The dog is never entertained enough!

[80sShoulderPads]

I have a 10 month old border terrier. He's a fabulous dog, daft and silly and playful and lovely with all dogs and people and children. He wants to make friends with everything, we adore him.

But OMG, he's so needy and nothing satisfies him! I'm an experienced dog owner so I'm trying to work out how I've made him this way.

I WFH full time at the moment - have done since we got him in March. He currently gets 3 walks a day, 1x50 mins off-lead, and 2x15 mins on a lead. I have frozen kongs on the go constantly, he has 2 small ones per day.

He has two half days a week at doggy daycare, where he plays with other dogs and wears them into the ground for 4 solid hours which includes a 1hr walk with them.

He has free access to natural chews whenever he wants them (antlers, dried tendons etc).

He has a girlfriend over the road and they have a walk and a play together a couple of times a week.

We have a game with him every day early evening with a toy (usually on his terms, i.e he has the toy and we chase him in circles), or do a bit of training if only basics, or hide the treat etc.

But in the day while I'm working, he cannot settle for more than a few minutes at a time - even when he's been running around for 4 hours after daycare! I'm in an office upstairs where he has a bed, but he paces from our bedroom to office to landing to downstairs. He'll wander out of the dog flap into the garden and bark at nothing, gallop back upstairs and start pacing again, whining and hooting for good measure. He never seems to lay down and go to sleep - he usually doesn't crash properly until late evening, when DH and are finally in the same room together doing nothing - then he might have a chew and fall asleep eventually.

Today he's had his short morning walk, breakfast, a kong, and been offered his chew - but he's sitting in his bed staring at me in the mirror, waiting for me to move a muscle so he can leap to his feet. It's not even 9am and I've barely started my working day - I won't take him out again until 12.30.

He'll be pacing, fussing, whining and hooting all morning, even if I totally ignore him. I just feel constant guilt that he's bored and has a rotten life.

I wonder if he's "over stimulated"? Is that thing?

*a thing

Our dog is a year old and he doesn't settle if some else is in the room with him (unless, like you said its the evening and he crashes while we all watch tv) . If I put him in the kitchen, on his own, then I don't hear a peep out of him. He sleeps the whole time (up to 4 hours).

What does yours do if he's left alone?

Short walk wasn’t long enough?

I could shut the office door on him I suppose, but it seems a bit mean when they are such social creatures. He doesn't get stressed when no one is around (although he is rarely left completely alone), I think he just sees us as a constant source of entertainment.

Tadpoles he gets plenty of exercise, which is detailed in the OP.

Oh sorry Speckled - well, not much, although we haven't had cause to leave him totally alone for very long. He typically just waits patiently by the back gate for us to return (or back door if it's raining).

@80sShoulderPads she clearly says, at the end of her post ‘ Today he's had his short morning walk, breakfast, a kong, and been offered his chew - but he's sitting in his bed staring at me in the mirror, waiting for me to move a muscle so he can leap to his feet. It's not even 9am and I've barely started my working day - I won't take him out again until 12.30.’ So I’m suggesting maybe the ‘short morning walk routine’ isn’t cutting it.

Sorry! You not she!

Bearing in mind he is only 10 months old, 50 mins is (generally speaking) his maximum at the moment - and I was doing up to an hour first thing, but to be ready for work at 8.30 I like to be out of the house by 7 ish. It's now too dark for that (not going in the woods in the dark and it'll be worse when the clocks go back), so I've switched his walks from 50m +15m +15m to put the 50m at lunchtime.

And in fact I only changed that 2 mornings ago, he did the same even if he'd been walked for an hour early doors, and also does the same after 4 hours of playing!

I take your point though.

Firstly there is no need to feel guilty. You clearly give this dog a very varied and exciting life. Perhaps too much? As you said, he's constantly on high alert, waiting for the next activity!

Also, he's still very young. In my experience, dogs don't tend to mature and really settle down until they're about 3/4 yrs. having said that I've always had Labs, might be different for a terrier.

I also WFH and my dogs are in the office with me all day - BUT it's only because they're happy to sleep for most of it! If they were fussing and restless all day, I would shut them down stairs. I think you need to do this with your dog, he needs the chance to switch off and clearly he can't do that with you around, you are clearly far too exciting and his source of entertainment!

Have you tried switching the walks around so you get the long one first thing. 15 mins is not much - for my CKCS that’s his “ constitutional” ie a sniff , wee and poo then home. It’s not a run and play.

What about some brain games - sniffing for treats , or 10 mins training a few times a day eg when you get up to make a drink.

I suspect he’s just being a teenage puppy.

ddog will now sleep when I work at home but needs a proper walk when he fancies it too - which can be 8am or lunchtime

Wise words Cauterize, maybe you're right. I fear he's a lockdown puppy too used to us being around to play all the time - and his love for playing with other dogs borders on obsession.

Maybe he would switch off better without me. I could try putting his bed on the landing and shutting him out for an hour, see how he gets on. I have lost my rag and shoved the door shut grumpily when I've been on calls and he won't stop yipping and fussing - I expected him to cry and scratch at the door, but he doesn't, he just lays down and waits.

It's the heartbreakingly sad way he greets me afterwards with a full range of appeasement gestures and sorry waggling for being a pest that stops me doing it routinely! He's so loving I can't bear to cut him off, but maybe he needs that to be more independent.

Yes he is also still young isn't he - maybe he'll settle a bit with age.

My old dog was virtually feral, she couldn't care less if I was alive or dead.

Busy dogs need to be taught to relax as much as all the other behaviours.

After his walk is the best time to start this. I would also recommend feeding after the walk as this helps to make some dogs a bit more sleepy.

Have a comfy bed area, maybe even a crate or puppy pen. Go on the walk, feed and then pop into the quiet area. You may at first need this near you but you also need to be doing quiet boring activities. Mn is of course perfect for this.

You could give the dog a chew but depends on whether the dog gets over excited chewing this or calm, or drop treats into the area when the dog is quiet and still. No words, nor praise just quiet treat delivery. Initially you will need to be popping in a lot of treats but over time you can increase the gap between the treats. The dog should over a few days be more relaxed in the queit area. Do not over do this and do not ever put the dog in when there is no hope is hell of them being relaxed.

Also worth teaching a settle command which is basically a down but with the dog relaxed onto their hip . This is a calming position and encourages relaxation in a wired dog.

@Helenluvsrob Yes I've always done the longer walk first before, but now it's going to be too dark to fit it in - it's more convenient for ME to do the longer one at lunchtime, as I need to be back indoors and fresh for video calls from 8.30am! 7am will be a very dark walk and I couldn't let him off.

I could do the dark bit on the lit roads, and he could have the last 20 minutes in the woods on the way home in the light I guess. DH isn't keen on me going in the dark, we've had a lot of dog thefts by intimidation lately. I'm no nervous wallflower but I don't to get a bash on the head and lose my dawg.

Thanks Polly, great idea.

Yes they can certainly pull at your heartstrings and induce extreme feelings of guilt! But think of it as you're actually doing him a favour, he needs to learn to relax and be calm. I'm sure in time, you can have him with you, but for now he needs some enforced isolation

@80sShoulderPads

Have you thought about full days at daycare?
My pup at 7 months is exhausted after a full day and is also very quiet the day afterwards as well, when I take him for his normal walk routine. I use daycare Monday and Wednesday and this allows me to work.

I would also stop the free access to the garden as the running in and out could also over stimulate him .

Im another vote for giving him some time alone. If he isn't over anxious when you leave him, it can be a good idea to let him settle himself for a nap after each walk. I'd be tempted to go slightly further for his first walk of the day (half an hour?) if you can squeeze it in, then leave him in the kitchen (or wherever he is less likely to be disturbed) with a long and then leave him there until 12.30ish. You can then have him with you in the afternoon so he isn't being left all the time. Overstimulatiion is definitely a thing and my rescue lurcher was suffering dreadfully from the vicious cycle we had got ourselves in. They're like toddlers - once they're overtired they find it really hard to sleep or settle. So mine was coming back from her walk and then having a complete meltdown. I thought she was still full of energy so would take her for even longer walks etc etc. The behaviourist I saw said to take her out in the morning (she gets an hour) then she goes straight into her crate for two hours. She nods straight off after finishing her chew and I don't hear a peep. When she comes out of her crate she is lovely and chilled and calm. Nap time has been a total game changer.

Agree with he's constantly on high alert, waiting for the next activity!

After his walk, you need to put him somewhere where he can settled down to sleep, without him waiting for you to move.
Maybe put some background music on for him so he can’t hear you or any external sounds.

I have a border terrier and have a similar schedule to you - also working from home. I agree that they are better when they have had even a short nap but she won't nap properly when I am in the room Big fear of missing out. She sleeps in a covered crate so I have taken to putting her in the crate with a chew when she gets too manic or demanding and things are definitely improving. At the moment she is asleep under my desk which is OK because I don't need to move but yesterday she was an utter pain throughout a teams meeting - barking, squeaking her toy and ringing the door bells as well as tipping her water everywhere. I couldn't mute as I was chairing the meeting and it was extremely stressful

I have a similar issue here with a nearly six month old Lagotto.

Interested to hear everyone talk about enforced naps. Are those away from where you are? Do you close the crate door for that? She a crate that she sleeps in at night but the door is always open. We've never shut it. So might have some work to get to that. But she definitely needs more sleep!

Ours was like this! Still is, to a degree, but we finally seem to be settling into a schedule which works for both of us. Overstimulation is definitely a thing - I used to find that all of the apparently 'calming' activities would just wind my pup up even more so now I have to watch very closely so I can spot the signs that he's getting tired so I can calm things down. I almost have to trick him into being calm when he's tired and then he'll settle down for a sleep!

We started capturing the tiny moments when he was calm - literally if he sat down for a second while we were watching tv - and just dropping treats for that, gradually building up the time he needed to be calm for before the treat appeared. Eventually he came to associate us sitting down to eat, watch tv, work etc as a signal to chill out. video really helped us!

It also sounds like there's a lot of focus on physical exercise and playing with other dogs. Obviously this is important but mental stimulation can be just as effective and sometimes a lot more satisfying for them. Maybe instead of having chews freely available you could hide them around the house so he has to sniff them out, or if he's on kibble give him his breakfast rolled up in an old towel so he has to snuffle it out (especially if he's not having a long walk until lunchtime). Nosework is hugely rewarding for dogs and usually more effective than just playing chase with a toy. Mine loves playing hide and seek and I've found his recall has improved since we started playing it too.

@pistachioicecream

I have a similar issue here with a nearly six month old Lagotto.

Interested to hear everyone talk about enforced naps. Are those away from where you are? Do you close the crate door for that? She a crate that she sleeps in at night but the door is always open. We've never shut it. So might have some work to get to that. But she definitely needs more sleep!

Ours has the door shut, but she has it shut when she's left and at night so it's normal for her. You could try putting her in it and every time she leaves, just return her to the crate and give a command (like settle) but no other interaction. She'll get the message pretty quickly I think plus the training will work her brain!

Could you not put a baby gate up? At least then, your pup can still see you and should hopefully settle? :)

I think this sounds to me like an overstimulation issue. It’s important to establish a settle command before all else IMO.

We teach all of our dogs to go lie down and that while I’m busy during the day there’s nothing exciting going to happen. The flirting game is good for this, so just flit from room to room being as boring as possible until the dog eventually gets bored and stops following, then praise. As they aren’t anticipating fun they will just go and sleep usually, or chew one of the various toys etc.

When I’m ready to interact with them then that’s different but we usually don’t play in the house or at least not the main parts of the house as I want them to see the living rooms etc as rooms to relax in.
I also give 0 interaction for pestering people, whining and pacing. I would ignore this and the second he lies down give some praise then so he realises the behaviour you want.
I also do this outside. When I’m standing or talking my dogs lie down and wait, I won’t move off again until they are all completely relaxed and now I can sit in the cafe all day if I want and all of my dogs will sleep until I’m ready

Although I agree they do need stimulation they also need to learn that when people are busy they must entertain themselves!