How to keep pups mentally stimulated?

[Keepsmiling1]

Hi,

Our pup has only been home a couple of days and isn't able to go on walks yet. We have been playing games with him throughout the day like tug which he enjoys and we are teaching him to sit but I don't want him to get bored. We will be starting puppy classes when he has had his jabs.

What other things do people do to keep their pups stimulated? Any other games people play? His tummy has been a bit sensitive so I didn't want to give too much food in case it unsettled him further? We have been giving some Wagg treats but that's all.

Any suggestions welcome!

Any type of exploring and new experiences. Getting used to noises like the vacuum cleaner, washer. He may need sleep for a lot of the time at the moment depending on his age.

Can you take him for carried walks?

Visitors are good, as are visits to vaccinated dogs who are good with puppies. You want to expose your puppy to as many new experiences as possible without either frightening him or exhausting him. I had mine retrieving a wad of paper early in her life. You can also put down treats or just ordinary kibble for the puppy to sniff out on the lawn or carpet.

We bought some cheap ball pit balls from Asda or similar and put them in a bed to be a mini puppy ball pit. Got her to go in and find treats, she loved that.

Also getting out some boxes and getting them to find treads hidden in the boxes on the floor.

Sitting in the front garden was a big thing for our pup as she was initially very wary of the noisy traffic (even on our quite quiet road). We also did daily walks carrying her in different places.

Basic commands (sit, down, stand, heel, stay, etc) gradually increasing duration, distractions and distance.

Exposures. New underfootings (grass, shale, pavement, bark, carpet, Lino, wobble boards, etc). Loud noises/different noises. People wearing hats. Opening umbrellas. Rustling coats. Traffic noise. Basically if you can imagine them maybe coming across it in the next ten years you have to expose them to it in the first 16 weeks.

Sleep. Puppies are babies. They need to sleep. Sometimes they need to learn to sleep all alone. Teach them their crate/bed/mat is a great safe space to hang out in and sleep.

Magic mat. Assuming you don’t want your dog under your feet in the kitchen you need a magic mat. Whenever the puppy steps on it drop a treat for them. If they hang out there multiple treats. Eventually when in the kitchen they will just magically go hang out on the mat.

Brain games.

Don't spend too much time throughout the day playing with and stimulating your young puppy.

Most of his day should be spent sleeping: approximately 18 to 20 hours. An over stimulated puppy is an over tired puppy. He needs to learn to be calm and still, as well as doing all the other learning stuff.

Thanks for all the replies.

Yes we have started taking him out in our arms. We went to the beach yesterday and saw lots of people, birds, children, dogs, bikes etc. He seemed to really want to jump down and get involved!

He has just had his vaccinations and we bought a food cube in the vets so we will try that today with some of his food in.

He sleeps in his crate at night but doesn't seem that keen in the day. He will go in to get his food and treats but walks straight out again. I didn't think I was supposed to close him in if he wasn't happy?

He has found a spot next to the couch where he likes to sleep but does get disturbed with normal household noise so I would prefer if he happily went into the crate in the day!