That's all I was wondering.. U know how they look when they give u those puppy eyes.. Even after I play with him he looks at me with those puppy eyes and I feel like he's sad lol

[Donna K & Quincy]

At 21 weeks, Quincy was always at someone to play and even if he was playing with a chew toy someone had to hold it for him or he would nudge you endlessly until you did, so anytime he was laying down, I did not feel guilty I was enjoyed every minute of it. When he gets nippy while you are playing, just stop playing and walk away from him, it gives him the message that it is not ok and also a couple of minutes to calm down. Puppies do not seem to have an off switch when they get wound up and a little down time is needed. Hang in there, it will get better.

Hide and seek is a good game to play on rainy days and it also helps with recall. Hide somewhere, call him to you, using his name and reward him when he comes. It's fun for both of you!

[Ginny Nightingale]

You need to stop feeling bad--really--in order to train your pup to behave, you need to be the boss and make the rules. If he is breaking the rules, don't yell at him, but get him to do the right thing and then reward him. There shouldn't be too many times that you feel bad during training if you are doing it right. If he is getting that rough with you then he thinks he is in charge. Not good and needs to be turned around. Is the trainer giving you techniques to practice? You can't expect the trainer to train the dog--what they really do is train YOU to train the dog.Then you need to practice all that the trainer shows you with your dog during the other days.

Dogs do have a way of lying down and looking at up at you like they are miserable and need attention--ignore it unless you want it to go on all the time. The more you "reward" the pup for doing that by looking back at him or saying "poor baby, do you feel sad?", the more he will do it.

Nipping is a common problem with young energetic pups and it does stop if the dog is trained over time. Have you joined the Puppy madness group? Lots of discussions about nipping that you can search for and read. Good luck!!