What does your doodle play with while you aren't home?

[Alla]

I'm afraid my Baila is bored when anyone isn't not around while we're at work. I want to get her some toys - but what should I get??

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

Chew toys, treat balls filled with part of their meal. That's about all I keep out. However, Bella seems to find something shes not allowed if she's bored. But she's getting much better.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

We fill up Kongs will small treats and applesauce, baby food, or canned dog food and freeze them.  I toss them each one as I leave for work and they spend time eating their treats and don't even notice I'm gone.  As I am getting my coat on, I tell Cubbie "Kong Time" and he bolts down the stairs and sits in his bed just waiting for his Kong to be delivered to him.  I don't know how it takes either dog to finish their Kong, but at least it is something.  After that I am assuming they just sleep for a while.  They spend most of the day sleeping when I work from home, so I assume that it isn't any different when we are away.  :)

[Anne & Mr. Haley]

Haley gets a Buster Cube with part of his food inside, a hollow marrow bone with peanut butter smeared inside and I leave the TV on PBS cartoons,  I think the order of things while I am gone are: 1.  He licks all the peanut butter out of the bone; 2. plays with the Buster Cube and when tired of it  3. gets in the recliner in front of the TV and watches cartoons and falls asleep.  He also has a Zygoflex Hurley (indestructible rubber bone) which he greets me with  (along with lots of tail wags) when I come home.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

I can just picture this! Our only get the radio on!

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

The COUCH, CARPET,COASTERS,KLEENEX,TOILET PAPER, WALLPAPER-sorry mine are not good role models:)

They have nylabones for powerful chewers but it seems like they just sleep on the back of the couch or watch for us to come home. As soon as we walk in Myla grabs her toys and starts playing???

[Adina P]

Mine like Sudoku, Solitaire and Checkers.  ;-)  No seriously, all my dogs sleep.  In my opinion true boredom = naughty, destructive behavior because they are looking for something to do.  If she's not destroying anything or doing naughty things while you are gone, she is doing just fine.  I've been bored watching Rosco, for one, a couple afternoons on webcam.  He does nothing.  Maybe it's because I need more sleep myself, but it doesn't seem to bad to get all day to snooze.  Food dispensing toys usually only keep them active for a short time (at least kongs and other type of things did for my dogs) until the food is gone.  I guess my point is your dog sleeping the day away is a sign of nothing wrong.  If she gets into things and is destructive in and out of the crate, then she might need more exercise and/or obedience training when you are home to use up some physical energy and mental energy.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

i give Cooper a chew toy, a bone, and a treat dispensing toy. She often uses the treat dispenser, but most things are exactly where I leave them - she sleeps for the most part

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Antlers and kongs are my staples. Sophie used to have a few treat dispensing toys but winston has destroyed them all. I can't leave anything plastic or non-durable rubber around or he will eat it.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Kongs and her antler - although I'm pretty sure she doesn't do anything with them, she just sleeps all day.

Sometimes we find a kleenex or piece of paper she's ripped up, but if we haven't left anything she can access there's no mess. :)

[Heather Martinez]

Teddy doesn't usually get anything to play with. He gets two treats when I leave. I used to leave him a nylabone, but when I came home it would always be in the same place I left it, he never chewed on it. As soon as I came home and let him out of the kitchen, he would run into the living room with his bone and start chewing it! I think he sleeps all day when we are gone. 

[Doris]

Bodi does NOT play when we are gone.  Every single toy and bone is in the exact position as when we left.  Weird, huh?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We have hollow bones, Nylabones, antlers, and stuffies all over our house for our guys to amuse themselves with.  We also have a doggy door so they can go in and out.