What do you do with your doodle?

[Jenny and Cooper]

Hi everyone,

I find myself always tending to my puppy the last four weeks.  What I mean is I have no down time other than when he takes his nap.  When he is awake, I am watching him or playing with him.  He doesn't like to be locked up in the playpen when he is awake.  So I would either take him outside (on a long line/leash) or he is on a long leash inside our family room.  Still, I am constantly watching over him.  Am I setting him up to always having to do something?  Will there be a time where he can just "chill"?  It would be nice if he would just lay down and play with his toys.  He doesn't last too long with his toys and will start to wander off.  I guess my family room isn't fully puppy proof so I still need to follow him around a bit. 

Any suggestions on what to do with your doodle when he is awake?  And also at what age will he just "chill" with me? :)

Jenny

12 week Cooper

[Max & Ellie]

Our puppy Ellie is 16 weeks and we have noticed in the past week or so that she will finally settle down on her own and play by herself. When she is free, she is also a bit better about not getting into the littlest thing. Still a long way to go but it gets better each week. Hang in there!

[Dexter Doodle]

I had to respond to this one because I remember feeling the same way. To be honest, there was a time when I wondered if I would ever be able to relax again and started to wonder why I complicated my life by getting a puppy. My Dexter is 8 months old now and it is nothing like it was at 12 weeks. He is by my side most of the day watching me go about my daily routine, but doesn't require constant attention. When I sit down to watch tv, he will just sit by my side, take a nap or grab a toy to chew on. He is super well behaved and if he is bugging me at a bad time, I just tell him to relax and he knows what that means.

I can't tell you when that change exactly happened, but it did. I do think my attentiveness early on made a difference. He was completely house trained at 12 weeks and didn't chew a thing in the house....probably because he never got the opportunity. We trained so much early on too. If you go back and look at my old posts, you'll see how overwhelmed I was. Everyone said that the time and training would pay off and it did.

My advice is to train as often as you can and give crate time when you need a break. They grow up quickly and get much easier!

[Nala and Cooper]

Probably the most reassuring thing Ive read since getting Nala. Definitely feeling tons better about the puppy madness now!

[Diane, Hurley and Sidney]

I remember feeling the same way. A puppy is like a child. Hurley didn't seem to focus on just his toys or simply lie around for more than a few seconds or minutes for what felt like years. If Hurley gets to overly frisky I tell him PLACE and he goes to his doggie bed until I tell him OK.

It will happen. Just takes time. Enjoy this playful time.

[Jenny and Cooper]

Thank you so much for all the responses.  You've definitely made my day, so there is hope!  I still have a ways but at least there is light at the end of the tunnel.  "Dexter Doodle", I will check out your old posts when I get the chance.  I love to read the ones who has "been there done that"! I need to follow some footsteps.  This is all new to me!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

She is a baby and does need much watching, but you should be leaving her alone some so that she learns to settle herself.

[Jenny and Cooper]

Thank you Nancy, I will try to do that! I try to distance myself now when we are outside and he is on a long line.

[Kris and Sawyer]

I spent an entire summer doing nothing but tending to Sawyer. My husband was just starting to get upset about my absence..(lol) when he finally settled down. But I'm so glad I spent that time with him. He's well behaved, trained, and just a joy to have... The work pays off! Now we laugh because he's sooooo chill we have to get him moving. He's content to just lie around all day until we say "walk" or "go bye bye". FYI, bully sticks were a godsend during those young months!

[Jenny and Cooper]

Kris, thanks for your reassuring words.  I sure can't wait until mine will just "chill"!  We give Cooper either a cowtail or pig's ear to chew on from 9 to about 9:30 so we both can watch TV peacefully together.  That seems to be the only time of the day where hubby & I can sit and just relax.  By 10 p.m. we are just so drained.  We used to stay up until 11 or 11:30, now 10 pm. is our max before we head upstairs to get ready for bed!  Oh and yes, those chew things are AWESOME, can't do without it! lol

[Gracie, Jade, & Barkley]

I was there just a month ago or so. Gracie is now 5 months and she occupies herself a lot. I never thought that we would get to this point!
She does still need monitoring as she is just getting reliable enough with the potty training. But, we still have to make sure we are paying attention to her cues.

As to one part of your post, I do crate Gracie when I can't watch her 100%. Although she doesn't like it, it's a necessity. I can't project my feelings onto her. ;)
I have guinea pigs and they have a pen that needs cleaned once a week. It takes 45 min to get it all done. She has to be crated during this time. At first it was sessions of whining and crying so much that I would get so frustrated. Then, I tried to ignore it. Which was really hard. Sometimes I do tell her she's ok and she can just quiet down in a neutral voice (hard when it is so irritating! Lol)
Just Monday I had to clean the pen and I was amazed at the differences. She knows she won't be in there all day and she was content with sleeping and chewing on her bone.
Just relaying this story to help with the message that it will get better. Apparently, we are a big influence on these pups and they want to please. Maybe they don't know how at first, but be persistent with whatever it is you want them to do.

[Jenny and Cooper]

Hi Lyndy!  Funny we have a guinea pig too in the corner of our family room where Cooper hangs out.  Right now he just sniffs around the cage.  He knows piggy is in there but he seems ok with it. He doesn't bark at it.  Sadly, our guinea pig is getting old and hasn't been eating well this week.  He  is on his last days :(   I hate to say this, but in a way, that will be one less thing to keep Cooper away from.  He can roam around more.  We clean the cage when Cooper is napping. lol. 

Sometimes I feel like I'm supposed to be training him on something??  He knows sit, come, lay down, & wait.  Other than that, I don't know what to teach him. When we're outside, we just play or I just let him do his own thing.  I'm waiting for his last shot to send him to academy class! 

[Gracie, Jade, & Barkley]

Jenny,

Those are good basic skills. I think that they are probably the foundation to everything else. I am working on Gracie to stay down when she gets fed or not to jump up on the couch. Lol. She's 38 lbs right now. So, it's a little different than the smaller puppy stage. A lot of people don't start serious training until 6 months. I do like to watch the Zak George videos on you tube. His way seems to work well with our family and how I want to teach Gracie.

You could teach him to come to you if you aren't already doing that.

As Sosa said, I also put her in her crate around 7:30 depending on her level of rambunctiousness. She gets the zoomies and runs around like she never has been taught even one thing. Lol. We are still working on her mouthiness which for the most part is way better than when she was younger, but it's still the first thing she does to say hello or to get our attention.

Sorry to hear about your piggy. We actually have 4. Lol. Long story short my youngest had one for 6 yrs. I saw 3 piggies and couldn't decide which one I wanted. There were two boys and one girl. They were in separate cages and I felt sorry for the girl because she was lonely so found another girl. Hahaha. Oh boy. They are only about 2 yrs old so we have a few years left, but I know what you mean about 1 less thing to do. I won't get rid of them because I just don't think a anyone else will care for them as much as I do. They live like kings and queens with fleece and a c&c cage that is a huge double decker. That's why I called it a pen. ;)