Restless, pacing and very busy doodle

[Karen C]

I have looked for previous discussions on this and can't find many that help. Eli is 11 months old and never seems to settle down. He is constantly pacing or trying to chew everything in site. I feel like at this age he should be able to roam free more than we can let him. He very rarely ever lays down unless he's in his crate. I have started tethering him most of the time I am moving about the house to keep him out of trouble. I've had dogs my entire 37 married years and never had one that won't lay down next to us and just be still for a bit. I feel frustrated my husband and I can't even watch a show in the evenings without him getting into things if he's not tethered. If he's tethered we aren't necessarily relaxing. He gets tons of exercise everyday as I don't work and walk/exercise him lots. He goes to doggy daycare two days a week. Even on those days when he should be worn out he's extremely busy. Suggestions as how to get him to relax with us? We so love our fur baby and want everyone to be happy and relaxed.

[Amy and Annabelle]

He is probably neutered if he goes to daycare. Does he have any off leash time to run? Maybe he needs some mental stimulation, like the Busy activity mat. Annabelle loves hers, or hide and go seek. I will hide her frisbee, and she will go look for it. When Annabelle was younger and in her chewing stage, before a year, I gave her a bully stick to chew on while we watched tv. She always sat between us on the couch and chewed her stick. Then she usually fell asleep. With Annabelle the chewing frenzy stopped at about a year.

[Karen C]

He is neutered. He also does get lots of off leash time. I will have to try the busy mat for sure. That sounds like something he might be interested in. He's very smart. I have given bully sticks in the past but he seems uninterested all of the sudden. He use to get a half every night. It's strange the way he suddenly decided he didn't want them. It was a chewing lifesaver.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I have found that doing formal training exercises tires them out.  Have you done any obedience training with Eli yet? Maybe you could try some "sit, stay, down, heel" command work for 15 or 20 minutes a couple times a day.  When I want my guys to lay down and relax while I'm reading or at the computer I gate them in the room with me and then I actually put them in a down/stay.  That tells them that this is their time to just "chill" until I release them.  I also agree that some "off leash" running time is great for tiring them out. 

[Karen C]

We have done some classes and Eli does well. We haven't done any in about 6 weeks due to some family illness. I do plan on taking some more soon. I do practice his training frequently. I've tried the down/stay but it doesn't last. I have tried the gating him in with me but he tries his best to get my attention by getting into everything in sight.

[Adina P]

Maybe he's just a busy dog that needs work or a job to do.  I agree on doing some training and then advancing it gradually to keep his mind working.  Also agree on the "down stay."  And maybe some kind of work/command on a long down where he's expected to lay down on a bed or mat until you release him.  He's got to at least be able to hold a 5 minute down stay first and then you can teach him to extend that in a certain spot.  It takes TIME though.  I gave up with my dogs...haha...but they aren't anywhere near as busy.

[Karen C]

The hard thing for us is we learned the down/stay on a mat/bed but he chews whatever we use! He totally eats blankets or towels and has destroyed several beds and mats. All of these are great ideas but sadly we have tried most of them already except the busy mat someone else suggested.

[Leanne Hopkins]

It sounds like you're talking about our 7 month old doodle, Reese. We've had numerous dogs in 40 years - cocker spaniel, springer spaniel, labs, 2 other doodles who were active but not out of control. They chewed for a while but didn't go out of their way to find things. Unless we have Reese tethered to us he gets into everything. When we're doing training he cooperates and is extremely quick. When he's in our day to day world he's distracted by everything and either doesn't hear what we say or chooses not to. So frustrating. We're in the process of signing him up for agility. Maybe that will wear him out. Or, more probably, me.

[Karen C]

Sounds like we are totally in the same boat! Glad to know I'm not the only one with an out of control doodle. Lol. I'm thinking of doing some agility training as well in the near future.

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

I'd also try to teach him the "place" command, which we call, "blanket." It's similar to a "down-stay," but the dog can move about on the mat or blanket, as long as he or she does get off of it. This is convenient, because the blanket can be moved from room to room or house to house, and the dog knows that if the "place" command is given, that means it's time to chill and not wander around or get into mischief.  

[Karen C]

We have tried this and unfortunately it didn't work for us. He knows "get on your spot" but he eats everything which in this case is a blanket or bed/mat.

[Stella]

I've been there! My oldest LD, now 8 1/2 yrs old, was a nightmare puppy. He wouldn't rest, was on the go all the time, into everything and chewed so much, including on my clothes while I was wearing them! After he was about 15 months old he began to settle - not great, but more manageable. He is now the most amazing dog ever, he has his Canadian agility championship and is my 'heart dog'. Keep going to classes, any classes that you can get to, keep practicing at home, give him something to do. He is a smart dog and is looking for something to do, he needs a 'job'!!...... Oh, and there is no such thing as too much exercise for a young doodle!!!

[Andrea, Belle and Honey]

Karen, my Belle, now 13 months old labradoodle, was a busy, get into everything puppy, even on the days she got to run in the fields at day care, and regardless of how much training practice we did. She gradually started to calm down at about 9-10 months old.  She also was, and still is, a fabric eater.  I was able to teach her something similar to the "place" command, but we call it "house" because it started with her in her pen (her "house") on the piece of linoleum I put down to protect the floor. Then she learned to stay on the linoleum without the pen around it.  Then I discovered that with the house command, she would stay on an inexpensive, linoleum-like desk mat that rolls up and is more easily movable. It's not as convenient as a foldable blanket, but she doesn't eat it and so far will stay on it for as much as 20 minutes, unless Sophie the Cat instigates a chase. Still a work in progress.  Giving her a Himalayan Chew can usually keep her occupied on "house" for even longer.