Super lazy 10 week old Goldendoodle

[Doodle22]

Hey guys, meet Murphy (picture attached)!  Murphy came home to our house last Thursday and has been an amazing pup so far!  He's easily trainable; already knows sit, touch and crate.  However, he has to be the laziest dog we have ever had.  He seems to have a total of 10-20 minutes of play time in him per day, and the rest of the time he just wants to sleep if he's not getting treats while learning!

We live in an extremely hot part of the US, so it could be the heat.  But he doesn't like going on walks, even in the earlier morning and evenings.  We walk and he just sits down and looks at us like we're crazy for doing such a thing. With that said, every now and then he gets short bursts of energy and runs and chases a tennis ball or one of his toys.

The day before we were supposed to get him from the breeder, we got a text that he had some loose stool and she was having him tested for parvo and fecal bacteria, both of which came back negative. His stool has been loose, with two times having a small bit of blood, but after taking a week of metronidazole, and adding pumpkin into his food, his poop finally is a bit more solid.  We had him at the vet yesterday, and he was so calm.  He actually fell asleep on the scale and didn't really care much when the vet gave him his vaccines.  Vet cleared him after reviewing the prior vet paperwork and said he'd make a great therapy dog because of how calm he is.

He grazes on his food, but really doesnt seem to like dry kibble.  If presented with treats, he readily devours them.  Or with wet dog food + his dry kibble with pumpkin.

SOO with all the above said, he's just so....chill.  Most of the time he needs a little encouragement to get going.  Has anyone had a similar experience with a doodle puppy at 10 weeks?  He's @ 20lbs now, and was at 18lbs last Wednesday, so he is gaining weight, too. 

We are preplexed.  He's like a 20lb couch-potato!   

PS - not complaining, if this is his personality, we'll take it! 

[Leslie J]

First thing to remember- puppies, like human babies, sleep most of the time. 10 weeks is very young so it is normal for him to sleep most of the time.  His energy will likely increase in a few weeks and you’ll wonder where that mellow puppy went!

Our dog, Cocoa, has never been a very active dog. She has always slept most of the time.  As a puppy, she was also a very light eater. She didn’t love walks but perked up when she could run and play with my kids outside. She still is very mellow.

That said, I would check with your vet and make sure everything is ok with him medically as a follow up from the other issues.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree with this. 10 weeks is very young. Don't be surprised to see his energy and his appetite increase a LOT over the next few months. 

[Doodle22]

Thanks for the feedback! We are going on one full week with him...did you guys get much sleep initially when you had your puppies? We've been pushing through taking him out every couple of hours, but this AM we are like zombies. Ooooof.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I have a purebred Poodle who didn't come home from his breeder until he was 10 weeks old, and he came home crate trained. He slept through the night from the very first night without more than a couple of initial whimpers. My doodle before him was an adult when I got him. The puppy before that was also a purebred from a very good breeder who also did some work on crate training before sending the pups home, and that puppy also slept through the night from the beginning, at 9 weeks old. So they CAN hold it for more than a couple of hours at night. 
However, a puppy with loose stool is going to have a more urgent need. I'd have another fecal done, as giardia has a 10-14 day incubation period and doesn;t show up in every test. Giardia in new doodle puppies is very very common. Metronidazole given without probiotic followups is also going to result in a bacterial imbalance and more loose stool down the road. If your pup continues to have soft stool, ask your vet for Panacur instead of metronidazole, the latter is not without side effects and really shouldn't be given to young puppies except when absolutely necessary. Panacur is more effective and much safer.
We have a lot of info on this in the Food Group and the Health Group here. 

[Doodle22]

Wow, the idea of having I'm sleep through the night sounds amazing right now. Our breeder definitely did not crate train so it's all on us. It's been getting better, but initially he would bark and whine for what seemed like hours.

Now he protests, falls asleep, and rinse and repeat. Most of the stuff I've read says not to acknowledge their presence at all when theyre barking, but then I've read that you should tell them no, and when/if they stop, reward them with praise or treats so they understand what you want.

I'm surprised your pups slept through the night - everything I've read says to take them out every couple of hours, or months in age plus one hour.

Just out of curiosity, do you have the crate in your bedroom? For us that would mean sleeping in our bed atleast

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

My most recent puppy had a Varikennel crate in my room, next to my bed, and a regular crate in another room. Previous pups were crated in a different part of the house at night.  
I kept my puppy in bed for some cuddle time at night, prior to putting him in the crate. When I saw him relaxed and sleepy, I'd put him in the crate. Whining a little the first or second night and then he was fine. To give you an idea of how fine he was, the first couple of nights that I decided to let him stay in the bed with me and did not crate him, I woke in the morning to find him in his crate, lol! He had put himself to bed after I fell asleep! He was probably about 4 months old at the time. 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Riley was not crate trained when she came home but was sleeping through the night 3 days after she came home.  That months of age plus one hour only applies to daytime,  they can absolutely go 8+ hours at night at a few months old.  We had (still have) her crate in our room with us, that way she isn't alone at night.  For the first few days she was right beside the bed so that DH could reach his fingers into the crate to console her if she was upset.

[Doodle22]

What a good pup!! Honestly, I think he'd probably sleep through the night if he wasn't crated, but he needs to master it since there will be times when I'm at work and my wife isn't here. And trusting a young puppy not to mess with things he shouldn't is a recipe for disaster.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, I would not leave a young puppy unsupervised with the run of the house, or even one room, lol.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Riley was gated off in a 4x4 space of our mudroom while we were at work after we got her...she went full termite on the baseboards 0.o  When I go back to work I think I'm going to have to put her in daycare on days when I'm gone all day, usually only once a week so it's not too bad.  Half days I might have to get some plexiglass and screw it to the walls so she can't chew them :p

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Riley came home at 9 wks super lazy..she used to sleep most of the day and even ate lying down.

She is now far from lazy and I would say she is a medium energy dog at about a year old.

[Adina P]

Sounds like my dream pup.  I love those lazy doodles.