Is my puppy just bored?

[Dawn]

I feel sort of silly asking this question but what do your dogs do all day?  It seems like Lucy is bored during the day.  We take her out for walks and play time, however, she seems restless when she is in the house and not sleeping.    Is this just a puppy stage?    I feel like I need to be entertaining her a lot.

She is also ringing the bell to go out even when I know she doesn't need to go.

I'm grateful for the advice I get from this great group!

dawn

[Adina P]

Some puppies need help relaxing.  I always provided some crate time to my pups (more for my sanity so I could get a break) and that gave them some needed down time.  As some pups will just go go go and not chill out on their own.  Just more energy!  As far as ringing the bell...she knows it gets her time outside and she rings to go out or for play or whatever.  My 1.5 year old doodle LOVES LOVES LOVES being outside and rings FREQUENTLY through the day to go out and play.

[BG and Gavin]

Exactly the same situation here when Gavin was a puppy.  He needed to be put away for a nap during the day.  He also likes to be outside.  His first choice is to have the people outside with him, but barring that, he likes to be outside alone.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I don't know how old your puppy is now but my Riley is eight and a half months  and I do know that he has quiet times and giddy times during the day.  He gets two walks a day and lots activity but can sometimes appear as if he's looking for mischief aka bored!  During those times I give him something to keep him busy, either something to chew on or a stuffed kong.  If he gets too giddy he goes into his crate where he will calm down instantly.  I either leave him in his crate for a while or after a few minutes take him out.  I think what you are seeing is totally normal puppy behavior.  Think of small children with a very small attention span.  When I go out during the day I don't crate him, he doesn't do any damage and I believe he sleeps the whole time because when I return he goes straight to his water bowl for a big drink! Check out the puppy madness group here on DK where lots of people will give you more suggestions.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Mine love to sleep and wake up and be naughty when daddy gets home from work!!!!

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

When I am home and/or on weekends my two doodles are basically sleeping during the day.  Oliver will sit at the back door and bark, so I go to let him out, I open the door but he just stands there.  I realized that he wants me to open the door so he can lay there and watch the world go by - LOL.  Sasha is usually sacked out on the couch :)   So during the week while I am in work I crate them and come home on my lunch hour and I do believe they just sleep.  Many times during the weekend while I'm home Ollie will go into his crate and take a nap.  Also when I had other dogs and they were out of the crate stage, nothing was touched during the day but as soon as I got home they ate, drank and played with their toys.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

When Cooper was little (well, for the first year and a half) we had to give her time outs as she couldnt settle down for a nap by herself. We would put her in her crate or ex-pen.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Maybe she needs more exercise to tire her out. When I started taking Sophie to the dog park she calmed down A LOT. Also, I agree about using the crate. It really helps.

[Dawn]

We just got back from the dog park and she is sleeping like a baby.  I was a little nervous about letting her play with all those big dogs but she held her own :)

 

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Good! You just have to go when it's quiet and be really vigilant about keeping an eye on her and the other dogs. I know a lot of people here don't like dog parks but I swear by mine. it's been a real life saver for me.

[Denis and Rhonda]

We found a Doggie Day Care around the corner from our house (Off the Leash).  After leaving Hero there a few times, he has calmed down dramatically.  Hero is 6 months old.  We used to have to run him around the yard to tire him out.  Now, he walks calmly around the house and spends a lot of time on a comforter in the living room playing with his toys or chewing on a bully stick.

Obedience training has also helped a lot.  Hero has completed advanced obedience training.  When he gets a little wild, or acts up, we just give him a few commands and bring him back around to a "calm, submissive state" as Cesar Milan would say.

[Christine & Shelby]

My Shelby is 2 years old now and is still very high energy and very active.   During her puppy time - she also learned to ring the bell to go out to potty and soon realized that I was very attentive to bell ringing so she started ringing the bell to go out and play or go out and lay on the patio.   I am fortunate to have a fenced in yard and she can wander the yard and explore.

I agree with everyone else... I am convinced she sleeps during the day.... and/or stares out the front window as part of her neighborhood watch program.   I have been taking Shelby to play care twice a week since she was about 6 months old - best idea ever.  She gets two full days of play during the week.  

I had to find ways to wear out Shelby.... walking wasn't enough.  We do lots of playdates with other doggie friends, visit the dog park, play lots of fetch, she now jogs with me and we also do play care.   She has a LOT of energy....