oliver

[Ron Asker]

            

    hi!!!  does anyone have any ideas on how to calm my crazy doodle down??!!!  its too dark to take him on walks now and he is full of energy.   Any ides would be extremely helpful.  thanks!!!

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

How old is Oliver?  I walk my doodles in the dark, I make sure I wear bright clothing, I have a reflective collar and leash for my dogs.  The only way to calm a dog is to exercise them by walking, running, playing a good game of fetch.  If you have a treadmill you can teach your doodle to walk on it.  I also have a red laser light that my Oliver loves to chase.  To change up their routine I will shine the laser light and Ollie will chase it around my back yard, he love that light - LOL.  My Sasha could care less about the laser light and has the look on her face like "really Mom.. do you expect me to chase that crazy light around".    You also can play fetch in you house with a ball etc.... there are lots of things you can do to keep them active just be creative... but exercise is key !!!!

[Donna K & Quincy]

Do you have a flight of stairs, having him fetch a ball up and down the stairs is a great work out.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Well, believe it or not this topic has been raised before here on DK! LOL! Seems you are not alone in your dilemma! Here are a couple links to previous discussions about how to keep our doodles occupied indoors. They have some great ideas and hopefully some will work for you:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/winter-games

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/trainingmindsets/forum/topics/rai...

[Ron Asker]

   My Oliver is only 2,  we are his 4th home.  he really does have a lot of energy thanks for the ideas.  i will defiantly try all of them!!!!

[Jen and Annie]

poor Oliver.  His 4th home!!  Do you have a fenced in backyard?  If so, maybe turn on the back porch light and play a little fetch.  In general, my motto is that a dog that acts crazy needs more exercise.  They have to burn the energy off somehow, and if acting crazy in the house is the only way they can burn the energy - then that's what they'll do.  Chewing can be good - and if you can find a durable chew toy for him to 'work on' - it may keep him busy for awhile and tire him out.  Really it is probably best if he gets to run somehow.  Maybe you could make a habit of 30 minutes of fetch per day, which will probably help tremendously in the long run.

I don't know what you are feeding - but, when we first got our pup- our vet told us that lamb formulas are a thermogenic protein, and that it can cause hyperactivity.  It's a "hot protein" he said.  Chicken and Fish are cooler, and when we switched our pup to chicken, we noticed a difference... changing the food won't solve the problem - but may calm him a little. (a LITTLE - LOL)

[F, Calla & Luca]

I don't believe this information about lamb I am sorry to say. But if you have any science to back it up I would be happy to read it and perhaps change my thinking. All food is thermogenic in a sense since we use calories for heat, energy and all bodily functions.

[Jen and Annie]

Yeah, as I mentioned - this is what my vet told me.  He's a holistic vet... After he said that to me, I tried to google more information but didn't have any luck with ANY results using my search terms, so I'm sorry I can't send any links right now...  We did switch her to chicken and saw a difference - but could have been placebo for me just thinking I saw a difference?  Next time I'm into the vets - (hopefully not soon) - I will ask him if there were any studies that he could point me to.  Maybe it's because lamb is such a lean protein?  (shrug)

[Ron Asker]

I don't really know much about that stuff all i know is that when i was looking for good dog food brands avo derm was one of the best.

[Ron Asker]

we do not have a porch light out back,  but i think a flashlight would suffice.  every chew toy we have gotten him he has destroyed.  except for his Kong. we feed him Avo. derm.  i read that its supposed to be good for them.  thanks a lot!  I appreciate it

[Ginny Nightingale]

Sounds like an energetic guy! My doodles love to chew on cow hooves which I get at an feed  supply store--they can chew on them for hours--then they collapse!

[Ron Asker]

ha ha yeah he has a lot of energy. now we have to close my daughters door so he doesn't get in there and chew everything.  well not necessarily chew more like bring into the living room for all to see.   

[Jen and Annie]

I actually posted a blog about this topic yesterday - http://www.doodlekisses.com/profiles/blogs/how-to-deal-with-a-destr... 

Poor guy, he probably doesnt know what to think being rehomed 3 times. :(