how to teach my doodles not to play rough inside...

[Sofie, Maggie, and Luna]

I have a 17 month old doodle and a 10 week doodle puppy.  I am aware that dogs play rough and I am not worried about them hurting each other.  However, I would like to teach them to only play and rough-house when they are outside.  I would like to teach them that inside is "quiet time" and they need to not wrestle and chase each other all over the house.  Are there any suggestions anyone might have to discourage indoor rough-houseing and encourage them to take their strenuous play outdoors?  Do I need to train them to do this, or once the puppy is older will they do it naturally and calm down indoors.  Note: prior to getting the new puppy our 17 month doodle was extremely calm indoors, always either napping or just chewing on a bone. 

[Miranda]

I am having the same problem!! My two are constantly wrestling inside. I take them out to play at a park twice a day except that when Cali is outside she doesn't want to rough-house....just play fetch! I would also love to hear everyone suggestions :)

[Adina P]

I'm not sure of a good way to teach this other than continually giving 'reminders' and sending them outside when they start rough play. Rosco and our late doodle Thule (almost 4 and almost 5 y.o. respectively) attempted wrestling indoors quite often. It was usually Rosco starting things. Over the 4 years I never really got them to quit initiating play indoors, but I could stop it once it started. I would say either send them out as a consequence where they could play (But more than likely they'd stop once they got out and stare at the back of the door like ours did =)) -- OR -- you could put them in down stays (once puppy is good at this) when they start the rough housing.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

We have 2 girls, just short of 2 years old. One of the first things we were told in their puppy class was to start right then with not letting them run in the house. That 2 12-15 lb dogs running in the house was one thing, but 2 60 lb dogs running could knock over the sofa. We have always put a stop to any rough playing that involved moving out of a single spot. It immediately earns them a ticket to their room. They stay there for a few mins and then I try to let them out again. If it continues they go back to their room for a longer period of time. You can also do pretty much the same thing with putting them in a "down/stay" for a few minutes and then releasing them. We have a fenced back yard, but it is normally wet this time of year so it isn't always easy to just put them outside. Ours play fight non stop when they are outside.

[Ann Kendig]

Sounds exactly like our house except they get banished to the kitchen if they play rough. I have them to the down/stay in the kitchen. I agree, the yard gets sloppy in the winter. I can't wait for summer when they just drag in dirt (and no muddy wet footprints).

[Sofie, Maggie, and Luna]

Those are both good suggestions. Perhaps I should have mentioned that we don't have a yard. We live in an apartment. But Maggie (the oldest) runs with me every day usually at least 4-6 miles. Luna gets a walk most days on her leash and they both get to play off leash at the fairgrounds nearly every day. I think I will work really hard with Luna on her "down-stay". Maggie already has that mastered...but if she's the only one in it and the pup is jumping all over her she gets really irritated. Usually Luna (the puppy) gets put back in her crate if she won't settle down. Has anyone ever heard of putting coins in a metal can and shaking it to distract them when they start the rough-housing? I haven't tried it yet, but am thinking about it.

[Miranda]

We live in apt also so just letting them outside doesn't work for us either. Sandy (our 11 week old) is usually the initiator, but Cali gets crazy as well. I've put the puppy in her crate a couple of times. Mostly to show her that it's safe there...as Cali is too big to get inside. The wrestling only lasts for about 10 min....then they both just take a nap...but man it's NUTS in here when they are going at it. I do make Cali sit and stay back from Sandy, but then Sandy just goes right in for more. (Guess it doesn't bother her too much!) I'm hoping as the puppy gets bigger and learns her commands it will be easier to stop. As for the coin can....my boyfriend calls it a no-no can lol. We use it when we see Sandy popping a squat where she shouldn't so that we can then take her outside. He said his roommate used the no-no can on his dog and it worked really well. We'll see :P

[Sofie, Maggie, and Luna]

Thanks for the advice about the can. I'm pretty sure I'll try it and hope it works unitl Luna learns a down-hold. It's true, the wrestling doesn't last too long, but while they are at it my boyfriend and I can't even talk to each other or walk through the room without getting ran into. One thing I found that works is to sit on the floor with them when they are playful and everytime one of them tries to engage the other in play to grab that dog and pull it away from the other dog. I'd like to find a solution that doesn't require me to sit on the floor the whole time they are playful though. I am happy that Luna seems to be beginning to grasp the concept of Hold...so maybe within a month or so she'll have it down enough to use it to discourage the playing.

[Leslie, Dexter & Kirby]

Our doodles are 3.5 and the amount of indoor wrestling has decreased a lot (they will maybe wrestle for 5 minutes a day now tops). They used to wrestle inside a lot when we first got Kirby. We have a big yard, but it is dirty enough out there most of the time that I would have to wash them off everytime they come in so we allow them to wrestle inside. We do work on the "enough" command so if they become obnoxious about it we can make them stop. Occasionally we'll have to put one of them in a time out (i.e. isolate them in a corner) if they don't stop.

We walk them daily, however they seem to need to burn that extra burst of energy :)

[Marianne *OZZY & ZOEY]

WHEN YOU FIND THE ANSWER LET ME KNOW PLEASE.....Ozzy is 85lbs and Zoey is 18lbs, they never hurt each other but play all the time...LOL

[Lynda Kamrath]

Our dogs are just too big to wrestle and chase in the house. However, we are lucky to have a beautiful fenced backyard. I just tell them "out" if they get too feisty in the house and they run outside and continue out there. At about 100 lbs. each, they have plenty of energy and get walks and play times away from home just about daily, but rough housing is done in the backyard. They are almost 4 years and 6 years, but we have always done the same thing. The younger dog usually starts the chasing, but they both enjoy the activity. The also have large beds outside that they lie down on after play, and sometimes just prefer to stay there for an extended period of time. We are so lucky to have an appropriate area for them to play outdoors.

[Linda,Yankee & Finn]

I take my 2 to the dog park every day plus they wrestle in our back yard but that still doesn't stop the indoor wrestling. And I also have them chasing each other around tables and it's hilarious.

[Beverley S. LaLonde]

We always used a metal chocker collar in a tin can. And shake immediately when they start rough housing or doing something undesireable. You can also toss something like a soft ball or toy at the instigater in the rear area. First dog I ever trained about 45 years ago the instructor used a throw chain, (a chocker collar) but the dog can not see you throw it. They can't figure how you reached out and touched them from a distance. I have Chole who is like a tasmanian devil at getting stuff stirred up.She is the only female and 1 1/2 years old.Harlee will be 5 in October, Li'l Buddy will be a year April 27, 2010. I am on her like a wet blanket and feel guilty sometimes or I should most of the time. Usually it's because they are not getting enough exercise I feel.And I am able to let them run in a 70X80X90 ecercise area and it still happens. Where I am no mud just snow and has been very cold. Treadmills help!
Bev and the Doodle Gang