Entertainment for Energetic Puppy

[Maddie]

Hi, we have a 9 month old mini golden doodle puppy named Willy. He is very energetic, and we have tried everything to keep him entertained, but he always finds new ways to get into trouble!! Yes, we know he's a puppy, and he gets private obedience lessons, but we were looking for suggestions on how to keep him occupied. 

Every afternoon, I take him on an hour walk, in addition to a 10 minute walk in the morning and a 20 minute walk midday. He goes to doggy day care once a week. Also, we play a lot throughout the day, such as tug, and throwing the ball around. We also give him chews, but due to a very strict vegetarian in our family who does not want meat chews around the house, we have only given him veggie chews. He gets the Himalayan cheese sticks, yogurt bones, whimzees, and more. However, he has gotten tired of this and now rarely chews them. Also, he has lots of toys that he occasionally plays with. We have a kong, but he usually is able to get all of him kibble out in about 5 minutes.

However, he always find so many ways to get into trouble. He has chewed up the majority of the carpets in our kitchen area (we keep him in the kitchen only, we have tried bitter apple spray but he ignored it), has chewed up our windowsills, and chair legs, and has a tendency to jump on top of the table or counter and steal stuff off of it (pens, pencils, papers, anything he can find!!). If we leave him alone, he does something crazy, like jumps on the counter and destroys a box of tissues, or jumps on the door very hard and scratches it and makes it open. He is ALWAYS getting into trouble and needs constant supervision. 

We are soooooo tired of everything getting destroyed. We don't know if he's not getting enough exercise, or if all puppies at this stage are like this?? We thought that the chewing would die down after he lost his baby teeth, but it hasn't. Do you have any suggestion for keeping him entertained? Thanks in advance. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

All puppies need constant supervision. He should be crated when nobody is home and tethered to you when you are home but can't keep eyes on him every second. 
And he needs to be running off-leash, full out, hard, every day for at least 30 minutes. Leash walks are not enough exercise, nor is daycare once a week. Tug is not really exercise. Throwing a ball around is great IF it is done in an area large enough for him to really run hard & far to fetch it and bring it back. Do you have a fenced yard? If not, you should try to find a safe enclosed area for him to run.

[Maddie]

Thank you! Yes, he is crate trained and crated occasionally throughout the day and when no one is home.

We do have a very very large fenced in backyard, however, we realized the hard way that he can escape from it. We do take him out there with a 40 ft leash, but he doesn't know how to fetch the ball (he leaves it there), and likes to chew it, or chew the leash. He will only run outside if we play chase, but that usually ends with ripped clothing :( 

Thanks so much for your help!! We will try to take him out in the backyard more and see if that helps. Any more suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

One of the best toys we have for Riley for supervised play is a big empty plastic bottle.  She chases it around the house like crazy and wrestles with it.  Her current bottle is a Clamato bottle - we like those best because the plastic is nice and thick so it lasts longer.  You have to watch them closely though because the bottle needs to be recycled/trashed as soon as they start getting little pieces off of it.

Another thing I would add in is short daily training sessions- sometimes mental stimulation can be just as tiring as physical.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

My puppy Murphy is just one.  The worst is yet to come. The years one-three can be very trying.  Some dogs are chewers others not so much.  My family room carpet is going to be bare before Murphy is settled enough to replace it.  It is not knotted, but only woven with a glued back.  Such fun pulling at the tufts!  She is never left alone in a room and still is managing to do this.

Here are some of my tips:

1)Leash him tied to you or something near to you.  He must always be in your sight.  Murphy was leashed until six months, now she follows me room to room on call ( sometimes treats for following).  She still goes on leash occasionally when she gets the "crazies".  Hers are mostly at night when she barks at TV, her reflection in glass and anything else she can make up to cause a racket. 

2)Keep some (naturally shed) antlers and kongs stuffed with peanut butter with small treats stuffed in also and whole thing frozen.  These are kept for times you have to have some down time want to calm him. Do not leave fetch balls, antlers or kongs available - they are special, keep them that way. Keep a special old bath mat or towel for him to eat these on, in your sight.

3) You tube has tons of dog tricks and how to teach them.  Do trick every day and add new ones weekly or every few days to keep mind occupied. Spin, beg, get toy, shake hands, paws on stool are all easy starting tricks.

4) Make him "work" on leash at heel, turns, stop, stay,  even for five minutes in house if that's all you can fit in.  On your walks always make him work.  He earns loose leash time, I call it sniffers, for walking briskly at your side, heeling, sitting, etc.

5) teach fetch you tube shows how. It burns up a lot of energy  in a hurry.

6) arrange doggie play dates

7) invest in a fenced area he cannot escape preferably the whole yard.

Patience, patience and joy joy joy.  Worry less about the house and more about enjoying your puppy!

other tips from long dog ownership:  Cover doors he hits and scratches with a sheet of thick plastic screwed to the door  from bottom to above where he can reach.  Remove anything you really don't want ruined.  I have been married fifty years, many dogs, two children and all their friends - I don't have anything more valuable than my family or dogs in my house anymore.  Actually I never did, just didn't know it!! 

[Maddie]

Thank you all so much for your help!! I really appreciate it.

Because of you suggestion, we tried giving him a plastic bottle tonight!! He loved it, and it kept him entertained for a few minutes until he destroyed it. We're going to get a thicker one soon, because he destroyed it pretty fast. Thanks again for the advice!

Today, instead of going on a 1-hour walk, we did a 30 minute walk and a 30 minute playtime in the backyard. I attempted to teach him fetch but he hasn't quite picked it up yet.... lol. We will continue working on it everyday to teach him!! 

We will also definitely do training more!! We practice stuff like "stay" and "come" for about 5-10 minutes every day, but will try to add in more time and training on walks, and try to schedule some doggy play dates!!

Thanks for all of your advice, I'm really grateful for DK!! It is so far helping Willy a lot.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Glad he liked the plastic bottle :) I haven't met a pup who doesn't like them lol.  If he's a standard sized pup most bottles won't last long but some of the big thicker ones last about a week playing with it 1-2 times a day.