Lazy boy

[Carrie king]

We have had Finn now for a a few weeks. He is settling in nicely! I literally cannot believe how easy he is. I keep pinching myself. Hes layed back..super layed back. He will romp & play, but not a ton. I am a bit worried because he is very food motivated but not activity motivated. I would like him to be more active during play time. He also is having troubles wanting to walk on the leash. He just doesnt want to walk a bunch. Just stops, lays down, doesnt care. Any suggestions about getting him interested in activities? Its very hot here so we have a kiddie pool & he does seem to like that okay. Should i use treats to motivate while hes on the leash?

[Amy and Annabelle]

Annabelle doesn't like the heat. We let her walk in the cool grass but it still doesn't matter. We take water with us and all she is interested in is laying in the shade. We quit going for walks until it cools off. Evenings are too buggy so we are hoping next month will be better for her. I even looked at doggie strollers. But I would prefer she walk off her energy instead of riding in a stroller. She did fine in March and April, but as soon as it started pushing 70, she wasn't interested. Annabelle loves to run around the back yard and play fetch and keep away. So I can't help you there. She started chewing on our kiddie pool, so we had to train her not to do that. But she loves the water. Finn is adorable. I love his color. If I get a second one I want red.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Your Finnegan reminds me of my first doodle in that he is not keen on walking.  Charlie never really cared about walking much especially when he was young.  He is 4.5 years and 30 minutes is the max he will walk.  At about 15 minutes out, he turns around and wants to go back home.  Once we get home, he wants to play ball for 5 or 10 minutes and then he is just happy to follow me around, or sleep.  He has been this way from the time he was a puppy.  I figure as long as he gets his little walks in and plays some fetch several times a day, he is good to go.  He is not overweight and really is in good shape according to Vet.  Beau is pretty much the same, however he will walk longer if I want to - and if that is the case, we circle around and drop Charlie off at the house with DH.  I read somewhere that dogs sleep about 80% of the day - I know that is true with both of mine!  But I like it that way!  LOL

[Christy&Riley]

What a sweetie! Finn and our Riley look like they could be related. Check out the resemblance even now that Riley is 2.

[Stella]

Like people, some dogs are more active than others! It could also be the heat, especially if you are walking on sidewalks. I am a canine rehab therapist and, sadly, the first thing I think of when people tell me their puppy isn't very active is that there may be a physical reason why they don't want to do much. It might be worth getting the vet to check his hips / joints out the next time you are there - for peace of mind that there is no physical reason why he isn't very active.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

FINN is adorable.  I would use a treat as you walk holding it just in front of him and give him tiny pieces of it as you walk.  I would not over exercise when it is super hot.

[Julie, Eloise & Beasley]

Finn is SO adorable!  He does look pretty laid back in that picture - so cute!  :)  It might be the heat, but he may just be less active overall.  Beasley doesn't stay interested in activities nearly as long as Eloise will - but Beasley can also be an energizer bunny...so I've declared hers to be ADD-related, lol.  I've used bubbles as a quick outside activity - stand in the yard and blow bubbles and they run and jump around like happy fools.  We do a lot of indoor fetch when it's really hot - and I know a lot of people on here do nosework indoors, too.