Obedience training with a LAZY doodle

[Discussing Labradoodles & Goldendoodles]

When I first got Noah, I thought he was an out-of-control alpha little beast (in the most lovable way though!). He turns 5 months old on Sunday and has mellowed a lot, to the point where I consider him quite lazy. He passed his puppy kindergarten and now we're half way through his basic obedience course. In class, he gets so bored that he nearly goes into a comatose state. I bring deli meat with me to class, so I'm not sure how much more interesting I can make it for him. He is excelling at his down stays because he's so lazy haha, but during his sit-stays, his legs slowly slide forward and before I know it, he's laying on the ground ready to take a nap!

For the past two classes, I have been careful not to bring Noah to the park the night before class or the morning of class. I'm hoping to conserve his energy! I need tips on how to make my lazy guy into a more energetic doodle! He has fun at the park and is friendly and likes to run around and he is healthy... I guess he just got the lazy gene though!

btw, I saw someone mentioned that protein in meals can make a difference: I feed Noah twice a day this combination... 1.5 cups of Merrick puppy plate kibble, grilled chicken, rice, and scoopful of cottage cheese. He also goes to the dog park twice a day to play, except for Friday nights and Saturday mornings (his class is Sat. morning).

Any suggestions about increasing energy would be very helpful - thanks!

[Kathy (Ellie & Oliver)]

That sounds a lot like our Oliver. During that time, I started to call him "The Plopper!" As a young puppy it was kind of nice, we'd be out for a walk and stop to talk to someone and he'd lie down. People always thought he was so well behaved. Oliver was like that up until around 13 months old. In fact, when we were doing our visitation part to get registered as a therapy dog team, I would sit him next to a wheelchair and he'd plop down on the floor. The residents thought it was cute, but I was embarrassed! The evaluator suggested that I put him in a sit and then tell him to stay. As we practiced the sit stay, Oliver became much better. I found if he made eye contact with me, I could always make a loud sound to get him to stay up. We are still practicing the sit stays and have been able to work up to 2 minutes. Our trainer told us that practicing timed sit stays or down stays makes young dogs really concentrate and think. This activity has helped our 19 month old dog but it has taken some time. You might want to bring along some super yummy treats to class (The Liva Drops recipe from this site drives the dogs crazy! They love the taste!) and maybe if he has to wait during class try puppy push-ups or watch mes. Noah is very young, sounds healthy and possibly he was blessed with the "mellow gene!"

[Debbie and Thomas]

Our doodle "Thomas" just finally crashed on his side tonight at 8:00 pm while I'm watching American Idol-I guess he knows not to mess with me during my TV show. I only wish I had a laid back puppy like yours, although I have to admit he does get bored at his obedience training classes. He doesn't lie down though-he barks at the door as if to say "get me out of here". He is 5 1/2 months old and is settling down some now but he has SO much energy we are trying to tone it down.