Help With Games And Other Questions

[Paul]

How do you play with a 10 week old labradoodle puppy? Our new puppy just turned 10 weeks old and I'm wondering if he's getting enough play. From the books I've read we should avoid tug-o-war and chase games as well as any games that might encourage biting or jumping up. He doesn't seem to understand fetch. We also are avoiding dog parks/parks until he finishes his immunizations.

What kind of games should we be playing with our puppy at this stage? Or are petting and short walks adequate?

Also, our veterinarian recommended small pieces of beef hot dogs as a training treat Any opinions about using that or even cheese?

Thanks,

Paul

[Camilla and Darwin]

We use beef hot dogs cut into small pieces for Darwin. I think they are pretty high in fat though, so we try not to use them too often. Cheese usually makes his stomach upset if we give him more than one or two small pieces. I have heard it is often upsetting for the stomach, but I'm sure it just depends on the specific dog.

As far as exercise, we just took him on long frequent walks until he had his immunizations. We also took him to small secluded areas without other dogs. He had fun romping and sniffing around, which also wore him out. He didn't really pick up fetch until a month or so ago. (he's six and a half months) We found that doing training sessions a few times each day not only stimulated his mind, but tired him out a little as well.

[Adina P]

You can work on tricks, teach basic obedience commands, toss toys for him to chase, buy a clicker and a book on using it and teach random things (skills later used for obedience or tricks).

[Julie B.]

I have a lot of different toys laying around varying from the soft squishy kind to puppy nylabones. At this young age basically exploring the different toys is a game for them. I also played hide and seek with toys. I would put them under a blanket or pillow and ask the pup to find it. I have always had another dog in the house when I bring in a new pup so they play a lot together which takes the burden off of me! Basically until the puppy is over 4 months old their play time can be just moving around and exploring inside and outside the house (under supervision of course). I also agree with Adina that basic obedience commands are very important and act like a game for the pup. Good luck! I am bringing my new puppy home in 4 days so I am all about puppy play!

[Lindsey, Lee, Whopper and Simba]

I agree with the others. Training and mental games are great exercise. Hide small treats around the room so that your puppy has to find them. Work on all of the basic training commands. Start assigning names to the various toys and trying to get him to learn what toys you are asking him about. Our doodle loved hot dogs and cheese so we used those as more high value rewards.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

We use the hotdogs and cheese or chicken (recommended by our trainer also) as the high value treats for when I want to be sure they are really good. I also love the treat toys (you fill them up and they have to roll them to get the treats. I just use their food in them sometimes. Lucy will pick it up and bring it to me when it is empty and she wants to play with it. The only problem is she will empty it then bring it again and want more! I'm not sure at what age they started playing with these, but I have several and they love them all. My girls had each other to entertain themselves so I really didn't have to come up with much.

[Suzanne & Jack]

When Jack was young his favorite toy was an empty water bottle with a few pennies in it (cap screwed on, label off). I would toss this across the floor for him to chase. He loved the crunch of the plastic and the weight of the pennies made it roll crazy. Good cheap fun. Always supervised.

[Debbie and Thomas]

Our trainer told us to use chicken or turkey weiners as treats for training. You can even buy low fat ones-but I wouldn't worry about that too much with a 10 week old pup. If you want to keep him safely occupied for 1/2 hr or more-fill a puppy Kong with some weiners, kibble and peanut butter-then freeze it. He will lick at this for a long time and you can have a little peace while you keep an eye on him. I know what you mean about the wait for all the shots to be finished. You can get kind of stir crazy looking for things to entertain them during that time. It happens again when they are housebound after neutering. That was even harder because this time you had to try to keep a 6 mth old high energy puppy CALM.

[Nugget's Family]

I agree that starting basic training at this point is great. We buy inexpensive cuts of beef at the grocery store, boil it in a shallow saute pan then cut it up into very small cubes and freeze in snack bags so we always have training treats that are healthy and are ready to go. A cheap pot roast cut can make 20+ treat bags.

On nice days, when Nuggy was young, we would spend time outside mastering the "come" command while she was on a long lead. She wasn't so much into fetch at that age either. She absolutely loved chasing a soccer ball at that age, though. (And still does!) On crummy days, my daughter plays hide and seek with Nugget. She grabs a bag of treats then goes to different places in the house and calls Nug. When Nuggy finds her, she gets a treat and lots of belly-rubs! Lots of entertainment for everyone! I agree that puppy Kongs are great, too! We stuff our beef cubes in them and it's good for a few minutes of fun. Our dog doesn't like peanut butter, though, which we found out the hard way after putting some in the kong and then she left it in there because she wasn't interested. I then had to wash it out! Yuck!!

Enjoy the pup! As much fun as this stage is....the best is yet to come. These dogs are amazing!

Susan

[Paul]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and the great ideas.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

In Puppy Kindergarten, Tug is a definite part of the training. After working for 15 minutes, it is time to take out the tug toy and let your puppy have some fun. I wouldn't let anything be a tug toy except a designated toy - no shoes, socks, undies, etc. are NOT tug toys. This is when you can start the commands 'drop it' and 'leave it'.

The only chase game we play is when the girls chase me. I never chased them. If you want to take something away from them and they think it is a game and you will not be able to get from them whatever 'it' is.

You can get a ball that makes noise - and roll it around and let him chase it. When he gets to it make lots of noise praising. I clap my hands and cheer when Charli runs for the ball, picks it up and is learning to bring it back to me.

Have fun!!!